Gov. Braun announces new diploma partnerships INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana’s top high school graduates will receive a host of perks under new diploma seal partnerships announced Wednesday. Gov. Mike Braun said the partnerships with Indiana universities, employers, and the National Guard follow months of negotiations and meetings. He called Wednesday’s announcement “the single most significant thing we can do” for high school graduates. Beginning with the class of 2029, all Indiana high school students will complete the New Indiana Diploma, which requires them to complete a total of 42 credits, up from 40 under the current Core 40 Diploma. In addition, students may earn Honors and Honors Plus seals under the categories of Enrollment, Employment, or Enlistment and Service. Under the partnerships Braun announced, students who earn an Enrollment Honors Plus seal will be guaranteed automatic acceptance into all public colleges and universities in the state. Indiana University President Pamela Whitten and Purdue University President Mung Chiang said this will apply to all of the campuses in their respective university systems. The list also includes Ivy Tech, Ball State, and Indiana State. “The state will let our institutions know in September, and then students who are on track to get this Honors Plus seal, they’ll know and we’ll know,” Purdue University Provost Patrick Wolfe said, “and then once they do a few standard things like submit some test scores and stay on track academically their senior year, then you’ll get admission to not only Purdue and IU, but the entirety of the state educational institutions, and then students will have their choice of where they want to go. I think it’s going to be fabulous.” If a student wants to go straight into the workforce right after high school, such as to enter the skilled trades, the Employment Honors Plus seal will include dedicated career support and connecting students through interviews. Several major Indiana-based employers have agreed to take part, including Lilly, Cummins, and Community Health Network. In addition, students who complete either the Employment Honors or Employment Honors Plus seal will be eligible for direct entry into the Central Midwest Carpenters Union apprenticeship. Braun’s office said state officials are pursuing a similar partnership with Operating Engineers Local 150. Braun said he considers this seal to be the most potentially impactful of any of them. He said when his brother, Steve Braun, was commissioner of the Department of Workforce Development between 2014 and 2017, the state struggled to fill those jobs. “We had 65,000 jobs then that would have paid salaries and wages more than most four-year degrees,” Braun said. “But in school systems like mine, there was no guidance into it because there was still the misconception that the only way you can be successful is getting a four-year degree, not even looking at enlistment and employment, where most kids go.” The Enlistment and Service Honors Plus Seal, which requires a score of 50 or higher on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery or enrollment in either a service academy or a ROTC program, among other things, would allow graduates to earn college credit from the training they complete in the Indiana National Guard. Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner said students will not be locked into the seal paths once they choose them. She said if a student wishes to change their seal late in their high school career, they will be able to do so, though they might need to take some summer coursework. ...read more read less