In a span of about three years, the relationship between the Indiana University Bloomington campus and what is now Ivy Tech Community College has gone from stand-off-ish to extraordinary.

The latest example of that came Friday, when IU and Ivy Tech announced a program that is cutting edge for Indiana and possibly every place else in the nation. At least no one involved here has found a similar model.

Here's how it works: One hundred fifty students who have applied to IU but don't quite meet the university's toughened admission standards will be admitted to Ivy Tech's Bloomington campus. While living a year in an IU residence hall, the students will take 27 credit hours - 21 at Ivy Tech and six at IU. They will receive joint advising from the two institutions. If they complete their work with a 2.5 grade point average or above, they will be admitted to IU, and their credits will be applied there.

The students will not be taking remedial courses, but rather general education courses at the state's community college. This is the seamless education that policy makers like to talk about.

"This is a very important agreement," said Ivy Tech-Bloomington Chancellor John Whikehart. "We have come a long way in the relationship with Indiana University Bloomington." About 300 credit hours now transfer from Ivy Tech to IUB, compared to 39 about three years ago.

Whikehart deserves some of the credit for that. So does IU President Adam Herbert, who has been a willing partner in working with Ivy Tech. Many faculty members on both campuses also have worked hard to better the relationship.

This all adds up to better educational opportunities for more Hoosiers. That's good for all of us.

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