Education on the Facts on Indiana Adult Education

By Rob Moore & Jenn Wigginton

Our Advocacy Committee and lobbyist, Joe Loftus of Barnes & Thornburg, have been working hard to advance our interests in the General Assembly. We were pleased that the  Governor’s proposed budget included an allocation for adult education of $16.9 million in 2023-2024 and $20.9 million for 2024-2025. This proposed allocation represented an increase of $4 million over the biennium, the only increase since 2005. We hoped to use those increases to eliminate our waiting lists of adults and employers who want our services. But we were disappointed when the House passed a budget that removed those increases and returned the adult education allocation to $12.9 million yearly. But hope is not lost. The budget is now under consideration in the Senate. The Committee, lobbyist and several program directors are educating the senators on the Appropriations Committee about how cost-effective and high-performing we are, as well as the differences between DWD Adult Education, adult charter high schools (e.g., Excel Centers), and the Workforce Diploma Program currently operated by Graduation Alliance). So we hope to get the increases to DWD Adult Education restored in the Senate version of the budget and ultimately approved by both houses of the Legislature. At this time, it has not been announced when they will vote. The best guess by Joe is within two weeks.

Indiana Adult Education, governed by the Department of Workforce Development, has 55 providers across the state that provide high school equivalency diploma preparation and testing, career certification training, on-site employer classes, digital skills training, and English language classes.

IN Adult Ed serves over 20,000 students annually and is in all 92 counties with 250 class locations. Sites are embedded in the community to serve the communities.

IN Adult Ed is the most efficient and effective form of adult learning model with the lowest per-student and per-graduate cost compared to other adult learning options.

Indiana serves adult learners through two primary instructional models, federally and state approved Adult Education programs and state approved Adult High Schools. While the students served through these two options can be similar, the services offered, funding mechanisms, and outcomes differ. While each program provides different services, there are two overlapping metrics: student enrollment and graduates. Adult Education metrics are prescribed by WIOA, while individual charter authorizers determine Adult High School metrics.

The average time to completion for an In Adult Education student is 19.4 weeks versus 73 weeks for Adult High Schools. IN Adult Education produced 4744 graduates in the 2020-2021 program year versus the Adult High Schools 840.

We need to educate our legislatures and communities about the differences. We can all co-exist and educate to make a better Indiana.

Jenn Wigginton

Jenn is the IAACE Executive Director. Her passion for adult education shines through in everything she does for IAACE. You can invite her to a chat for questions anytime. Click here to book a time to chat with Jenn