Indiana
Optional honors seals. Students choose whether to pursue one.Work-based learning hours for Indiana's diploma seals
What the state asks for, how a KANU experience maps to it, and what goes in each InTERS field.
What the state requires
75
hours of work-based learning
Enrollment Honors Plus
150
hours of work-based learning
Employment Honors
650
hours of work-based learning
Employment Honors Plus
- Minimum per experience
- Each experience totals at least 25 hours across a single placement.
- Maximum per seal
- A maximum of 3 experiences can be combined to meet the requirements of any Honors Diploma Seals.
- Accumulation
- Experiences can accumulate over the student's high school career.
- Who it applies to
- Students who choose to pursue an honors seal. Seals are optional.
Sources: 511 IAC 6-7.2-21, High school diploma seals, effective July 1, 2025. Indiana Commission for Higher Education, WBL Definition, Types, and Strategies, September 12, 2025, slide 4. Work-Based Learning Reporting Guidance, August 2025, page 10.
The six elements of the state's definition, and how a KANU experience maps
The left column is quoted from the Commission's own slides. The right column is what we provide.
What Indiana asks for
How a KANU experience meets it
What Indiana asks for
Sustained Interactions
Each experience totals at least 25 hours across a single placement. A maximum of 3 experiences can be combined to meet the requirements of any Honors Diploma Seals.
How a KANU experience meets it
One continuous experience that runs across weeks, not a one-off.
What Indiana asks for
Industry Professionals
An industry professional is someone currently employed (part-time or full-time) within the industry and has specialized knowledge and skills in a particular job or field. While retired industry professionals, or educators who previously served in an industry provide important career coaching and mentorship capacity, neither would qualify as an industry professional under this definition.
How a KANU experience meets it
A reviewer currently working in the industry, matched to the experience.
What Indiana asks for
Real or Simulated Workplace Settings
All simulated workplace settings must model a real workplace setting, including: technology, tools, equipment, and job assignments.
How a KANU experience meets it
Simulated: students run the venture inside the school day.
What Indiana asks for
Authentic Work Experiences
Meaningful tasks that go beyond passive exposure, shadowing, or observations and reflect age-appropriate deliverables that are designed and evaluated by an industry professional.
How a KANU experience meets it
Students build and run a real venture with real customers.
What Indiana asks for
Aligned and Evaluated
The culminating assessment or portfolio is designed and evaluated by an industry professional, and feedback is provided to the participant along with a determination of mastery for the identified skills.
How a KANU experience meets it
The reviewer evaluates the final deliverable against the rubric and makes the mastery determination.
What Indiana asks for
Partnership Agreement
WBL requires a written partnership agreement and plan between the participant, parent or guardian, school, and employer partner.
How a KANU experience meets it
Your school and the employer partner sign a written agreement and plan for each student.
iYour school makes the final determination on any experience.
Source: Indiana Commission for Higher Education, WBL Definition, Types, and Strategies (IACTE State Conference, September 12, 2025), slide 3 and slides 4 to 6.
What goes in each InTERS field
Your school enters these in InTERS. KANU does not report on a school's behalf.
Employer
Reported in the FallCompany, business or entity of where the student is working.
Supervisor-Employer-Contact-Mentor
Reported in the FallThe person who will serve as the student's direct supervisor, employer, contact, or mentor during the experience. This field is not required.
SOC Code
Reported in the FallA Standard Occupational Classification code that closely relates to the occupation of the student's experience.
Expected OTJ Hours
Reported in the FallThe expected on-the-job hours the student will have at the placement. This does not have to be exact but at least an estimate.
Actual OTJ Hours
Reported in the SpringThe actual on-the-job hours the student completed at the conclusion of the experience.
Certify Partnership
Reported in the SpringYes if the written partnership agreement and plan exist for the experience.
Source: Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Work-Based Learning Reporting Guidance, August 2025, pages 8 and 9.
Three things directors miss
Hours accumulate across a student's high school career.
A student could do three 25-hour experiences to meet the 75 hours for the Enrollment Honors Plus Seal.
An experience under 75 hours is reported under course code 0543.
It must still run at least 25 hours and meet every element of the state's definition.
Non-CTE students are reported too.
The state's guidance says hours should be reported for both CTE students and non-CTE students.
Source: Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Work-Based Learning Reporting Guidance, August 2025, pages 2, 3, 7 and 10.
See the experiences mapped to Indiana pathways
Grouped by cluster, with pathway and planned hours.
Checked 13 October 2026
Get your building's mapping
Thirty minutes. We look at your programs of study and send a one-page crosswalk showing which experiences fit where and the hours each produces.