INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

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IUPUI SETS ENROLLMENT RECORD; REFERS HUNDREDS OF APPLICANTS TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF INDIANA

Enrollment has increased at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and students are taking a record number of credit hours, announced IUPUI Chancellor Gerald Bepko.

The increases in numbers of students and credit hours occurred even as IUPUI deferred admissions to 654 new students, most of whom were referred to the Community College of Indiana, Bepko said.

Enrollment figures show 26,118 students at the Indianapolis campus, a .2 percent increase over the 26,057 students who enrolled a year ago. Students this year have signed up to take an all time record 263,818 credit hours, compared to 262,140 hours in 1999. That is a .6 percent increase over 1999. Credit hours are a measure of enrollment used by colleges and universities.

"While the head count of enrolled students is not a record, there has never been a higher rate of participation in credit courses," said IUPUI Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculties William Plater.

The fall enrollment increases go beyond just numbers, Bepko noted. "We have not only increased total campus enrollments for the year but we are taking another major step in transforming the IUPUI undergraduate student body."

With tighter admission standards, the overall preparation level of IUPUI's entering class has increased appreciably, he said.

Melanie Boynton, of Fort Wayne, is an example of the transformation of IUPUI's undergraduate student body. Several top universities would have been happy to enroll Boynton. Boynton chose IUPUI.

Boynton, who was ranked 10th in her graduating class at Northrop High School in Fort Wayne, said she was attracted to IUPUI because of the educational opportunities it provides, financial aid and affordability.

Boynton, who received an IUPUI Distinguished Scholarship and an Honors Scholarship, plans to major and do research in chemistry and possibly add psychology as a dual major in preparation for graduate or professional school. When she visited IUPUI, Boynton said she was struck by the opportunities it offered, including access to hospitals.

"As I made my final decision, I was considering several quality schools, but they didn't offer the same opportunities as IUPUI, particularly in science fields," Boynton.

The deferral of students to Community College of Indiana is important, Bepko said. "In partnership with Ivy Tech-and now Vincennes-IUPUI is well on its way to creating the seamless ladder of educational access which we have imagined and for which we have prepared for over a decade. We have no doubt that together we will improve the educational opportunities for central Indiana."

And it didn't come about by chance.

Last fall, IUPUI and Ivy Tech signed an agreement that created Partners, a deferral-referral program for students who need to strengthen their academic skills at the community college in preparation for university course work, said Mary Grove, who coordinates programs for Ivy Tech and IUPUI.

Students with inconsistent performance in college prep courses who apply to IUPUI are referred to the community college and advised to take any pre-college courses they need, plus 15 credits in freshman-level courses, Grove explained. If they achieve grades of C or better in all the courses, they're guaranteed admission when they return to IUPUI. The freshman-level community college courses transfer; so the students can make progress toward their degrees, she added.

This fall, as IUPUI has raised its admissions criteria, referrals to Partners also increased, Grove said. IUPUI referred 579 students to the community college in Indianapolis, and 75 students to community colleges in other Indiana communities. Some 356 students were referred to the community college last academic year, Grove said.

"Partners works, because Ivy Tech and IUPUI have an 11-year history of cooperation, including making 135 courses and all associate degrees transferable," Bepko said. "Both schools are committed to assure that central Indiana students can get the kind of education they need and have opportunities to go as far as they want, whether that's an associate, bachelor, graduate or professional degree."

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