By DANIELLE RUSH, Kokomo Tribune staff writer
danielle.rush@kokomotribune.com
Indiana University Kokomo has started its fall semester with a record number of undergraduates enrolled full time, as well as good news about its accreditation.
The number of undergraduates enrolled full time increased by 66 percent as compared to fall 2008 enrollment, from 1,302 to 1,546, according to Jack Tharp, vice-chancellor of student services.
Those students are attending a university that has received its full reaccreditation for the maximum period of 10 years from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Tharp said the total student count is 2,991, which includes a significantly larger freshman and sophomore class.
He said school officials don't ask students why they are attending school, but he thinks there are more full-time students because of the economy.
When there were plenty of good part-time jobs, many students went to school part-time and worked part-time. With fewer of those jobs available, he said, more commit to being full-time students.
Tharp said 80 percent of the new student cohort is traditional-aged students, which are those 18 to 24 years old. Of the 660 new students, 352 graduated from high school in 2009.
He heard from parents at a visitation day for high school juniors and seniors this week that cost is a factor for students coming directly from high school.
"A couple of parents flat out said it's about the money. That's what's on people's minds more than anything, the cost of college and understanding you can go in debt pretty easily these days for a college degree."
He added that they're attracted also because "We're IU. We have quality programs."
The nursing program continues to show the most growth, and the college of arts and sciences also grew this year, he said.
Tharp said in 2009, IU Kokomo graduated the state's third-largest class of bachelor's-degree nurses, behind IUPUI and Ball State University.
For the accreditation, school administrators prepared nearly a year for a visit by the Higher Learning Commission in April 2009.
Sue Sciame-Giesecke, interim vice-chancellor of academic affairs, said undergoing review by an accrediting body means "you can assure students you have met the standards that an institution of higher learning should meet."
She added that if students are not enrolled in an accredited institution, some graduate institutions would not accept their degrees.
Sciame-Giesecke said the maximum accreditation is for 10 years, and that is what IU Kokomo received.
"That's a great compliment to this institution and the work it's done based on the last 10 years," she said.
The preparation team had to write a self-study report, examining the campus' strengths and weaknesses, and Sciame-Giesecke said they were complimented on "having a good sense of who we are and where we want to go."
She said one of the accomplishments of the last 10 years is completing a change in identity, from granting associate and bachelor's degrees, to phasing out the two-year degrees and adding master's programs.
"We have done a really good job of changing our identity of who were are over 10 years. We became a more mature baccalaureate and graduate institution and moved the associate degrees to Ivy Tech. We did it in a logical, strategic way. We did not have any huge drops in enrollment. We were able to adapt to that particular change very well."
Growth was identified as a challenge. Sciame-Giesecke said planners would like to grow into the 3,000 to 5,000-student range, to be able to add more faculty and make more opportunities available to students.
The search for a new chancellor and other key leaders also was a challenge identified, she said. She added that having just completed an accreditation should make the school attractive to quality candidates.
"We clearly will be handing that to our candidates as they come to campus. They're certainly going to want to come on board with what is a winning institution."