Batesville, Indiana — The Batesville Community School Corporation (BCSC) initiative to continue offering tuition-free college classes to students at Batesville High School (BHS) recently added with the announcement of a $100,000 donation from the John A. Hillenbrand Foundation received the support of
Launched in 2013, this collaborative community initiative has enabled public high school students in Batesville to attend a variety of learning tracks at Ivy Tech Community College for free.
This has saved the family an estimated $5 million in tuition, room and board costs since the project began.
“Now that the initial financial investment for this initiative has been spent, we are in the process of ensuring that the success we have seen over the past decade continues,” said BCSC Supervisor Paul Ketcham. “This generous gift from the John A. Hillenbrand Foundation, combined with the $500,000 already received through the Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration Development Initiative (READI) grant, puts us on track to launch Ivy Tech 2.0. students who have received an exemplary education through Ivy Tech without associated tuition fees.”
“The Board of Directors of the John A. Hillenbrand Foundation has approved this grant to support the vision of the Batesville Community School of giving every student the opportunity to graduate with advanced education and college credit. ‘, said Bill Hillenbrand, president of the foundation. “We appreciate BCSC’s commitment to the community in helping our youth become successful and productive adults.”
Through our partnership with Ivy Tech, BHS students can pursue a variety of targeted course paths.
First, students can take enough classes to meet Indiana College Core (ICC) requirements. ICC ensures that the student has completed her 30 hours of general education credits transferred to a public university in Indiana. This saves families about two semesters of college in related costs, and often allows students to graduate from college early.
Second, students can earn an associate’s degree from Ivy Tech while earning a high school diploma.
Finally, students can pursue a career/technical path at a community college and earn industry-recognized work-based certificates demonstrating proficiency in specific areas.
“The Ivy Tech 2.0 project is our commitment to the Batesville community to continue the journey we started 10 years ago,” continued Ketcham. “This initiative will ensure local recruitment.
Employers, enhancing quality of life and providing fertile soil for students to grow into successful adults. We want to develop students who are critical thinkers, problem solvers and people who make a difference. Our strategy for achieving success is focused on continuous improvement of our current programming and evolving and expanding our offerings based on the needs of our students and community. “
In addition to tuition-free opportunities at Ivy Tech, certification exam scholarships offered by the Batesville Community Education Foundation have awarded BHS students a total of over $20,000 in career/technical paths over the past five years. This unique program reimburses her BHS for all exam fees associated with certification, so students on these pathways can qualify for free.
“We are fortunate to have so many community partners supporting us in achieving our goal of providing more meaningful high school diplomas,” Ketcham said. Wrapped up. “This important initiative from the John A. Hillenbrand Foundation brings us one step closer to his senior student success during his decade at BCSC and we appreciate the support.”
(Press release from Batesville Community School Corporation)