Indiana University East - Talkers
Begin with providing some context.
In the 60’s and 70’s as other states were developing community colleges to expand
postsecondary access, Indiana took a different route and opened branch campuses of its
two major research universities.
Founded in 1971, Indiana University East was created as one of these access institutions,
with little to no admission criteria, offering of remedial courses, offering associate and
bachelor’s degrees and serving primarily adult, commuter students. (one of eight IU
campuses)
Fast forward to early 2000, Indiana was transforming its statewide technical college into a
comprehensive community college and redefining the role of the regional campus. IU East
simply was not responding well to the changing landscape, both the structural changes
occurring as well as the population and economic needs of it’s service area.
By fall 2006, IU East was struggling to survive.
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The long-time chancellor had recently announced his retirement
Enrollment had been dropping for several years (in one three year period the
campus saw a 10% drop while the local community college saw a 24% increase)
Revenue was declining year after year; the campus faced an $800,000 base budget
deficit
70% of courses were at the 100/200 level
Offering a large number of remedial classes and associate degrees
In late 2006, the Indiana University president suspended the search for a new chancellor
and appointed a task force to make recommendations to ensure the academic and fiscal
integrity of the campus. The Committee issued five broad objectives:
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Expand the market for bachelor’s degrees,
Improve financial, academic, and social supports available to students,
Realign IU East’s academic program offerings,
Significantly expand collaboration with Ivy Tech Community College, and
Restructure academic and administrative units and reallocate resources.
In 2007, Nasser Paydar, a vice chancellor from another IU regional campus, was appointed
as interim chancellor of the troubled IU East campus.
Under Dr. Paydar’s leadership, the institution increased it’s efficiency by refining and
implementing many of the review committee’s recommendations as well as additional
initiatives.
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Last year, MGT of America conducted a case study of IU East as commissioned by the
Indiana Camber of Commerce and funded by Lumina Foundation. MGT found that
over the period of 2007-2011:
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The campus had a 21% reduction in the cost student served on an inflation-adjusted
basis.
Increased headcount enrollment by 64%.
Increased the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded by 37%.
Show signs that graduation rates and degrees conferred will continue to rise given
results from progression measures.
Major contributing factors to serving more students and producing more degrees:
Articulated a new vision as the region’s leader in baccalaureate and graduate
education – The new mission began in earnest with the creation and implementation of
new baccalaureate and graduate programs and the termination of all associate degree
programs. In fact, the campus instituted a “No Competition Principle” with the local
community college.
Created a new model for community college collaboration in the state – IU East has
entered into agreements with its local community college that emphasize non-competition,
collaboration in educating students, and efficiency of operations. These efforts include:
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No more admission to Associate Degrees; phase out of programs
No more remedial courses; IU East provides a 4-week no-fee math refresher course
in summer for all incoming students; students tested after this refresher; students
needing remedial education take those courses at the community college.
Offering automatic admission-based scholarships to alumni of the local community
college.
Full program and course articulation
Dual admissions, and financial aid consortium
Transfer recruitment coordination
Shared services such as library, security, emergencies, etc.
With three additional community colleges, IU East offers bachelor’s degree completion
programs on-site and expanding on-line completion programs.
Focused attention on retention and graduation – The campus’ new mission implies
higher standards, including increased student retention and reduced time to graduate. To
support this expectation, IU East now has:
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Mandatory first-year seminar,
University College for counseling and coaching first-year students,
Early alert system that requires mandatory attendance reporting in first year
courses,
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Improved process for academic advising that includes students committing to a
degree within the first year, and
Increased data collection and analysis functions shared campus-wide.
Envisioned and implemented online programming –IU East now delivers online degree
completion programs in business, communication studies, mathematics, nursing, and
technical and professional writing, with additional programs to be added soon. Targets
adults with some college but no degree (utilizing PLA and competency-based instruction).
Major contributing factors to cost-effectiveness:
Restructured university organization – As a first step in realizing the strategic vision for
IU East, both administrative and academic organization charts were restructured. As an
example, the Chancellor reduced his cabinet from 9 to 4 members. The savings from
reducing the size of administration has been used to strengthen the academic mission of
the university.
Implemented a new business model – A new business model was implemented in 2008,
Responsibility Center Management (RCM), to empower the schools to generate new
revenues and incentivize cost-control strategies. Through delegation of authority and
financial incentives, leaders of operating units have a newly developed appreciation for the
value of productivity improvement. Beginning this year, the campus has rolled the
Commission for Higher Education’s performance funding metrics into it’s RCM model.
Sharing resources and costs with the local community college – IU East and its
community college neighbor collaborate in providing various support services for their
students and staff. These services include library, police and security, grounds, recreation,
and dining. The two campuses also share off-campus center locations in three other
communities.
Savings - Ivy Tech & IUE 2009-10
Library Services
$250,040
Police and Security $131,995
Campus Grounds Maintenance
$61,844
Tennis Court and Fitness Center $49,063
Food Service
$142,212
Connersville Center Lease
$151,793
Storage and Maintenance Space
$9,787
Continuing Education to Ivy Tech $53,949
Remedial Courses to Ivy Tech
$125,121
AS Degrees to Ivy Tech
$187,875
Lawrenceburg Program – Tuition Differential Savings
$209,732
New Castle and Connersville – Tuition Differential Savings
$156,767
Remedial Courses and AS Programs – Tuition Differential Savings $726,160
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At a Glance
Average class size of 20 students
Financial aid totaling nearly $23 million per year
Located adjacent to Interstate-70, less than 10 miles from the Ohio border
We offer over 50 programs, more than 800 courses, and degrees ranging from certificates
to master's degrees
Over 5,000 graduates in our alumni network, in fields ranging from business and law to
health care and education
Student Body Profile
3,725 Undergraduate students, 98 graduate students
53 percent full time, 47 percent part time
87 full-time faculty, 117 part-time faculty
16:1 student-faculty ratio
20 students per class on average
67 percent female, 33 percent male
35 states and 68 Indiana counties represented
12 NAIA intercollegiate sports
528,000+ IU graduates worldwide
Accreditation - Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges
and Schools
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