Latest news with #IvyTech
Axios
17-07-2025
- Axios
How the Purple Line changed east side transit in Indianapolis
In less than a year of operating, the Purple Line has transformed public transportation on Indianapolis' far east side. Why it matters: The $188 million bus line that started rolling last October has already overtaken IndyGo's Red Line as the most popular route, boasting monthly ridership figures that eclipse 100,000. Driving the news: I spent my Tuesday afternoon riding the 15.2-mile route from end to end, catching it at Ivy Tech in Lawrence, taking it downtown to the Julia M. Carson Transit Center and back again to get a feel for what it's like ahead of WNBA All-Star Weekend, when anyone can ride the line for free. The big picture: What I discovered during the more than three-hour adventure was how many marquee Indy attractions sit on the line and the general sense of positivity around it from regular riders. For example, I hopped off to snap a photo of the dinos at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis and had quick access to the Indiana State Fairgrounds without worrying about where I'd park my car. Yes, but: The trip also illustrated how quickly quality of life rises and falls along the 38th Street corridor — one stop after the children's museum, two homeless men were lying unconscious in the hot sun on the front steps of a building. State of play: According to IndyGo, the Purple Line is within walking distance of more than 134,000 jobs and 58,000 people, more than 30% of whom are identified as low income. Flashback: When I first moved to Indianapolis from Lafayette 12 years ago, IndyGo was a lifesaver. Just days after settling into my place on the far northwest side, my not-so-trusty 2000 Camaro decided to park itself indefinitely, and I needed to get downtown every day for work. Catching a bus in the parking lot of the St. Vincent Women's Hospital near West 86th Street and Township Line Road was the most cost-effective option. The latest: The process has gotten a lot sleeker and safer since then. How it works: Everything I needed to start my trip was available at the Fort Harrison Station. A map makes the locations of all 31 Purple Line stops easy to identify. I used my debit card at the MyKey kiosk to grab a one-day, full fare pass for $4. I also had the option to use the app or pay with cash. By comparison, an Uber from Fort Ben to downtown would have cost me about $27 one-way. Zoom in: As my ride started at 12:48pm, I had the bus pretty much to myself. That changed at 1:06pm when people piled on at Post Road, the first of 16 stops along 38th Street. Laughing children playing outside the Far East Side Neighborhood Center and the public art installed outside the new-ish Eskenazi Health Center at 38th and Arlington caught my attention. Energy on the bus grew tense when a homeless woman wearing a white bed sheet wrapped around her like a gown and carrying all her belongings in four large trash bags boarded at 38th and Keystone. Some riders hurled insults and profanity her way. But the driver treated her with kindness and respect, only asking her to move her bags from in front of the doors and warning that the shopping cart she pushed at the station platform couldn't board with her. She exited just a few stops later at 38th and Meridian, shouting "I appreciate your hospitality" multiple times in the direction of the bus driver as she frantically collected her bags. We arrived downtown at 1:58pm, three minutes behind Google Maps' prediction of the trip length and about 10 minutes behind IndyGo's predicted arrival time, which was longer than usual because of ongoing construction detours near Fort Ben. After a few laps around downtown to see how All-Star prep was progressing, I hopped a bus back to Lawrence at 2:47pm just as Tuesday's rain began coming down the hardest. Zoom out: The rain stopped long enough for me to get out at 38th and Keystone to make a short walk to Taco & Burrito Place, a hidden gem on North Keystone that makes incredible (you guessed it) tacos and burritos. I reboarded with Indy resident Roland Hayes who walked about a mile to the bus after donating at CSL Plasma. What he's saying: " All I know is we didn't have nothing before. Now we got this," Hayes, who says he hasn't owned a car in about five years due to financial circumstances, said. "It's safe. It's clean. It's on time. People can get to work and get to the doctor." "I'm thankful for that … Just don't take it away. They always taking sh*t away from the east side." What's next: A potential 57% fare increase for all IndyGo routes, which low-income and disabled riders are protesting. The proposed hike includes an increase from $1.75 to $2.75 for fixed route service effective Jan. 1, pending approval from IndyGo's Board of Directors next month. Under the new policy, the cost of the day pass I used for my trip would go from $4 to $6.
The Hill
26-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Indiana's public colleges commit to 2-year tuition freeze
(NewsNation) — Indiana's public colleges and universities have committed to freezing in-state undergraduate tuition for the next two years, Republican Gov. Mike Braun announced Tuesday. The freeze applies to all flagship and regional campuses across the state and will maintain current tuition costs and mandatory fees for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic years. Braun called the move a 'historic' step toward making higher education more affordable. 'The commitment made by all of Indiana's public colleges and universities puts students and parents first and demonstrates to the rest of the country that Indiana is a leader in providing a high quality education at an affordable price,' Braun said in a statement. The move includes all 15 of Indiana's public higher learning institutions: Braun had requested a 0% increase last month and challenged the schools to 'eliminate redundancies and identify ways to streamline services without compromising quality.' The agreement marks the first time since at least 2010 that more than two state campuses have kept tuition flat, according to Braun's office. The two-year annual tuition ranges from a low of $2,577 at Ivy Tech to a high of $12,144 at Indiana University Bloomington, which is still below the national average of $12,201 per year, according to NewsNation affiliate WXIN. Purdue University's tuition was set at $9,992 in 2013 and remains frozen. Braun urged schools not to make up the tuition freeze shortfall by raising rates for room and board. 'I don't want you playing tricks on raising costs in other ways,' he said. 'The parent and the child are gonna be sophisticated enough, hopefully, with all the information they receive to see that they can't have one part of it actually being held in line, and they're doing it in a different way.' Some institutions will likely increase tuition costs for international students.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ivy Tech freezes tuition through 2026–27 academic year
INDIANAPOLIS — The Ivy Tech Community College State Board of Trustees has voted to freeze tuition and mandatory fees for the next two academic years, ensuring no increase for both 2025–26 and 2026–27. The decision reflects the college's commitment to ensuring affordability and delivering value for Hoosiers, the school said, and follows Gov. Mike Braun's request and a unanimous recommendation by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education that all public higher education institutions freeze tuition to support Hoosiers. 'The action by our State Board reflects our commitment to putting students first,' said Dr. Sue Ellspermann, president of Ivy Tech Community College. 'Holding tuition flat builds on our years of work to improve affordability, access and completions for students, and that effort has brought positive outcomes for the state.' In-state tuition for full-time students taking 12 or more credit hours will remain at $2,577.11 per semester; tuition for part-time students will remain at $178.38 per credit hour. Out-of-state tuition rates will also remain unchanged. Ivy Tech's innovative Ivy+ Textbooks program, which provides students with all required textbooks and course materials at a low, predictable cost, will continue at $18 per credit hour in 2025–26 and $18.25 in 2026–27. The tuition freeze is part of Ivy Tech's broader mission to eliminate financial barriers and deliver high-quality, workforce-aligned education and training to Hoosier students, Ellspermann said.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lewis Cass set to offer Indiana College Core credits through IUK
Lewis Cass High School will partner with IUK beginning this fall to offer Indiana College Core classes for college credit. The Indiana College Core consists of 30 credit hours of general education, college-level coursework that is guaranteed to transfer to public colleges and universities in Indiana. The program allows for students to work toward college credits while finishing up high school. Logansport High School, Pioneer Junior/Senior High School and Caston High School offer similar courses via Ivy Tech. In May, 82 LHS seniors graduated from Ivy Tech before their high school graduation after successfully completing the Indiana College Core credits. Twenty-four for those students did extra work to earn an associate degree. Lewis Cass counselor Heather Adams hopes that an associate degree will be available for students who enter the IUK program but the school is taking it one step at a time. 'Getting those 30 credit hours out of the way is huge and gives students a good start (in college) right off the bat,' she said. Adams said that Lewis Cass was already offering many dual credit classes in partnership with IU-Bloomington so when it came time to launch Indiana College Core credits it made sense to work with IUK. 'I think, too, that it is a good thing for the kids if they want to get their core classes out of the way for college while they are still in high school to save some money,' said counsellor Joyce Bangel. 'That's also beneficial for the kids.' Starting an Indiana College Core program had been a goal for some time. Adams said she waited for a few months for new superintendent Chris Daughtry to get acclimated to his job before approaching him about the program. Adams said that the ICC will most likely benefit students who are starting their junior year of high school. Due to the workload and the lack of time to plan, it would be difficult for the Class of 2026 to complete the goals. '(Classes) are going to be rigorous so they are going to be better prepared in the long run for college,' she said. 'These are college level courses and the ones they do online are taught by college professors. I do think it gives them a step up in that way. I think the rigor won't be as overwhelming when they do get to college.' Bangel added it also gives students some extra time in college if they want to pursue a double major. 'It's a labor of love but we are really excited about it,' said Adams. Those who would like to learn more about the Indiana College Core can visit Students may also reach out to their school counsellors with questions. Adams works with students with last names from A-K and Bangel with students with last names from L-Z. A pioneer at Pioneer While 82 LHS students were getting their Ivy Tech Indiana College Core certificates on May 9, Makenna Strycker was the lone Pioneer Junior/ Senior High School student in line who completed the ICC. Pioneer principal Jeff Brooke said after the ceremony that he believed Strycker was the first student at the school to take advantage of the Ivy Tech partnership. For Strycker, completing the Indiana College Core was about being as efficient with her time as possible when looking ahead to college. She will attend Wittenburg University in Ohio to study law and continue her basketball career. Strycker learned about the opportunity when she received an email about Ivy Tech classes at the beginning of her junior year. She said that she would take two extra classes per semester, doing the work online at home after school. 'It took a lot of extra time,' she said. 'It was a lot but it was worth it, I think.' 'Ivy Tech does a great job of getting kids connected,' said Principal Brooke. 'I credit Makenna for taking advantage. … I couldn't be more proud of a young lady who works hard and perseveres. She's exactly what a Pioneer Panther is.' Strycker said she was a bit surprised that she might be the first to complete the ICC at the school. 'It's definitely a lot of extra work,' she said. 'I definitely think it's going to be worth it for me in college. Looking at it from an aspect of the short term, it's going to be extra work for one but later on it's definitely going to be helpful.' Despite the extra work, she encouraged other students to sign up for Indiana College Classes if they wanted a cost-efficient college experience.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Other higher education institutions in IN weigh in on flat fees
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is proposing that tuition and mandatory fees be held flat for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic years in response to a recommendation by Governor Braun and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, but is USI the only university considering this? Purdue University Officials with Purdue University agreed on flat rates for the fourteenth year in a row. The Purdue University Board of Trustees say on April 4 it endorsed President Mung Chiang's request for a 14th consecutive tuition freeze and approved his faculty and staff salary policy request for fiscal year 2026 for the main campus with a 2% recurring increase, plus a 0.5% nonrecurring recognition of 'exceptional' employee contributions. 'Purdue is in a unique position in American higher education: We can continue freezing tuition and maximize student access as a land-grant institution while simultaneously maintaining our commitment to the dedicated faculty and staff vital to achieving excellence at scale,' Chiang said. 'At a time when many universities have chosen salary freezes or reduction in workforce, Purdue is in a strong position financially to make salary investments to recognize the capabilities of its workforce and further improve its competitiveness in recruiting top talent.' Officials say the freeze of core tuition and mandatory fees — to be formally approved by trustees in late spring 2025 per state statute, after the legislative budget setting — means Purdue students will see no increase in tuition through at least the 2026-27 academic year. Base undergraduate tuition will remain at $9,992 per year for Indiana residents and $28,794 for out-of-state students through 2026-27. According to Purdue University, except for the pandemic year of 2020-21, Purdue has offered a merit increase every year since 2010. In November 2020 more than 15,000 employees received a one-time appreciation award of $750. U.S. Supreme Court to hear Representative Bost's case on mail-in voting Ivy Tech Ivy Tech says it is planning to hold tuition and fees flat for the next two years. Ivy Tech says it will recommend its State Board of Trustees hold these fees flat for the next two years in compliance with the recommendation by Governor Braun and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Leaders from Ivy Tech will present this adjusted structure to the State Board of Trustees for adoption during its June 5 meeting in Indianapolis. Ivy Tech says it last raised tuition in 2023 after changing the structure of its distance education and tech fees and integrating those into the tuition rate for students. Tuition increased in Academic Year 2023-24 from $2,243.25 to $2,455.76 per semester for full-time students. In Academic Year 24-2025, it increased from $2,455.76 to $2,577.11 per semester for full-time students. However, this fee restructuring and reduction effort ultimately resulted in 70% of students paying less during the 2023-2025 biennium than in the previous two years. On Friday, Ivy Tech announced a statewide reduction in force impacting 202 employees in Indiana, including 11 in the Evansville service area. Crews work to repair sink hole near Oak Hill Cemetery Indiana University Indiana University says it will recommend that tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students be held flat for the next two years. Officials say the IU Board of Trustees will hold a public forum on the proposed tuition and fees for the 2025-27 academic years at 12:15 p.m. on June 12, at IU Bloomington's Henke Hall of Champions. While IU is proposing no increase in tuition or mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students, the board will consider a proposed tuition increase of up to 2% for graduate programs, with an exception for some programs in the health and medical fields. IU says beginning in fiscal year 2024, the university reduced the number of academic fees by half. IU Bloomington also announced earlier this year that it will increase its minimum stipend pay for graduate students who hold part-time teaching or research appointments, effective July 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
