The IU 2030 Strategic Plan lists student success and opportunity as one of its three foundational pillars, stating that IU will foster “a commitment to affordability and a student experience that equips graduates for resounding success in the workplace and beyond.”

As the Indiana University community, we must ensure that we are all working together to honor that commitment. Part of this means taking the time to acknowledge each student’s individual needs and path and equipping them with the tools necessary to make sound decisions that help them succeed.

Since 2012, the Indiana University Office of Financial Wellness & Education has worked to educate students on the complex financial world with which they interact daily and direct them to resources that can help them overcome financial barriers to college completion. Our work has never been as critical as it is now, with research from the 2022 Trellis Student Financial Wellness Survey showing that students in higher education have never been more financially stressed and financially fragile as they are currently.

Some findings of that survey include:

• Access to emergency funds is a barrier, with 57% of students indicating they would struggle to get $500 to address an emergency.
• Financial concerns impacted academics for students, with 48% of students who had experienced financial challenges agreeing or strongly agreeing that they had difficulty concentrating on schoolwork because of their financial situation.
• Higher percentages of respondents who experienced key indicators of distress were from historically marginalized populations, including students of color, female students, first-generation students or part-time students.
• 10% of student respondents experienced all forms of basic needs insecurity in the past year, including food insecurity, housing insecurity and homelessness.

IU will take part in the 2023 Trellis Student Financial Wellness Survey. From October 23 through November 13, a representative population of students from each of our IU campuses and regional centers will be asked to participate in an online survey that will help us better understand their finances, access to basic needs and how supported they feel here at IU.

The Office of the Vice President for Student Success team will obtain the results, share them back with each campus, and work with campus teams to identify ways that will help their students address any financial or basic needs barriers to completion. These results will also help inform the work of the Office of Financial Wellness Education and the Office of the Vice President for Student Success.

Should you have questions about the survey, please contact us at vpss@iu.edu. In addition, please know that our financial wellness and education team is always here to help any student on any campus. To book a one-on-one appointment, students can visit the MoneySmarts website. If you would like to schedule a financial presentation for your team, class, and/or organization, please feel free to email mnysmrt@iu.edu, and our team will be happy to assist.

Thank you for your continued commitment to Indiana University, and the success of our students.

Julie Payne-Kirchmeier is the vice president for student success, and Phil Schuman is executive director of financial wellness and education.