With all the new faces on campus, from a new university president to incoming freshmen, it is apparent that this semester will be a time of change for Texas A&M University-Commerce.
University President, Dr. Dan Jones, expresses enthusiasm and optimism about the coming academic year.
According to Jones, some of his primary goals are recruitment and enrollment, also emphasizing the importance of a service excellence initiative for the students.
“We want to get the students involved … I want to know what are we doing well and what can we do better.”
Part of this initiative is a campus-wide stakeholders survey, expected to be released later this fall. Students can respond to broad questions, such as “Are we headed in the right direction?” and “Tell me what you think the new president needs to know?”
Recruitment and enrollment are a vital part of the university, and an important issue lately for A&M-Commerce’s steadily decreasing numbers.
Dr. Mary Hendrix, interim provost and vice president of academic and student affairs, is concerned about this year’s enrollment numbers.
“We’re at 8,978 students, down from last year by 98 students … also our undergraduate credit production hours are down,” Hendrix said.
Hendrix also voiced concern with the freshmen enrollment being down 92 students, a sure sign that current recruitment strategies aren’t working.
Jones plans to combat this problem by coming up with different recruitment strategies.
“One of the things we’re going to establish early in the fall semester is a strategic enrollment management committee,” Jones said.
Jones has talked with other presidents from several universities about ways to put that omittee together. Suggested members would include the dean of enrollment, someone from financial aid, and selected representatives from other departments around campus.
“I want students on it, too,” Jones said. “You all [students] have been through the process and you know what works; you also know when you ran into trouble spots.”
According to Jones, he is discussing the outline for this committee with the Vice President, Bob Brown, and deans this week. The committee will be established within the next couple of weeks.
Jones also talked about changing the image of the university as a second-rate, back-up college.
“I think we’re doing that already,” Jones said. “I think the Honors College is a great addition and that really sends a strong message about academic excellence … when we attract honor students they attract honor students. As part of our image we can represent ourselves as being the public university equivalent of a private liberal arts college.”
Jones also commended Dr. Keith McFarland’s success is turning around A&M-Commerce’s physical image during his 10 years as university president, renovating and landscaping the grounds and buildings, among many other changes in the past decade.
Dr. Hendrix’s attributes the recruitment issues to lack of advertisement, students not knowing the college is here and A&M-Commerce’s tendency to be a student’s safe school.
Hendrix said the University is looking into outreach programs at Eastfield College and Collin County Community College, along with other surrounding two-year colleges in the area.
Between the potential acquisition of Prairie Crossing Apartments for the Honors College, and the imminent renovations scheduled to take place around campus this year, it is obvious that the University’s faculty and staff are teaming together to reach students.
“We need to find ways to get our message out more effectively and to coordinate our enrollment and outreach activity,” Jones said. “We will have a clearer idea of where we want to go by the end of the year.”