May 12, 2009
KOKOMO – Ivy Tech’s Kokomo Region, which includes campuses and instructional sites in Kokomo, Logansport, Peru and Wabash, awarded degrees and certificates to 472 graduates at Memorial Gymnasium in Kokomo on Thursday, May 14. This number reflects a 12 percent increase over last year.
Those graduates joined an estimated 8,500 Ivy Tech Community College students throughout the state who received an associate degree or certificate from the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college during its 14 graduation ceremonies around Indiana this month. In addition to the 21,835 certifications it has provided over the last year, the community college has now provided over 30,000 credentials that have currency in today’s workforce.
Vice chancellor of academic affairs for Ivy Tech’s Kokomo Region, Dr. Pamela J. Lewis, reflects on the class of 2009. “This year we will graduate 472 students of all ages and from all backgrounds, each achieving a very important personal academic goal. This achievement represents hard work and sacrifice, not only for the students themselves, but for the family and friends that help and support them. Many are the first in their family to attend college. These students came to Ivy Tech to change their lives; nowhere is this more evident than at the commencement ceremony each spring.”
Nearly 93 percent of all Ivy Tech graduates remain in the state of Indiana after receiving their degree and the annual lifetime earnings of Ivy Tech graduates are estimated to be 74 percent higher than Hoosiers with only a high school diploma.
This academic year was a year of unprecedented growth for the college with more 120,000 students enrolled at Ivy Tech’s 23 campuses statewide.
Ivy Tech Community College remains Indiana’s most affordable place to earn a college degree as students can earn an associate degree from Ivy Tech for less than $6,000. Those degrees result in good-paying jobs, and students can transfer their credits to four-year colleges and universities in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree while saving half the cost annually. With 23 campuses across the state and classes offered in 75 communities, Ivy Tech is close to home for all Hoosiers. Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo Region serves Cass, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Tipton and Wabash counties and includes campuses in the communities of Kokomo, Logansport, Peru and Wabash. Ivy Tech is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. To learn more about Ivy Tech, visit www.ivytech.edu.
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