John Jay seeing a growth spurt

At 14 years old, John Jay Center for Learning has hit a growth spurt.
The Portland-based organization that focuses on post-secondary education has nearly 300 students taking classes through Ivy Tech this fall. That’s an increase of 43 percent from last fall and follows a 2014-15 school year in which John Jay saw its student population grow by 45 percent.
“The last two years, we’re growing at the 40-percent rate,” said John Jay executive director Rusty Inman. “I think people realize we’re here, know what we’re doing. I think there’s just a better understanding of what we’re doing. Higher education is so expensive, and I think parents are finally catching on because we have a lot of Jay County graduates ... that have come this year. I think they’ve realized that they can do their first year here.”
The official total for the fall semester is 295 students enrolled in Ivy Tech classes. That’s up from 207 at the same time last year, and is less than 100 away from the total student enrollment — 385 — for all of the 2014-15 school year.
Those numbers don’t include two groups totaling more than 30 students who are working in degree-focused programs through Indiana Wesleyan University.
Dakota Pettus, a 2015 Jay County High School graduate, noted the ability to take classes close to home rather than traveling to another campus in Muncie, New Castle, Richmond, Anderson or Marion, as one of the reasons he enrolled through John Jay.
Phillip Anderson, a Portland resident and 2013 JCHS graduate, is taking four classes — psychology, English, microcomputers and a first-year seminar — at John Jay, making it easier for him to also work a part-time job at Buffalo Wings and Rings.
Other students in Thursday evening’s Psychology 101 class agreed that eliminating travel time helped them juggle school, job and family.
“There’s no way I could take night classes four times a week in Muncie and have my kids and work,” said Dunkirk resident Natasha Cross. “It’s great.”
Nick Clemens, a 2015 JCHS graduate who has three classes at John Jay this semester and one at Muncie, said he’s not a fan of the drive and would much rather take all four at John Jay.
Drawing students to the Jay County campus has been a focus, said Inman, noting that the staff has tried to do a better job of promoting its positive assets. One of those, he said, is cost.
While the price tag for a typical four-year university could run more than $10,000 for a year’s worth of classes, Inman quoted the cost of transferable Ivy Tech courses through John Jay at approximately $3,600. Those numbers can be especially attractive given that a 2014 report from the Institute for College Access and Success reported that average student debt is nearing $30,000.
“It’s a lot cheaper than going to a big school,” said Anderson of John Jay. “And you get just as good of an education as you would there.”
Inman hopes to continue to expand the types of education John Jay can offer.
They have already delved into the humanities after previously focusing mostly on English, math and public speaking, offering the psychology class with professor Bonnie Willy this year. There will be more in the spring, with courses like sociology or music appreciation as possibilities.
Inman credited student services adviser Carolyn Carducci for talking with students about their needs and then working with Ivy Tech in order to make sure they are met.
In addition to offering a greater variety of Ivy Tech courses, Inman also hopes to give students great opportunities through IWU. That includes the possibility of offering an associate’s to bachelor’s degree program in high-demand fields such as business and nursing beginning in spring semester 2017.
Overall, the goal is for John Jay to identify educational opportunities that can help the community, continue to fill that niche and in the process see enrollment numbers continue to grow.
“People are starting to see the value. It’s good stuff,” said Inman. “I can’t put my finger on one thing we’re doing right, but I think it’s a lot of little things we’re doing right that are just causing the momentum to keep going.”