Indiana University plans to change the first-year experience. Here's what we know.

Indiana University is looking to redesign its first-year experience, but what that looks like and when it'll launch is still up in the air, according to the administration.

Those already steeped in the planning process have some initial ideas for potential changes. The Herald-Times asked a few current and incoming IU students to share what they'd like to see in the first year on the Bloomington campus.

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While IU's current first-year experience is "really robust," interim vice provost for strategy and innovation Carrie Docherty notes the campus needs to evolve with its incoming classes, which have continued to grow over the past few years. Docherty was a key leader in crafting IU's 2030 strategic plan, especially in its first-year revamp initiative. The plan, released earlier this month, features a redesign framework, which was built by working groups of undergraduate students, faculty and other university personnel.

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"Of those undergraduate working groups, we really thought about everything from what support systems our students need, both in the classroom and outside the classroom," Docherty said.

IU alumni Melissa Tarrh fondly remembers her time at IU as a first-year student 20 years ago. It's a memory lane she was able to physically walk down last week with her daughter, Olivia Pearcy, on IU's Red Carpet Day, designed to let incoming freshmen like Pearcy get a feel for campus before moving in later this year.

While a lot has changed since Tarrh's time on campus, one thing hasn't: It's never easy leaving home and striking out on your own for the first time.

"Freshman year, you're so overwhelmed in general," Tarrh said. "I think, for a parent, my biggest concerns are safety and that she's academically taking the classes she needs to take."

Pearcy hopes to have a guiding hand for the academic side of her first-year experience. She's received direct admission into the Kelley School of Business, and while she's excited to dive into one of IU's best known and selective programs, she's still a little fish in a big pond.

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"What classes do I need to take?" Pearcy wondered aloud. "There's so many options, I don't know where to start."

That's a sentiment echoed by current freshman Kendal Bent. She really appreciated her adviser's help in her first semester, such as laying out the required classes that would keep her on track for graduation.

"It was way more supportive than like now when I just have to do it on my own. In the beginning, it was extremely helpful," Bent said. "It also helps me kind of get a feel for my classes and really gets me more excited to go."

But right now, on the tail end of her spring semester, things are getting a little hectic. During this crunch time of class registration for fall, her adviser hasn't been available to meet with her at all, which Bent described as "nerve-wracking" and has been a source of added stress.

In its strategic plan, IU noted the need for more academic support and advising, stressing "equitable access." When asked how the administration intends to accomplish this goal, such as restructuring the support system or hiring more advisers, Docherty said a solution hasn't been identified and still needs discussion.

Julie Payne-Kirchmeier, IU's vice president for student success, also emphasizes the need for various check-ins throughout the first year. For some, this may be the first time ever leaving their hometown or region. While it's good to have a strongly guided introduction to campus, "what happens if you try and compress everything into a two-week period of time is that it feels like you're constantly drinking from a firehose and then expected to remember how much water you drank," Payne-Kirchmeier said.

"So if we can intentionally structure through things like orientation and advising conversations and peer mentoring and First Year Experience programs that are kind of tagged throughout a student's first year, you can really start to ritually connect with students and help them navigate and develop those skills throughout their first year that they can then use in their second year and build upon," Payne-Kirchmeier said. "It just creates a stronger foundation for them and sets them long term for success."

The social aspect of college is also a big expectation for current and incoming freshmen.

Though she already knows a few people enrolling at IU, including her soon-to-be-roommate, Pearcy said she's interested in meeting new people and turning Bloomington into her "second home."

"I'm really excited to make friends here and have a community," Pearcy said.

While Pearcy is excited to try her hand at intramural or team soccer, Bent had some difficulty finding her niche when she first arrived. BeINvolved, IU's online hub of clubs, events and organizations on campus, wasn't very helpful.

"I knew about a lot of events and clubs and stuff from other people (on campus) and not really through the university," Bent said.

A potential solution to that campus disconnection is a new first-year seminar, which has been described in the strategic plan as being "academically based and (fostering) a sense of belonging, wellness, connection to campus, student engagement, and support resources."

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According to Docherty, what that seminar will look like is still in the early stages of discussion and could be a credited, mandatory first-year class or more informal. While Pearcy likes the idea of an informal format, Tarrh, noted her son, who is more introverted, would likely prefer an actual class.

Because there are differences in personality to take into account, it's a fragile balance to create a signature experience that fits everyone, Docherty said.

"The implementation team is going to be working on getting into the logistics of exactly the details of that," Docherty said. "This is a seven-year plan, so we will want to really think about what this experience is going to look like and then make sure it is operationalized in a way to meet all of our students needs, irrespective of the school or the college that they're part of, so it will take some significant planning to figure out exactly what this needs to look like to meet the needs of all of our students."

When will IU's first year change?

While IU has released an intention to change the first-year experience, there's still a lot of work to be done. With the plan and goals now fully realized, Docherty said they can now focus on the finer details of implementation. While these changes will most likely come out in stages, the fall 2023 semester won't look too different from now.

Reach Rachel Smith at rksmith@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: How is Indiana University planning to improve 1st year on campus?