Ivy Tech Discontinues Free Summer Classes

This year, Hoosier high schoolers lost a major opportunity to enroll in free college classes during the summer. 

Ivy Tech Community College has the distinction of being Indiana’s largest postsecondary institution. It is also the largest singly accredited statewide community college system in the country. While it has campuses throughout the state, Ivy Tech also instructs thousands of students through its online enrollment. Many of these classes include dual enrollment during the school year for high school students. The college also allowed high schoolers to take advantage of free classes during the summer. That popular and valuable opportunity, unfortunately, disappeared this year. 

According to their website, “Due to a challenging fiscal environment that is impacting all public higher education institutions in Indiana, Ivy Tech Community College will be unable to offer free summer classes for high school students in 2025. We know how much students and families have valued this opportunity. Ivy Tech remains deeply committed to expanding opportunities for students to access high-quality postsecondary education and training while in high school, including our nationally leading dual credit and dual enrollment program. Our hope is to restore programs like this in the future in collaboration with our community and state partners.” 

Ivy Tech revealed that due to recent budget cuts from the State, the potential loss for the college is significant. They stand to lose $27 million annually in State funding, resulting in the decision to trim their current budget. In the three years that the summer initiative has been available, over 14,000 high school students have enrolled in free classes. That is in addition to another 10,000 students served through the Department of Education’s Crossing the Finish Line Program. 

In total, Ivy Tech has provided over $12 million in free summer tuition for high school students. Enrollment has increased each year, with 6,400 students in the program last year and an additional 2,000 expected this year. The college stressed that summer classes are still available for a moderate fee, and that some high school students may qualify for the Crossing the Finish Line Program.  

For more information on these and other updates, visit www.witzamfm.com/news 

 - Drew Hasselbring