Indiana University and Ivy Tech Community College are collaborating on a new program that lets IU-bound students start their college career with courses at Ivy Tech Bloomington.

If the students complete requirements, Indiana University Bloomington will admit them and their Ivy Tech credits will count toward degrees from IU.

Campus leaders from the two institutions were scheduled to sign an agreement today authorizing the program, called Hoosier Link. They said it is unique in Indiana and possibly in the United States.

"This innovative program will allow more Indiana students to realize their dream of receiving a college education on the IU Bloomington campus," IU President Adam Herbert said in a statement.

John Whikehart, chancellor of Ivy Tech Bloomington, called it "an excellent demonstration of how Indiana's new two-year community college and its premier four-year university can work together to best meet the needs of Indiana students."

Each fall, the IU admissions office will refer about 150 IU applicants to Hoosier Link.

The students will enroll at Ivy Tech, but they will live in IU dorms and have access to IU technology accounts, parking services, student activities and recreational sports facilities. Students from the Bloomington area may live at home.

The students must take at least 10 credit-hours at Ivy Tech and a three-credit IU course each semester of their first year. When they complete 26 Ivy Tech credits, they will be eligible to enroll at IU.

They will receive advising from both schools and take part in activities to improve their odds of success, such as special orientation, skill-enhancement workshops, community service and mentoring.

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