Indiana Renews Ivy Tech Inmate Education Partnership

A 10-year renewal expands workforce training and high school equivalency programs across the state's correctional facilities.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Adult Education

Indiana Renews Ivy Tech Inmate Education Partnership

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Should Indiana spend more public money on prison education programs?

The Indiana Department of Correction has renewed a 10-year partnership with Ivy Tech to provide educational services to incarcerated people. Enrollment in correctional education programs has grown by more than 3,000 students since 2021.

Why it matters

Expanded workforce training inside prisons is intended to prepare incarcerated people for employment and life after release. The partnership covers 15 adult facilities across Indiana, affecting thousands of residents statewide.

Annual program completions climbed from 1,272 in 2021 to 2,833 in 2025, according to Indiana Department of Correction figures. The data does not yet show how many completers have gone on to find employment after release.

The players

Indiana Department of Correction

The state agency responsible for administering Indiana's adult prisons and the inmate education programs run within them.

Ivy Tech Community College

Indiana's statewide public community college system, which supplies the instructors and certification programs delivered inside correctional facilities.

Gov. Mike Braun

Indiana's governor, who directed the Department of Correction to expand reentry employment opportunities.

The details

Ivy Tech will supply 140 instructors who teach welding, culinary arts, cosmetology and basic adult education for high school equivalency at correctional facilities. Services reach 6,500 incarcerated people across the state's 15 adult facilities.

2021: Baseline year for the enrollment and completion growth figures.
2025: Annual completions reached 2,833, and Gov. Braun directed the department to advance reentry employment opportunities.
Nov. 9, 2026: The renewed 10-year partnership was announced from Indianapolis.

Seasonal Patterns

Indiana's completion count more than doubled between 2021 and 2025, from 1,272 to 2,833, a rise the Department of Correction attributes to expanded Ivy Tech programming. The renewal locks in that trajectory for another decade rather than reversing it.

Families of incarcerated Indiana residents may find that more of the state's correctional facilities now offer certificate and high school equivalency programs. Those seeking to enroll in Ivy Tech courses through the department should contact facility staff for eligibility rules, which the source does not detail.

The takeaway

Expanded in-prison education is tracking upward in Indiana, with completions more than doubling since 2021. Readers interested in reentry outcomes should watch for future data on employment and reoffending among completers.