In these tough economic times one industry that doesn't seem to be affected negatively is higher education at community colleges.

In fact, this year Ivy Tech saw a huge increase in enrollment statewide.

It's the biggest increase in years, which is saying something, because they've been growing consistently for a while now.

The school says many things like new programs, on-line courses, and vocational training; are likely to thank for the growth.

But as is often the case, money seems to be one of the biggest influences.

Ashley Steeley says her first week of college has been a smooth transition.

“It doesn’t feel different, it really doesn’t. I don’t know why it’s comfortable again,” Steeley said.

Ivy Tech wasn't always her plan after graduating high school last year.

“It was kind of a last minute thing. I’d wanted to go to some other (colleges) and I was like, well I’ll just go here because it’s closer to home,” said Steeley, who is from Plymouth and came to Ivy Tech to study photography. “I want to save some money, you know. That was a big part of it,” Steeley said.

“What we call the traditional age student; that population is growing. That’s a student who's just graduated high school to about 21 years old, and that's great,” said Tracie Davis with Ivy Tech.

That's just part of the equation that’s shot enrollment up 12% statewide. There were 86,130 students enrolled, compared to 77,013 this time last year. Since 2005, there’s been a total increase of 20,803 students at Ivy Tech locations throughout the state.

The increase this year brought 820 more students to the local region of Ivy Tech, which includes campuses in South Bend, Elkhart, and Warsaw. The jump to 6,576 students in the region is a 14% increase from the previous year.

The school says enrollment's up across all age groups.

That includes people like 25-year old Joshua Flinn, who is in college for the first time. He wanted to give his current career in sales a boost.

“You know to get better; I’m pretty good at it, but just to get some education behind me so that I can get paid more for it and do better at it,” said Flinn, who is from South Bend.

"With age comes a little bit of maturity, and I think they're deciding that college is a benefit. It's an investment in yourself that never goes away, and never loses value," Davis said.

Even though something is bringing more students through the doors, what that is, isn't exactly clear.

“We really can't put a connection between the economy and gas prices and enrollment, that's hard to pinpoint… We honestly think it's because we're adding programs that will provide jobs after graduation,” Davis said.

Students can get an associates degree from ivy tech for less than $6,000; which is pennies on the dollar compared to state schools.

The school points out that many of their credits are transferable.

To make more space for the extra students, the South Bend campus has been putting in dividers to make extra classrooms at their facilities. They're also planning on moving administrative offices to a building across the street; just trying to keep up with the growing student body.