TERRE HAUTE, Ind – One student, one partnership, and one program of the Ivy Tech Community College Terre Haute campus were selected to receive Awards for Excellence from the Indiana Department of Education, presented February 18 at the Indiana Career and Technical Education (CTE) Awards ceremony at the Indiana Government Center in Indianapolis.
Ivy Tech Terre Haute’s Information Technology Support program won an Award for Excellence for Outstanding Career and Technical Education Program. Ivy Tech Terre Haute and the Department of Correction (IDOC) won an Award for Excellence for Outstanding Career and Technical Education Partnership. Jerika Powell earned a Student Award for Excellence.
Statewide, Ivy Tech earned awards for eight programs and seven partnerships. Eleven Ivy Tech students also received awards.
The partnership between Ivy Tech Community College Terre Haute, the Indiana Department of Correction, Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, and Hoosier Initiative for Re-Entry was established in 2018 as part of Governor Holcomb’s Next Level Agenda prepare offenders to re-enter the workforce.
“The partnership between the Indiana Department of Correction and Ivy Tech Community College has resulted in many graduates being prepared for the job market immediately upon their release from incarceration,” said Richard Brown, Warden of the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. “Finding employment to support themselves is key to their success and becoming productive citizens in their local communities.”
Of offenders who graduated from the program, 60% have gained employment upon release. Twelve cohorts totaling 106 student offenders with a 93.4% completion rate were awarded 236 certifications in National Institute of Metalworking Skills, American Welding Society, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These certifications qualify graduates for higher pay rates and stable employment upon re-entering the workforce. Upon release from incarceration, ex-offenders are also qualified to further their education in Ivy Tech associate degree programs in Machine Tool Technology or Industrial Technology.
Ivy Tech’s Information Technology (I.T.) Support program equips students to become computer support professionals who can build and maintain computing systems and resolve computer related issues. Students in the program can earn industry recognized certifications embedded into their coursework, so when they graduate with their associate degree, they will also have earned these certifications, including A+, Security+, Network+, and CCENT.
The I.T. Support program has an active advisory board to ensure local workforce needs are continuing to be met. As a result of the advisory board’s input, the program has embedded more team projects and formal presentations to ensure that graduates have communication and teamwork skills that are required for any I.T. professional.
Student Jerika Powell is close to graduating from the medical assisting program.
“Jerika is a leader and this shows every day in class,” said Kylie Bridge, Medical Assisting program chair. “I can almost guarantee that every class session she has a question as soon as I walk into the room. She is hungry for knowledge and to know everything in the medical field.”
The Indiana Career and Technical Education Awards for Excellence program identifies and celebrates career and technical education students, programs, active partnerships that contribute to high quality career and technical education, guidance/career services displaying excellence in Indiana, and outstanding contributors to careers in technical education in Indiana.
There is still time to enroll in Ivy Tech classes that begin March 16. To learn more about the I.T. Support program, visit ivytech.edu/information-technology-support. To learn about Machine Tool Technology or Industrial Technology visit ivytech.edu/machine-tool-technology/ or ivytech.edu/industrial-technology/.