McRobbie sends update letter to students, faculty

IU President Michael McRobbie gave his fifth State of the University address in October, speaking about the various ways the University hopes to become a leader in the 21st century.

A letter from McRobbie of the same topic was recently sent to the IU community.

During the last 18 months, IU has created, merged, transformed or closed seven schools. Examples include the opening of the School of Global and International Studies and changes to the School of Public Health at IU-Bloomington.

“This is an unmistakable sign that we are not content to rest on our past success,” McRobbie said in the letter.

McRobbie also addressed issues of cost and the value of a college education.

“We must reaffirm the core values of higher education and make the necessary changes needed to buttress the public’s confidence in our work,” he said.

McRobbie reiterated new initiatives at IU aimed to reduce the cost of higher education. One example is the on-time graduation award program.

Through this program, sophomores who are doing well in their classes and on course to graduate in four years will receive financial aid during their final two years to negate any increase in tuition or university-imposed fees they would have to pay.

The program will begin in the fall 2013 and will be available to all IU undergraduate students.

“Indiana University is serious about holding down the cost of an IU degree, and ... we are equally serious about providing significant incentives for our students to stay on course for completing their degrees on time,” McRobbie said.

McRobbie stressed that along with this initiative, the University administration is working on all available options to keep tuition increases as low as possible.

McRobbie said he hopes to create a new class on financial literacy that would be a tuition-free online course available to all IU students.

“In addition, I have asked all of our campuses take a fresh look at our student academic and career advising programs with a goal of developing bold, new and innovative approaches and initiatives that are responsive to student needs and committed to establishing a roadmap for all students to attain their degrees on time and to pursue satisfying careers,” he said.

— Sydney Murray