Indiana University East distributed $7.68 million in scholarships today (November 5) to area high school guidance counselors from Indiana and Ohio during its annual Counselors’ Breakfast.

“It is our responsibility to lead the region as the premier four-year and master’s public institution in eastern Indiana and western Ohio,” said Chancellor Nasser Paydar. “It is a pleasure to work with these counselors who share our vision to increase the educational attainment in our region. Together, we are investing in the future of individual students and our communities.”

Sixty guidance counselors attended the special event at IU East, and each counselor present received $128,000 worth of scholarships to give to students in their high schools that meet the academic and admission requirements at IU East.

“We have a great partnership with these counselors,” said Molly Vanderpool, director of Admissions.  “These scholarships enable them to reward their high school students for outstanding academic achievements with a significant scholarship.”

Vanderpool explained that counselors might use the scholarships to help outstanding students who may not have the financial resources to pursue a bachelor’s degree full-time or who are committed to building their success in this part of the state.

“This is the third year of this initiative, and we have continued to significantly increase the amount of scholarship dollars that the counselors can use for their students,” said Vanderpool.  “This is helping the campus experience incredible growth in both the quantity and quality of students.”

This fall semester, IU East continued a record-setting trend in enrollment with an increase of nearly 20 percent of students registered to take courses.  Both enrollment (2,924) and credit hours taken (28,926) for the fall semester reached record highs for the campus.