More Indiana college degree programs could be at risk amid an ongoing national battle over the future of higher education.
An Indiana bill, written by a conservative think tank based in Florida, would deny grants and scholarships administered by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to college degree programs that don’t provide a sufficient return on investment for graduates, just less than a year after lawmakers forced colleges to eliminate or merge hundreds of degrees.
Senate Bill 161 is based off of a similar provision in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which blocks federal student loans and other aid from “low earning” degrees.
Under the bill, a degree is determined to be “low earning” if the median wage of a program’s cohort falls below the median wage of someone between 24 and 35 with only a high school degree, said Foundation for Government Accountability senior fellow Christian Barnard, who drafted the bill’s language.
That’s not a high bar, Barnard said during a Senate Education Committee hearing Jan. 7, as the annual median wage of a working Hoosier with only a high school diploma is $33,500.
“Programs where graduates earn less than that are failing to deliver real economic value for students,” Barnard said. “Senate Bill 161 ensures that Indiana does not continue to subsidize programs that leave students worse off and burdened with debt.”
Proponents, including Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner, pitched the bill as an accountability measure for schools, and a transparency effort for students and families.
“I always say, ‘let’s make sure what we’re selling is as advertised,’” Jenner said.
The proposal comes on the heels of a sweeping provision slipped in late last legislative session that required colleges to scrap programs that fell below a certain enrollment quota. Colleges proactively cut and consolidated more a fifth of the state’s degrees, impacting fields ranging from dance to biotechnology. It’s all part of an ongoing effort to tighten oversight over higher education, which has seen climbing price tags and heightened scrutiny over curriculum.
It’s unclear what type of program would qualify as “low earning” under this new legislation. On average, a bachelor’s degree from a public university in Indiana returns between $151,00 and $263,000 after 10 years, while return on investment for private universities is far more wide-ranging. Nationally, median early career wages range from $40,000 for a foreign language degree to $80,000 for a computer science degree, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
But whatever programs determined to be “low earning” could face trouble. With less access to scholarships and aid, some students may elect to choose a different path of study, potentially sinking enrollment below the quotas set by the law enacted last year.
When Utah implemented a similar, though more extensive, provision, schools recommended eliminating 270 programs across eight universities, according to the Foundation.
The Senate Education heard testimony on the bill, indicating lawmakers are serious about the proposal, but the committee has not yet taken a vote.
Contact breaking politics reporter Marissa Meador at mmeador@gannett.com or find her on X at @marissa_meador.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana colleges already nixed hundreds of degrees. This national group’s push could risk more
Reporting by Marissa Meador, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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