Jim Banks - CICC Member Spotlight

My district is rich in independent colleges: Grace College, Huntington University, Indiana Tech, University of St. Francis, and Trine University are all located in northeast Indiana. My family also has a strong tie to one of those schools -- I received my MBA from Grace, and my wife, Amanda, currently works for the college. The independent colleges in my district make unique and significant contributions to their communities -- economically, intellectually, culturally and spiritually. I want to work to ensure that their contributions continue.

The many independent colleges in northeast Indiana provide quality accessible education to students from near and far, while employing hundreds of people and providing a plethora of cultural and entertainment opportunities.  From concerts and plays to lectures and debates, athletic events and much more, private schools greatly enhance the culture and community of the towns where they reside.  Independent colleges greatly benefit our local economy and culture from their involvement in our community and the skills and temperament they impart to graduates.

Several independent schools in my district now offer online degree programs which allow nontraditional college students to obtain the education they need to launch successful careers and provide for their families.  I personally benefited from one such program -- the MBA at Grace College.  Grace has also employed significant innovation to make higher education more affordable by offering a three-year bachelor’s degree program in any of its 70-plus majors, and a blended degree program that allows students to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in just four years.

Two major problems with education are affordability and the growing skills gap in the U.S. Like many Americans, my family and I struggled with figuring out how to pay for my college. While I was fortunate to choose a career path that led to gainful employment, many are not as lucky. Currently, 100,000 jobs in Indiana are unfilled because workers do not possess the requisite skills needed for those jobs. I recently introduced legislation that would increase flexibility in the Pell Grant program to help lower the costs of education in career fields most sought after by employers. This common-sense bill would help shrink the skills gap while providing valuable financial resources to students.

Greatly. My MBA program at Grace College was online-based, offering me the chance to earn a living as I worked toward my degree. During my time in school, I worked in commercial construction and real estate, and served in the U.S. Navy Reserves. The skills I learned at Grace helped me in each of those endeavors and continue to serve me in the halls of Congress. My education also influenced my worldview and enhanced my faith.  For me, college is not just an educational journey but a spiritual one as well –- something that the many thousands of other independent college graduates understand as well.