We find the administration’s goal of adding 1,000 students to the enrollment each year for the next three years to possess both positive and negative attributes.
Obviously, we support growth in itself as a positive and we applaud the administration for setting such a lofty goal. If such an increase were to occur, it would improve the prestige of A&M-Commerce. The university would be taken more seriously as an academic institution and enforce more rigid admittance standards.
These factors would increase the quality of students A&M-Commerce brings in and move us closer to becoming a dominant first-choice school in the region.
The negatives of this idea center on the fact that this is a lofty goal. Growth in any form is painful and expensive. As reported by The East Texan there is a new residence hall currently under construction, but this kind of growth will require more than that. More professors, more residence halls and eventually more buildings centered around academics will be needed to support the increase.
These are all wonderful additions, but the cost will be substantial. We see it as being difficult to complete this goal with out adding some monetary strain to current students.
Perhaps the key is to set a slightly smaller goal. The university’s enrollment increased by a little under 800 students this year and we agree that is wonderful. However, it is not a reason to start setting goals, which will be difficult to meet and even more difficult to keep up with.
We think setting a small goal increase of 500 to 700 students every year would yield more positive results. The administration is on the right path, but may be a little more zealous about the enrollment increase then is necessary.