The Office of Enrollment Management (OEM) plays a vital role in recruiting and welcoming new Hoosiers to Indiana University Bloomington and supporting them on their path to graduation. As the higher education landscape shifts—fewer high school graduates, rising financial pressures, and changing student expectations—OEM continues to adapt and innovate.
The 2024–2025 cycle is more than a year of activity; it’s a story of connection, commitment, and progress toward bold goals.
OEM made significant strides this year in shaping IU Bloomington’s student body and ensuring every new Hoosier feels welcomed. The fall 2025 beginner cohort is our largest class ever, with 10,127 students, a 28% growth over the past five years. With this class, IU Bloomington welcomed more Hoosiers than any other university campus, with 5,059 domestic Indiana residents. The remaining students reflect a geographically diverse student body, with a record 4,697 domestic non-resident students registered and 371 international students. The 2025 beginner cohort is academically outstanding, with a record median high school GPA of 3.94—with 42% of students having achieved a 4.00 on a 4.00 scale.
Transfer students played a larger role than ever before thanks to expanded pathways and a 3% overall increase in applications. New partnerships include programs with Verto Education, which allow students to begin their college career in a study abroad program and then transfer to IU Bloomington. OEM continues to grow the Hoosier Link program, a partnership with Ivy Tech Bloomington, and aims to welcome 200 students per year by 2027.
In partnership with academic units, OEM supported the launch of new majors that respond to student demand and workforce needs, strengthening the university’s appeal across disciplines. New programs include majors in one school—such as Public Relations in The Media School and Music Production in the Jacobs School of Music—and joint programs, including: Music Business, jointly offered by the Jacobs School of Music and the Kelley School of Business; Business Intelligence and Data Science, jointly offered by the Kelley School of Business and the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering; and Global Media, jointly offered by the Media School and the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.
Supporting students through their earliest experiences was another hallmark of the year. Beginning with New Student Orientation, OEM successfully conducted 38 in-person and 14 virtual orientation programs, adding new engagement opportunities and school-specific sessions, including enhanced support for pre-Kelley students. New Student Orientation is more than just the official beginning of a student's journey at IU Bloomington—it's a critical part of the recruitment process as this new generation of students extends their decision-making process, with approximately 20% attending orientation programs for multiple colleges or universities.
OEM also built out a new structure to guide student-facing events, providing host with resources and planning support. Since July 1, this framework has helped deliver more than 60 high-quality events that connected prospective and current students to the IU experience.
Affordability remained at the heart of OEM’s work in 2024–2025. In preparation for Fall 2026, OEM launched two new grants—Crimson Commitment and Hoosier Crossroads—designed to offset anticipated reductions in state aid and ensure more families can access an IU education. The year also marked the 20th anniversary of the Cox Scholars Program, celebrating two decades of transformative support that continues to change the lives of students and their families.
The Office of Scholarships expanded its reach dramatically, growing from supporting one campus unit in 2023 to 55 units in 2025. This growth increased scholarship opportunities from 1,057 to 3,820 in less than two years, strengthening collaboration between OEM and academic partners. To build community among recipients, the office hosted the Hoosier Scholar Welcome Bash, drawing more than 600 students and launching over 170 planned programs for the year ahead. Across the board, IU students continued to benefit from millions of dollars in scholarships and aid, with a strong percentage of beginners receiving gift aid to help make their education more affordable.
76%of IU Bloomington beginners received gift aid (scholarships and grants) in 2024–2025
$763Min financial aid received by IU Bloomington students in 2024–2025
62%of undergraduates graduate debt free
Enrollment is only the first step. OEM remained deeply committed this year to helping students thrive once they arrive on campus. The Student Success and Retention Survey, now in its second phase, gathered insights from nearly 1,000 first-year students and provided valuable direction for improving the student experience. Findings led to new partnerships, including work with the Center on Teaching and Learning to help faculty foster belonging in the classroom and collaboration with Residence Life to analyze retention patterns by housing assignments.
OEM also expanded its proactive outreach, using events such as Red Carpet Days, Friday Finish, and College Goal Sunday to connect with students early and often. Targeted calls, emails, and SMS reminders—powered by Ivy, IU’s AI chatbot—ensured students received timely information and resources before small challenges became barriers. A pilot project with Student Central on immunization holds provided direct outreach to 620 students, resulting in a 104 percent increase in resolved holds and registered students compared to the previous year.
Demand for student support grew significantly this fall, with OEM handling more than 25,000 contacts across phone, email, and in-person services—an increase of more than 4,000 from last year. Live chat engagement more than doubled as students embraced digital services, and AI-powered enhancements to phone and email queues improved both efficiency and the quality of student interactions.
Innovation remained central to OEM’s work behind the scenes. A major milestone was the transition from two instances of Slate to a single integrated system, streamlining database management and communication flows across the university. A new digital strategy incorporated academic partners into year-long recruitment campaigns, strengthening both applications and yield.
OEM also invested in tools to improve operations and student access. The Office of the Registrar launched the Course Audit application, making it easier for students to register as auditors and immediately tripling audit requests compared to the paper-based system. Student Central has begun to leverage AI functionalities to enhance SMS campaigns and conduct proactive outreach to students to help resolve issues that that could prevent registration before they become barriers to enrollment. These AI-enhanced two-way messages directly connect students with the Ask Student Central chatbot or live agents for real-time assistance. Meanwhile, updated Tableau budget reports provided academic units with better data for decision-making and planning.
The coming years will bring both challenges and opportunities. Declining demographics in the Midwest, increased competition, and financial pressures are real, but so are the possibilities for growth. With a sharpened focus on affordability, innovation, and student success, OEM is laying the foundation to meet challenges with opportunities that will support the enrollment of future Hoosiers.
Every student’s story begins with enrollment. OEM is here to ensure those stories lead to a strong beginning, a supportive journey, and a proud graduation day.
With a sharpened focus on affordability, innovation, and student success, OEM is laying the foundation to meet challenges with opportunities that will support the enrollment of future Hoosiers as detailed in our 2030 Strategic Plan.
