Indiana lawmakers on Monday revisited a controversial provision in Senate Bill 199 that would require state officials to scrutinize and potentially eliminate certain low-wage college degree programs offered at Indiana’s public institutions.
A vote is expected on the bill Wednesday.
The Commission for Higher Education would be directed to review programs whose graduates earn median wages below set thresholds — ranging roughly from $24,000 to $35,000, depending on the credential — and take action following additional analysis and public reporting.
The bill would operate alongside other ongoing higher education review efforts already underway in Indiana, including recent CHE crackdowns to cut or merge hundreds of low-enrollment or duplicative degree programs statewide.
The provision prompted concerns from multiple Democrats about limiting student choice.
Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner told lawmakers the intent is not to devalue careers, but to ensure families understand the financial outcomes tied to different postsecondary paths before students take on significant debt.
She emphasized that wage data should be part of a broader conversation about workforce needs, student debt and transparency.
She declined to name any specific degree programs of concern, though.
“Let’s say it’s underwater basket weaving that 40 kids in Indiana have signed up for and they’re set to make $12,000 a year, and they’ve paid $20,000 per year (for the degree) and are now — like the average child in Indiana — $30,000 in debt,” she said. “That may be a program we look at … and I’ll do it every day, all day long.”
Rep. Tonya Pfaff, D-Terre Haute, pushed back, arguing that earnings should not determine whether programs exist.
“It’s called freedom. The parents and the students get to make that choice. ‘Hey, I’m going to be so-and-so and only make $12,000’ — that’s my choice. I’m going to put $100,000 in my education. It’s my choice to be whatever,” she said. “This is about choice.”
Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, additionally argued that the state would be overstepping its role by second-guessing universities’ academic judgments and students’ personal choices, especially in fields that are “less lucrative” but still culturally and intellectually important.
He said the core issue is who gets to decide what kind of future students pursue.
DeLaney said he has no issue with the state “drowning” students with information about costs, debt and likely earnings. But he objected to using that data to shut down programs entirely.
“In my view, this is a form of Stalinism. We know what’s best for our people, and we tell them to do it, and I don’t think that’s what the Republican philosophy should be,” DeLaney said.
“Don’t you be telling them that you’re out, that your program is shut down, and you can’t study that at our universities,” he continued. “That’s just going to narrow the field of knowledge, the field of study, the field of opportunity for people.”
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