Indianapolis—
Ivy Tech Community College President Thomas J. Snyder was selected by President Barack Obama to serve on a Roundtable on Affordability and Productivity in Higher Education at the White House in Washington, D.C. Monday.The roundtable also includes Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, as well as senior White House advisors. The roundtable discussion will explore effective practices to promote affordability and productivity in higher education. Only a small group of college presidents were invited to participate and directly engage with President Obama in a candid conversation designed to explore how America can best restore its leadership in higher education attainment by removing barriers to college access, affordability and success for students.
Global competitiveness has made it more important than ever to attain higher education, but the cost of college has nearly tripled over the past three decades, forcing students to take out more loans and rack up more debt in pursuit of the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in a twenty-first century economy.
The invite follows President Snyder’s previous invitation to attend the first ever White House Summit on Community Colleges in October 2010 and Ivy Tech hosting a regional White House Summit earlier this spring.
Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest public post-secondary institution and the nation’s largest singly-accredited statewide community college system with more than 200,000 students enrolled annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.
