IUS Enrollment up

IU Southeast enrollment is down 4.9 percent from last year; however, there are misconceptions about the reasoning for this decrease. IU Southeast should not be blamed or punished for the factors which have led to the low student retention. For the past three years, IU Southeast’s enrollment has skyrocketed, giving the campus its highest enrollment numbers. However, the decrease in fall enrollment was expected. Chancellor Sandra Patterson-Randles said the enrollment drop from 7,256 students to 6,904 is due to a “perfect storm.”

IU Southeast enrollment dropped by 5 percent for the fall 2012 semester and has the smallest population out of the eight regional Indiana University campuses. Christopher Crews, associate director of Admissions, said IU Southeast expected a drop due to the demographics. “We expected and knew that the demographics in this area wouldn’t support continued growth at that rate,” Crews said.

For this school year, there will be a delay in students receiving their financial aid, due to a law passed by Congress in December 2011. This new law being implemented by Congress will affect how much financial aid students can receive, how long they can receive it and how soon interest will begin to rack up on their loans. The new law also affected the Pell Grant.

The closure of the Sherman Minton Bridge has had an effect on many commuters in Southern Indiana and Kentucky, including students, faculty and staff at IU Southeast. Of the student body, 30 percent commute from Kentucky. While 24 percent full-time faculty and staff live in Kentucky, 44 percent of part-time and adjunct faculty are also commuting from Kentucky. “We have about 2,200 students that are Kentucky reciprocity,” Chancellor Sandra Patterson-Randles said. “Granted some live in the lodges, it is still a significant number.”

IU Southeast’s enrollment numbers for this fall semester were released for this semester on Sept. 3. Overall, enrollment was up 1.1 percent in comparison to last year. "We have 7,256 students taking...

IU Southeast has had a 3.9 percent increase in student enrollment this semester. The increase has exceeded the enrollment management plan’s budgeted goal by 400 percent.