Addressing the teacher shortage: Purdue’s partnership with Ivy Tech gives “assured admission” to transfer students

Students who want to become teachers and educators in Indiana have a smoother path today with “assured admission” – if they successfully complete an associate’s degree at Ivy Tech Community College and are enrolled in a Purdue University Transfer Single Articulation Pathway (TSAP) Program, they are automatically admitted to the Purdue College of Education’s bachelor’s degree program.

TSAP is an initiative by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education in which students may complete an associate’s degree at an Indiana community college and are automatically given the opportunity to pursue the TSAP plan. Those credits then count towards their bachelor’s degree, so by the time they transfer to Purdue they have already essentially completed half of their bachelor’s degree.

“This partnership is helping to address the Indiana Teacher shortage,” said Jennifer Barce, assistant dean for Teacher Education in the Purdue University College of Education, “because it offers an additional path to a teaching career that students can enter and be confident that they’ll be able to complete at Purdue.”

Besides the ease of transferring from Ivy Tech to Purdue, another benefit of this program is that students are able to save money by beginning their college journey close to home before finishing at Purdue. Ivy Tech has 43 locations throughout Indiana, including Lafayette, Kokomo, Terre Haute, Madison, Columbus, Evansville, and East Chicago.

“You’re doing a really smart thing by saving and studying at Ivy Tech, then finishing in this great professional Education program at Purdue,” Barce said.

There is also an Ivy Tech Scholarship available for those transferring from Ivy Tech into the TSAP program to help with the cost of Purdue tuition; candidates can apply for this once they enroll.

One of the many great things about Purdue is how the University welcomes students from all backgrounds, including community college transfer students. Transfer students are real Boilermakers. “We value our Ivy Tech transfers – they’re very successful,” Barce said.

“This important agreement with our partners at Ivy Tech is but one of a number of creative and innovative ways the College of Education at Purdue is addressing the teacher shortage in Indiana—especially in the very high need area of special education,” said Phillip J. VanFossen, interim dean of the College. “We are excited because this agreement makes it simpler and easier complete what we think is the best teacher preparation program in the state.”

Source: Jennifer Barce, jbarce@purdue.edu