IU students, faculty and staff can expect big changes on campus throughout the next five years.
In his State of the University address Tuesday, President Michael McRobbie announced the Bicentennial Strategic Plan for IU. The plan is a blueprint outlining a set of initiatives meant to carry IU past its bicentennial, which IU will celebrate during the 2019-2020 academic year, and into its third century.
The 41-page rough draft is currently open for public comment and will remain open for comment until Nov. 22.
A final draft is then expected to go to the IU Board of Trustees for approval during its December meeting.
Here’s a breakdown of the most important aspects of the plan.
Foundation
In last year’s State of the University speech, McRobbie directed all IU campuses to develop individual strategic plans for the next five years.
The Bicentennial Strategic Plan integrates these individual strategic plans, as well as the New Academic Directions Report, the Blueprint for Student Attainment, the IU International Strategic Plan and IT strategic plans into a single strategic plan.
The plan proposes seven bicentennial priorities, falling under six Principles of Excellence that address education, faculty, research, global reach, health sciences and health care, engagement and economic development.
“Each campus and unit strategic plan and annual budget must advance these priorities to the extent and in the manner consistent with their respective missions,” McRobbie said.
To aid the campus and unit in doing so, the plan offers four Frameworks of Excellence that outline the finances, infrastructure, information dissemination and other resources necessary to achieve these six Principles of Excellence.
Education
The education portion of the plan outlines a strategy for decreasing student costs, increasing on-time graduation and encouraging student success.
The plan builds on Affordable IU, an initiative aimed at stabilizing tuition increases, providing financial aid, increasing financial literacy, reducing direct costs and encouraging on-time graduation.
To encourage on-time graduation, the plan expands on current initiatives, such as Finish in Four, a tuition freeze for juniors and seniors set to graduate in four years; the Summer Tuition Discount Program; the new Office of Completion and Student Success and the new Graduation Progress System.
The plan also indicates continued development of online and hybrid courses and the continued realignment of existing programs and schools.
Since 2011, through realignment, IU-Bloomington has already seen the establishment of the School of Public Health, the School of Informatics and Computing, the School of Global and International Studies and the Media School, while IU-Purdue University Indianapolis has already seen the establishment of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and the Fairbanks School of Public Health.
Faculty
The shortest section of the plan, the faculty portion states IU’s intent to recruit and retain “outstanding, diverse and inclusive” faculty, including researchers, scholars, teachers and creative artists.
Research
The longest section of the plan, the research portion outlines a strategy for improving research by identifying multiple grand challenges throughout the next few years.
The plan defines a grand challenge, a term also referenced in IU-Bloomington’s strategic plan, as a major and widespread problem that is best identified and tackled by multidisciplinary teams of researchers.
To aid these researchers, the plan states IU’s intent to pursue additional funding and invest in new infrastructure.
The plan also proposes that IU continue the New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities program until the bicentennial. The program funds arts and humanities projects, including literary works, works of art and musical compositions.
In addition to outlining a strategy for improving research, the research portion also emphasizes the need for a possible restructuring of the education schools on all campuses.
A result of low high school graduation and low college-readiness, changing education policy and fluctuating economic opportunity, undergraduate and graduate enrollment in the schools of education on all campuses has declined by roughly 30 percent throughout the past few years, according to the plan.
The plan states IU’s intent to appoint a Blue Ribbon Review Committee to conduct a review of directions and trends in teacher education and education research, meant to inform a possible restructuring of education from the schools of education on all campuses.
Global Reach
The international portion of the plan outlines a strategy for expanding international influence by building on the International Strategic Plan.
The International Strategic Plan identified 32 priority countries with which to develop partnership agreements, in which to establish IU Alumni Association chapters and for McRobbie to visit.
So far, the IUAA has established a chapter in 31 of the 32 countries and McRobbie has visited 25 of the 32 countries, according to the plan.
The Bicentennial Strategic Plan states IU’s intent to develop partnership agreements with, establish IUAA chapters in and visit the rest of the 32 priority countries.
The plan also proposes that IU establish a Global Gateway Network, establishing Global Gateway offices in the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, Africa and possibly Southeast Asia.
These offices will act as bases for IU activities, including research, conferences, workshops and study abroad programs in the countries and regions in which they are established, according to the plan.
Global Gateway offices have already been established in Beijing and New Delhi.
Health Sciences and Health Care
The health sciences and health care portion of the plan outlines a strategy for the possible restructuring of health-related services at IU.
IU has eight clinical schools, including the IU School of Medicine, which includes eight medical education centers and contains numerous IU Health hospitals, according to the plan. As a result, IU plays a vital role in the provision of health-related services in Indiana.
IU Health, together with the IU School of Medicine, however, faces a $1-billion budget cut, further complicated by the fact that two IU Health hospitals, University Hospital and Methodist Hospital, have aged, reached capacity and produced redundancies, according to the plan.
In response, the plan proposes, among other things, that IU explore the realignment of University Hospital and Methodist Hospital and develop new interprofessional degrees in the health sciences and that the IU School of Medicine focus its research on population health management, cancer, cardiovascular disease and the neurosciences.
Engagement and Economic Development
The engagement and economic development portion of the plan states IU’s intent to explore the expansion and establishment of design and engineering programs at IU-Bloomington.
Of the 62 universities in the Association of American Universities, only four do not have programs in engineering, according to the plan. Of those four, two have joint programs in engineering with other institutions.
A recent report released by Battelle, a nonprofit research and development organization, recommended that IU expand and develop design and engineering programs at IU-Bloomington.
In response, the plan states IU’s intent to appoint a Blue Ribbon Review Committee to assess the feasibility of expanding and establishing a design and engineering program at IU-Bloomington.
Rather than focus on infrastructure-intensive areas of engineering, such as aeronautical, chemical, civil, industrial and mechanical, the engineering program would focus on information-technology-intensive areas of engineering, collaborating with the School of Informatics and Computing.
In addition, the Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design and the Department of Studio Arts recently voted unanimously to establish a new school of art and design to be housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, according to the plan.
The new school will be housed in Kirkwood Hall and the Radio and Television Building, according to the plan.
The proposal for the new school, currently in its final approval stages, is expected to go to the IU Board of Trustees for approval in the coming months, according to the plan.
The expansion and establishment of design and engineering programs at IU-Bloomington is part of a larger initiative to increase IU’s contribution to the economic development of Indiana, according to the plan.
Frameworks of Excellence
The four Frameworks of Excellence outline the finances, infrastructure, information dissemination and other resources necessary to achieve these six Principles of Excellence.
Notably, the plan sets a goal of raising $2.5 billion through philanthropic giving by the bicentennial, as well as eliminating all deferred maintenance by the bicentennial.
“Great universities, like Indiana University, are expected to endure,” McRobbie said. “While universities are among the oldest continuously operating institutions in the world, we are entering a period marked by rapid change, unprecedented global competition and increasingly stressed resources.”
A downloadable PDF of the Bicentennial Strategic Plan draft can be found at strategicplan.iu.edu.
