Growing Pains
University of Indianapolis junior Kendal Dunn found an unexpected surprise on the windshield of his car when he returned to it after his classes. Forced to park in the Shelby Bowl parking lot when all commuter parking spots on campus were full, Dunn received a note asking him not to repeat the offense.
Freshman Brooke Stepp had a similar jolting experience when she arrived on campus to find herself in a three-occupant dorm room, instead of the typical dual occupancy rooms UIndy offers. The room was arranged in such a way that Stepp’s bed is so close to the ceiling she doesn’t even have enough room to sit on it to study or read.
Stepp and Dunn are just two students who have experienced the fallout from the growth UIndy has experienced over the last several years. As students across campus search desperately for open parking spaces, seats in their classrooms and room to stretch in crowded dorms, their slight irritation may lead to a broader curiosity concerning growth and what these changes imply about the future of the University of Indianapolis.
“We received 2,300 more applications than we had the year before. It was kind of coming at us and to get control of it was not easy,” Weigand said.
According to Weigand, the university denied admittance to more students this year than it ever has—nearly 600 individuals. Increasing interest in the health science fields, as well elementary education, psychology, international business and social work propelled a growth in those major areas.
The university did enroll about 262 more students this year than last year, including 111 more freshmen. The retention rate from freshmen to sophomore year also increased three percentage points.
Growth can be contributed to a myriad of reasons. Vice President of University Advancement, Jim Smith, explained that UIndy has done a lot of work to get more widespread recognition of campus, which has been a contributing factor to the swelling enrollment number.
“In the past, the university didn’t really talk about itself, but in the last several years we have had an excellent marketing team that has done a tremendous job for the school,” Smith said.
The university, however, was preparing to accept more students this year than in the last few years.
“It isn’t as though we just opened up the doors and let everybody come,” President Beverley Pitts said. “In fact, we have a strategic plan and it called for us to be at about 5,000 [students]. We’re at 5,240 students.”
Although this increased interest may seem like a good thing for the university, managing such growth is a bit complicated.
Registrar Mary Beth Bagg explained that for UIndy, growing strategically is the key to growing successfully.
“You face challenges and also opportunities when you experience growth like we have,” Bagg said. “To be successful, there has to be a strategy to the growth.”
The university’s official strategic plan encompasses the vision that top officials have for the school’s future.
“I see the university at about 5,000 to 5,500 students,” Pitts said. “We do not want to lose the culture of the small school experience.”
Weigand also suggested the more common use of waitlists and capped enrollments for specific programs.
“If we don’t cap programs that reached their capacity, I think the quality of those programs could go down,” Weigand said.
Bagg agreed that the program quality could decrease if they reach capacities.
“We have a good reputation for serving our students, but we have to maintain the programs to back it up, regardless of how much we are growing,” Bagg said.
Pitts explained that all the campus changes are occurring to meet the needs of the students that are here, not to continue growing in size.
Bagg added that the university has experienced a lot of healthy growth and the future of the school looks bright.
