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Grace College and Ivy Tech Community College have agreed to a process that will facilitate the awarding of an associate degree to previous Ivy Tech students who have transferred to Grace prior to completion of an associate degree.
The reverse transfer agreement allows students to obtain credentials while completing courses toward their bachelor’s degree.
“Ivy Tech and Grace share the common mission of helping our students’ succeed, and reverse transfer becomes a first credential for many of those students along their career pathway,” said Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann.
“Research also suggests that students who receive a degree through reverse transfer are even more likely to complete their baccalaureate,” she said.
An associate degree is an educational milestone in career and educational advancement, according to a joint news release from the two schools. Earning an associate degree can contribute to earning potential in the workplace and helps individuals become more marketable for career opportunities, the release states.
"We are very pleased to partner with Ivy Tech to make a post-secondary degree available to more students,” said Grace College President Bill Katip. “It's our hope that by earning an associate degree, students will be more motivated to continue their educational attainment and more marketable in the future."
Students must have completed a minimum of 15 credit hours from Ivy Tech and be a currently enrolled Grace College undergraduate with at least 75 total college credit hours to be eligible for reverse transfer.
Upon review of their official transcript, an Ivy Tech associate degree will be conferred to qualified students.
Ivy Tech has signed reverse transfer agreements with several state-supported and independent colleges of Indiana institutions with the hopes of continuing to expand these efforts to increase Indiana’s college attainment level.
Others include Purdue University, Indiana State University, University of Southern Indiana, Western Governors University, Trine University, Indiana Tech, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, Indiana Wesleyan University’s national and global campus, University of Evansville and Marian University.
Ivy Tech Community College is the state's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system. Ivy Tech serves nearly 200,000 students annually and has campuses throughout Indiana.
Grace College is an accredited, Christ-centered institution of higher education located in Winona Lake. The school offers associate degrees, more than 70 undergraduate degrees in both traditional four-year and accelerated three-year degree formats, a bachelor’s degree completion program and on-campus and online graduate degrees.
