Lowery reflects on tenure as state higher education commissioner
As Chris Lowery steps down today after more than three years as Indiana’s commissioner for higher education, he leaves behind a system he believes is better positioned to address the state’s persistent college-going decline, workforce demands, and new financial realities.
Lowery, who became commissioner in April 2022 after more than a decade at Ivy Tech Community College, embraced a mission from day one to make higher education more accessible and affordable for Hoosiers – and to ensure that investment paid off for the state’s employers.
When he arrived, Indiana’s college-going rate had fallen from 68% to 53% in a decade, and overall enrollment continued trending downward. His team conducted a “situation assessment” to identify the root causes: affordability barriers, low completion rates, and a postsecondary attainment goal the state wasn’t on track to meet. Indiana, with the Lumina Foundation, set a goal more than a decade ago to reach 60% postsecondary attainment by 2025.
“We really didn’t have an attainment level, postsecondary attainment level, that we should,” he reflects to your favorite education newsletter. “… There was a goal for 2025, and it was clear we weren’t going to make it.”
The task at hand was to begin changing the trajectory of Indiana’s dropping college-going numbers, a task Lowery recognizes as he exits is still not complete. Improvements have been made since he took office; enrollment at state universities and colleges is up, modestly, the college-going rate has largely held flat for the last three years (though it dipped some this year), and 21st Century Scholars enrollment is increasing, along with FAFSA filings.
But as Lowery likes to say, he’s “pleased, but not satisfied.” Challenges still exist with the general negative perception of higher education from the public (and some elected officials), as well as tightening budgets at the state that forced cuts in appropriations for Indiana’s public colleges and universities.
The findings when Lowery started in 2022 as commissioner drove his focus on boosting college-going and completion rates, particularly for low-income and adult learners. “You need to get people to go. Need to get them to complete. And then I selfishly want to keep them here in Indiana,” he explains.
The Highlight of His Career
In 2023, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education implemented the HOPE Agenda, with a goal to get Indiana to the top ten nationwide by 2030 in a number of categories, including college-going and attainment rates.
Under Lowery’s leadership, ICHE saw growing attention from the Indiana General Assembly, with several new laws affecting higher education in the last three years . . . both well-received laws and not-so-well-received laws.
Lowery – a former local public school board member – calls the automatic enrollment of eligible students into the 21st Century Scholars program his proudest accomplishment.
“Let me be really clear, the highlight of my 40-some-year career has been the 21st Century Scholars auto-enrollment. There is nothing I have done in my career… that will have [a] more long-lasting impact,” Commissioner Lowery enthuses. “That program changes lives, and now more students than ever will have that chance.”
The change means far more students will benefit from the program, and Lowery hopes that by 2027, when the first auto-enrolled class graduate high school, Indiana will see the tides turn on its college-going numbers.
Previously, families had to apply by the end of eighth grade. After the change in state law, enrollment in the program soared from roughly 20,000 students per class to about 190,000 total across four cohorts.
Lowery details, “So you think of those four cohorts, we would have had roughly 80,000 kids signed up… and instead, it’s around 190,000 …. That’s more than an additional 100,000 young people in Indiana who are going to get to do this.”
Under his tenure, the state also nearly quadrupled the number of high schools offering the Indiana College Core from 84 to more than 300, helping students save time and money on degrees. In the 2024 session, lawmakers beefed up the work even more by requiring schools to begin offering the College Core by October 1, 2024, or at least submit plans to implement it to ICHE.
“I got here and said, ‘Oh, hey, everybody, how many high schools offer this?’ And they said, ‘84.’ And I went, what? Why don’t all of them?” Lowery recalls, “It saves a student maybe up to a year, money, time, the whole thing.”
Another initiative, Indiana Pre-Admissions, automatically notifies high schoolers of the colleges they qualify for based on GPA and test scores, reaching close to 200,000 students and their families. “We adopted from the State of Idaho. We were second or third in the nation to do it,” Lowery asserts of the program.
Paired with Indiana’s new FAFSA completion requirement and expanded outreach to adult learners, Lowery believes those efforts have “made college more user-friendly” and removed barriers that long kept first-generation and low-income students from enrolling.
Reshaping Funding Priorities
Commissioner Lowery also oversaw a significant shift in how Indiana funds its public colleges. The commission’s performance funding formula, previously focused almost exclusively on completions, was retooled to also reward institutions for enrolling low-income and STEM students and improving access.
We unpack this later in this issue, but the Outcomes-Based Performance Funding formula, which Lowery contends is working for colleges, hit a bit of a bump in the road this year, as no new funding for incentives was allocated in the 2026-27 state budget. So, state colleges and universities, at least for this budget, will not be collecting that money for meeting the set performance goals.
Meanwhile, the commission worked with lawmakers to restore financial aid cuts made to the Frank O’Bannon Grant during the recession – a change Lowery says will direct roughly $250 million more in need-based grants to students through the end of the decade.
The Frank O’Bannon Grant, you may recall, last fall ran into a bit of a snag as well, when ICHE had to cut back on the awards for the grant that it had just increased the prior year due to changes in FAFSA qualifications, officials said at the time. Still, the commission defends that even with the cuts it had to make in 2024, the program remains one of the most generous in the nation, and again, the overall funding is still higher than it was two years prior.
In addition to the financial aid area, one of Commissioner Lowery’s last pushes (with the instruction and support of Governor Mike Braun (R)) this year was for a two-year tuition freeze at all public universities, a move that all university presidents ultimately agreed to.
“That’s remarkable,” he enthuses. “Indiana is leading in that. We don’t think another state has done that this year.”
Budget Tightening and Institutional Challenges
Even with that progress, on affordability, Lowery leaves as Indiana’s colleges face a lean budget cycle and new expectations from state leaders to operate more efficiently. This year’s budget cycle required all public campuses to file spending reduction plans to reduce budgets by five percent each fiscal year . . . after an additional five percent in cuts in state appropriations.
Lowery believes the reality of limited funding means institutions must make hard choices and rethink how they allocate resources, but he remains confident universities can adapt. He highlights that enrollment continues to be up at most state colleges and universities.
“I think they’re already handling it,” he tells us. “There is some amazing work going on. Those institutions, even during these challenging budget times, have said yes, and we’re going to do more of it. We figured out a way. They’ve reallocated resources, or they found philanthropic support. They’ve deployed their alumni, which, by the way, I think is brilliant.”
He adds, “I am quite bullish on higher ed here in Indiana.”
The commissioner also exits at a time in which higher education institutions faced increased scrutiny in Indiana, particularly from Republican lawmakers, who added multiple last-minute items regarding the state’s universities in the budget.
One law that’s taken up a lot of attention this year requires degree programs that fall below specific graduation thresholds over a three-year average to be reviewed by the commission and potentially eliminated. Per the law, programs will be reviewed if they fall below an average of 10 graduates for associate degrees, 15 for bachelor’s degrees, seven for master’s degrees, or three for doctoral or education specialist degrees.
But Lowery defends the degree program review process and thresholds set by the General Assembly. He thinks it was the right call, and he supported it. Lowery acknowledged that the policy drew emotional responses but argued that many supporters see the long-term benefit of aligning offerings with demand.
“What’s been interesting is now to have other states contacting us and saying, ‘So how are you approaching this one?’ We’re trying to approach it very, very, very methodically and thoughtfully,” Lowery tells us.
He stresses that the process first gave colleges the chance to act voluntarily, noting, “Those were voluntary actions that took place in July, and that we as a commission would support the institutions if they found those.” From the voluntary actions of the universities, so far, 404 programs across six institutions have been affected: 74 eliminated, 101 suspended, and 229 merged or consolidated.
Lowery contends the effort isn’t just about cutting programs but about allocating limited dollars more effectively. The number of degrees offered in Indiana over the past two decades has skyrocketed.
“Resources are finite,” he recognizes. “When you’re not spreading things too thin, then you’ll have a better chance of keeping great quality. You’ll have a better chance of meeting what the marketplace needs.”
The outgoing leader further explains that common feedback that he’s heard from students, and their families, looking to pursue higher education, is that the amount of degree program options can be overwhelming.
He adds that the commission aimed to balance accountability with flexibility. “It’s not just enrollment and completions, but how is this meeting the marketplace. What do placements look like? What do wages look like over X number of years?” Lowery details. He adds, “The thoughtfulness around it is really deep. I understand when people have concerns. I still feel very much so that it was the right thing to do.”
Battling Higher Ed’s Perception Problem
Lowery tells us the toughest challenge of his tenure wasn’t legislative or financial – it was changing public attitudes about college’s value.
Research commissioned by ICHE last year found that about 80% of Hoosier families believe higher education has value, but only about half of high school graduates enroll. Lowery, in part, blames the disconnect on persistent myths about cost, debt, and return on investment.
“The narrative has been hijacked,” he asserts. “Too many people hear that everyone graduates hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and can’t find a job. It’s just not true.” He notes that the average debt for Indiana bachelor’s graduates is about $28,000 to $30,000, lower than in many other states.
Lowery frequently cites state data showing that each additional level of education – from high school diploma to associate to bachelor’s degree – yields higher employment, wages, and wealth, while improving health and civic participation. “Those numbers have never once reversed in three and a half years,” he said. “Every cell on the chart gets better as education increases.”
Still, there is the perception that Indiana’s leaders are devaluing higher education, in favor of pushing more students into the workforce in career and technical pathways after high school. But Lowery believes those efforts done in the K-12 space work hand-in-hand, not against each other.
He sees Indiana’s current strategy – emphasizing dual credits, industry certifications, and degree alignment– as evidence that the state has moved beyond the “college versus career” debate.
“All of it is workforce,” he contends. “Whatever credential I have is about the workforce, and whatever knowledge that I’ve gained or it’s only about, you know, a four-year degree. What I think we have now is more of the all of the above approach.”
His Legacy and Outlook
Lowery points out his time as commissioner saw four consecutive years of enrollment growth, including the largest increase in Indiana resident enrollment since 2010 this fall. He attributes the turnaround to collaboration among policymakers, educators, philanthropy, and the private sector.
As he prepares to leave office, Lowery wants to be remembered less for individual accomplishments and more for collaboration across sectors. “I think chiefly one of the things I hope it will be is that we brought a lot of people into the room and at the table,” he said. “The people who gathered … came together in these last roughly four years to go, you know what, we can do something bigger.”
He points to his own family’s experience as an example of what education can change. “Three of my four grandparents didn’t go past the seventh grade,” he recounts. “Two generations before me, one person finished high school .… Guess what? Then in the next generation, every one of those kids did something beyond high school .… I only throw those things out because my grandparents… would have no concept of the life my family and I lead. And I’m telling you, I credit it at the core with education.”
Lowery said if those opportunities continue to expand, that will be the legacy he wants. “If they don’t ever mention my name, I’m good with that,” he said. “My hope… is that a lot more Hoosiers can go change their lives.”
Secretary of Education Katie Jenner will succeed Lowery starting next week, combining direct leadership over Indiana’s K-12 and higher education systems into one. Her dual role gives her a mandate to knit together K-12 and postsecondary systems more fully.
The already very busy Dr. Jenner will be tasked with continuing a lot of these programs Lowery played a role in setting in motion, along with continuing to lead her initiatives at the Indiana Department of Education. Trust your favorite education newsletter will keep watch on how this new leadership structure will affect the higher ed commission going forward.