Dr. Lee Viar, ANTSHE President, and IU Southeast Adult Student Center Director Kimberly Pelle.
NEW ALBANY, Ind. — The Indiana University Southeast Adult Student Center has received a national award for its service to nontraditional students.
The Association for Nontraditional Students in Higher Education (ANTSHE) honored IU Southeast with the 2017 Nontraditional Student-Friendly Award, which recognizes adult learner programs that “provide the resources, support, motivation, and an environment that encourages nontraditional students and aides in their success.”
According to ANTSHE, the Nontraditional Student-Friendly Award is presented to institutions that go above and beyond to provide nontraditional students with the resources needed to achieve success, and for creating a culture and environment that encourages growth and learning.
IU Southeast’s Adult Student Center (ASC) offers scholarships, programs, workshops and services designed to ease the transition into college for single parents, working adults, veterans, international students and those who are 24 years or older. The facility is open 24 hours a day and features 12 computers, a miniature kitchenette, a Veterans Resource Center and office supplies to complete school assignments.
“I have designed the Adult Student Center around the philosophy that adults have different needs than traditional students, especially in terms of resources offered to them,” Director Kim Pelle said. “This recognition is a testament to this university’s support of our nontraditional students, their unique needs and their accomplishment.”
Pelle focuses the majority of the ASC’s programming on access to campus resources and diversity education. Half of the programs offered are free, family-friendly learning activities on campus such as Reptile Mania with Herps Alive, Spring Daze and Family Movie Nights or at places like the Louisville Zoo, The Falls of the Ohio, the Kentucky Science Center and WorldFest.
Thanks to the generosity of benefactors and agencies like the Community Foundation and Education Matters Southern Indiana, the ASC also offers numerous scholarships to assist adult students with their educational goals.
“You should see my students’ eyes when they find out they have received a monetary gift from these foundations,” Pelle said. “They are beyond grateful. I see a renewed determination in them to complete their studies and graduate.”