(Indianapolis, IN) - The number of high school graduates going to college in Indiana has declined.  According to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, over 53 percent of Indiana high school graduates from 2020 went on to college or continued their education in some other manner.  That was a six-percent decline from the previous year,

 

The ICHE also revealed the number of students with high school diplomas pursuing a less than one year certification or four year degrees has diminished by 12-percent over the five previous years.

 

“Indiana’s sharp one-year college-going decline is alarming, and we have to treat it as such. We know individual lives and the state’s economy depend on and thrive with an educated society,” said Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Chris Lowery.

 

Lowery is calling for robust and thoughtful action to stem the decline.  “We must look beyond the traditional approaches to education for both youth and adult learners. This demands more intentional partnerships with our higher education institutions and employers, as well as strengthened policies and programming aligned to student success,” he said.

 

COVID-19 was cited as a likely factor in the sharp decline in 2020.  No reasons were given for the drop in the years prior to the start of the pandemic.