State Launches Campaign To Get More Adults Back To College

Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers and Governor Mike Pence announced a new program aimed at getting more adults with only high school diplomas back to college. (photo credit: Harry Wagner/WTIU News)

An initiative launched Tuesday hopes to encourage adults with some college credit return to school and complete a degree.

Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers and Gov. Mike Pence, unveiled the “You Can. Go Back.” program, a campaign aiming to help 200,000 Hoosier adults complete education beyond a high school diploma.

“There are many, many adults in Indiana, who at some point in their life had the aspiration to go to college,” Lubbers says. “They actually enrolled and for a multitude of reasons, life got in the way and they did not conclude their college degree.”

The campaign is part of Indiana’s goal, set in 2010, to increase the percentage of Hoosiers with education beyond high school to 60 percent by 2025.

“Post-secondary education is absolutely imperative in the modern era to improve the quality of our workforce,” Pence says. “More importantly, to expand opportunities for Hoosiers to reach their full potential.”

The initiative can match adults with a college that fits their goals, and includes a number of $1,000 scholarships from a state grant.

The Commission for High Education is reaching out directly to adults who meet the qualifications to let them know about the available benefits.

The program is also working with employers to increase benefits like tuition assistance and credit for work experience opportunities.