SATURDAY, SEP TEMBER 19, 2020 • KOKOMO TR I BUNE PROGRESS EDI T ION
17
FROM STAFF REPORTS
I
ndiana University Kokomo
continues to grow its student
body with record-breaking
numbers this fall semester, after
shifting to virtual orientations
and enrollment due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The admissions and academic
advising offices rose to the chal-
lenge, training admissions and
student affairs professionals
to walk students through the
advising and enrollment process
online, and working countless
hours to help potential students
participate in virtual visits as
they made their decision.
“Given the circumstances,
what we were able to pull off
was pretty remarkable, con-
sidering that we had to change
everything we did,” said Angela
Siders, director of admissions.
“We had to pivot on a dime, to
figure out how we could meet
with all of these students virtu-
ally.”
Classes began August 24 with
3,227 students on campus, an
increase of 2 percent from fall
2019. Those students account
for 39,628 credit hours, up 2.6
percent from the previous year.
They include 2,830 undergradu-
ates, an increase of 2.8 percent
over 2019, and 172 graduate
students — up 8.9 percent.
The incoming class of 828
students represents 70 of Indi-
ana’s 92 counties, 20 states, and
34 countries.
Siders said when the campus
closed because of the pandemic,
there were hundreds of students
already registered to attend in-
person orientation in April to
meet with an academic advisor
and register for classes. A team
was assembled to walk students
through orientation and then
enrollment via Zoom meetings.
“We worked with a lot of
students who had to make last-
minute decisions, because their
initial plans no longer made
sense for them for a variety of
reasons,” Siders said. “We had
to be flexible and keep helping
students enroll, right up through
the first week of classes.”
She praised the tenacity
not only the admissions and
academic advising teams,
but of the students who per-
sisted through the enrollment
process.
“I give huge kudos to the
incoming class of 2020,” she
said. “Their spring was turned
upside down, and they could
have easily waved the white flag
and waited a year to go through
an easier process. They were
tenacious, they did what we
asked of them, and completed
the enrollment process.”
Chancellor Susan Sciame-
Giesecke was pleased so many
students chose to start or
continue their education at
IU Kokomo, noting that the
campus embraced IU President
Michael A. McRobbie’s chal-
lenge to return to classes in
person as safely as possible.
“I have met so many students
on campus, and they all have
shared how happy they are to
be here because they prefer
learning and interacting in
person,” Sciame-Giesecke said.
“IU Kokomo is more than 3,000
students strong, and that allows
us to provide in-person classes
while physically distanced.”
She noted that 250 classes
are being taught fully in person,
with many others in a hybrid
format, alternating between
face-to-face and Zoom. About
150 students are enrolled in
an online only program for the
semester.
She also commended the
growing diversity of the student
body, with a 33.3 percent in
African-American students,
23.2 percent in Latino/
Hispanic, and 27.3 percent
increase in Asian students.
“It is important that we
continue to be an inclusive
campus, where all students
can realize their dreams of a
college degree,” she said. “We’ve
launched a new multicultural
center this semester, with spe-
cialized resources to help those
students succeed.”
FROM STAFF REPORTS
T
ransformation.
That’s the buzz word on
Ivy Tech Community Col-
lege’s Kokomo Campus, says
Chancellor Dean McCurdy,
“from our physical facilities
to opportunities for student
success to deeper and more
responsive partnerships.”
The chancellor is eager to
share Ivy Tech Kokomo’s story of
progress, “a story that’s exciting
for students, faculty, and staff
and one that offers tremendous
opportunities for our region.”
The most obvious trans-
formation is the $43 million
construction project at the
campus, which is wrapping up
this year.
“Since the project’s commu-
nity kick-off in August 2018, we
have completely redesigned and
transformed an outdated edu-
cational building, a collection
of former light-manufacturing
facilities and acres of parking
lots into a true college campus,”
McCurdy said in a release.
An updated, refurbished and
high-tech Main Building is now
a welcoming home for an array
of student services, classrooms,
laboratories and new student
spaces.
Across the landscaped
campus quad, the new Health-
care Professions Center offers
two stories of state-of-the
art instructional facilities for
Nursing, Surgical Technology,
Dental Assisting, CNA, Medical
Assisting and Paramedic
Science. The center also houses
Hingst Hall, Ivy Tech’s new
300-seat multi-purpose facility
that will be available for com-
munity use.
New robotics and technology
labs complete the facility. Phase
2 of the project, the transforma-
tion of its Industrial Technology
Center and the new Agricul-
ture and Automotive Center to
support education and training
in a variety of skilled trades,
will be completed this fall. An
expanded community garden
will help meet the food security
needs of students and commu-
nity organizations.
McCurdy noted that all of this
is happening thanks to a $40
million investment from the
state of Indiana and a $3 million
capital campaign to complete
the project through donations
from the community. “We’re
more than 85 percent of the
way to our fundraising goal and
looking for community partners
to help us realize the full vision
of the project by the end of this
year, he said.
According to the chancel-
lor, this investment in the new
campus is just the beginning of
Ivy Tech Kokomo’s transforma-
tion.
Recently announced, Ivy
Tech’s Career Coaching and
Employer Connections (CCEC)
will provide every student with a
career coach to help them build
the skills, plans and professional
networks needed for success
in college and beyond. Every
student will have opportunities
to engage with employers as part
of their Ivy Tech experience.
Through the CCEC, Ivy
Tech will also offer “concierge
service” to area employers to
help them attract the talented
workforce they need and to
ensure the College offering the
right programs to meet their
needs going forward. Bringing
prepared students together with
employers who need them offers
a transformative opportunity
for community development,
McCurdy said.
The chancellor issued “an
open invitation to be part of our
transformation.”
“We’re still the same friendly
and community-focused Ivy
Tech, but we now have a much
greater capacity to support
our students, employers, high
schools and universities than
we’ve ever had before,” McCurdy
said. “Whether you’re just out
of high school, in between jobs,
looking to redefine your career,
or building your workforce, Ivy
Tech can offer the next steps to
a bright future. There’s still time
to register for classes at Ivy Tech
that begin on Oct. 26.”
IU KOKOMO BREAKING RECORDS
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT WRAPS UP
CAMPUS OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO EXCEED ENROLLMENT GOALS
TRANSFORMATION IS THE WORD AT IVY TECH KOKOMO
EDUCATION
SPOTLIGHT
Campus life at IUK
has changed amid COVID-19 pandemic. Here, students John Parkison, Destiny Wasson and Alexis Schrimsher
hang around the quad between classes on Sept. 1.
(Kokomo Tribune file photos)
Paul Guerin and crews from Electric Inc.
install a crossing
signal between IUK and the Annex Apartments on South
Washington Street on Tuesday Aug. 18.
Chancellor Dean McCurdy
Sitting alone outside the lunch room,
student Kathryn Peck is
able to take her mask off while at the IU Kokomo campus.
