Bloomington’s Ivy Tech among fastest-growing US community colleges

Ivy Tech Community College

By Sarah Morin
331-4363 | smorin@heraldt.com
December 8, 2007

Bloomington’s Ivy Tech is the third fastest-growing community college in the country for its size, according to Community College Week.

In fact, 11 regions or campuses of Ivy Tech Community College are listed among the fastest-growing community colleges in the weekly report.

Ivy Tech announced the news Friday in a release.

The Bloomington campus at 200 Daniels Way ranks third among community colleges with enrollment between 2,500 and 4,999. The numbers are based on enrollment figures for the fall 2006 semester.

Ivy Tech in Bloomington exceeded a head count of 5,000 students this fall.

“Ivy Tech — Bloomington is engaged in meeting the needs of our community, whether those needs are credits that can be transferred to our four-year partners or certificates and degrees that allow our students to meet the workforce education needs of the community. We are growing rapidly, and the campus will need additional resources to continue to fulfill the needs of the communities it serves,” John Whikehart, Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington chancellor, said in a prepared statement.

Since moving to a new building west of the city, the campus has seen enrollment almost double. It forged a positive relationship with Indiana University, solidified its role in training the area’s workforce and raised more than $5 million in its first capital campaign.

In all, 77,013 students were enrolled on Ivy Tech’s 23 campuses, according to an August news release from the college — up 10.3 percent from a year ago. And the release today said Ivy Tech’s growth statewide has more than doubled its enrollment from 50,752 students in 1990 to more than 110,000 this fall semester.

Other campuses or regions ranked by Community College Week:

• Ivy Tech’s Indianapolis region ranked ninth among schools with an enrollment of 10,000 students or more.

• Ivy Tech’s Richmond region ranked 11th, Southeast ranked 24th and Columbus ranked 48th among schools with an enrollment of less than 2,500 students.

• Ivy Tech’s Sellersburg region ranked 17th, Kokomo ranked 26th and Northwest ranked 42nd among schools with an enrollment of 2,500 to 4,999 students.

• Ivy Tech’s Terre Haute region ranked 21st , Fort Wayne ranked 35th and Lafayette ranked 48th among schools with an enrollment of 5,000 to 9,999 students.