1. Using Data to inform And Evaluate Indiana’s On-Time Completion Policies
Joshua Garrison
Director of Policy and Legislation
Indiana Commission for Higher Education

2. Indiana’s Attainment Gap
Indiana adopted the big goal that 60% of Hoosiers will hold quality degrees or credentials beyond high school by 2025
Indiana is 41st in the nation for college attainment
Currently, only 40.9% hold a degree or high quality non-degree credential

3. Indiana’s Completion Challenge
Only a third of Indiana's four-year college students graduate on time and just over half graduate after six years
Only 8.2% of the state's two-year college students complete on time and less than a third graduate within six years.
Indiana cannot meet its attainment goal without increasing on-time completion

4. The Data
Annually the Commission prepares reports on completion, college readiness, student ROI and 21st Century Scholar Success
The Commission publishes the data it uses to inform and evaluate its policies
The reports are made interactive to allow partners to view local information

5. Performance Funding

6. Performance Funding Overview
Indiana implemented performance funding in 2003 as an incentive for research institutions
Since 2003, the model has shifted to focus on outputs directly related to student success, completion and economic needs.
Completion is primary metric: Funds go to overall completion, on-time completion and Pell completion
Mission driven metrics: Differentiating metrics based on type of institution—two-year, four-year comprehensive, four-year research.

7. Performance Metrics Performance Metrics
Overall Completion (All Institutions)
On-Time Completion Rate (All Institutions)
At-Risk (Pell) Completion (All Institutions)
High-Impact (STEM) Completion (Research Campuses)
Student Persistence (Excludes Research Campuses)
Remediation Success Rate (2-year Institutions)
The above metrics and per unit values have not changed in three biennia
Compares two three-year averages (average of 2010, 2011, 2012) vs. (2013, 2014, 2015)

8. TOTAL ON-TIME RATE INCREASES All 16 Public Campuses Increased On-Time Grad Rate

9. STATEWIDE RESIDENT FULL-TIME EQUIVALENCY DECREASING Only Indiana Residents Included in Performance Funding

10. TOTAL OVERALL DEGREES & CERTIFICATES AWARDED Increasing Despite Statewide Drop in Full-Time Equivalency Increasing at All Degree Levels

11. Key Takeaways
Performance funding is contributing to an increase in on-time and overall completion
Maintaining metrics and per-unit values has provided institutions with time to plan and react to metrics
Performance funding alone is not enough to increase completion rates at the pace Indiana needs

12. Using Financial Aid to Incentivize On-Time Completion

13. Indiana’s State Financial Aid
Indiana devotes more than $300 million per year in need based aid towards the 21st Century Scholarship and the Frank O’Bannon Grant
Indiana Ranks 7th in the nation and 1st in the Midwest for need-based funding per student
These programs enable more than 85,000 students to attend college each year

14. Return on Investment: Four-Year Institutions

15. Return on Investment: Two-Year Institutions

16. The Importance of On-Time Completion
In Indiana, on-time graduation is critical: students may only receive four years of state aid
What would financial aid recipients do if they ran out of eligibility before graduation?
73% said they would take out more debt
13% said they would drop out
75% of financial aid recipients expected to graduate on time, but less than half were enrolled in 15+ hours

17. Financial Aid Reforms
Many financial aids reforms were implemented in response to the low on-time and overall graduation rates
These included:
The Scholar Success Program
Increased GPA requirements
Incentives for academic achievement and accelerated credit completion
Credit Completion requirements for renewal

18. Credit Completion
21st Century Scholars who enroll fall 2013 or later must meet the 30/60/90 credit benchmarks to renew their scholarship
O’Bannon recipients must meet the 30/60/90 credit thresholds to renew the full grant
Discounted “safety net” award for 24/48/72 credit thresholds available to Scholars and O’Bannon recipients

19. Credits Attempted: Four-Year Institutions
24.2% Increase

20. Credits Attempted: Two-Year Institutions
20.8% Increase

21. Credits Completed: Four-Year Institutions

22. Credits Completed: Two-Year Institutions

23. Retention and Persistence
Many were concerned credit completion would decrease retention and persistence for financial aid recipients
However, after year one, 21st Century Scholar retention increased by 2.6% at four-year institutions and 4% at two-year institutions
Overall persistence at any institution saw similar increases

24. Key Takeaways The higher the expectations, the higher the outcomes
Student incentives are institutional incentives
Focus on annual completion
More research is needed

25. Creating a Pathway to On-Time Completion

26. Other Completion Policies
Credit Creep Legislation
In 2012, 90% of degree programs exceeded the 60/120 credit threshold
Institutions required institution to justify programs for programs exceeding the 60/120 credit threshold
One year later, 90 percent of post-secondary programs met the 60/120 credit threshold
Degree Maps
Institutions must provide a term by term sequence which allows a student to complete on-time
If a course is not available during the term required by the map, the institution must provide the course at no charge

27. Other Completion Policies
Statewide Transfer General Education Core
Enables a student who satisfactorily completes an approved program of general education to transfer that coursework to any other state educational institution as a block of 30 credit hours towards the general education core requirements
Transfer Single Articulation Pathway
Students completing an associate degree in specific areas may transfer without having to retake a course
Allows for seamless 2+2 transfer and completion

28. Director of Policy and Legislation
Questions?
Josh Garrison
Director of Policy and Legislation