The Indiana Commission on Higher Education’s annual college readiness report shows a 10-year low in the percentage of students (59%) pursuing post-secondary education after high school. And if you look closer at these numbers, the equity gap is widening among students from wealthy families and those who have historically been underrepresented in higher education, including low-income students, students of color and those who identify as the first from their family to attend college.
Interestingly, men continue to enroll in higher education at lower rates than women. All of this is alarming for today’s students, for tomorrow’s workforce and for the future of Indiana.
That’s why my administration is committed to widening the path to Earlham College. We are one of the nation’s Top 100 Liberal Arts colleges according to U.S. News and World Report, and our students come from all 50 states and dozens of countries around the world. In a typical year, nearly a quarter of our students are international, and an equal number identify as domestic minorities. But the majority of these students are from outside Indiana. We can and must do better in our own backyard, and we have introduced several initiatives that are specifically focused on Hoosiers.
Our new INspire Earlham initiative offers free tuition to low- and middle-income students in Indiana who seek a challenging and rewarding liberal arts experience. Families with an annual household income of $60,000 or less — the average Hoosier household earns just less, according to the U.S. Census — are eligible. The remaining costs are covered by state and federal grants and significant institutional aid, which is given to all Earlham students who meet admissions standards.
INspire Earlham doesn’t cover the cost of room and board, but those costs are comparable to — in some cases even less than — those of flagship public universities. For eligible students choosing to commute, they can study on our Richmond campus for virtually nothing.
Graduates of Ivy Tech Community College can transfer to Earlham in six popular courses of study knowing that every credit they earned will count toward a bachelor’s degree.
Programs like INspire Earlham and our Ivy Tech partnership can widen the path for Indiana students, but it’s equally important to keep them on that path.
At Earlham, we are a small school with a relatively large endowment. That combination allows us to be nimble, and we have recently reenvisioned our signature program, the EPIC Journey, with retention and career readiness in mind. This intentionally designed four-year journey combines outstanding teaching, personalized advising and unparalleled out-of-the-classroom experiences. Over the course of their time at Earlham, our students form life-long friendships with one another and their professors. They have the agency to ask questions and feel heard. And they graduate with all of the tools necessary to thrive in their careers.
Through the EPIC Advantage, Earlham guarantees up to $5,000 for every student to participate in at least one fully funded internship, research experience or community-based project before graduation. Many of our students participate in more than one, and many of these experiences are based in Indianapolis, greatly increasing the likelihood that students will consider Indiana a destination to begin their careers.
Private institutions like ours often have a reputation for being too costly and out of reach for the average Hoosier family. But at Earlham, we’re committed to changing that perception. One student recently described Earlham as “an elite college without the elitism,” and I couldn’t agree more. Through programs like INspire Earlham, we are actively ensuring that a world-class education is within reach for every student — especially those in our own backyard.
Anne Houtman is president of Earlham College.
