Research a priority in new IU mission

The culmination of an 18-month-long process came to end Tuesday with the release of the Mission Differentiation Report, something that IU President Adam Herbert proposed when he was inaugurated in Spring of 2003. \nThe report, titled, "Eight Campus Identities, One Shared Destiny," is just less than 50 pages in length and details how each of IU's eight campuses should define their missions to best serve students and the state.\nThe report recommends that IUB stay the "flagship campus" of IU, and should "discontinue associate degrees unless there is a unique need and ability to meet that need."\nThe idea of focusing IUB as a research campus was prevalent throughout the entire report, especially when it comes to responding to the ever-changing needs of the state of Indiana. \n"It is clear that state policy makers expect Bloomington to use its research capacity to significantly aid state economic development activities," the report states. "The campus must be more systematic in its response(s) to these publicly stated expectations than it has been in the past." \nThe report also recognizes the change in the political party leadership in both the executive and legislative branch of the state government may alter state initiatives, but "IU must pay close attention to the course of these initiatives to ensure that the University meets the needs of the state, in the context of meeting its educational mission, and that the state understands how the University can best assist the state in meeting its challenges."\nIn a statement, Herbert described the report as comprehensive, thoughtful and insightful.\n"Not everyone will agree with everything it says, but it provides the University with exactly the kind of document it needs to move forward aggressively and progressively," Herbert said.\nThe project was headed by Vice President for Institutional Development and Student Affairs Charlie Nelms, along with Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and IUB Chancellor Ken Gros Louis and IU-Southeast Chancellor Emeritus F.C. Richardson, who is serving as project consultant.\n"We found that the missions of all the campuses were out of date and needed to be sharpened to better reflect the vibrancy of Indiana University in the 21st century," Nelms said in a statement. He noted that the project team spent hundreds of hours sifting through data and reports submitted by the campuses and conducted interviews and conversations with campus and faculty leaders across the state.\nThe different initiatives for all eight campuses must be approved by the IU board of trustees and then again by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. \nThe report also details the need for a change in the admissions requirements of IU, which has a "once size fits all" policy. \n"Currently, some campuses admit more students as 'exceptions' to the IU admissions policy than they do as 'regular' admits," the report states. "The admissions policy should be a central element in defining the nature and mission of a campus, and should be a communications tool to prospective students, not a source of misinformation and frustration, with many students being admitted as exceptions." \nIt continues to state while each campus policy must give each student admitted the best chance for success, it must retain some flexibility "in relation to the regional population to be served by the campus."\nHerbert was proud of the results and suggested the project will shape the future of the University. \n"As we move through the final phases of this project, it is important to keep in mind our ultimate goal: to assure that all of our campuses have clearly focused and achievable missions that enable them to reach their full potential," he said in a statement. "I firmly believe our Mission Differentiation efforts ultimately will make Indiana University a much stronger institution."\nTo read the report, go to the Web site of the Office of the President at http://www.indiana.edu/~pres/.