Reinhold Hill, vice chancellor of Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus, welcomes guests to a panel discussion about race in Columbus for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Columbus Learning Center in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. Republic file photo
Seven IUPUC employees have been affected by a recent reduction in force.
Five full-time and two part-time employees were notified that their positions “would be reduced,” said IUPUC Vice Chancellor and Dean Reinhold Hill.
“One full-time and one part-time employee resigned immediately upon receiving notice,” Hill said. “One full-time employee who received notice was offered and accepted employment at IUPUI. One full-time employee retired. We have two open positions at IUPUC for which one of the remaining two employees has applied, but the closing date is not until later this week, so I do not know the outcome in that search.”
The individual applying for these positions was a full-time employee, he said. The remaining two individuals affected — one full-time and one part-time — do not have finalized plans yet. There are still open positions that the college hopes to fill with affected employees, Hill said.
He added that IU Employee Relations provided a contact to assist with applications, and any open positions at IUPUC were “conducted as internal searches in order to give notified employees preference.” Employees were notified by human resources regarding vacancies at both IUPUI and IUPUC.
IUPUC employs more than 200 individuals, including 65 full-time and 82 adjunct faculty, along with 51 full-time and 11 part-time staff, Hill said.
In October, Indiana University officials confirmed that there would be a “small reduction in force” at IUPUC, effective Nov. 1.
Hill sent a letter to staff that announced a “restructuring” in regards to IUPUC’s approach to advising. He recently confirmed that all positions affected by the reduction in force were tied to advising, and no other reductions or layoffs are planned.
He told The Republic in a previous interview that advising, previously handled by division, was now going to be handled by University College. University College is a unit of IUPUC that provides “support services” and “pre-major advising” for students. All advising will now be consolidated into that unit. According to Hill’s letter, advisers may now be responsible for multiple disciplines in different divisions.
The letter cited declines in enrollment and the impact on the college’s budget as factors in restructuring.
IUPUC’s target enrollment is between 1,500 and 2,000 students, Hill said. IU spokesman Chuck Carney said in early October that the college’s enrollment for this fall was 1,059, including both graduate and undergraduate students. For 2020-21, it was 1,279. In 2019-20, it was 1,411.
Furthermore, the new undergraduate class for 2021 was 176, compared to previous IU reports of 210 in 2020 and 286 in 2019.
Hill said that the college is focusing on “recruiting a much larger class for next year.”
“Last year at this time, we weren’t able to go out and do public events due to the pandemic,” he said. “This year, by the end of November, we’ll have been out to 40 community or high school or other sorts of recruiting events, which is a big start.”
Hill reported that preliminary numbers show that in regards to the fall of 2022, applications are up 29% year over year, and admissions are up more than 100%.
“Our primary vehicle for the future really is to grow enrollment,” he said.
