INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mitch Daniels wants every high school graduate in Indiana to attend college for at least two years — and he is working on a proposal that would have the state pick up the tab for more of them to do just that.
Daniels doesn’t yet know how much it would cost, how the state would pay for the plan or exactly which students would get two years of free tuition at Ivy Tech Community College or equivalent at another school.
But he said sending more students to college — even for two years — would be a huge step forward for young people and the Indiana economy.
Indiana ranks 41st among states for the percentage of adults with an associate degree or higher, according to a 2008 Indiana Chamber of Commerce report.
“We’ve got so many young people who graduate from high school without any hope or maybe even aspiration to go to school,” Daniels said Wednesday. “I’d like to change their aspirations.”
The state could consider several options to pay for the plan, Daniels said, including reviving his contentious proposal to lease the state lottery or shifting state money from other programs. Raising taxes would be a last resort, he said.
Daniels asked for ideas from leaders of Indiana colleges and universities who gathered at a higher education conference Wednesday at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Daniels told the crowd he wanted all high school graduates to be able to attend two years of college.
