Indiana University, under the leadership of President Myles Brand, completed a major self-study which resulted in the Strategic Directions Charter which places student learning, intellectual exploration, persistence, and attainment at the center of the University’s mission.  As America’s New Public University, Indiana University will maintain high educational standards and a commitment to accessibility.  We are pleased to join with the Lilly Endowment, Inc., as a partner in supporting the academic achievement and persistence of Hoosier students, resulting in increased graduation rates.

    Increasing the number of college graduates in Indiana and moving the state to a more competitive position is going to require that we are more successful in retaining our students.  Over the five years of the project, each of the campuses has committed itself to significant increases in the retention of students—ranging from 6 to 14%.

    Indiana University has identified academic foundations, the community of learning, and connections as the key foci of our efforts to graduate larger numbers of students.  With academic foundations, we will change institutional culture to increase student learning and success in foundational skill courses, increase student learning and success in first-year introductory courses, and increase articulation among majors and schools.  With the community of learning, we will create a stronger student community and increase students’ integration into the academic life of the campus community, create a better bridge between the classroom and the student community, and create out-of-class environments and experiences that support student learning.  With connections, we will improve advising and career development for students and increase contacts with students at risk of leaving and students who have left. Each of IU’s campuses (excluding Fort Wayne, which is included in the Purdue University proposal) has developed specific interventions to increase student academic achievement and persistence in these three areas.

     Indiana University’s students are representative of American college students in general in that they no longer can be characterized as young, living on campus, and enrolling full-time so that they graduate in four years.  In fact, less than 60% of our graduates have finished after four years.  Hence, the major impact of the interventions proposed herein will not be apparent until after the end of the grant period.  By the year 2001-2002 when the grant ends, we anticipate that we will produce 152 new graduates.  However, the long-term impact is substantial.  Many students will need more than four years to graduate, and by the end of academic year 2006-2007, we anticipate that 1,622 more students will graduate as a result of the interventions proposed herein, for a total of 1774 new graduates.  And, more importantly, our interventions are not "quick fix" measures.  We are building programs and transforming our campuses so that we will continue to see significantly increased numbers of graduates on an ongoing basis.  We are so confident that our interventions will have a substantial impact that Indiana University commits itself to ensuring first that each campus reaches at least the median graduation rate for its peers and then the 75th percentile of its peers.  This is a daunting goal in that Indiana ranks low in measures of educational attainment.  As America’s New Public University and as the university serving the plurality of college students in our state, however, we can accept no lower standard of achievement.
 

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 I.  Introduction ......................................................................................  1

 II.  The Current Situation .....................................................................  7

      The State-Level Context ..................................................................  7
      The Indiana University Situation ..................................................   7
      Indiana University's Students  ........................................................  8
      Indiana University’s Faculty ..........................................................  10

 III.  Impediments to Graduation  ........................................................  12

 IV.  Objectives and Outcomes  ............................................................  15

      Academic Foundations  ...................................................................  15
      The Community of Learning ...........................................................  20
      Connections ........................................................................................  23

 V.  IU-Bloomington Proposed Interventions  .....................................  25

 VI.  IUPUI Proposed Interventions  .....................................................  48
 
 VII.  IU-East Proposed Interventions  ..................................................  65

 VIII.  IU-Kokomo Proposed Interventions  .........................................  69

 IX.  IU-Northwest Proposed Interventions  ........................................   73

 X.  IU-South Bend Proposed Interventions  ........................................  78

 XI.  IU-Southeast Proposed Interventions  ..........................................   81

 XII.  Evaluation   .......................................................................................  87

Table 1. Baccalaureate Degrees Conferred by IU System and .................  1
  for Each Campus, 1994-95 and 1995-96

Table 2.  Goals for Increasing the Six-Year Graduation Rate  ...................  3

Table 3. Projected Increases in First-to-Second-Year Persistence Rates ..  3
  by Year and Campus

Table 4. Projected Number of Additional Graduates,  1997-2002 ............  4
  and 2002-2007

Table 5. First-to-Second-Year Persistence Rates by Cohort and ...............  7
  Campus, 1988 to 1993

Table 6. Background Characteristics of 1988 Cohort, Indiana .................    9
  University

Table 7. Number of Students Enrolled by Class Standing for ...................    87
  Each Campus, 1996-1998

Table 8. DFW Rates for Sample of Key Introductory Courses  ................    88
  by Campus,  Fall 1996

Table 9. Percent of First-Year Students Earning 2.0 GPA in ..................    88
  First Semester

Table 10. First-to-Second-Year Persistence Rates for 1991 Cohort ............    89
  and Six-Year Graduation Rates for 1988 Cohort for Indiana
  University System, by Student Characteristics

Figure 1. The Eight Year Pattern of Enrollment, Graduation, ....................    10
  and Lost of Students From All Eight Campuses Who Began
  in the Fall of 1988

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Additional information can be obtained by contacting:

Mary Anne Baker, Indiana University Southeast

Scott Evenbeck, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

George Kuh, Indiana University Bloomington