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Higher-education leaders pressed on enrollment, completion rates and student support programs
Summary
Commission for Higher Education and university presidents testified about enrollment strategies, completion metrics and support for scholarship-funded students; legislators sought data on completion vs. enrollment and asked for demographic and retention breakdowns.
Leaders from the Commission for Higher Education (CHE) and presidents from multiple state institutions testified over two days about enrollment, completion and funding priorities.
CHE Commissioner Chris Lowery and Senior Associate Commissioner & CFO Seth Hinshaw said their metrics focus largely on enrollment and noted the ranking for state support does not include capital funding. Senator Chris Garten questioned why CHE emphasizes enrollment rather than completion; Hinshaw said the ranking excludes capital because most states use property-tax-funded capital, and Hinshaw and Lowery said scholarship-funded students complete at a higher rate, with CHE citing career coaching and work-based learning as supports for 21st Century Scholars.
Institutional leaders testified on local strategies: Dr. Sue Ellspermann (Ivy Tech) highlighted affordability and reported that many Ivy Tech graduates leave without debt; President Pamela Whitten (Indiana University) agreed to provide more data on in-state recruitment and completion and emphasized campus safety and stabilization of regional campus budgets; President Mung Chiang (Purdue) described the Purdue Promise and regional-campus referral strategies to retain students in the system; Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns said Ball State could add up to 3,700 freshmen per year and emphasized career outcomes; University of Southern Indiana President Steven J. Bridges described retention driven by statewide recruitment; Indiana State President Mike Godard reiterated enrollment challenges given that a majority of Indiana students will not complete a bachelor’s degree.
Why it matters: Statewide higher-education enrollment and completion metrics influence workforce development, capital priorities and scholarship investments; legislators pressed institutions and CHE for more precise completion and demographic data to assess return on investment.
What’s next: CHE and the institutions agreed to provide additional statistics on completion, retention and demographic breakdowns for key programs such as nursing pathways and 21st Century Scholars.
