State colleges except Ivy Tech and Vincennes would offer faster graduate programs

State colleges with a two-year graduate program in mental or behavioral health would have to assess whether students could finish it sooner. This would apply to state colleges that offer a two-year graduate degree in mental or behavioral health, except Ivy Tech Community College and Vincennes University. The review would assess whether full-time students could finish in one year, or in five years when the graduate program is combined with a bachelor's degree.

Each covered state college would have to offer at least one graduate degree program with a faster path for full-time students. The proposed requirement would apply to each state college except Ivy Tech Community College and Vincennes University. The program would have to be in a listed field, such as social work, counseling, or psychology. Each covered college would have to offer a qualifying program no later than July 1, 2028.

Covered state colleges would have to report on qualifying programs, and the Commission for Higher Education would have to post the reports online. The proposed reports would concern qualifying graduate programs offered by covered state colleges. The first report would cover each program offered to meet the requirement. The later report would include program descriptions, estimated student savings, enrollment and completion figures for the prior four academic years, and other information the commission requests. The first reports would be due by November 1, 2028. The four-year data reports would be due by November 1, 2032.

The Commission for Higher Education would be allowed to count qualifying degrees completed on time when applying its higher education funding formula. This would apply to degrees from the qualifying programs described in the bill. The commission could choose whether to count these degrees; the bill would not require it.

The proposed chapter would expire. The proposed chapter would cover graduate programs in mental or behavioral health and the related requirements described in this bill. The chapter would expire July 1, 2033.