By: Ashley Bergeron
Staff-Writer
Due to declining enrollment and administrative cost issues, IU and IU South Bend leadership have decided to redesign IU South Bend’s academic structure. In May 2022, the Academic Organizational Design Task Force (AOD Task Force) was created to do this.
Currently, IU South Bend is organized into six schools: Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts, Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics, School of Education, Vera Z. Dwyer College of Health Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and IU School of Social Work.
Why reorganize?
There are some redundancies in the current system that hurt IU South Bend financially and organizationally, such as lack of shared advising and administration between similar programs and disproportionate numbers of administrators for smaller programs. This is where the AOD Task Force comes in.
In her email letter, Chancellor Susan Elrod stated that the purpose of this task force is to “recommend an organizational configuration for the academic schools and colleges that maximizes academic synergies and shared efficiencies while reducing overall administrative costs”.
How will our school change?
Led by Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (EVCAA) Jill Pearon, the AOD Task Force has decided on a two-college model. This will be:
- College of Professional Studies
- The Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics
- School of Education
- The Vera Z. Dwyer School of Health Sciences
- College of Arts and Sciences
- The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Natural Sciences
The IU School of Social Work (IUSSW) will still be available, but will remain separate as its own school, because it is a statewide, standardized program taught at each IU campus.
Out of the four proposed models, the letter notes that this one was chosen because it values the identity and tradition of each school and college, causes the least disruption, creates colleges that are more balanced in size, improves administrative and operational budgets and provides new opportunities for enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration, both within and across colleges.
How will this affect me?
In general, this reorganization will not affect who your professors are, your physical spaces – such as where your classes are held – or your degree path. The administration decides to create or end academic programs separately from this reorganization, and if your program is affected, the university will provide a way for you to finish your degree securely.
In discussion with the Student Government Association, Chancellor Elrod said each school will still be able to retain its identity within its larger college.
The current schools and colleges will exist as they are for the academic 2023-24 year. There are two committees this year for this change: the Academic Organizational Design – Implementation Steering Committee (AOD-I) and the Transition Monitoring Taskforce (TMT).
AOD-I will help set a timeline and guide conversations in schools for restructuring. TMT will ensure that the campus feels comfortable about the changes, including through discussion with students, and will communicate any sentiments expressed to the AOD-I. Representatives from the Student Government Association also serve on AOD-I.
Questions?
The AOD has a website at southbend.iu.edu/chancellor/ under the page “IU South Bend Financial Sustainability Initiative.” When you log in with IU credentials, you can view
two documents that show more information involving AOD.
The Preface will continue to cover the logistics and impact of academic reorganization in print and online. For questions or requests for specific coverage, email us at editorpreface@gmail.com, or reach out on Facebook (IUSB Preface) or on Instagram (@iusbpreface).
