Student Success

Coming together to support student success like never before

On April 4, 2023, in collaboration with President Whitten, IU Provost and Executive Vice President Rahul Shrivastav announced several interconnected objectives to reach new heights of supporting student success and opportunity in alignment with the IUB 2030 Strategic Plan. 

The Office of Student Life, a new structure for student-focused units across campus, promises closer collaboration among those currently affiliated with Student Affairs, IU Corps, and student-facing components of Residential Programs and Services. This office will be dedicated to improving the experience of all students at IUB — undergraduate, graduate, and professional. 

With united support across schools, IUB can more fully bridge academic and campus life, better serve diverse student populations and groups, improve student health and well-being, engage with students more proactively, and foster stronger connections for students with each other and across the IU community. 

In tandem, a redefinition of the Hutton Honors College combines with a financial commitment to academic success in courses with high drop, failure, and withdrawal rates. These moves lift the ceiling so that top students have opportunities to challenge themselves to their limits as we reinforce the foundation provided for all students. 

Office of Student Life

The structure of this campus-wide office will convene around three guiding themes, core to the IUB 2030 strategic vision:  

  • Health and Well-being: Student Health Center, Counseling and Psychological Services, Health Promotion, Recreational Sports, IU Outdoor Adventures, Substance Use Intervention Services, Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Advocacy 
  • Student Care and Advocacy: Accessible Educational Services, Bias Response and Education, Crimson Cupboard, Student Advocates Office, Student Care and Resource Center, Student Conduct, Student Legal Services, Veteran and Military Students 
  • Involvement and Belonging: Residence Life, Student Involvement and Leadership Center, Sorority and Fraternity Life, Indiana Memorial Union, IU Corps, Bradford Woods, first-generation and low-income student support programs 

This office will be led by a Vice Provost for Student Life at IU Bloomington (VPSL). The VPSL will report to the provost and serve on the campus leadership team. The position will also have a dotted-line report to IU’s university-wide Vice President for Student Success Julie Payne-Kirchmeier and will work with senior administrators across IU campuses as the Bloomington campus's primary representative for student life. The Dean of Students role will become a separate position focused on student care and advocacy. 

In this effort, a new Associate Vice Provost for Involvement and Belonging, to which Residence Life will report, will initiate proactive efforts to foster broader campus involvement, create a stronger sense of belonging and community among students, and promote a more equitable experience across student populations. 

Residential finance, administrative, facilities, and non-student-facing support staff will join a new Residential Operations unit within Finance and Administration. 

Along with additional improvements in undergraduate and graduate education, this new structure will function in alignment with our emerging IUB 2030 strategic plan to help us: 

  • Support students’ diverse journeys more fully throughout their time at IU 
  • Build more meaningful connections between academic and campus life 
  • Better serve diverse student populations and groups 
  • Improve student health and well-being 
  • Engage with students more proactively 
  • Foster stronger connections for students with each other and across the IU community. 

Office of Undergraduate Education

New efforts associated with the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE) are designed to create a support system that ensures all students have what they need to succeed, especially if they have not been afforded the same opportunities as other students up to this point. 

With attention to the foundations of student learning, a new VPUE-led initiative commits $750,000 over three years to improve student academic success in courses that have the highest drop, failure, and withdrawal rates. 

Looking to the ceiling, making the most of the Hutton Honors College is essential. As part of this new alignment for student success, Hutton will report directly to the provost, and the dean will join the campus leadership team. The Honors College will also expand to oversee major scholarship programs for the highest achieving students. 

This reorientation will increase the visibility of the Honors College and redouble efforts to attract and foster the success of the brightest students from across Indiana and around the world. 

Provost Initiatives

View other initiatives from the Office of the Provost