INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and representatives from the City-County Council, Ivy Tech Community College, IUPUI and EmployIndy came together Thursday to announce expanded postsecondary education programming through the federal CARES Act.
“Over 53 percent of individuals in Marion County who have filed for unemployment since March 15th have a high school diploma or less,” said EmployIndy Chief Operations Officer Marie Mackintosh. “Yet many of the jobs that are available in our community require an education beyond high school.”
That’s where the money comes in. The appropriation included $327,500 for Indy Achieves completion grants and an extra $1.1 million for Rapid Reskilling Grants to be distributed by Employ Indy to seven local adult education providers.
“If our community is dedicated to a return to an even better Indianapolis, we must find ways to provide a realistic path of prosperity for all residents,” said Hogsett. “I do believe that begins with educational opportunity.”
The Indy Achieves completion grants cover student debt, unpaid bursar bills and other debts preventing IUPUI and Ivy Tech students from continuing their education.
Meanwhile, the Rapid Reskilling Grants cover expansions to e-learning and short-term postsecondary certifications.
School officials believe the grants have been nothing but encouraging for students pursuing their education.
“Of 96 students that received a grant in spring of 2020, we had a 90.6 percent persistence rate, which means they either graduated, or they continued on with their education,” said IUPUI Associate Vice Chancellor Boyd Bradshaw. “I think that’s amazing.”
The grant application deadline for IUPUI has passed, but Marion County residents who want to complete their postsecondary degree or credential at Ivy Tech can still request a grant by going to indyachieves.org/completion-grants.
“Our success as a city depends not only on attracting the businesses of the future, but it depends on our collective commitment to educating the workforce of the future,” said Hogsett. “A better future after COVID means a better education for every resident of Marion County.”
