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POSTED AT 11:47 PM ON Oct. 9, 2012  (UPDATED AT 11:47 PM ON Oct. 9, 2012)

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President Michael McRobbie announced a new graduation award that will encourage on-time degree completion and provide financial certainty for the future during his sixth State of the University address on Tuesday.

Under the initiative, students who have completed four semesters in good academic standing will receive an award that offsets any tuition increases that occur in their third or fourth years.

“This award makes two things clear,” McRobbie said. “That Indiana University is serious about holding down the cost of an IU degree, and that we are equally serious about providing the incentives for our students to stay on course for completing their degrees on-time.”

The awards will be available to students who have achieved the relevant milestones at the end of the spring semester 2013. If they do not graduate within four years, they will then be required to pay the current campus tuition in subsequent years.

McRobbie said other initiatives IU has launched to increase affordability have been effective so far.

“More than half of the undergraduates at the IU-Bloomington campus have no student loan debt, and almost half graduate with no student loan debt,” he said.He said this is in part because of financial aid provided by IU.

About eight students expressed disbelief with the statement via Twitter, but the Office of Financial Student Assistance could not be reached to confirm the figure.

McRobbie said IU has more than doubled institutional aid to students by increasing grants and scholarships.

Despite the progress, McRobbie said there are still improvements to be made.
He recommended an overhaul of the academic and career advising systems and suggested a substantive online course required for all students who receive financial assistance in the form of loans.

Global and International Studies

The Board of Trustees unanimously approved a plan to establish the new school of Global and International Studies in August, and McRobbie said he expects ground to be broken by the end of this academic year near the Herman B Wells Library.

The $53 million building will not require any state funding and will instead be financed entirely through university sources. Half the funding will come from IU’s Big Ten Network revenues.

Merger of Informatics and School of Library and Information Science

The Trustees will hear a proposal tomorrow to merge the School of Informatics and Computing and the School of Library and Information
Science.

“Combining these two schools will give the new school an expanded combination of breadth, size and quality,” McRobbie said.

McRobbie said the initiative is expected to move forward with extensive faculty support, but concerns with the merger were expressed at the Sept. 4 Bloomington Faculty Council meeting.

McRobbie said pending Trustee approval at Friday’s business meeting, the merger will be formally effective by the beginning of the next academic year.