More than 200 students are graduating with associate degrees earned on an accelerated timeline, thanks to a special program for at-risk high school students offered by Ivy Tech Community College.
Associate degrees typically take two years of schooling. But the "Associate Accelerated Program" — ASAP for short — helped the students earn their degrees in just one year.
To do so, they attend school nearly 40 hours a week.
The school says 400 students are signed up for the program next year. A total of 1,000 have enrolled since its inception in 2010.
ASAP prepares enrollees to transfer to four-year colleges. It targets students facing life or family issues that could otherwise prevent them from completing a degree. Many are the first in their family to attend college.