Student Success

Description of the video:

Pamela Whitten: Hi, I'm Pam Whitten and I'm delighted to welcome you to this special conversation on student success. Joining me are three IU leaders, each playing a crucial role in shaping the student experience.

Lamar Hylton: I'm Lamar Hylton, Vice Provost for Student Life at IU Bloomington.
I really enjoy shaping the student experience outside of the classroom. And that is my role here at IU Bloomington, is to really ensure that students are connected and resourced in a way that helps drive their success, and gets them across the stage in four years.

Eric Weldy: Eric Weldy, and I serve as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at IU Indianapolis. Whenever anyone asks me, you know, what does a vice chancellor for student affairs do, I always let them know that I support the academic mission of the university by really supporting students and serving as an advocate for students. And so, it's my key role to really eliminate barriers that students come across that hinder them from being successful both in the classroom and outside the classroom.

Julie Payne-Kirchmeier: Julie Payne-Kirchmeier, Vice President for Student Success here at Indiana University. I like to think of the role for Vice President for Student Success as working in partnership with the two folks who are here at the table for sure, but also looking at student success holistically.

Pamela Whitten: Let's have a question specifically for Dr. Payne-Kirchmeier. Commitment to ensuring student success and opportunity, as you know, is one of the three pillars in the IU 2030 strategic plan. So can you tell us about your vision and how you define student success?

Julie Payne-Kirchmeier: It really comes down to ensuring that all of our students are thriving intellectually, socially, and emotionally. That touches every component of their life. And that also means it takes every one of us to make it happen.

Pamela Whitten: So it's a partnership between (Julie Payne-Kirchmeier: Absolutely.) the student playing the driving role in their life and their future, and the university providing the resources and the support to enable them to flourish.

Pamela Whitten: Each of you, of course, work with students in terms of a specific campus right? Indianapolis, and, of course, Bloomington, respectively. And so what are you most excited about? Are there any new initiatives or efforts that Bloomington or Indianapolis students should be looking forward to?

Eric Weldy: I would have to say that I'm really excited about completing our transition to becoming IU Indianapolis. We have a new chancellor who will be coming on board, our inaugural Chancellor, Dr. Latha Ramchand. It has to be the best start to the school year that we have ever had. And so I think student affairs plays a major role in that.

Lamar Hylton: I think the IUB 2030 strategic plan really has set the course for
Student Life. We are a new organizational structure that is designed to really align
those student success efforts, again, outside of the classroom. And so we've been in about four months of work at this point, really doing that in three really critical areas: care and advocacy, involvement and belonging, and health and wellbeing.

Lamar Hylton: We've held some, what we've called Crimson Conversations over the fall semester. And now taking that feedback, taking those conversations and putting them into action is really exciting for all of us.

Pamela Whitten: And I'm happy to hear that you're talking and listening to a lot of people to gather good ideas and to figure out what's right for students on your campus as well. That's terrific.

Pamela Whitten: Let me ask you all, what strides are being made to ensure that all students at Indiana University feel a sense of belonging? You know, what resources and what services do we have available and what emerging trends do you all see regarding student needs?

Julie Payne-Kirchmeier: So I know when I look across all of Indiana University, one of the things that I'm most proud of about being a part of this team, is that there's not one campus, there's not one person who doesn't at least understand that facilitating a sense of belonging is key in really advancing on all of our goals around student success. I know across IU there are a number of things that have been happening.

Julie Payne-Kirchmeier: One is, there's been an expansion in peer mentoring. Which connects a student right off the bat with somebody that, quite frankly, if I tell them something is really important for them, they might hear me. If a peer says it, it becomes much more real and relevant for them. So we're really excited to see all those partnerships take off.

Pamela Whitten: The combination of that as the human touch with the much needed contemporary software to support students will be a wonderful thing (Julie Payne-Kirchmeier: Absolutely.) on all our campuses as well.

Eric Weldy: I would say that a key part of students feeling like they belong is that the university supports them in feeling healthy and happy. And so we certify employees, faculty and staff in becoming health and wellness coaches for students. They help students, and it's free, we help them manage their time, creating a schedule to work out. Also to make sure that they have that social connection as well. And so it's a way to one, they have someone who keeps them accountable. But second, they also have a plan and they have someone who supports them, and the students have just really taken to it.

Pamela Whitten: That's great. That's great.

Lamar Hylton: If you think about who's getting ready to graduate from Indiana University in the spring of ‘24, those students started at the full scale of the pandemic. The socialization of those students has looked vastly different than any generation before them in terms of how they get connected with resources. We want to make sure that the students not only understand that even though we are a large institution, there are there is something there for them and they are able to connect with them. But also be able to point them to where those resources lie that will impact their experience positively.

Pamela Whitten: And that's great. There's a lot of choice.

Lamar Hylton: Absolutely. That's right.

Pamela Whitten: At both Bloomington and Indianapolis.

Julie Payne-Kirchmeier: There really are.

Pamela Whitten: A lot of things to do. You will find your place.

Pamela Whitten: Based on your own personal academic experiences and your journey as a student through your undergraduate and graduate degrees that you've all earned, what is the one piece of wisdom or advice, or “don't do this” (laughter), that you might offer to either prospective students or current students?

Julie Payne-Kirchmeier: I'm going to say, if we can embrace a reframe of what failure actually means. From my, you asked about from our own lived experiences. I know as an undergraduate student, if I did a misstep, if I didn't get a particular grade on a paper, it felt like the end of the world. Like that was failure. It wasn't.

Julie Payne-Kirchmeier: You know, I embrace a quote from Nelson Mandela all the time, which is, “I never lose. Either I win or I learn.” So if we can, or if a student can, take something that was difficult, that they didn't get right the first time, and flip that into a reframe of, “What did I learn from this?” You are so much stronger.

Lamar Hylton: My tip would be, own your experience. I remember as an undergraduate student, kind of just walking and navigating blindly the university experience as it came. And looking back, I really wish there were, there were moments where I wish I had owned my experience a little more fully. So that's what I would impart to our students. That as you’re coming to Indiana University, to really be here, to own your experience in all of the ways that make sense for you and know that the university is here to support that.

Pamela Whitten: Well, and college is the time to try things. (All: Absolutely.) Sometimes they don't work as well as you might hope. And sometimes they work better than you think.

Julie Payne-Kirchmeier: Absolutely.

Pamela Whitten: Amongst all the leadership positions on our campuses, I hold really at the pinnacle, those jobs that are here to make sure our students are successful and that's what you all chosen to do, to do for a living. And I'm grateful every day for that.

Pamela Whitten: It doesn't matter what role you play at a university. You could be the president of the university. You could be the person that makes sure the classrooms are ready every day, or you can be a formal advisor or faculty or something in between. A part of your job is about serving students and ensuring that they have a wonderful experience at school.

Pamela Whitten: And if we're going to keep up with our philosophy that the students are the center of our universe, then everyone at Indiana University needs to be, and from what I have seen, is deeply, deeply committed to that for our students.

Pamela Whitten: So thank you to all of you, and let's have a wonderful 2024!

Eric Weldy: Thank you.

Lamar Hylton: Looking forward to it. Looking forward to it.

Julie Payne-Kirchmeier: Agreed.