Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers will join a discussion with the Vigo County College Success Coalition on Tuesday, September 24, 2013, at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Le Fer Ballroom from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. This statewide “College Success Tour” is part of an ongoing effort to engage local community leaders, students and families in increasing the number of Hoosiers with education beyond high school.
“We have a sense of urgency to dramatically raise the education level of Hoosiers across our state,” said Lubbers. “Our success will depend upon local communities rallying around the common cause of increasing college completion.”
The Vigo County College Success Coalition is a network of local organizations interested in increasing college access and success for young people. Member organizations include local government, businesses, agencies, schools, local media, libraries, youth service organizations, service clubs, community foundations, faith-based organizations and others.
Indiana currently ranks 40th nationally in both education attainment and personal per capita income, two data points that are directly linked to this fact is that only a third of Hoosier adults have more than a high school diploma. Indiana has set a goal of increasing the proportion of Hoosiers with a college credential, including one-year workforce certificates, two-year associate degrees and four-year bachelor’s degrees, to 60 percent of the state’s population by 2025.
College Success Summits
Sponsored by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, the regional “College Success Summits” events will take place in each of the eight-outreach regions for the 21st Century Scholars program, the state’s premier college scholarship and preparation program for low-income students. Each regional event will be hosted by a county College Success Coalition, a growing statewide network of nearly 1,500 local organizations working to increase college access and success.
Through the Commission’s Learn More Indiana outreach initiative, the state has supported the development of 50 county College Success Coalitions to date with another 20 counties invited to form coalitions this fall.