Lubbers Weighs In on Future of ‘Higher Learning’
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana’s commissioner for higher education says many colleges and universities are reporting higher enrollment, despite the current period of near-full employment when many people choose the workforce over school. However, Teresa Lubbers expects much of the future growth to come in "higher learning spaces," like apprenticeships and coding academies, rather than traditional colleges and universities. She says those programs tend to be "much more resilient to the changes in the economy."
During an interview with Inside INdiana Business Reporter Mary-Rachel Redman, she said the commission is focusing on telling adults they can work and complete their credentials at the same time.
In May, Purdue University said it was expecting an incoming freshman class of 8,300, the largest in school history. At the time, the school said that total is fueled in part by an increase in out-of-state students. Indiana University is also reporting its largest freshman class in its nearly 200-year history, with an all-time high of 15,909 freshman students on IU campuses.
"We’ve seen some of our private schools that have seen surprising increases," adds Lubbers, "at a time when people didn’t expect that."
Lubbers spoke with Inside INdiana Business while attending a viewing event for "State of Change," the documentary showing three Indiana students touring the state and interviewing executives in various industries.