Indiana Workforce Pell

Where Indiana stands on Workforce Pell

Status

Live: an operational approval process underway, an open application window, a pilot cohort accepting programs, or an eligible-program list being finalized and submitted to ED (the Record’s definition).

Phase

Second Federal Approval in the Nation (Aug 19)

Lead agency

Indiana Department of Workforce Development (with Commission for Higher Education)

Current holdup

ED

Ivy Tech's Clinical Medical Assistant program received ED approval August 19, the nation's second, with Pell usable now; Vincennes's two state-approved programs still await federal action; the CHE page (updated August 31) now posts a Workforce Pell Eligible Programs list with one entry, Ivy Tech's Clinical Medical Assistant

State portal

www.in.gov

What the record documents

On July 1, 2026 Governor Braun formally launched Workforce Pell in Indiana, announcing he has approved Ivy Tech Community College and Vincennes University to apply for program consideration through the U.S. Department of Education for 2026-27, prioritizing five sectors: advanced manufacturing, building and construction, health and life sciences, IT and business services, and transportation and logistics. Braun earlier signed HEA 1266 (2026) to align state and federal processes after SB 161 died at the February 27 sine die. The Commission for Higher Education, with DWD and the State Workforce Board, runs the application portal; a joint CHE and DWD committee reviews submissions for approval by the Governor, then ED conducts final validation. Statewide expansion to all eligible institutions is planned for early-to-mid 2027; the governor-and-Secretary-approved program list will be posted on the CHE page (none yet). The State Workforce Development Board's July 16, 2026 meeting materials report an initial program eligibility list determined at 28 six-digit SOC codes and 36 CIP codes, published as the Eligible Workforce Pell Occupations List (as of 7/1/2026) in CHE's Workforce Pell Policy and Technical Appendices (counted from the source: 28 distinct SOCs; welders, CNC tool programmers, and heavy truck drivers are all on it) and reported in the July 16 SWDB materials. WISH-TV reported July 9, 2026 that state officials had approved the first three programs, pending federal validation: certified clinical medical assistant at Ivy Tech, certified clinical medical assistant at Vincennes, and an electrical maintenance technician bootcamp at Vincennes; the approvals are press-reported and no state page yet lists them. Open Campus reported July 24, 2026 that Ivy Tech's certified clinical medical assistant program spans its 18 campuses, and Inside Higher Ed reported July 27 that Ivy Tech has submitted the program to the U.S. Department of Education, the first state-routed federal submission publicly reported anywhere. On August 19, 2026 the U.S. Department of Education approved Ivy Tech's 8-week Clinical Medical Assistant program, the second Workforce Pell program approved in the nation (after Iowa Central's EMT certificate on August 4): eligible students can now apply Pell dollars to the program across Ivy Tech's campuses. The release does not address Vincennes's two state-approved programs, which remain in the federal queue. The CHE page, updated August 31, 2026, now carries a "Workforce Pell Eligible Programs" section listing one program, Ivy Tech Community College's Clinical Medical Assistant, matching the August 19 federal approval; the Vincennes programs are absent from the list, consistent with pending federal action. The State Workforce Development Board's draft minutes for July 16 record a Workforce Pell overview co-presented by DWD and CHE, with board questions deferred to the next meeting, October 7, 2026. The October 7 agenda, posted ahead of the meeting, carries no Workforce Pell item: the public session (11:25 am to noon ET, MADE @ Plainfield) covers minutes approval, a vice chair election, executive committee appointments, workforce continuum and funding priorities, and WIOA State Plan development, so the deferred questions do not appear on the posted agenda (agenda). Source, ED release

Verified against the sources on November 6, 2026.

Eligible occupations in Indiana

Indiana has 28 occupations on the state’s eligible-occupation list. Open the state’s list. Its list design, side by side with the other published frameworks, is in the State Approval Comparison.

Approved programs (state / federal)

1 federal (Ivy Tech Clinical Medical Assistant, Aug 19); state roster not published

List philosophy

Tight pilot list, sector-scoped

High-wage definition

Value-added earnings test (tuition below value-added earnings); no separate wage floor

Skill and demand logic

WIOA High-Skill/High-Demand within five priority sectors, Top Jobs aggregate score 80+

Lead and approver

Governor + DWD + Commission for Higher Education

List refresh

Annual (Top Jobs methodology)

Sources

Every primary source the record cites for Indiana, last checked November 6, 2026.

• State Workforce Pell portal (www.in.gov)
• Workforce Pell Policy and Technical Appendices (www.in.gov)
• July 16 SWDB materials (www.in.gov)
• approved (www.ed.gov)
• draft minutes (www.in.gov)
• agenda (www.in.gov)
• Ivy Tech Community College: ivytech.edu (www.ivytech.edu)