Changes in store for Purdue Polytechnic Students at IUS

31st October 2019

New Albany – A recent announcement from Purdue Polytechnic Institute may signal significant changes for students and end a partnership between Purdue and Indiana University that dates back to the 1960s.

While details are limited, faculty and students at Purdue Polytechnic Institute in Sellersburg were notified last week that students will be able to take all of their classes from Purdue starting July 1, 2020.  The move is happening at nine campuses across the state as Polytechnic will make the switch away from utilizing their local Indiana University campuses to offer general education required courses towards their bachelor’s degrees.

Purdue Polytechnic’s locations in South Bend, Kokomo and Richmond plan to move to new facilities off Indiana University campuses to new facilities in the communities.

IU Southeast Chancellor Dr. Ray Wallace notes that given that IU Southeast and Purdue Polytechnic Institute in Sellersburg have had separate campuses for some time, it is not entirely clear what the immediate impact will be. “The speed of any such change is up to the leadership of Purdue, said Wallace. “We like having Purdue students on our IU campus and the current arrangement works well for the students. However if Purdue leadership wishes to go into a different direction, we wish them well in this endeavor.”

“What will be impacted is student access to state-of-the-art facilities, such as our library and labs as well as the faculty expertise available at IU Southeast in the areas of science, business and technology,” said Wallace. “IU Southeast also provides a full complement of student support services including financial aid processing, tutoring, counseling; even things as basic as a bookstore, coffee shop and dining services. At this point, we see no provision from Purdue to pick up these services outside of sending students to the West Lafayette campus for support.”

Wallace said in a statement that he is committed to working with Purdue leadership to assure a smooth transition for the relatively small number of students affected by this change. “We will continue to welcome all students to the IU Southeast campus including those Purdue students who wish to continue their studies here or those who might transfer,” said Wallace.

Purdue Polytechnic students may continue to take their general education and elective coursework at IU Southeast.  As in the past, students would register as a non-degree seeking student at IU Southeast and transfer credits back to Polytechnic, a process that has been in place for many years.

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