Ivy Tech Community College Southwest Region has 4,991 students on campus, in online courses and taking dual credit classes in the area’s high schools — as of the state institution’s census day Sept. 9, 2016. Enrollment was announced recently during the meeting of the Ivy Tech Regional Board of Trustees.
“We are pleased that the number of transfer students is on the rise with an increase of slightly more than 7%,†said Jonathan Weinzapfel, chancellor of Ivy Tech. Also of note is the 23.14% increase in the number of re-admitted students (those who were once enrolled, but have been gone for 2 or more years). Total headcount is 3% less than last year – which mirrors the state’s overall decline. “We want to continue to strive to share our message of being a smart start for students,†Weinzapfel said. “Students can come to Ivy Tech and earn an associate degree in two years or less and transfer to any public college or university in Indiana, saving upward of $10,000; or come here and get their degree or other credentials, and enter the workforce quickly.â€
Also a part of the total enrollment are students from several area businesses and industry enrolled in Ivy Tech’s Achieve Your Degree™ program. This unique program is designed to help businesses to develop their employees with the skills they need, and award credentials or degrees at the completion. Ivy Tech defers tuition payments until the end of each semester, when financial aid is used to pay for the semester’s classes, and tuition reimbursement then pays the balance. Ivy Tech Southwest currently has nearly 300 new and continuing students in the program.
Popular majors on campus include:
- Nursing and Health Science majors: Healthcare specialists, nursing, medical assistant and healthcare support.
- Business and Public Service majors: Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Human Services, Visual Communication, Software Development, and Early Childhood Education
- Technology majors: Industrial Technology, Automotive Technology, HVAC, and Energy Technology.
- Popular majors for students in the University Transfer Division, where students enter with an intention to transfer their credits to a four-year institution following attainment of their associate degree include: General Studies, Elementary Education, and Nursing.
A few of the newest majors at Ivy Tech Southwest which are seeing increasing enrollment for high demand fields include: Informatics – a field of study where individuals think big picture, and use strong technical skills to understand how we use technology to communicate and solve interdisciplinary problems facing society; Cyber Security, which prepares students to work in areas related to information assurance, network and computer security. The program builds the foundation to identify and fix computer and security attacks; and Advanced Automation and Robotics Technology which offers hands-on learning with faculty who have spent their careers working in manufacturing. Students will learn to troubleshoot automated manufacturing equipment like PLCs, robotics, pneumatics, hydraulics, and motors and controls.
