The good news last week that Ivy Tech Community College had surpassed a capital campaign goal for its Bloomington campus overshadowed another positive announcement about Ivy Tech.

Also last week, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education gave approval for Ivy Tech's Bloomington campus to offer an associate of science degree in education with a concentration in elementary education.

The approval is good for Ivy Tech and for education in general. Ivy Tech will be better equipped to prepare students for careers in our schools.

There is a need for more teachers with greater knowledge in mathematics and science. Students can start at Ivy Tech and build a foundation in those subjects before transferring after two years to Indiana State University to continue toward a baccalaureate degree in elementary education.

Ivy Tech-Bloomington Chancellor John Whikehart said he hopes a similar agreement can be worked out with IU soon.

"We are very pleased that graduates with this degree will be able to transfer to Indiana State University's Elementary Education baccalaureate program," he said in a news release. "It is our hope that our local partner at Indiana University-Bloomington will also agree in the very near future to accept this degree for transfer to its School of Education. I am confident that the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and the Legislature would view that as a very positive development."

The new degree program is another way Ivy Tech is playing a part when it comes to supporting the needs of the state's work force.

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