By KELLY HAUFLAIRE
Ivy Tech Community College

INDIANAPOLIS — The leaders of Indiana Wesleyan University and Ivy Tech Community College have signed a landmark agreement that enables Hoosier students to matriculate seamlessly from Ivy Tech’s early childhood education program to Indiana Wesleyan’s bachelor’s program in the same subject area.

This program provides a single pathway for students who have earned their Associate of Science in early childhood education to move on to the Bachelor of Science in early childhood education at Indiana Wesleyan University. Through this program, all credits from Ivy Tech would transfer to Indiana Wesleyan, said Sally Ingles, dean of the School of Educational Leadership within the College of Adult and Professional Studies at IWU.

Ivy Tech and Indiana Wesleyan plan to introduce the program to students at an informational session Nov. 30, at Ivy Tech’s campus at 50 W. Fall Creek Parkway N. Dr., Indianapolis.

“This agreement is the first of its kind for the School of Educational Leadership,” said Ingles, who realized such an agreement would be beneficial for students after attending a graduation at a small town in rural Indiana. “When they announced at the graduation where the students were attending college, student after student was going to Ivy Tech. When I saw the numbers I said, ‘Let’s partner with them.’”

The agreement enables the students to pursue their associate degree and then their bachelor’s degree in an affordable manner, Ingles said. The agreement applies only to students who are enrolling in the bachelor’s program in early childhood education through CAPS, Ingles said. IWU’s bachelor’s in early childhood education prepares students to be recommended for an early childhood, preschool through grade three, initial teaching license in Indiana.

Right now, Ivy Tech has about 500 students enrolled in the associate program, said Diane Lynn Smith, professor and program chair of the early childhood education department at Ivy Tech. Smith estimated that initially, about 10 percent of those students would take advantage of the program.

“Our students who would be interested need the online courses because most of them are working at day care centers,” Smith said. “They need options to attend school. This is a way to enable students to go on and pursue that bachelor’s degree from an excellent institution. And, once students take notice of the program and how it works, I’m sure it will continue to grow.”

“This agreement is a win-win for everyone, from Ivy Tech to Indiana Wesleyan and, most certainly, to the students,” said R. David Rose, vice president for enrollment and marketing in non-residential services in the Adult Enrollment Services program. “This single pathway provides a seamless plan for students to continue with their education and helps them reach their goal of earning their bachelor’s degree and becoming licensed pre-K through grade three teachers in Indiana.”