Student Success and Opportunity
IUN will ensure the long-term success of all students with a commitment to meeting the needs of our entire student body.
Goal 1
IUN will ensure the long-term success of all students by providing the highest quality education through a rich and engaging environment.
IUN proudly serves students from all walks of life. We ensure that access, opportunity, and engagement are at the heart of every student success initiative, including academic programming as well as curricular and cocurricular activities.
IUN will take bold steps to strengthen retention and graduation rates, including addressing documented achievement gaps, by encouraging cocurricular engagement; continuously improving and clearly communicating support services and programs; implementing additional innovative academic and curricular initiatives; and establishing a culture of continuous quality improvement.
- IUN will increase and sustain the first- to second-year retention rate of first-time, full-time students to 70%. Current retention rate for Fall 2021 bachelor’s degree seeking cohort is 67.9%.
- IUN will increase and sustain the six-year graduation rate of first-time, full-time students placing it in the top 25% of its peers (40%). Current six-year graduation rate for Fall 2016 cohort is 37.3%.
Goal 2
IUN will address the changing dynamics and demands of the regional workforce, and publicly address the critical value of higher education in a locally, regionally, nationally, and globally interconnected knowledge economy.
IUN is fully committed to the needs of our changing workforce environment in northwest Indiana, and to the understanding that these workforce needs are directly tied to regional, national, and global interconnections, IUN will engage in collaborative partnerships with local agencies that will provide input into the design of academic and cocurricular programs to address workforce needs.
- Form collaborative partnerships with regional agencies of workforce development, P-12 educational institutions, governmental and regional business, along with industry partners to create new graduate, undergraduate, and certificate programs that specifically address regional workforce needs.
- Modify current program offerings or create two new graduate and/or undergraduate programs that address the region’s needs.
- Modify current certificate offerings or create two certificates at the graduate level that address the needs of local business, industry, educational and governmental agencies.
Goal 3
IUN’s educational offerings, curriculum and pedagogy will remain cutting edge, while preserving the value we place on a general broad-based education that best prepares students for success.
Grounded in IUN’s commitment to the success of all students, and to enhancing their ability to adapt to the needs of professional flexibility as they advance through their future world of work, IUN will provide academic and cocurricular programming that enhances all students’ experiences.
- Through external funding, IUN will establish a new STEM Center where faculty at IUN will collaborate with Ivy Tech in STEM curricular development, providing direct access for Ivy Tech students to STEM majors at IUN, programming to train current STEM majors as mentors and tutors for other students, and outreach to area middle and secondary schools.
- Through external funding, IUN will create a new Office of Student Success and create a position for an associate vice chancellor for Student Success whose primary role will be to oversee and provide leadership for all activities related to student success at IUN.
- Enhance and develop partnerships with four school districts serving Pell-eligible students to further prepare them for majors in STEM fields as they advance to college.
- Centralize the deployment and coordination of all activities related to student success, including an evaluation of the strength and promotion of highly effective programs.
- Collaborate with the other regional campuses on developing and implementing a model of holistic student support that will track student progress throughout their academic career.
Goal 4
IUN will ensure that our practices actively seek opportunity and engagement for all students. We are committed to building a community where opportunity is our strength, differences are respected and engagement is the norm.
In direct alignment with IUN’s mission, values and strategic activities, IUN ensures that access, opportunity, and engagement are at the heart of every student success initiative, including academic programming and curricular and cocurricular activities.
- Through external funding, IUN will create a new Student Success Center that will centralize both academic and related student support services and provide training for faculty and student-facing staff.
- Serve as a model regional campus of IU for the successful implementation of the Groups Scholars programs.
- One hundred fifty full- and part-time faculty, and 60 staff members will participate in training that addresses providing a comprehensive academic environment that enhances a sense of belongingness for all students.
- Increase the number of first year IUN Groups Scholars students. Currently, there are 20 Groups Scholar students.
- Improve the six-year Groups Scholars graduation rate to be equal to or greater than the overall student population graduation rate of 37.3%.
- Improve the Groups Scholars first-to-second year retention rate to be equal to or greater than the overall student population retention rate.
- Increase the number of 21st Century Scholars annually by at least 100%.
Goal 5
IUN will assess the costs of new and existing programs to ensure that benefits exceed costs and to minimize additional financial burdens to our students.
As an institution of higher education committed to access in the higher education experience for our students, IUN will aggressively seek out external funding to provide the academic programming and enhancement of current learning spaces to meet the needs and expectations of our students.
- Increase US Department of Education and other grant funded opportunities to enhance or create academic programs.
- Increase endowed scholarship and other gift philanthropy.
- Apply for $3-5 million in federally funded US Department of Education grants as they become available and will pursue access to additional external funding to address the development of new, or the enhancement of existing, undergraduate and graduate programming, particularly in areas where there are needs for professionals who represent our student population.
Goal 6
IUN will prioritize the health and well-being of our students.
IUN serves and prioritizes all students in Indiana that face challenges related to health and well-being.
- At IUN, the Center for Student Success, the Office of Student Success, the STEM Center, the Counseling Center, the Health Clinic, and the Dean of Students will collaborate on a strategic plan to provide awareness of, and access to, services that provide for the health and well-being of our students.
- Assess annually this more centralized focus to adjust and adapt to challenges related to providing support for our students.
- Develop a system to track the number of participants in these programs and assess the outcomes.
