December 1, 2005
Purdue enrollment departments merge
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Two Purdue University enrollment management departments that meet a variety of student needs are joining forces.
The Office of Orientation and New Student Programs will merge with Learning Communities, Access and Retention Programs, effective today (Thursday, Dec. 1). Drew Koch, currently director of Learning Communities, Access and Retention Programs, will become director of the newly created department, called Student Access, Transition and Success Programs.
Douglas Christiansen, assistant vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions, said the new department will create efficiencies and provide student service and support in a more seamless manner than has been possible in the past.
"By pulling these efforts together, we will create synergies and make our processes more student-friendly," Christiansen said. "This combines our orientation programs – what we now call transition programs – with our access and success programs."
The newly organized office also benefits Purdue because it will advance the university's strategic plan-related enrollment management efforts and its efficiencies will translate into savings, Christiansen said.
"We will move ahead of our aspirational peers in the manner in which we help our students prepare for and succeed in college, and we will have greater budgetary flexibility in doing so," he said. "Resources for the various programs in the two units can now be combined to maximize the available funding and bolster the programs."
Christiansen also said that he has kept issues important to his staff in mind throughout the planning process for the new department.
"Our creation of a larger, cross-trained student access and success team will mean less stress and more help for all our staff," he said. "This will boost morale and staff retention – all positives for our ability to deliver great programs to students."
Christiansen also said that the Student Access, Transition and Success Programs will simplify processes aimed at measuring success and increasing diversity.
"It will enhance both our coordination and our accountability for overall student retention efforts," he said. "In particular, it will help the university assist low-income and underrepresented students while it provides services for all undergraduates."
The new department will encompass Boiler Gold Rush, Day on Campus, Learning Communities, Purdue Opportunity Awards and the West Central Region Support Site for the 21st Century Scholars program, among other initiatives.
Koch said his department will address the student experience as a continuum, beginning with preparation for college and continuing through graduation.
"It will be an office that will stress intentional connections between the various programs it encompasses," he said. "These connections will lead to deeper learning and greater satisfaction with the Purdue experience, which can and should increase graduation rates."
After six years of service to Purdue, Patti Dulik, director of the Office of Orientation and New Student Programs, will relocate to the Chicago area.
"Patti has made a huge contribution to student success at Purdue through her dedicated service," Christiansen said. "During her tenure at the university, Boiler Gold Rush has grown from 2,600 participants in 1999 to more than 4,900 this year, and it has become a national model for orientation programs."
The new department will move into offices in the basement of Stewart Center during the winter months.
Sources: Douglas Christiansen, (765) 494-7014, dlchristiansen@purdue.edu
Drew Koch, (765) 496-3618, akkoch@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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