INDIANAPOLIS — More than a dozen colleges and universities in Indiana will take part in a pilot survey to gauge the experiences and outcomes of their graduates. The Gallup-Indiana Survey received support from Indianapolis-based USA Funds and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Survey factors include college completion, career placement, student debt and learning outcomes.

The schools taking part in the inaugural program are:

• Ball State University
• Calumet College of St. Joseph
• Grace College and Seminary in Winona Lake
• Indiana University East
• Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
• Indiana University Kokomo
• Ivy Tech Community College
• Manchester University
• Purdue Northwest (Following unification of Purdue Calumet and Purdue North Central)
• Purdue University West Lafayette
• Taylor University
• Vincennes University
• Western Governors University Indiana

Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers tells Inside INdiana Business the initiative will involve surveys of alumni experiences and outcomes and yield the pilot Indiana College Value Index some time next year.

The data will include graduate satisfaction results and return on investment information, such as college completion, career placement, student debt and student learning outcomes. She says it was inspired by and similar to the Purdue-Gallup Index announced in December, 2013, and released for the first time last year, which involved surveys of 30,000 graduates nationwide.

“At a time when we are calling upon more Hoosiers to earn postsecondary degrees and credentials, we must find ways to measure and report the value of that education,” Lubbers said.

The project, which is billed as the first of its kind for a state, is supported by a $500,000 grant from USA Funds. The commission and participating schools will pick up the remaining tab. The commission says the index will provide “campus-level practices making the biggest difference in students’ lives long-term.”

Source: Inside Indiana Business