Education
Education enables workers to seek new job opportunities. It also influences the culture of the area, and the presence of Ball State University in Muncie has significantly influenced the city's path. As the city's industrial base declined, the university also became the largest local employer. The relationship between education and work has also changed. During the nineteenth century, few students completed high school and children of working-class families often dropped and began work before entering high school. Child labor and compulsory school laws led to more students completing high school and increasing numbers went to college.