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Enrollment, credit hours up slightly at IU Kokomo
February 3, 2005 | |||||
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Kokomo, Ind.—Spring semester 2005 enrollment at Indiana University Kokomo is up by 39 students, or 1.4 percent, over the same figures for spring semester 2004. A total 2,779 students have enrolled in 26,360 credit hours of classes thus far in 2005, as compared to 2,740 students carry 25,934 credit hours in spring 2004. Combined spring enrollment for IU's eight campus stands at 92,916, student, down from 2004 by exactly the same percentage as IU Kokomo's rise—1.4 percent. IU students are enrolled in 1,039,226.5 credit hours, again down by 1.4 percent from the previous year. Vice Chancellor for Student Services Jack Tharp, Ed.D., said IU Kokomo has seen small but promising one-year gains in two other enrollment counts. The number of undergraduate students has moved from 2,306 in spring 2004 to 2,371 currently. The campus has 1,353 full-time students, up 4.2 percent from the spring 2004 count of 1,298. "Although the overall increase in headcount for spring 2005 is modest, the rise in degree-seeking students and especially full-time students is a positive indicator for growth," Tharp said. "Starting college or returning in January has been a salient pattern for older adult students (age 25 and older). That was evidenced this year with a 17 percent increase in enrollees in the General Studies degree program." In spring 2003, IU Kokomo's Division of Continuing Studies enrolled 140 students in the General Studies program. That number rose to 184 by spring 2005. Division director Fred Hakes credits the increases in large part to "Project Complete," a campus outreach program designed to re-enroll adult students who "stopped-out" of college. "Stop-outs" refers to students who began college studies but left before completing a degree. "An ad hoc campus marketing committee, composed of the various campus schools/divisions at IU Kokomo, observed that many adult students likely would not return to their original programs but could be served well by the General Studies degree completion program," Hakes said. "The committee members approved marketing the General Studies program to stop-outs from all their respective IU Kokomo undergraduate programs." Stop-outs from all IU Kokomo undergraduate programs dating back five years were identified. General Studies advisors sent personalized letters to each stop-out, indicating the number of hours the person had previously completed through IU and an estimate of the number of hours needed for an associate or bachelor's degree in General Studies. Students were encouraged to meet with advisors and to attend campus open houses for adult students. This winter, the campus Office of Communications and Marketing launched a radio and billboard advertising campaign, targeting potential returning adult students. This "come back in spring" strategy was particularly aimed at stop-outs, Hakes said. "Research suggests that adult students who have stopped-out of college for a year are more likely to re-enroll for the spring term, rather than enrolling in the fall term, the start of the school year, when traditional students most often begin their college experience," he said. This theory reflected the reality of IU Kokomo's General Studies enrollment this past year, according to Hakes. "This program had a higher student head count in spring 2005 (184) than the fall 2004 count (175)." For more information on the IU Kokomo General Studies degree program, call (765) 455-9426 or (800) 991-1459 or visit www.iuk.edu/scs. For information on registering for any courses at IU Kokomo, call (765) 455-9391 or visit www.iuk.edu/registrar.
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