09/04/17 Volume 21, No. 18 Box 383 Noblesville, IN 46061-0383 317/817-9997 FAX 317/817-9998 Retirement party at BudComm Green light to drive in reverse? Kenley, Bennett talk tuition and fee hikes ICHE promotes opt-in, won’t acquiesce to IU on two-year degrees State Budget Committee Chair Luke Kenley Staff with the Indiana Commission for Higher Education have been meeting (R) of Noblesville asked University of with the state-supported colleges and universities this Summer as ICHE Southern Indiana President Linda Bennett to prepares to issue recommendations at the request of the Indiana General appear at the August Budget Committee Assembly on reverse transfer. meeting to defend the school’s 5.0% tuition and fee hike in 2017 and 4.9% hike in 2018. Reverse transfer is the transfer of credits from a four-year institution back to the two-year institution the student first attended to determine if the student The Indiana Commission for Higher is eligible for an associate degree. Education in May called on institutions to hold annual increases in tuition and fees to Students without a bachelor’s degree, especially if they attended two or three no more than 1.4% in each of the next two different institutions, may not realize that they could combine all of their years, which “the universities did in large part credits together, and it actually would meet the requirements for an try to adhere to,” says Sen. Kenley. “There associate’s degree. was one noticeable exception, and that was USI,” he added. Allowing students to earn an associate’s degree by transferring credits in reverse may improve their marketability in terms of gaining a job, lead to a “For a number of years, there has been a lot higher wage or higher-wage job, or even serve as a sort of encouragement that of discussion on the part of the legislature and universities to deal with the rising cost of gives students confidence in their abilities. Research has suggested that higher education, and there’s been a lot of attaining short-term credentials motivates students to persist and reach the discussion about the debt loads students are next level. carrying forward, and I really feel, and have to articulate publicly, that Indiana and its About 10 public or private institutions in Indiana have already entered into universities have probably done more on this a reverse transfer agreement with either Ivy Tech Community College or particular subject than almost any other state Vincennes University, yet the agreements have so far only resulted in a few in the nation,” said Kenley, the Senate hundred additional degrees (Ivy Tech averages about 50 reverse transfer Committee on Appropriations chair who will degrees per year). retire early from the General Assembly later this month. All of the state-supported schools have entered into reverse transfer agreements with Ivy Tech, except for Indiana University and Ball State Dr. Bennett, who plans to retire from USI at University (although IU Southeast has a reverse transfer agreement with the end of the school year, explained that the Jefferson Community and Technical College in Kentucky!), and Purdue tuition and fee hikes are the culmination of University’s agreement with Ivy Tech applies only to select academic a plan that USI quietly began to implement programs. about six years ago to gradually increase its tuition and fees to the average of the regional The existing reverse transfer agreements are opt-in for the student, but Ivy campuses and Indiana State University. Tech has asked ICHE to make it an opt-out process so that once a student hits 60 credits, the data would automatically flow back to Ivy Tech (at least When USI began to develop its budget for 15 of the 60 credits must be earned at the institution awarding the associate’s the 2017-2019 biennium, “my team did not degree). know I was planning on retiring, but I did,” says Bennett. “I wanted to complete this on “We believe it needs to be an opt-in,” clarifies Teresa Lubbers, commissioner my watch. I did not want to pass this off to of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Due to Family my successor.” She acknowledged that USI’s Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) restrictions, ICHE tuition and fee hikes this biennium are an believes students need to give their approval prior to having their data shared outlier in terms of percentages, but “when we from one institution to another. Additionally, once the two-year institution entered into our plan, we were looking at an reviews the credits and determines whether the requirements for an associate’s amount of revenue in actual dollars.” degree have been met, students should verify that they actually want to The USI increases include a 3.9% base tuition receive an associate’s degree. hike for this school year and next, and a $2.50 increase per credit hour in the Ball State and IU, which we just noted do not have reverse transfer technology fee, resulting in an increase of agreements with Ivy Tech, feel strongly that it should be opt-in for the between $350 and $370 per year per full-time student. student, said President Bennett. For more, please see the following page . Cont. under “IN Higher Ed,” p. 8 . September 4, 2017/2 In a break from Indiana’s established policies on mission “We want to design this in a way that has the greatest value differentiation, IU has told ICHE (and state legislators) that to the student,” she continues. “It shouldn’t just be handing the four-year institutions of higher education should be able out a piece of paper,” the Commissioner adds. “It has to have to confer associate’s degrees. Such a change would likely real value to the student, and that’s what we’ve been trying to prompt Ivy Tech to make a push for entry into four-year work toward.” degree programs, especially in nursing. Allowing Ivy Tech and Vincennes to award degrees via reverse During meetings organized by ICHE staff with all of the transfer would also help Indiana as a state move closer to public institutions, the four-year schools questioned why they attaining its goal of having at least 60% of working-age continue to be limited to offering bachelor’s degrees, Hoosiers earning a college credential by the year 2025 (we’re confirmed Sean Tierney, associate commissioner for policy at currently at about 41%). the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Commissioner Lubbers believes that it is important to note “This report will not get into who is offering what types of that reverse transfer does not change degree requirements. degrees,” says Tierney, who is the ICHE lead on the reverse “We’re just processing it differently than in the past,” she transfer report. “It’s not about expanding degree offerings; it’s stresses. just about how we transfer credits.” The study is due to the General Assembly by November 1. “This is a real challenge for us because we’ve been clear about trying to streamline and refine the missions of institutions in As we’ve just outlined, several recommendations from various acknowledging that there’s a limited amount of money,” state-supported colleges and universities won’t be included in explains Commissioner Lubbers. “The Commission, and the the final report. Commission members, have been very reluctant to change their perspective on who awards bachelors and associate “I think the value of the legislature having us look at this is degrees,” notes the former lawmaker. to see if there is a way to standardize some parts of this procedure so it’s clearer how this is done and to try to work Another former legislator, Ivy Tech President Sue out some of the areas that were a little harder to work out Ellspermann, during a legislative hearing earlier this year, between the two- and four-year institutions,” observes the offered her observation that performance funding may Commissioner, who once chaired the Senate Committee on actually serve as a disincentive for four-year institutions like Education. IU to cooperate on a reverse transfer initiative “because it reshapes the pie in our favor.” Commissioner Lubbers predicts, “I think we’ll get to a place where we’ll be able to move this forward so there will be far Ivy Tech has proposed to ICHE that for every associate more reverse transfer degrees granted than in the past.” degree conferred via reverse transfer, the credit for the additional degree production in terms of performance funding should be split evenly between the two-year and four- year institution. IN Elementary & Secondary Ed “It’s not our intention to have this be part of the !IN General . performance funding formula,” confirms Commissioner As Indiana prepares to submit its plan for implementation Lubbers, in an interview at the end of August with everyone’s of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to U.S. Secretary of favorite education newsletter. “This is something we did need Education Betsy DeVos , the Indiana Association of School to work on, and at this point we think it should not be part Psychologists (IASP) expresses its concern that the students of the performance funding formula.” with disabilities subgroup must make a 5.1 percentage-point gain each year on ISTEP/ILEARN in order to meet the state’s While Ivy Tech estimates that a robust reverse transfer proposed performance goal. program could result in an additional 1,000 degrees per year, Q IASP observes that “Academic interventions currently Lubbers explains that the Commission is not eager to see a used within the school seldom show percentage gains at this proliferation of general studies associate degrees.