By Sue Loughlin
TERRE HAUTE — Jennifer Boothby has no small task ahead of her.
At a time when Indiana is placing increased emphasis on improved college graduation rates, Boothby’s new assignment at Indiana State University is to develop programs and policies that help more students stay in school and graduate.
On Aug. 1, she began her new duties as associate vice president for academic affairs with primary responsibility for student success. She’ll also oversee the Student Academic Services Center.
“I feel this is such an opportunity for us to be helping our students do better,” she said.
In 2007, ISU’s four-year graduation rate was 20 percent for first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students earning a bachelor’s degree.
That increases to 41 percent for the six-year graduation rate, according to statistics provided by the Commission for Higher Education.
On Thursday, Teresa Lubbers, Indiana’s new commissioner for higher education, said that Indiana has done a good job of getting more people to attend college.
Now, it must do a better job of helping them graduate, she said during a visit to Terre Haute.
“It’s not helping families or the state for people to start and not finish,” Lubbers said. “It’s a huge cost to both families and the state when that happens.”
Increasingly, funding for higher education will be based on degree and course completion rather than enrollment growth, Lubbers said.
Boothby will oversee ISU’s effort to meet those state priorities. “There are a number of new initiatives we’ll try to unroll the first few months,” she said.
Boothby’s first task is to meet people on campus who play a role in student success “to make sure we’re all on the same page and have the same focus,” she said.
One of the initiatives will involve having students fill out electronic surveys that provide early warning signs if they are having problems academically or socially.
If students are having problems, ISU staff will work with them to help them overcome those challenges. The university offers many services that include tutoring, mentoring and counseling.
Other areas that will be reviewed include the freshman “first-year experience” and ISU’s academic advising program. Also, ISU needs to make students more aware of the support services that it offers.
Boothby worked with students who were on academic probation last year, and it’s not always academic ability or motivation that affects success.
Among the group that she worked with, a sizable percentage lost a parent the year before, she said. “We often don’t think about those unique, personal issues,” she said.
Student success can be affected by other emotional issues or when students have to work a lot of hours at outside jobs because of financial issues, she said.
Ivy Tech Community College is working to improve graduation rates, as well. Lubbers noted that statewide, only 13 percent of Ivy Tech students graduate within three years.
Ivy Tech-Terre Haute has started a Student Success Center that uses a new approach to advising and assigns an adviser to each new student.
Student survey data “told us students were not always satisfied with academic advising and didn’t know where to go,” said Leah Allman, vice chancellor for student affairs.
The new advising approach tries to get students better connected with Ivy Tech resources and self-service tools “so they know where to go to get tutoring or career guidance and they know who their adviser is,” Allman said.
Now, career services, admissions and the Student Success Center all are located next to one other on campus. “There is one-stop shopping for all new students,” Allman said.
Eventually, students are transitioned from the Student Success Center to faculty advisers in their chosen academic programs.
The center also helps those transferring to ISU or other four-year institutions.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
