IU Indianapolis expanding seamless admissions pilot program
INDIANAPOLIS — An initiative making it easier for Indianapolis Public Schools students to enroll at Indiana University Indianapolis is expanding.
The schools joining the pilot program for fall 2025 admission include Christel House Watanabe Manual High School, Herron High School, Herron-Riverside High School, Hope Academy High School, KIPP Indy Legacy High School, Phalen Virtual Leadership Academy, Purdue Polytechnic High School-Broad Ripple and Purdue Polytechnic High School Schweitzer Center at Englewood.
Instead of students having to apply, supply their high school transcripts and pay an application fee, qualifying students will just need to fill out a short online form.
“IU Indianapolis is committed to supporting students and families through higher education, while also building the workforce for our state,” said Latha Ramchand, inaugural chancellor and executive vice president for IU Indianapolis. “Through programs such as this we are helping our community, while also educating the next generation of leaders and building the human capital that our city, state and region need. We are doing what we need to do to support the workforce strategy that our governor and our business leaders have created for our region.”
“Expanding the seamless admissions initiative with IU Indianapolis to all IPS high schools, including those in our Innovation Network, is a transformative moment in the educational journey for all of our students and families,” IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said. “We know that this initiative holds the potential to significantly enhance the numbers of IPS graduates attending colleges or universities. Together, we’re paving the way for a future where every student can aspire, achieve and seamlessly transition to higher education, contributing to the growing success of our graduates.”
The program gained popularity across IPS since the fall, leading IU Indianapolis to waive application fees for all IPS seniors applying for fall 2024. The campus hosted a series of events in the spring to encourage students to pursue post-secondary education and improve accessibility. IU Indianapolis also hosted events at multiple IPS high schools, in addition to inviting all IPS seniors to on-campus events.
“Herron Classical Schools has been providing a free college-prep education to central Indiana students for almost two decades; here at Herron-Riverside High School, many of our graduates are the first person in their family to attend college,” said Emanuel Harper, Head of School at Herron-Riverside High School, part of the Herron Classical Schools network. “The Indiana University Indianapolis seamless admission program is a real benefit to our scholars and their families navigating the admissions process. We’re excited about the opportunities our students will have now that the program has been expanded to include Innovation Network high schools.”
“We heard from school counselors that our pilot initiative has helped encourage students who didn’t initially think college was for them to pursue higher education,” said PJ Woolston, vice chancellor for enrollment management at IU Indianapolis. “Ninety percent of our graduates stay in Indiana after graduation, which means these students are equipped to give back to their communities and central Indiana.”
Through the seamless admissions program, IU Indianapolis works with IPS and EmployIndy to ensure students are supported from the moment they are admitted. The program gives them access to career and advising services on the Indianapolis campus, as well as the Indy Achieves program, funded by the city of Indianapolis. IU Indianapolis offers an array of academic support programs like professional and peer mentoring and advising, academic success coaching and tutoring, and affinity group programming to help all students build strong campus networks and succeed.
Seamless admissions represents just one of nearly a dozen partnerships IU Indianapolis has with IPS, which include tutoring initiatives; campus visits; programs like the summer BOSS Camp, which encourages students to think like an entrepreneur; and options for college credit or even dual enrollment through the SPAN program.
IU Indianapolis officials said they’ve already heard from other school districts interested in the seamless admissions partnership, and they will continue to explore further expansion of the program throughout Marion County.
