Pros
The students are the highlight of the work environment, and witnessing their growth is truly rewarding. You will be surrounded by supportive and engaging co-workers. The faculty and staff are remarkable, genuinely caring about student success and each other. The pay is on the low side compared to other colleges and universities in the area.
Cons
Campus leadership is disconnected and lacks proper qualifications. The new chancellor, hired due to nepotism, lacks relevant experience and has approached his role with a business-centric mindset, resulting in the termination of over 20 faculty and staff members with low-to-mid 5-figure salaries in the past year. This is despite the campus already being understaffed and struggling to retain employees. Poor leadership and communication have contributed heavily to the drop in student enrollment. The enrollment drop seems to be isolated to only the Bloomington campus. The safety plan includes locking specific doors for several hours, and low numbers of security on campus despite never having an issue on campus. These policies have compromised campus security, and finding security personnel on campus can be challenging. The vice chancellor has been known to make overly optimistic statements about budget improvements, often merely to placate staff. He will basically tell you what he thinks you want to hear. And in all the cuts made on campus, the leadership was sure to keep the vice chancellor’s wife on staff despite her holding a position that never existed before her and was not filled when she left for a short time. Ethics issue here? Many issues originate from the inept administration in Indianapolis. Ivy Tech's president, an unqualified corporate-aligned politician, is fixated on replicating the model of Odessa College in Texas, imposing an 8-week course policy statewide. Odessa has a bad record and is a small college compared to the massive amount of campuses that Ivy Tech has. This has led to students being forced to compress their learning into half the usual time, adversely affecting information retention and causing a significant decline in guest student enrollment as IU distances itself. IU has stated that students coming to them from the 8-week system are not as prepared for IU classes as they were before the change. Ivy Tech does not care. The president's focus on increasing degree completions disregards the quality of education, making Ivy Tech a subject of ridicule in the state. Ivy Tech is supposed to serve the community and many in the community can no longer rely on Ivy Tech due to the schedule changes that don’t allow non-traditional students and don’t align in any way with class schedules for Monroe County (the community) and IU. It is clear why the enrollment has dropped but the Ivy Tech leadership, local and statewide, trudge along on their direction of doom. A culture of fear exists at the Bloomington campus, where staff attempts to address these issues are met with criticism, resistance, and even disciplinary action. Nepotism is rampant. Dissenters are expected to remain silent, so consider carefully before accepting a position here.