Office of Academic Affairs

Lead Measures

Office of Academic Affairs Plan for Recruitment and Retention
WIG – 6,000 students by 2013
*Unit = COAS, CHHS, SOBE, SOE, SPEA

Responsibility Centered Management is seen by the Office of Academic Affairs as a vitally important step in providing incentives for retention and recruitment efforts. 

Recruitment

• Unit* members will visit local high schools to share information on programs and scholarships with guidance counselors as well as schedule visits with targeted students from local high schools to the unit of their choice. 
• Unit members will be present at Open Houses sponsored by IU Northwest, the Porter and Lake County Fairs, and Fall Preview Nights at IU Northwest.
• Units will contact newly admitted undergraduates as well as transfer students, to encourage them to schedule their initial advising and registration appointment as soon as possible.
• Units will contact undergraduate students who have “stopped-out” for more than three consecutive semesters, who are still in academic good standing, and are within 30 credit hours of degree completion and develop a course-enrollment plan to encourage them to return and earn their degree.
• Extend Library Services for IU Alumni (maintain connections to facilitate alumni returning for advanced degrees or possibility that alumni children will chose to attend IU Northwest).
• Development of new curricular offerings, including MLS, BA in Anthropology, BSW, MA in Counseling Psychology, minor in Public Health, MS in  Educational Leadership, minor in Urban  Studies, a variant of the BA in Geology, a variant of the Bloomington LAMP program (a combination of liberal arts and business education), and a post-baccalaureate certificate in general science.
• Increased marketing of already existing programs to best brand ourselves.
• Development of federal grant proposals to fund the expansion of the pre-med and pre-health professions program and focus the program on our urban students.
• Offer more courses at the ALC.
• Offer more on-line courses.

Retention

• Communicate with other units to avoid course scheduling conflicts, as much as possible to aid in degree progression.
• Continue to conduct student file audits every semester to ensure progress and/or identify issues.
• Units will collaborate on shared student issues to alter attrition and facilitate seamless transition to degree granting programs.
• Increase student employment on campus (research indicates a strong relationship between on campus employment and retention).
• Utilize budgeted Library resources and services in the most effective way possible to support strong academic programs.
• Improve transitions in advising as students move through their programs.
• Offer more opportunities for students to form a sense of community on campus, centered on academic issues.  For ex., workshops on Fridays on improving specific skills that include lunch with faculty.
  

College of Arts and Sciences
Plan for Recruitment and Retention
February 23, 2009

Increase Undergraduate Headcount

• COAS is planning the implementation of two recently (optimistic) approved degree proposals – the Masters of Liberal Studies and the BA in Anthropology
• COAS is developing multiple new degree proposals – the four most eminent are a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, a variant of a BA in Geology, a variant of the Bloomington LAMP program (a combination of liberal arts and business education), and a post-baccalaureate certificate in general science
• Marketing the music program with a splashy signed guitar program.
• Marketing the Theatre program in the Chicago theatre community as an economically competitive and quality program
• Development of a Minority Biomedical Research Support grant proposal. The grant would fund the expansion of the pre-med and pre-health professions program and focus the program on our urban students.
• COAS will work with marketing and our graphic design programs and TV production facilities to develop a series of videos and/or posters that outline the strengths of our programs as well as human interest centered stories featuring graduates and testimonials from our students.
• COAS and CHHS will partner to market the strength of our pre-med and pre-health professions programs. IU Northwest is the only academic destination in which students will be able to complete a college degree while participating in medical school research with medical school faculty.

Increase Retention

• Continue to move the management of COAS to a metrics base which will include retention, majors headcounts, as well as other common dashboard indicators
• COAS and CHHS will partner to affect the attrition from pre-nursing and pre-allied health students who are not admitted into their first choice programs by providing a seamless transition to degree granting programs within COAS that can lead to admission to other health related professions such as Physicians Assistant, Audiology, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy, or Accelerated Nursing programs.

Responsibility Centered Management

• The COAS Dean will meet with all departments to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of RCM and the process of potentially moving to an RCM system. Discussion of incentives for recruitment and retention will be discussed.
  

School of Education
WIGs and Lead Measures
Fall, 2009

School of Business and Economics Plan of Recruitment and Retention
February 23, 2009

Undergraduate

Lead Measure: Increase undergraduate enrollment activities including recruitment evens and visits with targeted students from local high schools to the School of Business and Economics offices and the Trading Floor to highlight the School’s unique opportunities.

Lead Measure: Contact newly admitted Fall 2008 Business undergraduates (who have taken the required math and English placement test), as well as transfer students, by both direct mail, phone (and email, where possible) to encourage them to schedule their initial advising and registration appointment as soon as possible.   

Lead Measure: Contact undergraduate Business students who have “stopped-out” for more than three consecutive semesters, who are still in academic good standing, and are within 30 credit hours of degree completion and develop a course-enrollment plan to encourage them to return and earn their degree.

Lead Measure: Collaborate with Admissions in activities to recruit transfer and non-traditional students.

Lead Measure: Collaborate with other units in providing multidisciplinary offerings, consistent with AACSB accreditation, including for example working with COAS on the LAMP program and the integration of related minors into the business program.

Undergraduate

Lead Measures: Assign faculty, who work well with lower division students to key 100 level business classes and assign new students to these faculty for advising.

Lead Measures: Beginning with the Spring 2009 semester have faculty in key 100-level business and economics courses review the Mid-Term Audits and contact all first year students, who are not attending classes and intervene.

Lead Measure: Meet with undergraduate students in “focus group” forums, such as the Dean’s Undergraduate Advisory Board and ABSO, to allow students to voice their concerns over course scheduling conflicts and make changes, as much as possible, to business course day/time offerings.

Lead Measure: Communicate with key Arts & Sciences departments to avoid course scheduling conflicts, as much as possible, between required upper-level business courses and required upper-level A & S courses.

Graduate

Lead Measures: Offer a Graduate Certificate to students who want less than an MBA or who do not have a business degree and need the foundation courses for the MBA, but need a Certificate to secure employer funding.

Lead Measures: Recruit a new cohort for the MBA for Professionals every 12 months to increase the number of graduate students in the program.

Lead Measures: Work with the Office of Marketing and Communication to rebrand the Weeknight MBA and market the rebranded program.

Lead Measures: Work with larger local employers, such as US Steel and ArcelorMittal, to increase recruiting activities for more MBA candidates.

Lead Measure: Collaborate with the College of Health and Human Services in creating interdisciplinary programs including the MD/MBA and the MSN.

Graduate

Lead Measure: Meet with each cohort in the MBA for Professionals at least once a semester to review current issues and feed data back to the School Executive Committee.

Lead Measure: Meet with each cohort in the MBA for Professionals at least once a semester to review current issues and feed data back to the School Executive Committee.

Lead Measure: Gradually increase Admission Standards in line with our peers so we can collect data to establish a baseline on graduate retention.

Lead Measure: Perform individual initial advising sessions in person with all new MBA students to ensure accurate advising.

Lead Measure: Utilize communications (e-mail, OnCourse, LinkedIn) to maintain presence with MBA students.

• Foster relationships with MBA students.
• Solicit feedback from MBA students.
• Redevelop MBA Student Advisory Board and begin to use LinkedIn and Northwest Indiana Business Alliance to engage MBA students in meaningful activities with the School.

Lead Measure: Continue to conduct student file audits every semester to ensure progress and/or identify issues.

SPEA
WIGS and Lead Measures

1. In January we conducted a SPEA Probation Workshop for the 65 SPEA students placed on academic probation, due to their performance in Fall 2008.
   
   
2. At that workshop, we initiated a STAR Mentoring Program in which each probationary student is paired with a SPEA Faculty Member. We ask that each student visit with his or her STAR Mentor once every two weeks during the semester, just to touch base and discuss any issues that might arise during the term. STAR stands for “Students Taking Academic Responsibility.” Each SPEA Faculty Member is working with three to five STAR students.
   
   
3. At the start of this semester, we implemented a First Week Alerts program, in which we contact students who miss the first week of a class in which they are registered. The instructors provide student names, and I send them a courtesy email inquiring of their intention regarding the class, and reminding the students that they have a financial obligation to IU Northwest as long as they remain registered for classes. I have received several appreciative replies from students.
   
   
4. We have modified our practice of extending Incompletes indefinitely or allowing Incompletes to turn to Fs. In many cases, we will assign Ws instead of Incompletes or Fs, so that students will have a better opportunity to continue their academic programs without the challenge of overcoming the GPA impact of an F.
   
   
5. We have been working for some time to develop a new program of Faculty Student Academic Advising. Our goal is to design and implement the program by late March of this year, when registration opens for Summer and Fall 2009.
   
   
6. We have assigned Sandra Hall Smith to communicate closely with Admissions regarding all recruitment events in 2009. SPEA will send representatives to several recruiting events during the current semester and in the summer.
   
   
7. We have begun discussions with Ivy Tech to enhance opportunities for students who complete an associate’s degree to continue their studies in one of our undergraduate programs (Criminal Justice, Health Services Management, and Public Affairs).
   
   
8. We had planned to conduct a SPEA Spring Picnic at which we would involve our alumni, but have opted, instead, to coordinate our effort with the IU Northwest plan to conduct a University-wide alumni event this spring or summer.
   
   
9. We consistently attend events on campus that provide opportunities for attracting potential students into our undergraduate and graduate programs. Examples include the recent Youth Summit event and today’s Grad Fest event.
   
   
10. We are planning several notable activities for the 2009 version of our annual Public Affairs Week. With appropriate advance marketing, we hope to attract many off-campus visitors to these events.

College of Health and Human Services
Wildly Important Goals (WIGS) for 2009-2013
Contribution to Campus WIG of 6,000 students by 2013

1. The College of Health and Human Services at IU Northwest will become the preeminent place for healthcare education in Northwest Indiana by increasing from 4 undergraduate programs (Radiologic Sciences, Nursing, HIT, and Dental Hygiene) to 6 by 2013.

Lead Measures

• Director of Social Work charged with aggressively pursuing BSW program.  Progress to be reported monthly; implementation AY 2010-2011 or AY 2011-2012 at the latest
• Associate Dean CHHS will devote 4 hours/week on research devoted to potential new programs
• Dean and Associate Dean will meet with potential partners at IUPUI to explore collaborative program possibilities (2009)
• Dean and Associate Dean will meet with Dean of SOBE and Director SPEA to explore internal collaborative opportunities
• Needs assessment will be conducted to determine market (student) demand and job opportunities for a new undergraduate program (AY 2009-2010)
• Decision on second new degree program (2010)
• Dean and Associate Dean will establish action steps and timeline for new program development including application for program start-up grant funding, hiring faculty for program development, etc. (2010)

2. The College of Health and Human Services will contribute to the campus goal of 6,000 students by 2013 through its programmatic recruitment, retention, and marketing efforts

Lead Measures

• Each program director will develop a program level WIG with Lead Measures outlining how their unit will contribute to the overall campus WIG (March 2009; these will be reported separately)
• Program directors will ensure that their programs are represented at every on- or off-campus recruitment event sponsored by the Admissions Department
• Program Directors will report monthly on initiatives to increase visibility of their programs in the community
• CHHS Dean/Associate Dean will work with the Office of Marketing and Communication to develop a better way of CHHS “branding” that is coherent, recognizable, and represents all programs well
• CHHS faculty and administrators will continue to strengthen and formalize the healthcare team experience as a CHHS educational “branding” initiative; Associate Dean will secure grant funding to contribute to this effort.
• Associate Dean will continue to work with appropriate faculty and staff to expand the services of the Campus Health and Wellness Center; Center to be included in recruitment and marketing efforts

IU Northwest Library
Support for Student Success/Retention and Enrollment Growth

Below are 5 areas the Library contributes to helping the campus attract and retain students. Utilizing budgeted Library resources and services in the most effective way possible to support a strong overall academic program is probably the most important way the Library contributes towards achieving a higher rate of student recruitment, enrollment, and retention. Additional ways are listed below as well:

1. Library Resources and Services support Teaching/Learning/Research to maintain/enhance high quality academic programs at IU Northwest

• Fulltext Databases/Online Subscriptions/Collections/(E)Books/Reports
• Reserve Readings through OnCourse, ERIS, and IUCAT/WorldCat Local
• Fast Access to Library Resources at 8 IU campuses (Interlibrary Borrowing/Lending)

2. Customer Service/Student Centered Assistance

• 1 on 1 Assistance at Reference Help Desk, Circulation Help Desk, other Library Office Access Points, and Online via Library Web Page
• Librarians provide Research Assistance by Appointment

3. Information Literacy/Library Instruction Program

• Instructor requested Library Skills Instruction Sessions
• General Education:  All students in English Composition W131 Course will receive Introductory Library Skills Instruction Session that promotes Effective Writing (Content), Critical Thinking (Search Strategies), Ethics (How to Cite/Plagiarism), and Diversity (of Info. Resources)
• General Education:  All Jr./Sr. Students in their Major Research/Stats Course will receive Advanced Level Specialized Library Skills Instruction Session that promotes Critical Thinking (Search Strategies for specialized resources), Lifelong Learning (info. resources for their career), and Citizenship (Reflection Literature)

4. Library “as Place”/Inviting Library Space for Student Nonclass Time on Campus

• Library Café/Coffee House (Food/Drink for Small Groups)
• Rev. Dr. Robert Lowery Commemorative Study Area (Comfortable Seating)
• Information Commons/Learning Commons (Info. Technology for Learning)
• ADA Accessibility (Collections Stack widening project)
• Redefinition of Library Space (More gathering spaces for technology and small group uses and less sq. footage devoted to stacks)
• Library Services for IU Alumni (maintain connections to facilitate alumni returning for advanced degrees or possibility that alumni children will chose to attend IU Northwest)

5. Civic Engagement/Citizenship Education

• Education Re: History of Northwest Indiana Region (Calumet Regional Archives)
• Visualization of Local/Regional Demographics (Library Data Center/GIS Lab)
• Reflection Library Resources for Service-Learning Courses