Ivy Tech program graduating 204 at-risk students

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - More than 200 students are graduating with associate degrees earned on an accelerated timeline, thanks to a special program for at-risk high school students offered by Ivy Tech Community College.

Associate degrees typically take two years of schooling. But the "Associate Accelerated Program" - ASAP for short - helped the students earn their degrees in just one year.

To do so, they attend school nearly 40 hours a week.

The school says 400 students are signed up for the program next year. A total of 1,000 have enrolled since its inception in 2010.

ASAP prepares enrollees to transfer to four-year colleges. It targets students facing life or family issues that could otherwise prevent them from completing a degree. Many are the first in their family to attend college.