Big Goal:

Ensure that diverse students complete their degrees and realize their aspirations with minimal financial burden.

Enrollment goals:

• Return enrollment to at least pre-pandemic levels by improving retention and recruitment/yield strategies. IU East enrollment peaked at 3,766 students and 38,812 credit hours in Fall 2019. 
• Increase the number of domestic, degree-seeking students of color by at least 1% per year through innovative partnerships and strategic recruitment programs. (Fall 2021, percentage of degree-seeking students of color was 16%.)

Graduation goal:

Improve graduation rates for all students, with a particular focus on historically underserved populations (Student Success Plan).

Improve 6-Year graduation rates of different student populations (Hispanic, Black/African American, First-Generation, Pell) according to the goals outlined in the Student Success Plan (see table below). 

Retention goals:

Improve fall-to-fall retention of different student populations (Hispanic, Black/African American, First-Generation, Pell) according to the goals outlined in the Student Success Plan (see table below). 

Key Strategies/Initiatives:

• Implement HLC Student Success Academy's recommendations (“Student Success Plan”) to focus our efforts and initiatives on those that we know are effective, or have the potential to be effective, for our students.  
• Create the Student Success Steering Committee which will be composed of representatives from key groups/committees who discuss issues, policies, data, and projects that impact student retention and success. Importantly, the committee will be a collaboration between professional staff and faculty in supporting student success and retention.
• Create an IU East Enrollment Council which will report to the EVCAA and is charged with aligning strategies across campus to address the overall enrollment, retention, and graduation goals outlined in the IU East Strategic Plan and the Student Success Plan, including developing a data-informed strategic enrollment management plan that will guide the efforts of all student-serving areas across campus, and using process mapping to identify gaps or pain points in enrollment across the student experience and align recruitment, admissions, orientation, advising, and retention practices. 
• Ensure that our online offerings are high quality and provide a distinctively “IU East experience" by providing interactive and experiential opportunities to online students.
• Focus student-athlete recruitment efforts on Indiana and Ohio populations to increase the number of “local” student-athletes from our service area, as well as Indiana as a whole.
• Garner and deploy external funding to support the College Now! program - our dual-credit program with all Wayne County high schools.
• Create a pathway for the College Now! program to also achieve the goals of and objectives of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education's new “Indiana College Core” program.
• Develop a plan to improve student success in those classes that have the highest DFW rates.
• Make certain that IU East offerings appropriately comply with new C-RAC regulations in a way that does not disadvantage our model of offering both online and face-to-face programs.
• Provide faculty with clarity on how their work can increase student retention and success. Examples include: transparent teaching, inclusive classrooms and teaching, curriculum issues, DFW rates, course/syllabi policies
• Complete an in-depth scholarship analysis and corresponding plan to ensure scholarship funds (campus funds and donor-funded scholarships) are awarded most effectively. 
• Implement a 21st Century Scholars mentoring program.
• Continue to refine the use of the Student Engagement Roster with a specific focus on outreach to students who have been determined at-risk by faculty. 
• Develop a student retention program that intentionally engages students through campus work opportunities that align with their degree program or specific interests. 
• Continue to review/change academic policies to ensure they are student-friendly and communicated effectively to students.
• Encourage the use of Open Educational Resources/textbook alternatives.

Big Goal:

Improve the recruitment, support & retention of highly qualified employees, with a particular focus on diversity & equity.

Key Strategies/Initiatives:

• Provide more support for faculty who are applying for promotion and tenure.
• Implement the new hiring manual for academic hires. This includes a particular focus on working with the EEOC/AA director to ensure we have diverse candidate pools and interview/hire an increased percentage of diverse candidates. Actively seek individuals who qualify for the President’s Diversity Hiring Initiative.
• Implement adjunct faculty development initiatives.
• Develop formal and informal opportunities that encourage an increased culture of active engagement and “leading from where you are". 
• Convene Employee Recognition Committee to assess and revise (if necessary) our employee recognition programs; add a Diversity Award.
• Ensure regular staff training opportunities are provided (through IU, through IU’s connection with LinkedIn, and/or by our own HR department). 
• Fill the dean vacancy in the School of Natural Science & Mathematics. 
• Implement a phased plan to replace office furniture to help provide increased pride and morale.
• Implement new ways of doing things that were developed during COVID that were positive (e.g., regular messages to the campus from the Chancellor; virtual speakers, etc.).
• Ensure that schools have policies regarding expectations for on-campus presence for faculty.

Big Goal:

Proceed with EVCAA Academic Planning process to ensure that we offer degrees/programs that are in demand and meet the needs of our region, that build on existing strengths as well as identify potential new academic opportunities, including new types of offerings such as micro-credentials in addition to degrees.

Draft Key Strategies/Initiatives:

• Continue the academic planning process, to:
  • Examine the portfolio of academic course offerings from the perspective of what the region's needs may be in 2026, and incorporate findings from the IU Spring 2022 “Regional Campus External Review” that are relevant here.
  • Work to identify best practice student-success models for the campus' diverse student instruction populations. (e.g., fully campus-based, fully online, first-year students, transfer students)
  • Determine the best way to support faculty as we look to the future. 
• Continue our culture to be a leader in online programming and ensure we are leaders in this modality. 
• Ensure our online offerings have a distinctive "IU East" feel by providing inclusive opportunities for our online population. (e.g., Honors Program, Student Government Association, etc.) 
• Explore possibilities for introducing micro-credentials, badges, stacking, certificates as an avenue to meet student and employer needs in five years. (e.g., Poli Sci Clusters)
• Support School of Nursing & Health Sciences' planning effort to more fully develop the Health Sciences aspect of the school. 
• Build on the campus' strengths and growing programs (e.g., Math program)
• Develop a strategy for servicing our Southeast Indiana region (Lawrenceburg area) that meets the needs of the region as well as AACSB requirements.
• Implement ideas from the "Experiential Learning Task Force" to ensure that we are on the forefront of experiential & innovative learning, for BOTH F2F and online student populations.

Big Goal:

Implement the IU East Diversity Plan and follow up on EAB Equity Audit initiatives to ensure that diverse students are successful, and we are recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and staff.

Draft Key Strategies/Initiatives:

• Create a dedicated Multicultural Student Community Space on campus. (Chief Diversity Officer, working with SGA and Campus Life)
• Implement a campus climate survey to better understand the experiences of our diverse student populations and make necessary changes (Grawe, p. 118)
• Increase college access opportunities for first-generation students through the expansion of dual credit partnerships with local school districts (College Now!) and new scholarship programs.
• Continue the practice of test-optional admissions policies to reduce admissions barriers for underrepresented populations. 
• Deliver courses through a transparent teaching model developed by Dr. Marianne Winkelmes, called TILTing (Transparency in Learning and Teaching). While helping all students, it specifically improves the retention and completion of minority and first-generation students.
• Build on our existing strengths in internationalization/globalization/study abroad.
• Increase the persistence and retention of first-generation and minority students by:
  • Creating a faculty mentoring program 
  • Continuing the implementation of transparent teaching practices across all disciplines and strive to have 40% of faculty trained in this strategy by 2026.
  • Developing a community of practice that increases consistent use of the Canvas, improves communication with faculty, and provides a better student experience. 
  • Further enhancing the Center for Faculty Development's Adjunct Development Program by creating shell Canvas sites for courses that adjunct instructors teach, complete with transparent assignments, to reduce the learning curve when onboarding new adjuncts, especially those who are brought in near the start of the semester.
  • Placing conditional admits on a Student Success Path that provides a student success coach to each student to discuss strategies for success and campus resources. 
  • Creating a separate Canvas Orientation program for campus-based transfer students, tailored to their specific needs, as well as an invitation to visit campus and receive a tour tailored to this population. 
  • Developing a strategic plan for recruiting student workers, which may include events such as a campus job fair or tabling events at the start of each semester, as well as identifying targeted student populations for these opportunities, a plan for ensuring diversity in the hiring practices of student workers.

Big Goal:

Develop and implement the most effective campus structure to support our strong community partnerships, including service-learning, career services and other community and civic engagement programs.

Draft Key Strategies/Initiatives:

• Increase the visibility and support of service-learning programs through the Center for Faculty Development.
• Support the new Career Services Advisory Council, whose purpose is to provide input and guidance for initiatives focused on advancing student career development and cultivating relationships in the community.
  • Careers Services and the Career Services Advisory Council areas of focus for 2021 include:
    • develop a more formalized internship program
    • assess the internship program and determine where improvements can be made
    • review the employer recruitment process of IU East graduates and identify areas for enhancement
    • receive feedback on employer hiring needs and develop subsequent plans of action (including faculty/community interactions, career fairs, site visits, informational sessions, etc.)
    • identify challenging areas for area employers with regard to employee talent pipelines and employee readiness
• Continue to build strategic partnerships in the community that enhances our students' access to internships, service-learning opportunities, the arts, and other areas of growth and opportunity. (Palate to Palette, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, First Bank Richmond, etc)
• Develop strategic K-12 partnerships that encourage students, especially those from underserved and underrepresented populations, to pursue higher education. This includes the full development of the College Now! program as well as partnerships such as Third Grade Academy, Randolph County Promise and Amigos. 

Big Goal:

As a campus, collaborate on achieving the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, ahead of what is advocated by the International Panel on Climate Change Report (from IU East Senate resolution, December 2019, and UFC Sustainability Resolution April 2020).

Draft Key Strategies/Initiatives:

• Prioritize sustainability and a climate action plan as major, long-term goals of the IU East campus. (from IU East Senate resolution)
• Actively support the work of the Sustainability Council, the IU East Office of Sustainability, and future academic programs in sustainability, such as the Collaborative B.A. in Sustainability Studies. (from IU East Senate resolution)
• Anticipate the post-carbon, sustainable economic era and preserve fiscal responsibility while pursuing the goal of carbon neutrality. (from IU East Senate resolution)
• Create effective synergy between administration, faculty, staff, and students as we implement and model sustainable best practices and use of renewable resources to the IU East campus, student body, and wider community, for the next 50 years and beyond. (from IU East Senate resolution)
• Host the statewide Climate Summit in the fall of 2022.
• Advocate within IU for the IU East Faculty Senate and Regional Faculty Council resolutions.