Indiana University has been awarded the 2025 UPCEA Award for Strategic Innovation in Online Education. The award recognizes the work the university has done to redesign and grow online programs through the Programs of Scale (ProS) initiative.
ProS is a broad-based venture designed to expand student access to in-demand online programs. Participating degree programs feature cutting-edge design, incorporate top-tier student services, and are marketed nationally.
“This is the second national award that has recognized the ProS initiative,” said IU Associate Vice President Chris Foley. “It underscores the value and innovation of the many groups within IU that worked on the ProS. We can credit program leaders and faculty for their academic leadership and vision, as well as professionals within University Information Technology Services (UITS), University Enrollment Services (UES), and University Communications and Marketing (UCM). It’s really these partnerships that made it possible to take this concept from the drawing board to reality.”
ProS by the dozen
IU launched nine redesigned programs under the ProS initiative.
- Chancellors’ BS in Business Administration (regional campuses)
- BS in Criminal Justice (IUE)
- BS in Data Science (IUI and the regional campuses)
- BS in Informatics (IUI and the regional campuses)
- BS in Mathematics (IUE)
- BS in Psychology (IUE)
- RN to BSN (all campuses)
- Master of Public Health (IUI Fairbanks School of Public Health)
- Master of Health Administration (IUI Fairbanks School of Public Health)
Three other programs within similar fields were also launched.
- BS in Actuarial Science (IUE, IUN, IUSB, IUS and IUI)
- BS in Applied Statistics (IUE, IUN, IUSB, IUS and IUI)
- BS in Computer Science (IUI and the regional campuses)
Measuring success
Assistant Vice President Whitnie Powell reported that enrollments across these programs grew by an impressive 27 percent for the fall 2024 semester. “The enrollment numbers don’t tell the whole story,” she added. “Without the expertise of student services offices across the IU campuses, we wouldn’t have been able to build a sustainable support system for students in the ProS programs. Thanks to our campus partners, we now provide admissions, financial aid, advising, onboarding, success coaching, career planning, and mentorship experiences that allow students to focus on reaching their academic and career goals.”
IU Online will join other award recipients at the 2025 UPCEA Annual Conference, March 24–26, in Denver, Colorado.
Read the UPCEA press release.