Indiana Advances Bill That Threatens Low-Earning Programs

The Indiana Legislature on Friday passed Senate Bill 199, which threatens public college and university programs that graduate low earners, The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported. 

If signed into law by Gov. Mike Braun, the bill would direct the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to review state higher education programs whose graduates earn median salaries below the average earnings of a high school diploma holder. In Indiana, the average high school graduate earns $35,000. Programs that fail to meet this standard would be at risk of closure; at-risk programs likely include Ball State University’s bachelor’s degree in dance, Indiana University at Bloomington’s bachelor’s in music, Ivy Tech Community College’s associate degree in library and archives assisting, and Purdue Northwest’s bachelor’s in computer software and media applications, among others.

Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder, a Democrat, said lawmakers were busy with a portion of the bill dealing with youth social media restrictions and that they didn’t have sufficient time to vet the portion on college program review, the Capital Chronicle reported. 

“I agree that students and families should have that information,” Yoder said. “I think that is a worthy conversation to be having. But … that is not the only reason why students study these areas. And I think that there is value to studying these areas.”