About IPFW

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• About this Bulletin
• About the University
• Baccalaureate Framework
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About the Bulletin

The Bulletin provides information about the undergraduate programs, rules, courses, and faculty of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Information about IPFW’s graduate programs appears in a separate publication, the IPFW Graduate Bulletin.

Information in the Bulletin will help students make important choices about their education, and it will familiarize them with the many important services IPFW provides. Since the Bulletin is a primary resource for making decisions about an IPFW education, it is important for students to refer to it throughout their tenure at the university.

Changes occur as needs arise. Changes in rules and procedures generally become effective at the time they are published. Also, new or changed academic program requirements may provide you with additional options. Because of this, you should review statements on IPFW services, policies, programs, and courses in each new edition of the Bulletin published while you are a student. When you enter a degree or certificate program, you will be required to fulfill the requirements published in the Bulletin (or its supplement or departmental regulation) current at the time of your most recent entry or re-entry into the university. Only with the written acknowledgment of your academic advisor can you elect to fulfill the requirements in any subsequent Bulletin or supplement. Your academic advisor can assist you with this choice and ensure that such changes are officially recorded. See Degrees in Regulations  

NOTE: The information in this Bulletin is subject to change without notice. Actions by federal and state governments and the boards of trustees, administration, and faculty of the universities may produce such changes.

About the University

Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne offers more academic and extracurricular opportunities than any other higher education institution in northeast Indiana. A joint campus of two internationally recognized Big Ten schools, IPFW grants both Indiana University and Purdue University degrees.

IPFW reflects the IU and Purdue commitments to excellence in teaching, research, and service. The university takes advantage of the latest technologies in order to enhance information exchange, classroom instruction, research, and communications. Indiana University and Purdue University carry traditions of distinction in humanities, the arts, health sciences, social sciences, engineering, technology, and computer science.

IPFW provides access to an excellent education through academic diversity, flexibility, and affordability. IPFW students have access to superior research, academic, and extracurricular pursuits. IPFW is committed to the continued educational, economic, and cultural development of its 11-county service area.

More than 13,000 students are enrolled in more than 200 academic programs. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as certificate options. Some 19,000 additional students pursue noncredit continuing education courses. While the diverse student body continues to grow, the average class size remains 22.

The university is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. Various schools, divisions, and programs have earned additional accreditation through professional societies.

IPFW history. The history of IPFW is a history of mergers. IPFW has steadily evolved since the initial merger of the IU and Purdue Fort Wayne regional campuses in 1964. A gift of additional land by a consortium of local donors has increased the size of the campus to 662 acres, including land on the east and west banks of the St. Joseph River. Physically, the university has grown from a single building into a multicampus community cornerstone, offering an unparalleled range of educational and cultural opportunities.

Academic programs. Degree and certificate programs are offered through nine colleges, schools, or divisions. Arts and Sciences, Health and Human Services, and Visual and Performing Arts contain departments offering both IU and Purdue degree programs. Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science offers only Purdue degree programs; Business, Education, General Studies, Labor Studies, and Public and Environmental Affairs, only IU. The Academic Success Center serves lower-division students who have not chosen a degree program. The Division of Continuing Studies offers credit and noncredit programs throughout northeast Indiana in cooperation with degree-granting schools and divisions. Other entities, such as the Indiana University School of Medicine-Fort Wayne, offer programs at IPFW with varying degrees of campus affiliation. IPFW also offers the opportunity to participate in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.

IPFW stresses a constructive relationship between teaching and research. Most IPFW faculty members devote 25 percent of their effort to research.  Faculty regularly acquire support for creative endeavor in the form of external grants and contracts of about $5 million a year. Some faculty receive support from internally funded summer fellowships and grants-in-aid, and additional support is available through the Purdue and IU systems. Research activities reflect the research missions of Indiana and Purdue Universities. However, projects tend to involve individuals or small groups of researchers rather than large staffs and facilities, and special emphasis is placed on studies directly related to regional needs and interests. Faculty are encouraged to involve undergraduate students in research projects.

Core mission. The core mission of IPFW is to provide quality post-secondary education in northeast Indiana by focusing on student learning, while fostering intellectual exploration and attainment, and serving the region.

IPFW goals. Long-range goals of the university include continued improvement of academic programs, expanded faculty development programs, enhanced library collections and services, increased university and external support for research, increased academic and fiscal autonomy, attraction and retention of a more heterogeneous student body, expansion of graduate programs that serve regional needs, active support for regional economic development programs, and greater integration with the economic and cultural communities of the region.

IPFW has grown without sacrificing its commitment to faculty-student interaction. Quality of teaching will continue to be a major criterion for faculty compensation and promotion-and-tenure decisions and will be recognized through awards for distinguished teaching. To attract and retain outstanding teachers, IPFW will continue its effort to provide competitive levels of faculty compensation.

IPFW will also sustain and enhance support of faculty research and will expand opportunities for students to participate in research projects. The university will promote the use of technology as a feature of university education across the curriculum.

IPFW is committed to preparing students of northeast Indiana for productive lives in a multicultural, changing world. Special attention is given to bringing a university education to nontraditional students. The campus will expand efforts to increase matriculation and retention of minority students, and in a related effort, to hire and retain minority faculty.

The campus will continue to build programs of academic support for all students, including those programs intended for students of outstanding ability. Because the diversity of the student body and staff is an essential component of the university experience, IPFW also intends to attract a somewhat larger number of students from outside the region. To this end, and to accommodate verifiable local demand, IPFW Student Housing on the Waterfield Campus, with apartment-style floor plans, opened in August 2004.

IPFW plays an important role in the cultural and economic life of northeast Indiana. Faculty community service is and will continue to be encouraged. The university maintains and expects to strengthen relationships with community arts organizations and seeks additional opportunities to serve as a vital resource for business, industry, public and private education, and government in northeast Indiana. Retraining of the workforce and response to changes in the economy will be important priorities in years to come, as will efforts to improve services for an increasingly diverse student body. The campus seeks to organize its efforts and relationships with IU and Purdue in ways that will enhance its ability to anticipate and respond to regional needs. The continued development of the campus, with community support engendered by this development, will allow IPFW to meet the increasing demand for higher education in northeast Indiana.

Assessment of student learning. IPFW is committed to providing quality education and to assuring students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful. Assessment of student learning provides the information we need to make improvements in program structure, course content, and pedagogy. To this end, information is collected at the classroom, department, and institution levels. For example, students may be asked to submit examples of their course work and engage in focus groups. They may also be asked to complete a questionnaire assessing the quality of academic services. These activities help us determine the extent to which students demonstrate competency in the Baccalaureate Framework areas, in the major field of study, and in General Education.

IPFW statements on diversity. During fall semester 1994, Chancellor Michael Wartell established the following campus statement on diversity:

Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne recognizes, affirms, and celebrates the diversity in its campus, local, state, and national communities. Each member of these communities represents varied and different cultures and attributes simultaneously, yet because of these differences, many have been systematically excluded from full, fair, and respected participation in higher education. Therefore, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne seeks to demonstrate through its curriculum, support systems, and policies that it values these differences, creating and maintaining a campus environment that welcomes diverse characteristics, backgrounds, and experiences and identifying such diversity as a vital source of the intellectual, social, and personal growth essential to a university education.

To implement the above statement, Chancellor Wartell appointed the campus Diversity Council. In fall 1995, the Diversity Council published the following definition of diversity:

The Diversity Council is committed to creating an environment that enhances learning by recognizing the inherent worth of all individuals at the university. It is our conviction that diversity stimulates creativity, promotes the exchange of ideas, and enriches campus life. Diversity involves the differences among individuals that reflect the cultures from which the university draws strength, including, but not necessarily limited to, differences of race, ethnicity, color, gender, sexual orientation, class, age, and disabilities, as well as political and religious affiliation, and socioeconomic status increasing demand for higher education in northeast Indiana.

Baccalaureate Framework

Students who earn a baccalaureate degree at IPFW will be able to apply their knowledge to the needs of an increasingly diverse, complex, and dynamic world. To that end, IPFW continually develops and enhances curricula and educational experiences that provide all students with a holistic and integrative education.

The Framework

The IPFW faculty has identified six foundations of baccalaureate education.

Acquisition of Knowledge

Students will demonstrate breadth of knowledge across disciplines and depth of knowledge in their chosen discipline. In order to do so, students must demonstrate the requisite information- seeking skills and technological competencies.

Application of Knowledge

Students will demonstrate the ability to integrate and apply that knowledge, and, in so doing, demonstrate the skills necessary for life-long learning.

Personal and Professional Values

Students will demonstrate the highest levels of personal integrity and professional ethics.

A Sense of Community

Students will demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to be productive and responsible citizens and leaders in local, regional, national, and international communities. In so doing, students will demonstrate a commitment to free and open inquiry and mutual respect across multiple cultures and perspectives.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Students will demonstrate facility and adaptability in their approach to problem solving. In so doing, students will demonstrate critical-thinking abilities and familiarity with quantitative and qualitative reasoning.

Communication

Students will demonstrate the written, oral, and multimedia skills necessary to communicate effectively in diverse settings.

These foundations provide the framework for all baccalaureate degree programs. The foundations are interdependent, with each one contributing to the integrative and holistic education offered at IPFW.

Approved by the IPFW Faculty Senate April 10, 2006

IPFW Office Directory