Academic and Scholar Resources

Academic and Scholar Resources: It’s a Journey

Every student is likely to benefit from support during their college journey. The Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs provides a comprehensive network of academic resources, scholarships, and scholar programs to help. Many of these programs are specifically tailored to low-income students and those who are the first in their families to attend college. Each initiative is designed to recruit, retain, and ensure students reach their educational goals. Several programming efforts also help students find a sense of belonging on campus, giving them the confidence to excel in their education.

Academic Support Center

The Academic Support Center (ASC) serves as a go-to academic resource at IU Bloomington, providing students with a wide range of support services to help them meet the academic demands of college-level work and to keep them on track to a degree. Thousands of students benefit from ASC's services each year, with ASC staff facilitating group and individual tutoring, workshops, study groups, academic advising, and more.

Yearly Highlights:

  • Returning to in-person tutorial assistance in the evenings while continuing online help.
  • Attaining a three-fold increase in student visits to various ASC locations and via Zoom. Based on this impressive growth, the ASC plans to incorporate a hybrid model (both in-person and online services) moving forward.

Mentoring Services and Leadership Development

Mentoring Services and Leadership Development connects students with mentors from around the university, providing undergraduate students with personal encouragement, career advice, leadership development opportunities, academic support, and more. Students—especially young people from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds—are supported throughout their academic journey and beyond.

Yearly Highlights:

  • Conducting monthly academic, professional, social, and health and wellness programs for a total of 316 participants.
  • Securing highly favorable participant responses from faculty members and students, with a positive rating of 99 percent on the meaningfulness of subject matter and program impact.
  • Facilitating "lunch and learns" by Faculty and Staff for Student Excellence (FASE) mentor teams. Topics included Undergraduate Research & Involvement, Black Studies, Black Professors and Black Students Are IU, Work & Leisure Today, Developing an Ethical Toolkit, Afro-Latino Culture, and Staying Active in Small Ways. Eighty-nine faculty and students attended these gatherings, and participant responses were extremely positive.

21st Century Scholars Program - IU Blooomington

The IU 21st Century Scholars Program is the oldest and largest student support program at any university in the state of Indiana. The effort, which targets students from low-income backgrounds who may require additional support in college, provides scholarships to qualified students, plus comprehensive programming to help them achieve their college goals. Additionally, scholars receive academic assistance, leadership and mentoring development, overseas study programs, and career readiness support, to name just a few.

Yearly Highlights:

  • Receiving the Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Advising Program Award from NACADA, an association of professional advisors, counselors, faculty, administrators, and students working to enhance the educational development of students.
  • Retaining the 21st Century Scholars’ freshman class (beginner and transfer) at a rate of 91.1 percent.
  • Recognized for the highest graduation rate in the state of Indiana by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
  • Increasing career awareness and readiness among 21st Century Scholars, with 56 percent of students (570) attending the OVPDEMA Diversity Career and Internship Fair.
  • Establishing a pilot STEM Program featuring collaborations with other OVPDEMA scholarship programs.
  • Receiving an Indiana Commission for Higher Education Stan Jones Success Grant to fund elements of the program.

Groups Scholars Program

Created in 1968 to increase college attendance among students who meet certain income requirements at IU Bloomington, the Groups Scholars Program provides a robust network of academic, financial, and social support to help students succeed in college. With more than 350 students admitted yearly, the four-year scholarship includes financial support to cover tuition and fees, books, and room and board.

Yearly Highlights:

  • Receiving INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine's 2021 Inspiring Programs Award for the Groups Scholars Program STEM Initiative. This effort provides tools, resources, and support to help students forge careers in STEM-related fields.
  • Providing each 2021 Groups Scholar with a laptop, helping them have access to the technology necessary to have a successful experience at IU Bloomington. More than 200 gifts from alumni and friends helped fund this initiative through the Groups Technology Drive.

Adam W. Herbert Presidential Scholars Program

The Adam W. Herbert Presidential Scholars Program (HPS) serves as a four-year renewable scholarship designed to keep Indiana’s top graduating high school seniors on track to meet their academic goals. The program, which was developed by IU President Emeritus Adam W. Herbert during his tenure at Indiana University, enables eligible students to attend an IU campus throughout the state.

Yearly Highlights:

  • Appointing Shakoor Karim in fall 2022.
  • Welcoming the 2022 cohort of HPS Scholars (80 students) across IU's campuses.
  • Hosting the 2022 Herbert Presidential Scholars Luncheon on March 24, 2022, to recognize IU's 2021 student cohort and their families; 104 students, families, and IU leaders were in attendance.
  • Supporting nine students who traveled to nine countries and eight cities as part of the HPS Study Abroad Program. Five students took part in professional development due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Hudson and Holland Scholars Program

The Hudson & Scholars Program was established in 1987 as the Minority Achievers Program by Herman C. Hudson and James P. Holland. Today the program represents Indiana University’s largest merit-based scholarship and support program for highachieving students from communities historically excluded from higher education. Program components include funding to cover in-state tuition and mandatory fees (non-resident students receive an amount equal to in-state tuition and mandatory fees). Students also receive a variety of enrichment and holistic support to help them thrive throughout their educational journey.

Yearly Highlights:

  • Appointing Carl Darnell in the spring of 2021 to lead the program.
  • Restructuring and appointing new staff to help students achieve academic and personal success.
  • Establishing a new memorandum of understanding with the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs that waives application fees for any scholar applying to the school and provides students who are admitted to the graduate program with a 25 percent tuition discount.
  • Monitoring funding and packaging improvements that allow students admitted to the program to receive funding from three sources.

OVDPEMA's Study Abroad Program

Created in the summer of 2013 with funding designated by Provost and Executive Vice President of IU Bloomington Lauren Robel, the OVPDEMA Overseas Studies & Scholarship Program is a need-based scholarship that covers a portion of the costs associated with international study. In addition, the program offers custom overseas program options, advice to eligible OVPDEMA scholars, and more.

Yearly Highlights:

  • Providing study abroad funding to 109 OVPDEMA academic program students. Students studied abroad in 24 countries and 48 cities.
  • Conducting the first faculty-led program since the pandemic, OVPDEMA students took classes in the second six weeks of the spring semester and traveled abroad to Mexico City in May for two weeks. The course, "Cultural Diversity and Intangible Heritage in Mexico," was led by professors César Félix-Brasdefer and Javier F. León.
  • Co-leading initiatives with the IU Office of Overseas Study to support IU Bloomington students' application to the nationally competitive Gilman Study abroad scholarship; 65 percent of applicants were selected for the scholarships; the national awardee rate is 20 percent.