The accomplishments of The University of Texas at Brownsville & Texas Southmost College are extraordinary. Most important among them is that more than 10,000 people have earned a certificate, associate’s degree, four-year degree, or master’s in the combined 75-year history of this institution! The beauty of the campus is renowned and a source of great community pride. Enrollment has climbed steadily to over 9,000 students. If we are to meet the challenge of providing higher education opportunities to the people of South Texas at the national rate, our enrollment should double by 2010!
But there is a growing awareness that we need new approaches for the next, creative phase of our institutional development. Our organizational infrastructure has not kept pace with our growth. Many of our faculty and staff are dedicated and hard working but all that hard work is not having as much positive impact as it could. There are too many “disconnects” that are preventing us from moving forward rapidly and effectively. For examples, our recruitment efforts are not planned and conducted in tandem with our advertising, enrollment services do not always reflect the needs of our students, courses and programs are not as accessible as they should be, and we do not have a plan for how much we will grow, in what programs, and by when.
Enrollment planning can help us address these disconnects. True enrollment planning requires an investment of the entire campus community. Everyone must contribute to make it work. It begins with the realization that we all benefit when we make enrollment management work and we all suffer when it does not. It requires us to assess all key processes that impact recruitment, retention, and graduation and to make improvements where needed.
It is with these realizations in mind that the Provost authorized the formation of the Enrollment Planning Task Force in October 2001. The charge given to the Task Force was to assess current activities and recommend improvements in four areas central to enrollment planning: customer service, programs and courses, recruitment, and retention.
To accomplish their work Task Force members met weekly for two months. Their first step was to review previously completed UTB/TSC enrollment management reports and other data that shed light on our current processes. Each Working Group was reminded to carefully consider the enrollment planning work already underway. Staff members and students were interviewed to gain their perspectives. All of that information was then used to develop recommendations for improvement.
The Task Force’s recommendations are too numerous and broad in scope to summarize; however, a synopsis is provided in Table 1. They appear in their entirety in the report of each Working Group and are consolidated in the Appendix. The recommendations are thoughtful and far-reaching in their potential impact. They entail devoting more resources and making substantial changes in four key areas related to enrollment planning. These areas are interrelated and interdependent, thus changes in one will effect the others. The synopsis is followed by recommendations from the Executive Committee.