BFC discusses statewide graduation rates

During the first Bloomington Faculty Council meeting of the academic year, two topics dominated conversation: the restructuring of numerous schools on campus and the expectations outlined in a recent report by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel addressed the committee for the first time in her new position and shared her passion for the New Academic
Directions report.

The report, approved by the Board of Trustees in 2011, recommends that IU encourage innovative collaboration between academic programs.

Recent initiatives that have progressed as a result of the report include the School of Public Health and the School of Global and International Studies.

“It’s a really thrilling initiative, and it will require participation of the entire campus to help (SGIS) realize the potential that it really has,” Robel said.

Discussion of other mergers, including one between the School of Informatics and Computing and the School of Library and Information Science, sparked debate among council members.

“There is so much history and infrastructure in these schools, and we are all trying to protect our turf,” said Robert Jacobs, professor of operations management in the
 Kelley School of Business.

Another member argued that constant organizational change is distracting
to faculty.

“I don’t find it plausible that we are optimally organized,” Robel said. “This is our chance to do what’s right both intellectually and programmatically for our students.”
Kent Scheller, a physics professor at the University of Southern Indiana and a faculty representative on the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, attended the meeting as a guest to discuss expectations in the commission's recent “Reaching Higher, Achieving More” report.

The current graduation rate in Indiana is 28 percent for earning a bachelor’s degree in four years, but the commission is asking for a 50 percent graduation
rate by 2018.

“Certainly it’s noble, that’s a noble number,” Scheller said. “I’m not sure it’s attainable. It does call for certain issues to be addressed.”

Scheller addressed the importance of academic advising. He said students have the impression that they can take an extra class at any time without consequence.
“But it’s bad for economy, bad for students, and it certainly doesn’t help graduation rates,” he said.

Scheller acknowledged there might be a trend to lower degree standards to increase the graduation rate, but he said it’s a dangerous path.

“We can hand out more degrees. We can make them easier to get,” he said. “It is my impression that there is a push to lower the bar.”

But Scheller assured the committee he was against lowering quality in degrees. He said educators should not be expected to do more with fewer resources.
As the state funding formula is changing and student debt rises, students are questioning education — which Scheller believes should be an incentive for faculty members to do things differently.

“They’re shopping more and harder when they used to not,” he said. “The data is out there for how much you earn over a lifetime with different degrees, but they’re still questioning value. It’s not business as usual in our arena, and it’s not all just because of economic downturn. Things are different, and I don’t know why.”