Book Description

Much of Indiana is sparsely populated and is concerned with agricultural activity; 70 percent of the state's population lives in its 13 metro areas. Partly because residents have done well without high levels of education, a small proportion of adults possess college degrees. Currently, many new jobs in Indiana are at the low end of services that pay very little compared with the manufacturing jobs they are replacing. If the state is to develop a healthy and diverse economy, it must build a "middle" into its service and work force. Due to declining white birth rates, minorities are increasingly becoming an important part of Indiana's future. A greater diversity of students without corresponding diversity within the school faculties to teach and to serve as appropriate role models could reduce the retention rate to high school graduation. Indiana's 72 institutions of higher education seem unusually attractive to nonresident students; thus, enrollment has remained fairly constant in numbers of students. Moreover, public higher education funding has been increasing. An increasingly important item for strategic planning in Indiana's institutions of higher education is the flexibility offered by the state's comparatively low tenure rate. (11 references) (KM)