The Independent was lucky enough to secure an interview with then Interim, now sitting NEIU President Dr. Katrina Bell-Jordan. In late July 2024, she was able to speak to several concerns facing the university community, and though many of them are complex and multifaceted in nature (lower than expected resources, student enrollment/retention, the business of running a school, etc.), Dr. Bell-Jordan reiterated the fact that the job of the President in regards to improving NEIU is an “ongoing process.”
When covering the initial run-up to the selection and the presentations that were given by each of the four final presidential candidates for NEIU – though they were interviewing for the job of President of a university – there was a business-focused nature to their presentations.
Dr. Bell-Jordan said about the intricacies of being President, “The reality is that an educational organization, like a business organization does have a fiduciary responsibility.” Further she said, “If you’re in the business of education, then yes, it should be run like that business.”
Given that we are at a university, an institution that should, in theory, hold the success of its students as the highest priority, there is a level of intricacy that can come with also having to balance the desires of trustees and shareholders.
When asked whether this balance could potentially diminish the quality of education at NEIU Dr. Bell-Jordan said, “If we don’t make the right decisions. If you are having to make adjustments to programs and services that are essential to delivering the kind of education and services that your students need if we don’t have the resources to do that, and we don’t have a budget that’s driven by those things.”
Retention and Enrollment here at NEIU is of course another omnipresent topic. The retention for first time full time freshmen is 52.3% as of 2024 according to a NEIU Targeted Announcement sent on Sept. 13, 2024. First time full time freshmen 6-year graduation rates are 17%, as of 2023. The retention and 6-year graduation rate for New Transfer students is 72%-78% and 54%-61%, respectively as of 2023.
When asked how she would handle or improve these statistics, Dr Bell-Jordan stated that the key to increasing retention and graduation is by expediting the process for students to receive the resources and accommodations they need and to have them declare a major as soon as possible, citing an increase in overall retention rates closer to 70% or 80% when these goals are met. She said, “Retention starts the moment that we accept enrollment.”
Dr. Bell-Jordan also cited the multiple student success programs here on campus as a focus for increasing retention and enrollment mentioning their historical lack of staffing. She said, “The work is trying to scale up our student success programs; Proyecto Pa’lante, Project Success, First Year Experience, Hope Chicago. But some of those programs haven’t been fully staffed. So part of my work in promoting this budget is trying to make sure that our student success programs are on track to have the staffing that they need.” In addition, to further solidify enrollment, she expounded on the need of broader marketing campaigns and connections with high schools around the city that hold potential future NEIU students within their walls.
More specifically, when asked about the enrollment and retention rates of NEIU as an HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) and an MSI (Minority Serving Institution) Dr. Bell-Jordan did point to her state of the university address last year wherein she encouraged “the whole campus community to engage in conversations across all of their units about what it means to serve as an HSI and as an MSI.” Aside from that, there was little else said about the specific needs of these two groups or NEIU or Dr. Bell-Jordan’s plans to increase their rates of enrollment, retention or graduation.
There has also been mention of increased business partnerships for NEIU that would aim to increase funding and career opportunities for graduating students for some time now. When asked about the details of these potential partnerships Dr. Bell-Jordan described them as, “The kinds of partners that are keenly familiar with the mission, the programs that we offer, the things that we value and are wanting to be a part of this.”
An example of these forthcoming programs is the Masters of Science in Nursing that has been proposed and will potentially be housed at NEIU’s El Centro Campus. She also referred to the Community Research on Climate and Urban Science (CROCUS) Grant through the Argonne National Laboratory that studies climate conditions in metropolitan environments. As Dr. Bell-Jordan says, it is these sort of program-based partnerships that they will be looking for in order to increase NEIU’s connection to the corporate/industrial space to grow opportunities for students while in school and once they have graduated.
The bettering of conditions here at NEIU is of course not the job of President Dr. Bell- Jordan alone. It is a combined, collective effort from her, the Board of Trustees, administrators, and to a much much smaller extent the students, faculty and staff. As she said in the closing moments of our interview, “It is hard work to make such a substantial improvement. And we may not get here, the way we want this year, but not without trying. I’m really encouraged by the things that we’re scaling up. The question is, will we see the returns? And that will be the true assessment, but we’re gonna stay in the game.”
To Dr. Bell-Jordan’s mention of returns, an article was published earlier this month in Crain’s Chicago Business stating that NEIU has seen its first enrollment gain in 15 years. NEIU Presidential Inauguration events will be held Oct. 3-5, 2024 in various locations around campus. Refer to the recent Targeted Announcements to attend.
