October 6, 2023
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you to everyone who joined our first Coffee with the Chancellor of the semester. For those of you who were unable to join us you can always view the slides at Coffee with the Chancellor. Highlights from last week’s coffee include new grants we have received, our efforts to become a Hispanic Serving Institution, and recent facilities updates. The Transition Monitoring Team (TMT) and Academic Organizational Design Implementation (AOD-I) Steering Committee also shared updates on their work. To get up to date information about AOD-I, you can visit the AOD-I Teams site. TMT also has a new TMT website with a feedback form. You can also reach the TMT via email at tmtiusb@iusb.edu.
Fall 2023 Enrollment
In case you missed our enrollment update, fall 2023 enrollment showed gains in the overall number of full-time students for the first year-over-year increase since 2009. Furthermore, there are continued growth trends in the diversity of the student body. The number of first-time undergraduate students is up by nearly 15% and the number of transfer students is up by 10% compared to last year’s incoming students. The number of Hispanic/Latino students is up by more than 12% and more than 40% of the campus student body is first generation students, which grew by more than 5%. A total of 436 students are enrolled in the honors program, a 16% increase over last year. Additionally, campus housing is at full capacity with a waitlist for the first time in four years. Thanks to our Enrollment Management team and everyone who worked so hard to realize these gains!
Advising & First Floor Administration Building
I’m pleased to share that progress on enhancing our academic advising model is also underway. A centralized advising center has been created on the first floor of the administration building. Many thanks to everyone who has helped to make the reconfiguration a reality. All seniors (90+ credits at beginning of fall 2023) will be completing their degrees with their current advisors. We also plan to retain a few faculty advisors for approximately 200-300 students. All remaining students will be transitioned to professional advisors at the end of the fall semester and hiring of new academic advisors is in progress. If you have questions, please contact Lee Kahan at lkahan@iusb.edu.
Communications
I know there is a lot going on across campus and that clear and consistent communication is more important now than ever before. Please be on the lookout for more frequent messages from me providing key updates on major campus initiatives. We will also be creating a place online where you can easily access all my messages. The Office of Communications and Marketing is also working on enhancements to the Daily Titan to help better highlight the most critical information. I appreciate the feedback we have received and hope these changes help you gain easier access to information.
Thank you for all you do to support our students and each other, each and every day.