Ivy Tech Community College — Columbus will get a new chancellor this summer, part of a new organizational structure that will be implemented by the statewide higher-education system.
Nineteen new chancellors for Ivy Tech Community College campuses are expected to be named by Aug. 1, including one in Columbus, said Jeff Fanter, Ivy Tech’s senior vice president of student experience.
Katie Mote has served as the Columbus’ campus interim chancellor since October 2016, when she replaced Chris Lowery as chancellor for the Columbus/Southeast region. Lowery was promoted to a senior vice president position with the statewide system. Mote had been president of Ivy Tech’s Madison campus since November 2014.
Mote currently oversees four campuses in the Ivy Tech’s southeast district — Batesville, Lawrenceburg and Madison, in addition to Columbus. The local leadership includes Steven Combs, who serves as president of the Columbus campus.
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However, the upcoming changes are designed to make Ivy Tech’s campuses self-sustaining units, the college said in a news release.
Several campuses currently report to a regional chancellor and campus president, which is what the Columbus campus has as its organizational structure now. These roles will be eliminated in the new model, according to the Ivy Tech announcement.
This change comes one year after new Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann visited campuses across the state and saw how the current structure was causing “unintended consequences and difficulties in serving local communities.”
“Our overarching focus with the organizational structure is to put more ‘community’ into community college, place more attention on students and reduce friction across our large organization,” Ellspermann said in a press release.
Under the new structure, Ivy Tech will divide its current locations into two classifications: campuses and educational sites.
Columbus will remain one of 19 campuses, while campuses such as Franklin and Noblesville will become two of 26 educational sites.
“We have now defined criteria for what will be called a campus, while in the past the designation was based on if it was a degree-granting location,” Fanter said.
Fanter said degrees will still be granted at these various locations, despite being classified as a campus or site. The same services and programs will continue to be offered, but the size and scope of the services are expected to change.
“Criteria used to designate campuses and site include enrollment, population, workforce needs and completion,” Fanter said. “So the biggest difference is just size and depth of services provided. For example, it is likely there will be more advisers at a campus than a site.”
The community college will also eliminate its current divisional structure, which offers four areas of study — health, technology, computing and informatics, and business and public services.
The new seven-school model is expected to align more closely with Indiana’s key economic sectors:
- School of Business, Logistics & Supply Chain
- School of Public Affairs and Social Services
- School of Information Technology
- School of Arts, Sciences & Education
- School of Health Sciences
- School of Nursing
- School of Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering & Applied Technology
Faculty will also have a greater voice in structuring academic policy, procedures and the new strategic plan through faculty councils, Ellspermann said.
“This is not a project to reduce headcount, or eliminate staff or campus locations,” Ellspermann said. “Similarly, we will not add staff. We do, however, anticipate cost-savings over time with more efficient operations allowing us to focus more resources to our programs and student services.”
An updated strategic plan is set to be unveiled by Ivy Tech in December 2017.
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A new structure for Ivy Tech Community College will feature:
- New campus chancellors to serve as executives in charge
- 19 total campuses
- 26 educational sites
- A reinstated school model that aligns with Indiana’s economic sectors
- Faculty councils for faculty to have a broader voice in academic policy, procedures and engagement in developing a new strategic plan
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- Ivy Tech – Columbus serves students from five area counties
- More than 10,000 students enroll annually at the Columbus campus
- The campus offers 33 academic programs
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“Our overarching focus with the organizational structure is to put more ‘community’ into community college, place more attention on students and reduce friction across our large organization.”
— Sue Ellspermann, Ivy Tech Community College president
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