Texas Southern University Enrollment UP!!!!!!
Oct. 8, 2002, 9:40PM
TSU enrollment up for 4th straight year
By RON NISSIMOV
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
In what officials are calling another sign that Texas Southern University's reputation is on the mend after years of turmoil, the historically black university is reporting a 20 percent enrollment increase this year.
TSU's fall enrollment is 9,739 students, according to preliminary figures that are not expected to significantly change when final figures are compiled later this month. This would rank TSU as the nation's third-largest historically black university behind Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, said TSU's director of enrollment services, Hasan Jamil.
Last year, TSU reported the largest percentage enrollment jump among state universities with an 18 percent increase. Comparative figures for this year are not available. This is the fourth consecutive year that TSU has reported an enrollment increase.
"TSU has seen such a significant growth mostly because of the stability that has come from President Priscilla Slade," Jamil said Tuesday. "We always had the potential to attract students, but people heard all those stories about financial aid and other problems and didn't want to come."
When Slade took over as president of TSU in 1999, state legislators were threatening to put the school under the control of the University of Houston System because of years of fiscal and administrative problems. The state auditor's office found serious deficiencies in financial oversight, and the federal government had noted major concerns about slow and lax financial aid disbursement.
The problems were largely blamed for a precipitous enrollment decline from a record of 10,800 students in 1993 to 6,300 students in 1998.
Slade, who was out of town and not available for comment, has been widely praised with addressing many of these concerns and bringing stability to the presidency. Previously, TSU had four presidents in 11 years.
"I heard about problems in the past, but I didn't believe the hype," said TSU freshman Joseph Booth of Houston. "I think a lot of the problems have been overcome. I haven't had any problems with financial aid."
Jamil said student surveys show that 60 percent of TSU students were satisfied with the financial aid process this year, compared with figures of 40 percent during the 1990s.
Freshman April Shankle of Crosby said she was impressed with TSU during a summer orientation, but she has had many snags arranging her financial aid, housing and meal plans.
"It was like a runaround," she said.
TSU has pursued a three-pronged enrollment strategy that focuses on recruiting new students, increasing retention and reclaiming former TSU students who dropped out, said TSU spokeswoman Page Rander. Earlier this year, TSU also launched its first-ever image campaign, a multimedia effort that includes billboard, television, radio and print ads. The estimated $1 million campaign will primarily be privately funded, with TSU being committed to spending as much as $100,000.
This year's freshman class of 1,994 is 27 percent larger than last year's. The number of transfer students increased by 42.5 percent to 763.
"In the past, we tried to convince high school seniors or graduates who were going to college to think about TSU," Jamil said. "Most of high school graduates already have their minds made up about college. We were not reaching the ninth- through 11th-graders."
He said recruiting efforts have placed more emphasis on spreading the word about TSU to younger high school students, and recruiters have made more efforts to reach potential students outside Harris County.
Kevin Adams, director of recruitment, said TSU has worked closely with the Houston Community College System to entice transfer students.
In addition, TSU has placed increasing focus on retaining students by providing more academic help. The current freshman retention rate is 60 percent, compared with rates of 24 to 40 percent in the 1990s, Jamil said.
He acknowledged that the low student graduation rate of 10 percent, has not changed since the 1990s, but said it would take more time for recent improvements to have a noticeable effect because the state measures the rate six years after freshmen enroll.
"When we get students, we cluster them according to their academic abilities," Jamil said. "We did that before, but not as effectively. We do a lot of assessment. If kids are not prepared for college courses, we put them in summer programs."
TSU has also been helped by additional funding from an agreement Texas signed with the federal government in 2000 to end the threat of a lawsuit over higher education segregation, Jamil said.
As part of the agreement, Texas legislators voted in 2001 to spend an additional $196 million on TSU over 20 years and an additional $184 million for Prairie View A&M University, Texas' other public historically black university.
One of the goals of the settlement is to attract more white, Hispanic and Asian students to TSU, which has an 87 percent black enrollment this year. Two percent of the students are white, 3 percent are Asian and 4 percent are Hispanic.
Jamil said TSU's enrollment has also been pushed by factors that have increased enrollment at many universities in Texas and the rest of the nation. The sagging economy is driving many students to seek a college education to improve their chances of getting a good job, he said.
TSU also took steps to address a housing crunch. Even though 85 percent of the students live off-campus, demand for on-campus housing is high. Last year, TSU rented space in nearby hotels to meet unexpected demand. This year, TSU made an additional 200 housing units available, for a total of 1,600, by contracting for more private housing designed to serve as university dormitories.
"We'd like to keep growing at the same pace," Jamil said.
Oct. 8, 2002, 9:40PM
TSU enrollment up for 4th straight year
By RON NISSIMOV
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
In what officials are calling another sign that Texas Southern University's reputation is on the mend after years of turmoil, the historically black university is reporting a 20 percent enrollment increase this year.
TSU's fall enrollment is 9,739 students, according to preliminary figures that are not expected to significantly change when final figures are compiled later this month. This would rank TSU as the nation's third-largest historically black university behind Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, said TSU's director of enrollment services, Hasan Jamil.
Last year, TSU reported the largest percentage enrollment jump among state universities with an 18 percent increase. Comparative figures for this year are not available. This is the fourth consecutive year that TSU has reported an enrollment increase.
"TSU has seen such a significant growth mostly because of the stability that has come from President Priscilla Slade," Jamil said Tuesday. "We always had the potential to attract students, but people heard all those stories about financial aid and other problems and didn't want to come."
When Slade took over as president of TSU in 1999, state legislators were threatening to put the school under the control of the University of Houston System because of years of fiscal and administrative problems. The state auditor's office found serious deficiencies in financial oversight, and the federal government had noted major concerns about slow and lax financial aid disbursement.
The problems were largely blamed for a precipitous enrollment decline from a record of 10,800 students in 1993 to 6,300 students in 1998.
Slade, who was out of town and not available for comment, has been widely praised with addressing many of these concerns and bringing stability to the presidency. Previously, TSU had four presidents in 11 years.
"I heard about problems in the past, but I didn't believe the hype," said TSU freshman Joseph Booth of Houston. "I think a lot of the problems have been overcome. I haven't had any problems with financial aid."
Jamil said student surveys show that 60 percent of TSU students were satisfied with the financial aid process this year, compared with figures of 40 percent during the 1990s.
Freshman April Shankle of Crosby said she was impressed with TSU during a summer orientation, but she has had many snags arranging her financial aid, housing and meal plans.
"It was like a runaround," she said.
TSU has pursued a three-pronged enrollment strategy that focuses on recruiting new students, increasing retention and reclaiming former TSU students who dropped out, said TSU spokeswoman Page Rander. Earlier this year, TSU also launched its first-ever image campaign, a multimedia effort that includes billboard, television, radio and print ads. The estimated $1 million campaign will primarily be privately funded, with TSU being committed to spending as much as $100,000.
This year's freshman class of 1,994 is 27 percent larger than last year's. The number of transfer students increased by 42.5 percent to 763.
"In the past, we tried to convince high school seniors or graduates who were going to college to think about TSU," Jamil said. "Most of high school graduates already have their minds made up about college. We were not reaching the ninth- through 11th-graders."
He said recruiting efforts have placed more emphasis on spreading the word about TSU to younger high school students, and recruiters have made more efforts to reach potential students outside Harris County.
Kevin Adams, director of recruitment, said TSU has worked closely with the Houston Community College System to entice transfer students.
In addition, TSU has placed increasing focus on retaining students by providing more academic help. The current freshman retention rate is 60 percent, compared with rates of 24 to 40 percent in the 1990s, Jamil said.
He acknowledged that the low student graduation rate of 10 percent, has not changed since the 1990s, but said it would take more time for recent improvements to have a noticeable effect because the state measures the rate six years after freshmen enroll.
"When we get students, we cluster them according to their academic abilities," Jamil said. "We did that before, but not as effectively. We do a lot of assessment. If kids are not prepared for college courses, we put them in summer programs."
TSU has also been helped by additional funding from an agreement Texas signed with the federal government in 2000 to end the threat of a lawsuit over higher education segregation, Jamil said.
As part of the agreement, Texas legislators voted in 2001 to spend an additional $196 million on TSU over 20 years and an additional $184 million for Prairie View A&M University, Texas' other public historically black university.
One of the goals of the settlement is to attract more white, Hispanic and Asian students to TSU, which has an 87 percent black enrollment this year. Two percent of the students are white, 3 percent are Asian and 4 percent are Hispanic.
Jamil said TSU's enrollment has also been pushed by factors that have increased enrollment at many universities in Texas and the rest of the nation. The sagging economy is driving many students to seek a college education to improve their chances of getting a good job, he said.
TSU also took steps to address a housing crunch. Even though 85 percent of the students live off-campus, demand for on-campus housing is high. Last year, TSU rented space in nearby hotels to meet unexpected demand. This year, TSU made an additional 200 housing units available, for a total of 1,600, by contracting for more private housing designed to serve as university dormitories.
"We'd like to keep growing at the same pace," Jamil said.
