Accreditation

The institution provides quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.

Summary

IU Northwest assures the rigor of its academic offerings is appropriate to higher education. Program development processes and training through CISTL contribute to the consistent quality of programs across campus and to meeting our learning goals.General education and program assessment help to assure this consistency and both are aligned with the campus Institutional Outcomes. IU dual credit offerings through the Advanced College Project (ACP) meet the equivalency expectations for the same courses delivered by Northwest faculty. 

Integral to our mission, vision, and values is the recognition and dignity of the human person, and our commitment to an appreciation of the diversity of human experience. We are committed to developing lifelong skills in our students that will equip them to live in a multicultural and ever-changing world. This is exemplified in both our newly revised (2024) general education program and our new (2022) institutional learning outcomes.  

IU Northwest works to ensure that we have the faculty and staff to meet the needs of students and that the overall composition of the faculty and staff reflects human diversity as appropriate. Although the number of full-time faculty has declined (mirroring enrollment declines), the campus has benefited from an increase in tenure-track faculty hiring between 2021-present through the IU Presidential Diversity Hiring Initiative. As part of IU Northwest’s commitment to students and their success, faculty are qualified, regularly evaluated, and expected to remain current in their disciplines and engage in professional development. Our faculty are teacher-scholars who include their students in their research and encourage them to contribute to knowledge through scholarship and creative activities. Also, many support services are available to students, and the institution maintains and provides the infrastructure and resources needed for effective teaching and learning.

Sources

There are no sources.

The rigor of the institution’s academic offerings is appropriate to higher education.

1. Courses and programs are current and require levels of student performance appropriate to the credential awarded.
2. The institution articulates and differentiates learning goals for its undergraduate, graduate, post-baccalaureate, post-graduate and certificate programs.
3. The institution’s program quality and learning goals are consistent across all modes of delivery and all locations (on the main campus, at additional locations, by distance delivery, as dual credit, through contractual or consortial arrangements, or any other modality).

Argument

3.A.1: Courses and programs are current and require levels of student performance appropriate to the credential awarded.

IU Northwest has policies and procedures in place to ensure that courses and programs are current and require levels of student performance appropriate to the credentials awarded. IU Northwest and its curricular offerings are governed by the mission and requirements of IU, IU Northwest, and the local economic and employment market. In the process of mission differentiation mandated by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) and IU and its BoT, IU Northwest made the decision to focus primarily on baccalaureate and select master’s degree programs. Because of the community need for health care technicians in certain disciplines, we have committed to maintaining certain associate degree programs in the health care fields (Radiography and Health Information Technology). 

Credit hours for program completion are comparable with those required by other IU campuses and professional accreditation bodies, including the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Associate degrees require a minimum of 60 credits hours, bachelor's degrees require a minimum of 120 credit hours, at least 30 of which must be at the 300-400 level, and master’s degrees require a minimum of 30 credit hours.  Details for every degree can be found in the IU Northwest Bulletin. Additionally, as mandated by IN Code § 21-18-9-8 bachelor's degrees cannot exceed 120 credit hours and associate degrees 60 credit hours without explicit permission from the ICHE. Undergraduates must meet a minimum program GPA of 2.0 to qualify for graduation, though some programs require a higher program GPA for graduation (IU Northwest Bulletin). Graduate programs require a minimum 3.0 program GPA to qualify for graduation.  

Professional programs rely on their accrediting bodies for meeting the performance levels appropriate for their degrees. We have 20 degrees that are accredited by specific disciplinary accrediting bodies. Most of the non-professional departments/programs use the disciplinary standards of their national organizations as a benchmark for their curriculum and learning outcomes (examples: Psychology p.7, Actuarial Science p.9, Criminal Justice  p.14 program reviews).  

The faculty have differentiated learning levels for 100-400 level courses used to develop all new courses. The units submit proposals for new courses electronically through a system entitled CARMIn (Course Approval, Remonstrance, Maintenance, and Integration). When a member of a department initiates a New Course or a Course Change document via CARMIn, the electronic document automatically routes to the next person in the approval chain. That individual can either approve the request or send it back to the last step, with comments. CARMIn routes to the department chair, curriculum committee of the college/school, then to the dean of the respective academic unit, and finally to the Campus Survey and Curriculum Committee. Requests range between 32-67 per year across the last five years. 

After the Campus Survey and Curriculum Committee approves the course, the request moves to a central university list so other units and campuses of IU have an opportunity to review them for a 30-day review period. Any IU faculty member or department may file an objection to a proposed course/course revision within that review period, prior to being added to the University Master Course List. Final campus approval by the Office of Academic Affairs (AA) then allows the course to be scheduled on our campus. These processes are a component of how we ensure our curricula are current and rigorous.  

The development of new degree programs and certificates originates from the faculty within a particular program, using guidelines for new degree proposals established by IU’s Office of University Academic Policy. Faculty identify program outcomes and assessment measures for any proposed new program, considering general education learning outcomes and any accreditation or professional standards requirements. In the rationale for proposed programs, units must present market research, evidence of state or regional needs for students with such degrees, statistics supporting future employment prospects, program costs and projected revenues, and evidence that the unit can staff a high-quality program that will attract students. Units solicit community and student input in developing their new programs. We include several recent proposalsas examples (BS in Forensic Science, Chancellor’s MS in Strategic Finance, BS in Digital Media and Storytelling). 

Since 2013, the IU Office of Online Education (OOE) has worked to assist the regional campuses of IU in creating collaborative online degrees and certificates. All new online degree programs must be developed collaboratively, with each regional campus of IU being offered the choice whether or not to participate. Faculty representatives from each campus collaboratively develop the curriculum, program goals and assessment strategies, then work with OOE to develop the proposals. Program approvals must be routed through all campus curriculum processes outlined above. The respective deans of the programs and a cross-campus faculty committee then manage the approved programs collaboratively. 

In the case of a new program, after approval by the unit and the Campus Survey and Curriculum Committee, the Office of Academic Affairs (AA), the Academic Leadership Council (ALC) of IU, IU’s BoT, and, finally, the ICHE review the program before IU Northwest reports to the HLC. An electronic tracking system (APPEAR) allows major changes to the curriculum to be tracked through to final approval. Programs that have gone through this process since 2013 include eight new minors, six new degrees and 45 collaborative online degrees/tracks/certificates.  

IU Northwest reviews academic programs every seven years, according to a prescribed schedule. The review is conducted by the program’s external accrediting board or internally (with external reviewers) by the campus (see 4.A.1).

To ensure consistency in all IU Northwest online courses, the campus Center for Innovation and Scholarship in Teaching and Learning (CISTL) has developed an Accessible QM Syllabus template, that can be copied directly into a new online course and edited as necessary. IU has purchased a license for Quality Matters (QM), a rubric of quality standards and process of quality assurance for asynchronous online and hybrid courses. QM uses a peer-based approach to CQI in course design and student learning. CISTL has developed an Online Certification Course based on QM that a faculty member completes prior to offering an online course. It helps instructors understand what online learning is, how to develop their course content for an online environment, and what the best practices are for online course development and teaching. It also explores such areas as instructional design, ADA web accessibility guidelines, and internet copyright and fair use. By moving through the CISTL Offerings, IU Northwest faculty are encouraged to have their courses QM certified. This is a challenge that a number of faculty have met. Moreover, to ensure consistency and to maintain standards, CISTL has reviewed—and continues to review—our inventory of courses. Currently, the center is reviewing courses, program by program. A report is then given back to the department that identifies strengths as well as opportunities for improvement.  

Three state affiliated components of our curriculum -- the Core Transfer Library (CTL), the Transfer Single Articulation Pathways (TSAPs), and the Indiana College Core (ICC) -- provide an additional opportunity for ensuring consistency and rigor. The CTL is a list of common core courses that are pre-approved for transfer among all Indiana public college and university campuses. The courses in the state-wide CTL are evaluated on a four-six year cycle to ensure that the course outcomes and assessments are consistent across universities. The TSAP’s enable students to apply an associate degree earned at Ivy Tech Community College or Vincennes University toward a corresponding bachelor’s degree program at a four-year public university. The ICC ensures that a 30-credit general education package transfers between all Indiana public colleges and universities. All these components were developed by faculty from across Indiana. Data from the TSAP and ICC show increasing numbers of students utilizing these programs. 

3.A.2: The institution articulates and differentiates learning goals for its undergraduate, graduate, post-baccalaureate, post-graduate and certificate programs.

IU Northwest articulates and differentiates learning goals for its degree programs. In April of 2022 the campus approved a set of Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs). They include Critical Thinking, Broad and Integrative Knowledge, Specialized Knowledge, Social Consciousness, and Collaboration. Each undergraduate program is now aligning their Program Goals with these ILOs. The current learning goals (examples) for each undergraduate and graduate program are listed in the academic bulletin along with degree requirements. 

The learning goals of the graduate programs focus on acquiring the advanced knowledge and skills to successfully practice their profession. Each academic unit establishes its own learning outcomes for students in its graduate programs. IU Northwest lists the learning goals for each graduate degree in the academic bulletin. 

Furthermore, learning outcomes and objectives are developed for each course. The syllabus template developed by CISTL features them prominently (examples).  

3.A.3:The institution’s program quality and learning goals are consistent across all modes of delivery and all locations (on the main campus, at additional locations, by distance delivery, as dual credit, through contractual or consortial arrangements, or any other modality).

All of IU utilizes a single course catalog and schedule of classes. This helps ensure that the coursework offered at IU Northwest is consistent across modalities and locations. In person and online course syllabi include similar learning outcomes and assessments.  

In March 2020, IU Northwest, like other campuses across the country, shifted online. While we were in a better position than many since we have had an online development program on campus for over a decade, the sudden shift exposed areas still in need of development. Staff in CISTL went into high gear, increasing the number of workshops and training sessions offered. For perspective, in 2019, 30 faculty were trained in the Online Training Course across all colleges and schools. In 2020, the number rose to 101.  From 2020 to 2021 CISTL offered training opportunities to faculty in a variety of forms, and the faculty seized the opportunity to improve the online environment for students. During this time, CISTL offered 95 virtual workshops with 651 attendees. CISTL staff held Virtual Open Office hours over the course of ten hours, and 20 faculty attended. There were 18 Online Training Courses offered, and 183 faculty completed this training. There were over 3026 unique contacts (i.e. email support, phone calls, and zoom consultations) between faculty and CISTL support staff. Moreover, a cross-campus taskforce developed Best Practices and FAQ documents to help faculty navigate teaching during the pandemic.  

As part of the assessment of general education, the General Education and Assessment Committee (GEAC) compares grades for in person and online sections of the same course to ensure consistency across modalities. Finally, the faculty credentialing policy, enforced for all faculty, helps ensure that faculty have the appropriate subject matter expertise (example) to provide consistent program quality. 

IU Northwest offers 36 collaborative degrees and 14 collaborative certificates at the undergraduate and graduate level facilitated by the IU Office of Online Education, which are considered consortial programs by the HLC. These programs were developed by faculty committees with representatives from all participating campuses, and there are three MOAs in place for each program to clarify roles and help ensure consistency: MOA1 proposes the degree, MOA2 proposes the shared curriculum, and MOA3 describes the administration of the degree (these examples represent the typical MOAs).  These degrees go through all the same approval processes as programs developed on an individual campus.  

IU Northwest participates in the dual credit program Advance College Project (ACP) managed by IU Bloomington. IU policy specifies that these courses are considered equivalent to the courses with the same name and number at IU Northwest. While not verbatim, the learning outcomes are similar enough to prepare students for subsequent coursework. The courses are subject to the Undergraduate Master Course Inventory Policy (AC-81) that states that “identically numbered courses must be sufficiently comparable to allow substitution/interchangeability,” and “be treated equivalently on all campuses.” The students take courses from qualified secondary-education instructors at their high schools; these instructors are certified through the ACP Office on the Bloomington campus.  ACP instructors use IU syllabi developed in IU Bloomington academic departments.  IU Northwest faculty liaisons are trained at the same certification workshop so they can assess the instructors' teaching to ensure that the quality meets the expectations of the ACP program (see last seven pages of ACP document).

Sources

• 2E3.08_IUN_Accessible_Syllabus
• 3A1.01_Policy_on_Regional_Campus_Roles_and_Missions_2019-06-13
• 3A1.02_Mission_Differentiation_IU
• 3A1.03_IndianaCode21-18-9-8_UndergraduateDegreeProgramsNumberofCreditHours_2023IndianaCode_USCodesandStatutes_USLaw_Justia
• 3A1.06_Psychology_Self-Study_2016_8-16-17_doc
• 3A1.06_Psychology_Self-Study_2016_8-16-17_doc (page number 7)
• 3A1.07_Math_Actuarial Science_Selfstudy
• 3A1.07_Math_Actuarial Science_Selfstudy (page number 9)
• 3A1.08_CriminalJustice_SPEA-Self-Study-RR.pdf
• 3A1.08_CriminalJustice_SPEA-Self-Study-RR.pdf (page number 14)
• 3A1.09_202304_CourseLevelDescriptions
• 3A1.10_CARMIN process examples and requests
• 3A1.10_CARMIN process examples and requests (page number 3)
• 3A1.10_CARMIN process examples and requests (page number 42)
• 3A1.13_remonstrance_list_may2024
• 3A1.14_Academic_Approval_Matrix1
• 3A1.15_ICHE_ForensicScience_Proposal
• 3A1.16_ICHEProposal-MSinStrategicFinance
• 3A1.17_2020-08-06_ICHE_BS_Digital MediaandStorytelling
• 3A1.18_Developing-New-Online-Programs
• 3A1.19_APPEAR-entries
• 3A1.21_CISTL-Programming
• 3A1.22_CISTL-QM-Work-Summary
• 3A1.23_IUN-Accessible-QM-course-review-summary
• 3A1.24_Business programs online courses review based on QM
• 3A1.25_CoreTransferLibrary-IndianaCommissionforHigherEducation
• 3A1.26_TransferPathways-IndianaCommissionforHigherEducation
• 3A1.27_IndianaCollegeCore-IndianaCommissionforHigherEducation
• 3A1.28_IndianaCoreTransferLibraryProcessandProcedures_09-01-2022
• 3A1.29_TSAPandICCdata
• 3A2.01_InstitutionalCompetencies_IUN
• 3A2.02_Examples-of-Learning-Goals-by-Program-Undergrad-Grad
• 3A2.02a_IUN grad program mission and goals
• 3A2.04_syllabi_combined
• 3A3.01_Online_F2F_syllabiexamples
• 3A3.01a_CISTL_2020-2021_numbers
• 3A3.02_Best-Practices-COVID
• 3A3.03_COVID-19-faculty-FAQ-8-26-20
• 3A3.04_Faculty Credentialing Policy and Evidence
• 3A3.04_Faculty Credentialing Policy and Evidence (page number 4)
• 3A3.06_2019-09-24_MoA1_MA_History
• 3A3.07_MA_History_MoA2_FULLY_SIGNED
• 3A3.08_2020-03-30_MoA3_Collaborative_MA_History
• 3A3.09_Advance-College-Project_IndianaUniversity
• 3A3.10_ACP_Syllabi_SiteVisits
• 3A3.10_ACP_Syllabi_SiteVisits (page number 57)
• 3A3.11_AC-81_Undergraduate-Maste- Course-Inventory-Policy_UniversityPolicies_IndianaUniversity
• 4A5.02_Accreditation-IndianaUniversityNorthwest

The institution offers programs that engage students in collecting, analyzing and communicating information; in mastering modes of intellectual inquiry or creative work; and in developing skills adaptable to changing environments.

1. The general education program is appropriate to the mission, educational offerings and degree levels of the institution. The institution articulates the purposes, content and intended learning outcomes of its undergraduate general education requirements.
2. The program of general education is grounded in a philosophy or framework developed by the institution or adopted from an established framework. It imparts broad knowledge and intellectual concepts to students and develops skills and attitudes that the institution believes every college-educated person should possess.
3. The education offered by the institution recognizes the human and cultural diversity and provides students with growth opportunities and lifelong skills to live and work in a multicultural world.
4. The faculty and students contribute to scholarship, creative work and the discovery of knowledge to the extent appropriate to their offerings and the institution’s mission.

Argument

3.B.1: The general education program is appropriate to the mission, educational offerings and degree levels of the institution. The institution articulates the purposes, content and intended learning outcomes of its undergraduate general education requirements.

The newly revised general education program at IU Northwest reflects our revised mission, vision, and values of inclusivity, academic excellence, and student success.  It embraces learning experiences that prepare students for lifelong learning, ethical practices, successful careers, and effective citizenship. It applies to all undergraduate degree programs.

The general education program consists of nine Ways of Knowing organized into two domains: Foundations for Effective Learning and Communication, and Broad and Integrative Knowledge. Each Way of Knowing in the two domains of general education contains student Learning Outcomes (LOs). Specific courses that count toward fulfilling a Way of Knowing are posted on the General Education webpage and Bulletin.  Each course that satisfies a general education requirement includes the LOs on the syllabus.  

Direct communication with students occurs through advisors, our Academic Advising Reports (AAR or Degree Audit), and iGPS (Course Planner, Degree Maps), that list all courses that meet General Education requirements. We monitor the achievement of learning outcomes among our graduates through our general education assessment program and annual major assessment reports (which are currently being revised to accommodate the alignment of the ILOs). (See Criterion 4.B.1 for assessment data.) The School/College verify that students have completed coursework through the online Degree Audit system (AAR) and through the graduation planning process (Senior Checks).

The general education program, like all other programs at IU Northwest, aligns its learning outcomes with the newly established ILOs. These outcomes were developed over the 2021-22 academic year by representative members from all the academic units.

3.B.2: The program of general education is grounded in a philosophy or framework developed by the institution or adopted from an established framework. It imparts broad knowledge and intellectual concepts to students and develops skills and attitudes that the institution believes every college-educated person should possess.

The original general education program was approved by the faculty and adopted by the campus in 2010. As part of an Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) action project the general education assessment process was developed during 2010 – 2014, with outcomes slated for evaluation every four years. Every summer, general education retreats are held to review the processes and propose improvements. After attending an HLC workshop on General Education Assessment in 2021, the campus moved to evaluate outcomes every two years, instead of four. During the Summer 2023 Retreat a plan to revise the general education program and outcomes was proposed. The major modifications include simplifying the program to focus on true foundations for effective learning and communication better aligned with the ICC and the other IU regional campuses, elevating the study of diversity to a foundational component of learning and communication, shifting some previous requirements to the unit and program levels and aligning with the new Institutional Learning Outcomes.  Subsequently, this plan was socialized during the 2023-2024 academic year, with presentations and question and answer sessions. The proposal was modified based on the feedback.  The FO approved the final version in April 2024 and it went into effect for the Fall 2024.  The Summer 2024 retreat and first meeting of the Fall 2024 term finalized the course approval process and set up a new assessment schedule.    

The new General Education Program is divided into two domains: 

1. Foundations for Effective Learning and Communication includes fluency in reading, writing, and oral communication; mastery of the basic principles of logical, mathematical, and scientific reasoning; literacy in information resources; and social consciousness/diversity. 
2. Broad and Integrative Knowledge includes mastery of the core concepts, principles, and methods in arts and humanities, the social and behavioral sciences, and the mathematical, physical, and life sciences. 

3.B.3: The education offered by the institution recognizes the human and cultural diversity and provides students with growth opportunities and lifelong skills to live and work in a multicultural world.

IU Northwest has been a HSI since 2020 and is one of only four higher education institutions with that designation in Indiana. The mission, vision, values and strategic plan of our campus emphasize the value we place on “diversity in all its dimensions and the pursuit of equitable and socially just practices.”  Furthermore, Goal 5 of our 2026 strategic plan is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion+ and contains strategies and outcomes specifically focused on increasing diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice on campus.   

Our general education program has had Diversity as one of its five principles since its inception in 2010 and thus all undergraduate degrees have contained a diversity component since that time.  The new general education program elevates Diversity to the level of Foundations of Effective Learning and Communication to emphasize its value to the educational endeavor. The campus ILOs include Social Consciousness as one of the 5 learning outcomes as well. In addition to the Diversity/Social Consciousness outcomes, we offer students the ability to further specialize in areas including: minors in Women’s and Gender Studies, African American and Diaspora Studies and Latinx Studies; a major in African American and Diaspora Studies; and certificates in Women’s and Gender Studies, Community Development and Urban Studies, and Race-Ethnic Studies. 

ODEMA provides support for students from traditionally underrepresented groups through Brother2Brother, My Sister’s Keeper, undergraduate research support, and co-curricular offerings that are open to the public. Active student organizations include the Black Student Union, ALMA, Pi Lambda Chi, Cru, First Gen, the Asian American Association and Muslim Student Association. There are additional disciplinary student affinity groups on campus as well (e.g., Latinx Community Advancement Program or LaCAP, Women in Business, Women in Law). The Women’s Center has a dedicated space within the campus Student Center for studying, either individually or in small groups and programs and discussions are regularly hosted there. TRIO Student Support Services provides academic support for first-generation and low-income undergraduates, and host accessibility-related activities and workshops. The Groups Scholars Program was created in 2022 as a way to increase college attendance among first-generation, underrepresented students at IU Northwest. The program provides academic, financial, and social support to selected undergraduates. 

Human and cultural diversity is also celebrated across IU Northwest through a wide variety of co-curricular programs. The Diversity Advisory Council (DAC) with broad representation on campus, meets regularly to discuss campus-specific diversity issues. It produces as well as helps identify systemic approaches towards advancing the broader context of diversity and contributes to the IU annual diversity report. The HSI Committee plans Hispanic Heritage Month and other activities geared toward our HSI designation. Study abroad opportunities through IU Northwest (Bilbao, China) as well as IU add to our ability to celebrate human and cultural diversity. Our One Book, One Campus, One Community reading program has annually focused on discussing ideas and themes that raise important social issues, especially those surrounding issues of diversity. IU Northwest Diversity Landmarks Wall of Fame just celebrated its 20th anniversary.  Every fall, the campus walkways are lined with quotes focused on celebrating diversity, submitted by faculty, staff and the community.  

3.B.4: The faculty and students contribute to scholarship, creative work and the discovery of knowledge to the extent appropriate to their offerings and the institution’s mission.

The faculty and students at IU Northwest contribute to scholarship, creative work and the discovery of knowledge in many ways. Engaging in research with the help of undergraduate and graduate students promotes inclusivity, academic excellence, and student success.  

For tenure-track faculty members, engagement, creativity, and discovery define them in their respective fields. Tenure-track faculty members receive a course reassignment per semester for the demonstration of an active research program and are expected to produce scholarship and creative work for promotion and tenure purposes (pp. 6, 11, P&T Policy). Faculty are highly encouraged to include students in creative and scholarly activities. Advising, mentoring, and engaging students in research is supportive evidence for faculty when making a case for promotion and tenure. 

The campus supports faculty in their efforts to engage in research/creative activity. All new tenure-track faculty members receive startup funding through the establishment of a research account. They may apply annually for travel funds for professional development and receive reimbursement for travel and conference registration expenses and fees. Tenured faculty may apply for sabbatical leave every seven years as a component of professional development. Applications for sabbaticals follow the same process as promotion and tenure. On average, five to ten faculty members receive sabbaticals each year.  Summer Faculty Fellowships allow six to eight full-time faculty members to further their scholarship, or to redesign/develop a new course annually. The campus funds Summer Faculty Fellowships at the cost of $11,000 each, and grants-in-aid of research annually in the amount of $17,000 (total). The IU Northwest Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) promotes scholarly and creative activities for faculty, staff, and students by assisting in finding grant opportunities (using PIVOT), writing proposals, preparing budgets, and obtaining or preparing required documents for internal and external funding proposals. IU offers additional support opportunities for faculty to pursue their research and creative activity efforts. 

CISTL promotes research by offering awards for research and fellowships within the field of teaching and learning. The CISTL Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Award is given to a full-time faculty member that has contributed to SoTL in general and to one’s discipline. The CISTL Research Fellowship program is awarded to full- and part-time faculty to encourage engagement in SoTL and intended to contribute to student learning and success at IU Northwest. Those who receive the fellowships receive stipends to carry out a research project over three semesters, with the goal of producing a publishable manuscript upon completion. In addition, winners share their findings with campus-colleagues through CISTL workshops or presentations.  

IU Northwest’s Distinguished Scholarship/Creative Activity Award recognizes distinguished research by IU Northwest faculty. This award is given annually to a faculty member that has demonstrated substantive, significant, and sustained scholarship/creative activity across their academic career while a member of the IU community. Additionally, since 2019 the campus has hosted an annual Celebration of Faculty Research, Creativity and Innovation which consists of brief Ted-X-like talks. 

Several student grants are available to promote the involvement of undergraduate students in research and to help students pursue their own research avenues. The undergraduate research fund grants were designed to promote active engagement in research and creative activities. Funds from this grant support travel, supplies and stipends. In addition, students are required to share their research beyond their academic unit as part of the grant. We award approximately six per year. Student travel grants provide financial support to undergraduate and graduate students who are presenting research at academic or professional conferences. This grant provides support for travel and conference-related expenses up to $500 (eight awarded per year). The IU Northwest Minority Opportunity for Research Experience (MORE) program connects traditionally underrepresented students with faculty mentors and provides financial support ($1000) for the student.  The students assist with faculty research and other creative projects. Our TRIUNFOS and LSAMP grants offer further opportunities to support student research in the STEM fields.  

The campus also offers venues for students to present their research and creative activity, including the annual College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) Undergraduate Research Conference (held since 2004, averaging 50-75 presentations annually), and the Women’s and Gender Studies Celebrating our Students Research Conference (averaging 10 presentations annually). IU also hosts an undergraduate research conference, open to all IU students. Plans are underway for select undergraduates from each of the regional campuses to present their research at the state capitol building in Indianapolis in March 2025. Support for student research and creative activity goes beyond conference presentations.  IU Northwest publishes a student-led literary magazine, Spirits, that accepts submissions from IU Northwest students and non-IU Northwest students (latest issue).

Sources

• 1A1.04_IUNStrategicPlan_through2026
• 1A1.04_IUNStrategicPlan_through2026 (page number 6)
• 1C1.06_2024-General_Education-Principle1-IndianaUniversityNorthwest.pdf
• 1C1.06_2024-General_Education-Principle1-IndianaUniversityNorthwest.pdf (page number 4)
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• 1C2.08_Diversity-Advisory-Council-Indiana-University-Northwest
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• 3B1.03_NewGenEdCourseMatrix_Fall2024
• 3B1.04_Academic-advisment-report-AAR-or-degree-audit
• 3B1.05_How-to-use-iGPS
• 3B1.06_Examples-of-completed-AARs-by-college
• 3B1.07_GraduationApplication-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3B2.01_GeneralEducation-IndianaUniversityNorthwest_page-and-principles
• 3B2.02_GenEdActionProject
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• 3B2.11_General_Education-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3B2.12_General_Education-Principle1
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• 3B3.04_Minors-and-Majors_Diversity_Focus
• 3B3.05_GroupsScholarsProgam-website
• 3B3.06_DPS-Proposals_2012-2023-Updated_10-4-2023
• 3B3.08_OVPDEMA_AnnualReport-2022
• 3B3.09_HHMonth_2021-2024
• 3B3.10_Bilbao
• 3B3.11_China
• 3B3.12_EducationAbroad-IndianaUniversity
• 3B3.14_OneBookHistory
• 3B3.15_IU-Northwest-celebrates-20th-year-of-Diversity-Landmark-Wall-of-Fame
• 3B4.01_teaching-load-reduction-form
• 3B4.02_faculty_productivity_2018-2023
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• 3B4.03_PT_2023_Final_student_res_highlight (page number 6)
• 3B4.03_PT_2023_Final_student_res_highlight (page number 11)
• 3B4.04_Publications_including-student-authors
• 3B4.05_Sabbatical-form
• 3B4.06_Summer-Research_Creative_Activity-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3B4.07_IUNorthwest_Faculty_Grant-in-Aid_of_Research-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3B4.08_IU_internal_funding
• 3B4.09_Office_of_Sponsored_Research-IndianaUniversityNorthwest.pdf
• 3B4.10_SponsoredResearch_Pivot-IUN
• 3B4.11_CenterforInnovationandScholarshipinTeachingandLearning-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3B4.12_CallforSoTLaward
• 3B4.13_CISTL_Callforfellowship
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• 3B4.15_CelebrationofFacultyResearch
• 3B4.16_URFGuidelinesandApp_revisedJanuary2020
• 3B4.17_travel-fund-application_2016
• 3B4.18_MOREStudentApplication-IndianaUniversityNorthwest.pdf
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• 3B4.20_WGS_PROGRAM_2024
• 3B4.21_IUundergraduate_research_conference-IndianaUniversity
• 3B4.22_SpiritsVolume36_2022-2023

The institution has the faculty and staff needed for effective, high-quality programs and student services.

1. The institution strives to ensure that the overall composition of its faculty and staff reflects human diversity as appropriate within its mission and for the constituencies it serves.
2. The institution has sufficient numbers and continuity of faculty members to carry out both the classroom and the non-classroom roles of faculty, including oversight of the curriculum and expectations for student performance, assessment of student learning, and establishment of academic credentials for instructional staff.
3. All instructors are appropriately qualified, including those in dual credit, contractual and consortial offerings.
4. Instructors are evaluated regularly in accordance with established institutional policies and procedures.
5. The institution has processes and resources for assuring that instructors are current in their disciplines and adept in their teaching roles; it supports their professional development.
6. Instructors are accessible for student inquiry.
7. Staff members providing student support services, such as tutoring, financial aid advising, academic advising and cocurricular activities, are appropriately qualified, trained and supported in their professional development.

Argument

3.C.1: The institution strives to ensure that the overall composition of its faculty and staff reflects human diversity as appropriate within its mission and for the constituencies it serves.

Our commitment to diversity is stated as an institutional value and is included as a Goal in our 2026 Strategic Plan. The Director of Institutional Equity and Title IX (IETIX) ensures that hiring practices are in line with the University’s commitment to affirmative action and equal employment opportunity and comply with federal and state equal employment opportunity laws and regulations for all employees.  

Before IU Northwest announces a faculty or professional staff position, the IETIX Director and the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (EVCAA) approve a recruitment plan, focusing on outreach to underrepresented groups as described in our newly revised search and screen manual. The presence of the IETIX Director (or designee) is required at the first meeting of the Search and Screen Committees to provide advice and counsel and every job posting includes an EEO statement that assures applicants that they will receive equal consideration.

The Office of Academic Affairs assigns an Equity Advisor with faculty rank to serve as a resource for faculty Search and Screen Committees regarding equity and diversity matters. The Equity Advisor is a non-voting member of the committee unless the Director of IETIX and EVCAA assign the advisor with dual-role responsibilities.

We publish faculty position announcements in the Chronicle of Higher Education and have committed to sustaining a diverse employee roster for all full-time faculty positions by publishing in additional arenas of outreach, which ensures a diverse pool of applicants. We publish ads with Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Insight into Diversity, disciplinary specific diversity focused journals and newsletters, and send letters to HBCU’s or HSI’s with doctoral programs in the position’s discipline, among others.

Our recruiting and hiring practices have produced a diverse employee population at IU Northwest, but we continue to improve the composition of our faculty and staff. Recently IU announced a seven-year Presidential Diversity Hiring Initiative ($30 million) to accelerate efforts to hire a more diverse community of tenure-track faculty. IU Northwest has hired six faculty within the last three years as part of this initiative.

3.C.2: The institution has sufficient numbers and continuity of faculty members to carry out both the classroom and the non-classroom roles of faculty, including oversight of the curriculum and expectations for student performance, assessment of student learning, and establishment of academic credentials for instructional staff.

In order to ensure enough faculty to carry out their role, including curricular and program development as well as advising and assessment, faculty positions are opened in accordance with student demand, vis-a-vis student to faculty ratios (14:1) and other data driven examples indicating student demand and/or accreditation requirements. The Dean’s Council uses faculty separations, including retirements, to consider if a vacancy should be filled with a similar position or, if relevant new academic programming can be advanced by reallocating budget dollarsto reflect new needs as described in Goal 3 of the Strategic Plan. Any requests for faculty positions are accompanied by data to support the request. Faculty credentials are evaluated during the search process using the IU Northwest faculty credentialing policy. The 2023 Common Data Set of full-time and part-time faculty documents that 42% of part-time faculty and 73% of full-time faculty hold a doctorate, or other terminal degree.

Faculty continuity is tracked regularly and compared to the IU faculty retention numbers. One-year retention of faculty at IU Northwest is comparable to that of IU overall.

The number of instructional faculty has decreased between 2015-2023 (FT -22%, PT -24%), in response to the decrease in enrollment IU Northwest has experienced during that same time. However, according to the same IPEDS HR reporting, the percentage of full-time underrepresented faculty of color at IU Northwest had a net increase of one (4% increase, n=24 in 2023) during that same time, and the part-time underrepresented faculty of color only declined by a net of three members, or –8%.

The IU Northwest FO Constitution and By-laws reiterate that it is the responsibility of the faculty toestablish policy and determine procedures governing the teaching, research, and service aspects of the University’s academic mission, including the curriculum, assessment of student learning (Section 6.11), admission and retention of students, standards and procedures for faculty appointments (including faculty credentials), and promotion and tenure, among others (Section 10.1).

Specific to IU regional campuses, all full-time faculty are assigned 12 credit hours per semester. Tenure-track faculty are granted one course reassignment per semester in accordance with their research and service commitments and productivity. This results in a nine-credit hour teaching assignment per semester generally. Clinical faculty and lecturers are assigned 12 hours of instructional contact time. Based on 12 credit hours per semester as one FTE, the total FTE for full-time faculty in 2023 is 129 as compared to adjunct faculty at 49.

3.C.3: All instructors are appropriately qualified, including those in dual credit, contractual and consortial offerings.

IU Northwest employs and advances faculty that meet the credentialing standards set forth by the HLC and further articulated by the IU Northwest FO through the adherence to the credentialing policy for new hires, and through credential audits for long-term employees. The deans of each academic unit are responsible, with the help of Faculty Human Resources in the Office of Academic Affairs, for ensuring that the minimum faculty credentials are met. Faculty credentials are listed on individual departmental webpages. Additionally, Faculty Organization voted to maintain standards in online education by supporting the Guidelines for Online Education at IU Northwest, which requires regular training for faculty.

IU Northwest offers dual credit from Advanced College Project (ACP) administered by IU Bloomington and accredited by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP).  ACP confirms the credentials of the high school faculty that teach in the program (see 3.A.3). 

IU Northwest does not participate in any contractual or consortia programs, except the IU collaborative degrees, which the HLC considers consortia degrees. These degree programs are taught by IU faculty at the regional campuses and follow the approved faculty credentialing policies on their home campuses.

3.C.4: Instructors are evaluated regularly in accordance with established institutional policies and procedures.

Instructors are evaluated regularly through a number of mechanisms. Electronic course evaluations are done for all course sections using eXplorance Blue. The four academic units have tailored the question sets to their specific needs. The evaluations are made available to students through the Learning Management System, Canvas. Faculty can see the number of students who have completed evaluations while the evaluation window is open, but the summary evaluation results are not released until after the official end of each semester. The scores are provided for each question, along with a comparison to the department/program and to the college/school.

All full-time faculty, including Librarians, complete an electronic annual report that summarizes activities related to teaching, research, and service. Each faculty member enters all activities into the Digital Measures/Activity Insight database. This system is currently being replaced IU-wide with Elements, beginning in 2025. Each faculty member is evaluated on criteria included in the IU Academic policies, and the newly revised Promotion and Tenure Guidelines, which detail faculty rights and responsibilities to students, colleagues, and the campus. The Chair or Program Director evaluates each faculty member’s annual report, which the unit’s dean and the EVCAA then review. The annual review process also determines whether probationary faculty will receive reappointment or non-reappointment. Assistant professors receive an extensive third-year formative review to assist them in their work towards tenure, which begins during the sixth year of their employment. If an already tenured faculty member seeks a change in career direction/emphasis or for those who are failing to meet minimum levels of performance or productivity a post-tenure review process is available that focuses on creating a development plan for future success.

Tenure-track faculty submit e-dossiers for evaluation of their teaching, research, and service to gain tenure at the beginning of their 6th year of full-time employment. Faculty within the candidate’s school, their chair/director, their dean, the campus promotion and tenure committee, the EVCAA, the Chancellor, the Vice President for Regional Campuses and Online Education, and the President of IU review the dossiers and make formal recommendations. The IU BoT makes the final decision. Promotion processes follow the same procedure as above. Lecturers and Clinical ranks submit their e-dossiers to similar campus-based reappointment processes and procedures as tenure-track faculty and upon promotion receive longer-term contracts. Tenure-track, clinical and lecturer ranks have different promotion requirements based on the unique characteristics of their rank.  Adjunct faculty members are evaluated based on student evaluations of teaching and peer review of teaching as primary means for determining contract renewal. A recently developed (2024) standardized form is now used for all adjunct evaluations.

3.C.5: The institution has processes and resources for assuring that instructors are current in their disciplines and adept in their teaching roles; it supports their professional development.

Instructors have substantial professional development opportunities available through CISTL and Teaching.IU, including grants, fellowships, workshops, learning communities, brownbag discussions, and one-on-one consultations. CISTL provides multi-session training on creating, delivering, and managing online and face-to-face courses, and fellowships to incentivize faculty to enhance the learning experiences of students. As described in detail 3.A.1, IU uses the Quality Matters (QM) rubric to support professional development for online teaching through CISTL.

The campus has invested in ACUE’s pedagogical professional development programs for both full-time and part-time faculty. To date, 83 adjunct faculty have completed a micro-credential in Active Learning, Inspiring Inquiry and Lifelong Learning or Fostering a Culture of Belonging and 75 full-time faculty have completed a 2-semester Effective Teaching Practices micro-credential. COAS pioneered campus-wide faculty learning communities called Pedagogical Interest Groups (PIGs) that strive to help faculty remain current with SoTL, and then to create interventions that will lead to improved student success. This program was recently recognized as an example of Excelencia by Excelencia in Education. Furthermore, ODEMA offers grant funding through its Diversity Fellows Program, which subsidizes faculty research and expenses to promote both the inclusion of diversity within the curriculum and the introduction of pedagogical enhancements.

IU's Faculty Academy on Excellence in Teaching (FACET) is a faculty-run community with statewide and campus steering committees and a rigorous statewide and campus selection process. FACET’s community of scholars supports scholarly teaching and SoTL throughout IU and provides another venue for professional development. IU Northwest has 27 active FACET members, and 33 alumni presently.

3.C.6: Instructors are accessible for student inquiry.

IU policy (ACA-33, sect. i, j, k) states that it is the academic appointee's responsibility to be accessible for student inquiry. Faculty are required to list their office hours on their syllabi, to be available during that time, and encourage students to attend. IU Northwest normally expects office hours to equate to the number of credit hours taught by the faculty member each week. Faculty who teach online must still maintain office hours and respond promptly to students electronically.

3.C.7: Staff members providing student support services, such as tutoring, financial aid advising, academic advising and cocurricular activities, are appropriately qualified, trained and supported in their professional development.

Staff members in non-academic support services go through a comprehensive recruitment and hiring process to ensure that they have the education, knowledge, and experience to be successful in their area of student support. A new job framework was implemented in 2021 with an emphasis on career pathways. A job navigator (available in One.IU) allows employees to see the requisite skills and experiences needed for advancement easily (example: Academic Advising). Departments review job descriptions for positions regularly to ensure that the descriptions include the appropriate minimum requirements and preferred qualifications. The recently revised performance evaluation program at IU and practiced at IU Northwest focuses on both performance and development. IU Northwest provides resources (e.g., travel), and IU develops programs internally to encourage the ongoing professional development of staff through participation in local and national conferences, membership in professional student affairs and discipline-specific organizations, as well as attendance at trainings (including ACUE), workshops, and conferences. 

Tuition benefits support employees, their spouses, and children in pursuing advanced degrees, including all the IU Online programming. LinkedIn Learning, among other training and development opportunities, provides access to relevant professional development to employees at IU Northwest.

Sources

• 1A1.04_IUNStrategicPlan_through2026
• 1A1.04_IUNStrategicPlan_through2026 (page number 4)
• 1A1.04_IUNStrategicPlan_through2026 (page number 6)
• 1A4.13_FosteringaCultureofBelongingCourse_ACUE
• 1C2.13_Academic-Search-And-Screen-Process-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 1C2.15_Investing-in-faculty-diversity-across-IU
• 1C2.15a_PresidentsDiversityInitiative-Hires
• 2A2.14_FacOrgConst-IndianaUniversityNorthwest1
• 2D1.02_ACA-33_acadresponsibilitiesconduct_academicpolicy_IUN
• 2D1.02_ACA-33_acadresponsibilitiesconduct_academicpolicy_IUN (page number 6)
• 3A3.04_Faculty Credentialing Policy and Evidence
• 3C1.03_RecruitmentPlan_IUNorthwest_AcademicSearchandScreenManual_08-2019
• 3C1.05_Employee_Demographic_Trends
• 3C2.02_CDS_2023_IUN_sectionI_instructionalfaculty
• 3C2.04_PositionRequests_withAM360_Evaluations_2019
• 3C2.06_IUNorthwest_Faculty_1-year_Retentionfrom2017-21
• 3C2.07_IUN Faculty and Staff Headcounts and Trends
• 3C2.07_IUN Faculty and Staff Headcounts and Trends (page number 2)
• 3C2.07_IUN Faculty and Staff Headcounts and Trends (page number 3)
• 3C3.02_Faculty-IndianaUniversityNorthwest_SOBE
• 3C3.03_iun-guidelines-for-online-education
• 3C3.04_Blue - Summary Instructor Report for PSY P329 (LEC) 17228 _Redacted
• 3C4.01_FacultyandLibrarianAnnualReviews
• 3C4.02_FacultyAnnualReports_usingActivityInsight_atIUNorthwest
• 3C4.05_Faculty_and_Librarian_Tenure_UniversityPolicies_IndianaUniversity
• 3C4.06_PT_2023_Final
• 3C4.07_Initial_and_Reappointment_Schedule_rev_August2018
• 3C4.08_Third-Year_Review
• 3C4.09_Post-Tenure_Review_IUN
• 3C4.10_PT_Guidelines_final_8_2016_rev
• 3C4.12_Assoc_faculty_review_form_2024
• 3C5.01_TeachingIU_extractfromOctober24_and_December24
• 3C5.03_Put_Faculty_Development_at_the_Center_of_Student_Success
• 3C5.04_Excellencia_Compendium_2024
• 3C5.05_Office_of_Diversity_Equity_Multicultural_Affairs_DiversityFellows
• 3C5.06_Faculty_Academy_on_Excellence_in_Teaching_IndianaUniversity
• 3C7.01_IU_Career_Navigator
• 3C7.02_PerformanceEval_IU
• 3C7.03_HR-PD-IUNorthwest
• 3C7.04_Staff_Conference_Attendance
• 3C7.04a_Active_Professional_Organizations.pdf
• 3C7.05_IU Tuition Benefit Summary and 2018-2023 Tables
• 3C7.05_IU Tuition Benefit Summary and 2018-2023 Tables (page number 2)
• 3C7.07_LinkedIn Learning IU Summary and 2021 to Present Usage
• 3C7.07_LinkedIn Learning IU Summary and 2021 to Present Usage (page number 2)
• 3C7.08_IU-UHR_trainingdevelopmentofferings
• 4B3.05_CISTL_Programming_2022-24

The institution provides support for student learning and resources for effective teaching.

1. The institution provides student support services suited to the needs of its student populations.
2. The institution provides for learning support and preparatory instruction to address the academic needs of its students. It has a process for directing entering students to courses and programs for which the students are adequately prepared.
3. The institution provides academic advising suited to its offerings and the needs of its students.
4. The institution provides to students and instructors the infrastructure and resources necessary to support effective teaching and learning (technological infrastructure, scientific laboratories, libraries, performance spaces, clinical practice sites and museum collections, as appropriate to the institution’s offerings).

Argument

3.D.1: The institution provides student support services suited to the needs of its student populations.

IU Northwest provides an array of student support services. During the admissions process, students who do not completely meet the admission standards are placed into the newly revised Redhawk Scholars Program. Students receive additional support during their first year, including a required Summer Bridge, two semesters of first-year seminar, block schedules and a success coach for additional support. The Groups Scholars Program supports first-generation and underrepresented students and provides academic, financial, and social support. Students who do not meet the full requirements for direct admission into a college or school (based on high school GPA or test scores, if available) are placed into block schedules as well (a first-year seminar, math, English, and public speaking).  

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is offered for historically difficult introductory classes and has produced positive results. Over the last few years, the STEM Center began to provide in-class tutoring for STEM courses, reducing the number of SI sections and sessions being offered. Accessibility support services provides assistance and accommodation to students who have a documented disability. A coordinator works with students through the process of getting the appropriate accommodations on a student-by-student basis. The number of students served annually varies based on the services needed.  

Student Support Services is a federally funded TRIO program designed to support students and improve retention and graduation. Qualified students meet one of the following: be first-generation, have a documented disability or have financial need. Supports include tutoring, financial literacy/assistance with financial aid, academic workshops, cultural events, book, and laptop loans. 

LSAMP/STEM Center tutoring is provided through the TRIUNFOS and LSAMP grants. The STEM Center provides tutoring for courses in STEM fields, and opportunities for peer mentoring and internships for current students.  

The Math Assistance Center provides tutoring services for all math courses through Calculus II. Student usage of the Center services has decreased over the last few years.  The Writing Center offers both face-to-face and online tutoring and assists with all facets of the writing process. The Center is recovering from the COVID declines and is showing increased usage of services by students. However, the declines in SI, Writing and Math Center usage was the impetus to the campus beginning the development of a Student Success Center that will house advising, the Writing and Math Centers, supplemental instruction, tutoring, 21st Century scholars, Groups Scholars, and informal study spaces. We hope that normalizing use of student support will increase usage.       

The Office of Military and Veteran Services provides support for military-affiliated students in their academics and assists them in navigating federal and state military education benefits. IU Northwest has been recognized by the Military Times as a Best for Vets Institution since 2022.  

The 21st Century Scholars Support program provides support in four areas for eligible students: academic performance and persistence, student engagement and enrichment, financial literacy and debt management, and career exploration and preparation. Results indicate they are retained and graduate at a higher level than the overall campus population. 

Career Services helps students with career counseling, financial literacy, internships, work study, career and major assessment and exploration and provides a wide variety of career-related programming.  In 2024 an IU taskforce, with representation from all the IU campuses, has developed the “IU Framework for Academic Advising and Career Development” that applies to all professionals in the Career Services Consultant roles and established common core student learning outcomes, professional expectations to enhance career development, and institutional responsibilities of leaders to create the conditions in which the work can be successful. 

Counseling Services is available to any student attending IU Northwest. Their counselors (credentialed as LMHC, MSW, LSW and LCSW) provide short-term, solutions-based counseling support. Usage statistics suggest significant use of these services. Additionally, IU partners with TimelyCare to provide free virtual mental health support to all IU students as well. 

The IU Northwest Athletics office provides support for recruits and current athletes. Each athlete has an assigned athletic advisor to ensure they are meeting both athletic and academic requirements to maintain eligibility. The following sports are available on our campus: men’s basketball, women's basketball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball. 

Students who were dismissed from the university or who stopped out but re-apply with a GPA below 2.0 must attend a Reinstatement to Increase Student Excellence (RISE) Workshop. This workshop is designed to highlight all student support available to help students be more successful. Students with less than 60 credit hours who are on academic probation (have a GPA below 2.0) are required to attend an academic recovery workshop and meet with an assigned success coach. These supports are designed to assist students with committing to change needed to achieve academic success and persistence at IU Northwest. A recent evaluation of these programs indicate they are not as successful as we would have hoped and prompted our in-process revision of the probation and dismissal policy.  

To support student retention, instructors teaching undergraduate students must provide feedback on our Student Engagement Roster (SER). SER is a tool that instructors use to provide feedback around performance and attendance. This process notifies academic advisors who can then proactively reach out to students who appear to be struggling and provide them with resources and support to get them back on track. We have a particular focus on 100-200 level general education courses for early intervention. 

3.D.2: The institution provides for learning support and preparatory instruction to address the academic needs of its students. It has a process for directing entering students to courses and programs for which the students are adequately prepared.

Students are placed into appropriate math and English classes based on one of the following: placement exams, previous math and English dual credit classes, AP scores, or SAT/ACT scores. Our placement testing website offers students practice testing for the math test so that students can refresh their skills prior to testing. Placement testing is also available for chemistry (online) and Modern Languages (in person). 

Students who are conditionally admitted are placed into block schedules with a cohort of students for their first semester (first-year seminar, English, math, public speaking, and course in the major). Most incoming first-year students, transfer students from two-year institutions, and transfer students with less than 30 credit hours from four-year institutions are required to take a first-year seminar to guide in student engagement and improve retention and persistence.  

New Student Orientation is provided for all incoming students (transfer and new) to provide an overview of student services, encourage campus engagement, and to foster a culture of belonging. We offer a weeklong summer bridge opportunity for students to enroll in to assist with the transition from high school to college, become familiar with some of their professors, and begin to connect to a community. Bridges are offered in COAS (Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, STEM), School of Business and Economics, and College of Health and Human Services. The cost is free and open to all interested students.  

3.D.3: The institution provides academic advising suited to its offerings and the needs of its students.

IU Northwest has a semi-centralized model of advising. The Director of Academic Advising supervises the Student Advising Center (SAC). Advisors in other academic units have a dotted line reporting to the Director of Academic Advising but report directly to the Director or Dean of their program/school. The SAC provides holistic academic advising and resources to all undergraduate students within COAS, exploratory students and Pre-Health students interested in one of the programs within the College of Health & Human Services (CHHS). All colleges within IU Northwest have assigned professional advisors. In addition, some programs add a faculty advisor at different points throughout a student’s academic career. Graduate students are assigned either a faculty advisor or professional advisor. This practice varies by program. The academic advisors are responsible for enrollment activities, connecting students to resources on campus, and providing coaching and workshop support for students on academic probation. The SAC also serves as a resource to all staff, faculty and students and focuses on connecting students to wraparound services necessary to improve persistence and student success. The IU Northwest advising staff have regular meetings (minutes examples) to discuss any changes, new processes or programs that would impact advising as well as to allow time for raising questions and concerns.   

To improve contact with students, a texting platform called SignalVine, was provided to advisors in 2022. Analytics indicate that 10,545 contacts have been made to date, 23,952 messages have been sent and 6,893 messages received. Advisors report this to be a positive way to communicate with their caseload of students. We are transitioning to a new texting system SMS Magic in 2025.   

The campus added EdSights in the Fall of 2024. It is a behaviorally smart SMS chatbot that proactively checks in with students every 7-10 days, in an effort to engage them early and often. Based on student responses, the chatbot then connects them to resources, answers questions about IU Northwest, and provides the help they need when they need it. The system also flags students who would benefit from additional personal assistance. All student responses are analyzed and displayed on an EdSights dashboard.  97% of our students have opted-in to this service, resulting in 50% student engagement and over 6,000 texts sent to the chatbot to date. 

Students have access to advising tools through a web-based platform, One.IU, to assist them in degree planning. Students are introduced to iGPS (Interactive Graduation Planning System) during New Student Orientation.  iGPS is a connected set of tools that shows the requirements for the whole degree, allows students to search for and find the right classes for each semester and helps them move from planning to registration. Students make appointments for advising using the Student Appointment Scheduler (SAS), and advisors use the IU Advising Records system, Adrx, to keep detailed records of their contact with students.  IU is currently transitioning to a new degree planning and registration tool in 2025 (Stellic).  

In 2024 an IU taskforce, with representation from all the IU campuses, developed the “IU Framework for Academic Advising and Career Development” which applies to all professionals in the Academic Advisor roles and establishes professional performance expectations for advisors, outlines common core student learning outcomes related to the advising process, and outlines responsibilities of institutional leaders that create conditions in which the work can be successful. The first report will be released in Spring 2025.

3.D.4: The institution provides to students and instructors the infrastructure and resources necessary to support effective teaching and learning (technological infrastructure, scientific laboratories, libraries, performance spaces, clinical practice sites and museum collections, as appropriate to the institution’s offerings).

IU Northwest provides tangible and virtual support to students and instructors in every unit on campus. Key providers of resources are the librarians of the John W. Anderson Library who partner with faculty and students in research-focused courses across the campus; staff of UITS, who provide customized hardware and software solutions and support; and the members of the Facilities team who care for and maintain specialized classroom spaces, labs, galleries, and performance spaces throughout the campus.

CISTL frequently offers faculty development workshops on effective teaching, assessment of learning, and the use of technology. Additionally, CISTL maintains the Academic Media Production (AMP) space, which allows for innovative, creative, and efficient delivery of content by faculty in their courses. Information Technology (UITS) meets the needs of faculty and students by delivering instructional media equipment, servicing and maintaining multimedia classrooms, installation of faculty-requested software in computer labs, servicing, maintaining, and replacing faculty computers. We currently have seven Mosaic certified active learning classrooms (four of which were added in the last year) to allow for a richer student learning experience. The renovated classrooms, supported by two Department of Education grants focused on enhancing student learning, are also a part of our campus and university strategic priorities.  

UITS provides comprehensive technology support and assistance to students, faculty, and staff in areas such as software and hardware troubleshooting, network support, and device repair services, all aimed at delivering a seamless and efficient technology experience. They also consult on all new technology projects, to ensure that the technology is up-to-date and integrates seamlessly with current UITS strategic initiatives. Overall satisfaction with UITS services is very high among students, staff and faculty.   

The new Arts and Sciences Building houses a 500-seat mainstage with state-of-the-art lighting and sound infrastructure, a 100-seat flexible studio performance space, a wood shop, a lighting lab, a costume shop, and furniture/prop/costume storage spaces; ceramics, photography, sculpture and drawing studios; art gallery (one of two on campus); radio and TV Studio and up-to-date technology enhanced classrooms. Elsewhere on campus, an active trading floor, a sculpture garden (one of the region’s largest public art projects) and the 11-acre Little Calumet River Prairie and Wetland Preserve provide unique learning opportunities for our students. The Languages, Cultures, and Listening Lab offers many teaching and learning tools that create connections between languages and cultures. 

IU Northwest has a number of discipline specific laboratories for our students. These disciplines include Biology, Chemistry, Nursing, Radiological Sciences, Health Information Management, Dental Education, and Geosciences. Some lab spaces simulate professional settings while others are more scientifically oriented. Well-equipped science laboratories house an extensive collection of science-based instruments, including an NMR, as well as many others that support research in molecular biology, geology, and neuroscience. Clinically oriented laboratories house simulation spaces for nursing practice, as well as equipment for radiography and dental programs. CHHS partners with many clinical agencies in the Chicagoland area to provide onsite experiences for nursing, social work, and radiography students in order to fulfill the clinical practice requirements of their degrees.

The John W. Anderson Library and Information Commons houses books and other publications, individual and group work areas, and all the modern technology necessary for productive study and research. It is also the home of the Calumet Regional Archives. The Library subscribes to 660 databases that index and provide full text articles from 170,000 online serials. Our percentage distribution of library collections and expenses are in line with our peer institutions. As a part of the IU System, we are able to provide access to millions of other resources through IU-wide collections and interlibrary loan. The library consists of four faculty librarians and four staff. Library faculty are research librarians and scholars, with an IU-wide regional campus committee serving at the unit review level for promotion and tenure.  Librarians serve on IU and campus committees, including the FO.

Sources

• 1A4.09_StudentAdvisingCenter-IndianaUniversityNorthwest.pdf
• 1A4.11_Counseling Services Page and 2019-2024 Statistics
• 1A4.11_Counseling Services Page and 2019-2024 Statistics (page number 4)
• 1A4.12_TimelyCare_Findresources_StudentMentalHealth_IndianaUniversity
• 1C1.02_CareerServices1
• 2B1.10_DegreeMaps_IUN_Dental-Data-Psych
• 2B2.18_Triunfos1.pdf
• 3B3.05_GroupsScholarsProgam-website
• 3D1.01_StudentSupportServices
• 3D1.03_GroupScholars_article_20241009
• 3D1.04_Supplemental Instruction Page and 2019-2023 Statistics
• 3D1.04_Supplemental Instruction Page and 2019-2023 Statistics (page number 4)
• 3D1.06_Accessibility Support Services Page and 2018-2024 Statistics
• 3D1.06_Accessibility Support Services Page and 2018-2024 Statistics (page number 3)
• 3D1.08_Student Support Services Page and 2020-2024 Statistics
• 3D1.08_Student Support Services Page and 2020-2024 Statistics (page number 3)
• 3D1.11_STEM_Center-website
• 3D1.12_Math Assistance Center Page and 2019-2024 Statistics
• 3D1.12_Math Assistance Center Page and 2019-2024 Statistics (page number 3)
• 3D1.14_Writing Center Page and thru Spring 2023 Statistics
• 3D1.14_Writing Center Page and thru Spring 2023 Statistics (page number 4)
• 3D1.16_Office_of_Military_and_Veteran_Service-website
• 3D1.17_MilitaryTime_BestforVetslist2024
• 3D1.18_21st Century Scholars Program Page and Retention Graduation 2006-2023 Statistics
• 3D1.18_21st Century Scholars Program Page and Retention Graduation 2006-2023 Statistics (page number 4)
• 3D1.21_advising-career-framework
• 3D1.25_Official_IUNorthwest_Athletics-Website
• 3D1.26_AcademicRecovery_and_RISE_Workshops-website
• 3D1.27_Re-Instatement_Presentation
• 3D1.28_Student Engagement Roster Page and 2020-2024 Statistics
• 3D1.28_Student Engagement Roster Page and 2020-2024 Statistics (page number 3)
• 3D2.01_Placement_Testing-website
• 3D2.02_First-Year_Seminars-IUNorthwest
• 3D2.03_New_Student_Orientation-website
• 3D2.04_Summer_Bridge-website
• 3D3.02_Advisor_Meeting_Minutes_samples
• 3D3.03_SignalVine
• 3D3.04_EdSights_IUN_Progress_Update_FA24
• 3D3.06_iGPS Single Term and Full Plan Views
• 3D3.06_iGPS Single Term and Full Plan Views (page number 2)
• 3D4.01_Library-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3D4.02_AMPspace-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3D4.03_Mosaic_Initiative_UITS_IndianaUniversity
• 3D4.04_UITS_User_Survey.pdf
• 3D4.05_Theatre_Northwest_and_Arts_On_Broadway-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3D4.06_Studio_Arts_Spaces
• 3D4.07_Exhibition_Archive-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3D4.08_WIUN-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3D4.09_IUN_SOBE_Trading_Floor-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3D4.10_Sculpture_Garden
• 3D4.11_Little_Calumet_River_Prairie_and_Wetlands_Preserve-IndianaUniversityNorthwest
• 3D4.12_Modern_Languages_Lab
• 3D4.13_IU_Northwest_Lab_Details
• 3D4.14_Nursing-Sim_Lab
• 3D4.15_Biology_Collections
• 3D4.16_Practicum_Sites_2019-2024
• 3D4.17_Calumet_Regional_Archives-Website
• 3D4.18_IPEDS_Data_on_IUN_Library_2019-22