Yearly Overview

Looking to the future… truth and light

The Office of Enrollment Management (OEM) is planning for IU Bloomington’s long-term future. The expected demographic shifts bring more historically marginalized students enrolled in high school. Additionally, the expected enrollment cliff has already begun, with fewer high school students choosing to go to college due to factors like the COVID-19 pandemic, work, travel, and gap years.

This year we saw a significant change, with the U.S. Supreme Court decisions that deemed the use of race-based admissions policies unconstitutional. IU remains committed to our mission of recruiting, enrolling, and serving a diverse student body. We aim to turn challenges into opportunities by understanding and engaging the students’ evolving needs.

To adapt to changing student perspectives, we’re providing communications that emphasize the value of a college degree and real-world experiences offered by an IU education. We will engage with partners across the University to help strengthen IU’s brand position to attract potential students.

Finally, we are excited to explore how we may integrate new AI technologies into our work to lower barriers for students and increase staff efficiency, benefiting the IU Bloomington community. We will continue to look to and align with the IUB 2023 Strategic Plan so that we will collectively seek opportunities where we recruit, enroll, and serve IU students in their attainment of an IU education and degree.

Thanks to all the students, faculty, and staff who help us lift IU every day to share… truth and light! The truth of learning and the light of leveraging an IU education to improve and change students’ lives every day.

An outstanding class

The incoming class of Hoosiers is an impressive one. This year, we proudly welcomed 9,550 new Hoosiers—an 18% growth across the past 5 years and a 26% growth across the past decade. This class also includes more beginner Indiana residents than any other university campus with 5,147 (54%) domestic Indiana residents enrolled.

In our third year accepting test-optional applications, 46% of the beginning cohort chose to opt out of test score consideration. Students shared their own academic stories, and they were striking, with a record 3.90 median high school GPA and strong academic performance despite the pandemic’s impact on the high school learning experience.

We also welcomed 1,873 historically marginalized beginner students.

Financial accessibility and support for our students is also a continuing focus. An impressive 84% of beginner students with demonstrated need receive gift aid, a testament to our commitment to making an IU education attainable for deserving scholars.

As we move forward into this academic year, the varied backgrounds and perspectives of our student body continues to enhance the student experience. With representation from all 92 Indiana counties, 43 states, Washington, D.C., and 45 countries, IU Bloomington is a true home to all.

40%High School GPA of 4.0

78%arrive with college credit

91%Retention rate from first year to second year

Lowering barriers for students

The Office of Enrollment Management is committed to enhancing college accessibility for all students, starting well before they consider attending college, continuing through the search and application phases, and throughout their enrollment at IU.

One important way our office makes a college education feel more accessible to students is by inviting them to campus and teaching them about IU. With dozens of year-round and in-person precollege programs for K–12 students, visiting students are able to experience everything IU has to offer before they even start thinking about going to college. For students who are at an age where they are considering applying for college, the IU Precollege Academy provides them with the opportunity to learn about the college search process—whether or not they plan on applying to IU. In the program, rising high school seniors were invited to see themselves as college students on the Bloomington campus while visiting and learning about the tools to make their goals a reality.

We are also streamlining the college application process for students. For the past three years, IU’s test-optional admissions has given students the opportunity to choose how best to tell the full story of their potential. This year we also expanded IU Bloomington’s math curriculum requirements to align more closely with our Big Ten peers. Both initiatives give students more control over their application process and provide a more streamlined experience for students applying to multiple schools.

Once students are admitted to IU, we make it easier for them to explore and learn while pursuing their goals. To encourage students to review multiple degree options, we have added an alternative major question to the New Student Orientation reservation form. This new data point has helped us provide better and broader information for academic advising conversations, support the growing business-focused student population during academic advising, lift the visibility of IU Bloomington’s diverse academic offerings for all students, and promote retention of students.

As demographics shift in Indiana and around the U.S., we also understand the importance of better supporting our first-generation students. We have created specific resources for first-generation students and their families/supporters to better introduce them to academic and financial information, support resources, and college life. This includes an identity system, additional communications and videos, a new web presence, and activities throughout the year. Faculty and staff have been invited to self-identify their own First-Generation identity as part of a visibility initiative to help incoming students feel comfortable on campus.

Support for transfer students during their admissions process and transition to IU Bloomington will continue to be important as more students move between colleges and campuses. The pathways to transfer have been streamlined so students can more easily navigate the admissions process and recruitment activities connect prospective students with their admission counselor to receive guidance. Scholarships are available for transfer students and programs and events specifically for enrolled transfer students help them connect with the IU community and resources.

Meeting and supporting students—and families—where they are

The Office of Enrollment Management ensures comprehensive support for students and families throughout their academic journey. In addition to providing personalized assistance and resources, we understand the importance of firsthand experiences. This year over 50,000 students and families visited IU Bloomington, immersing themselves in the campus, interacting with our Hoosier family, and gaining valuable insights into life at IU. These visits play a pivotal role in helping students make informed decisions about their education.

Mother and Daughter We also offer a wide range of programs for prospective students and families, including an online college preparation curriculum and several age-specific programs to meet students wherever they’re at in their journey to IU. Our College Advising Corps (CAC) and Matriculate programs also enhance college access for prospective students. In both programs advisers work directly with students—some in person and some virtually—providing personalized guidance on the college application process, financial aid options, and academic planning. By offering tailored support and information, these programs help to bridge the gap in college access, particularly for underrepresented and first-generation students, making the journey to higher education more attainable for a broader range of individuals.

At New Student Orientation, we tailor experiences to diverse learning styles. Through personalized orientation involving strengthened advising, academic and career exploration, and an emphasis on mental health, self-advocacy, responsibility, and engagement, we guide students toward various academic pathways. Likewise, parents and families benefit from their own specialized orientation program. We also work to continually enhance the virtual experience, particularly for international and transfer students.

This year’s Welcome Week experience was more dynamic and impactful than ever before. Providing creative academic and career planning, along with impactful experiences, we engage students as soon as they arrive on campus. This early engagement helps them connect with IU's rich traditions, diverse community, and the expectations that come with being a Hoosier. Students learn more about the Indiana Promise, pledging to uphold ethical conduct, responsibility, and respect. To ensure a seamless experience, we've developed a Welcome Week toolkit for campus partners. This toolkit unifies the appearance of Welcome Week and simplifies content creation for our partners, enhancing our ability to celebrate student accomplishments.

Our dedication to supporting students extends to initiatives like Hoosier Scholars program, which goes beyond providing scholarships, to creating a strong sense of community through engaging events and comprehensive support. The Mentor Collective program connects current scholars with experienced mentors who offer guidance and insights, fostering a collaborative and enriching academic journey. Through meaningful mentorship, students receive personalized assistance and resources to thrive during their time at IU.

At OEM, our focus is on enriching the student experience from every angle, ensuring that each student's journey is marked by support, empowerment, and growth.

50K+Visitors to Admissions programs

17K+Students served by Student Central in August

10K+Students served through New Student Orientation

Continuing our progress

As we move forward, our commitment to excellence remains steadfast, encompassing several key areas of focus.

Spring enrollment expansion for transfer and first-year Students: Our efforts to enhance student enrollment continue with a particular focus on spring enrollment for both transfer and first-year students. By tailoring our strategies to accommodate these distinct groups, we ensure a seamless transition into IU Bloomington's vibrant academic community.

Driving innovation through market insights: Using a blend of institutional, peer, and market data, we continue to assess the value and potential of proposed programs. The Eduventures Program Strength Assessment™ will benchmark the strength of our proposed programs compared to peer institutions; determine opportunities to expand our portfolio of program offerings to strengthen the reputation of our institution; identify programs that meet market demand; and support the creation of a focused and distinctive academic portfolio that students are excited about enrolling in at IU Bloomington.

Student writing at Precollege Program activity Enhancing audience engagement platforms: We're refining our use of platforms that enable us to foster stronger connections with our diverse audiences. Using Slate and Salesforce, the best in class constituent relationship management platforms, we're creating avenues for more effective communication and engagement. These tools empower us to better understand our audiences, respond to their needs, and provide the necessary support and guidance throughout their journey with IU Bloomington.

Degree Compendium expansion: The IU Bloomington Degree Compendium will eventually contain every IU alums name, graduation year, and degree awarded. The first phase, launched in 2022, consisted bringing in handwritten records from the years 1830 to 1890. The next series of degrees, from 1966 to present, were recently added and the online tool launched in early September. And we are currently working on adding the final set of degrees from 1891 to 1965.

Aligning spring and summer registration: Currently on the Bloomington campus, early summer registration for continuing students takes place over six business days near the end of March and is followed by early registration for the fall term in April. Starting in fall 2023, students will register for summer courses in October. Students may benefit from moving the summer early enrollment period to the fall and aligning it with the spring term early registration period.

As we continue to evolve and innovate, our commitment to excellence, innovation, and student success remains at the core of all our endeavors.

Learn more about the goals and accomplishments of the Office of Enrollment Management

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