Indiana Launches Adult Learning Program Run by a For-Profit Education Company Graduation Alliance
INDIANAPOLIS – The state of Indiana has launched an initiative to help adults who didn’t graduate high school earn a diploma. The Indiana Workforce Diploma Program also helps the students earn certain skilled trade certifications for free. Governor Eric Holcomb signed the Workforce Diploma Reimbursement Program into law in May and it launched in October. The program is run by a for-profit education company called Graduation Alliance, but it is overseen by the Indiana Governor’s Workforce Cabinet.
What makes this program different from other adult education programs is cost. While the program is state-funded, G.A only gets reimbursed if the adult student succeeds in earning a diploma and landing a job.
“Each of these individuals is an investment,” said Greg Harp, Graduation Alliance’s chief development officer.
Harp says when provided with a diploma, employable skills and job-ready certifications, “people who are stuck in low-wage, insecure jobs are able to lift themselves into living-wage work.”
Harp says Indiana has approximately 500,000 residents who never earned a high school diploma.
Indiana residents over the age of 22 and have completed at least some of 10th grade can apply to the program.
This program is taught online, but Harp says it also offers support from certified teachers.
“Instead of just purely computer-based curriculum, we have teachers in each of our classes and they’re certified in Indiana and are highly qualified in their subject,” said Harp. “They (students) have an academic coach which helps student on pace in progress and helps them monitor and get completed in the time they have that available.”
Utah-based Graduation Alliance is also used in Ohio and Michigan.
The state law set the reimbursement for educational providers at $6,750 per graduate. The measure also requires the company to maintain a graduation rate of at least 50%.
Click here to learn more about the program.
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