Vincennes University was originally established in 1801 as the Jefferson Academy, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of Indiana. The school, part of the state’s public university system, has historically been a two-year institution, although since the turn of the previous century it has been officially recognized as a university within the state of Indiana and offers a limited amount of bachelor’s degrees in certain majors.
| Overall Score (about) | 44.6 |
| Total Cost On-Campus Attendance | $20,202 |
| Admission Success rate | N/A |
| Student Ratio Students-to-Faculty | 28 : 1 |
| Retention (full-time / part-time) | 56% / N/A |
| Enrollment Total (all students) | 17,481 |
Programs of study are divided into seven principal academic divisions, which are: Business/Public Service; Social Sciences/Performing Arts; Department of Sciences/Mathematics; Humanities; Department of Technology; and Health Sciences/Human Performance. Within these broad divisions, there are over 200 majors being offered that culminate in either a one-year certificate, a two-year associate degree, or a bachelor’s degree (or also a two-year transfer into a strictly four-year college; in this regard, credits earned are automatically accepted by other Indiana state universities).
Academically speaking, the school is strongest in the hard sciences and professional training areas, with a particularly strong reputation in the fields of engineering, medical administration, mechanics, and law enforcement training. VU has also earned itself a peculiar distinction as being the only university in the nation to offer a program on Bowling Management and Technology.
New student admissions are open, and all qualified candidates are accepted to the program of their choice. The admissions requirements themselves are limited to having received a diploma from an accredited high school or being able to furnish a GED; graduates of Indiana high schools that finished after 1999 furthermore are required to pass the state’s Graduate Qualifying Exam.
The school does require that all students intending to enroll in one of the several Health Occupations majors submit the SAT or ACT scores. Students that have not taken the SAT or ACT and that do not intend to enter into one of these major programs will nonetheless need to take an assessment test in order to be properly placed in courses.
Students have a wide variety of financial aid opportunities available to them, a fact which is guaranteed by the university’s participation in the federal Title IV financial assistance programs. Students will discover their financial aid opportunities are grouped as follows: grants; scholarships; loans; and work-study programs.
Available grants include the Federal Pell Grant, the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG), the 21st Century Scholarship, the SSACI National Guard grant, and the Frank O’Bannon Grant. Scholarships are much more numerous and of course are only limited to the applying student’s creativity. Loans mainly fall within the FAFSA structure. Work-study programs are also subject to federal approval.
The school has a good reputation as being a place where students are able to integrate well. VU is notable in that it offers a large amount of on-campus student housing options, something not typical of colleges of its type. In total there are six different student residence halls with ample modern amenities. Nonetheless, a majority of the students live off-campus.
Student organizations abound, and fraternities such as Tau Phi Delta/Sigma Pi stand out among them. In fact, the campus is the home of Sigma Pi’s founding chapter, which was established in 1897.
The athletics teams have earned the school quite a good reputation in several different sports, and particularly in bowling (in which the school holds 21 national championships). Teams compete in the National Junior College Athletics Association (NCJAA) system, and the Trailblazers (as the athletic department is officially known as, in honor of the school’s pioneering role in Indiana) field teams in tennis, volleyball, swimming and diving, bowling, baseball, golf, cross country, and track and field.
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