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Ivy Tech Community College’s Kokomo Service Area is serving more than 20 area and statewide employers offering opportunities for employees to expand their skills and credentials through the College’s notable Achieve Your Degree (AYD) program.
A national study through the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research institution that provides data-driven, objective analysis to improve public policy, recently highlighted AYD as a program other community colleges should emulate.
Katie Loman, vice chancellor of Ivy+ Career Link for the Kokomo Service Area, said the program has the potential to rapidly grow from the more than 50 students currently participating. Among the employers currently taking advantage of the AYD program through the Kokomo Service Area are 4C Health, Community Health Network, Parkview Health, Amazon, Indiana State Personnel Department and Compal USA (Indiana).
“This is a great program for our adult learners as tuition assistance or tuition reimbursement through their employer really helps to break down the barrier of financial need,” Loman said. “The AYD program allows the employees to see the investment their employers are putting in by paying for tuition costs.”
With Ivy Tech offering “stackable” credentials from a certificate to a technical certificate to an associate degree (that can transfer to a four-year university), individuals can decide how far they want to take their education.
For more information on AYD in the Kokomo Service Area, which includes Cass, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Pulaski and Tipton counties, contact AYD Coordinator Mari Hernandez at mhernandez35@ivytech.edu or 463-251-3410.