As of Sept. 2, Texas A&M University-Commerce was 660 students away from its goal of 10,000 enrolled.
Established by Dr. Keith McFarland, president of the University, the main goals were to have 250 new undergraduate and 250 new graduate students by fall of 2009.
“Already, the admissions staff have been working more closely with deans and we will be working more closely with academic department heads to establish enrollment targets for specific programs and on-campus and off-campus enrollment,” said Mary Hendrix, interim provost and vice president for academic and student affairs.
Enrollment recruiters will receive training, and a comprehensive marketing campaign will be developed and implemented, according to Hendrix. In addition, scholarships and financial aid will be packaged so the University is more competitive with its peer institutions.
“We have secured the services of a search firm to assist us in hiring a dean of enrollment management and retention, and we hope to have someone on board by Oct. 1,” said Hendrix.
Graduate enrollment has increased the most. As of Sept. 1, the University was down 69 students from last year’s undergraduate enrollment and up 480 graduate students.
“At this time, I am thrilled with the overall enrollment and with our semester credit hours, but we need to make certain that all students who have registered have paid half of their tuition and fees so we may count them,” said Hendrix.
One of Hendrix’s main concerns is with the freshman and sophomore numbers. The University is down 120 students in the freshman class and 68 students in the sophomore class.
The same number of freshman students was recruited this year as the last, indicating a problem with retention of students recruited.
“We are proud of our admissions staff for holding to our standards, and we expect an increase in retention for the fall 2008,” said Hendrix.
The College of Business and Technology has the most significant growth, particularly at the graduate level.
“I am concerned with the enrollment in the College of Education and Human Services and the undergraduate enrollment in the College of Arts and Sciences. We will be working with deans and department heads to determine specific enrollment and marketing strategies,” said Hendrix.
Faculty and administrators have had many positive things to say about the quality of the University’s students. Students are attending class, engaged in the learning process and excited about the University and their education.
“I believe it is possible to reach President McFarland’s goal of 10,000 by fall 2008, rather than 2009. Texas A&M University-Commerce has top faculty and quality academic programs. We will do a better job of marketing ourselves this year. We have a great story to tell,” said Hendrix.