Coordinating Board Releases Fall Enrollment Data

Please note: The story below was based on preliminary enrollment figures released by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The final SHSU fall enrollment figure is 15,935. The official 2005 fall enrollment was 15,357.

Sam Houston State University was one of only a few Texas Higher Education institutions to show significant increases in enrollment for the fall.

This is according to information released this week by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, that showed a statewide increase of 2.3 percent. Sam Houston's increase, to 15,933, was 4.08 percent.

"Clearly, we need even greater increases to achieve state participation goals," Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund A. Paredes, said in a news release. He said that the board staff will try to determine why enrollment growth isn't higher.

Paredes noted that Closing the Gaps by 2015, the state's higher education plan (online at http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/), calls for enrolling 1.6 million students by 2015. Enrolling that many students will help the state develop the educated workforce it needs to compete with other states in attracting, retaining, and growing businesses and industries offering the best jobs in the future, according to the plan.

The Houston Chronicle, which had a front page story on fall enrollment in Friday's edition, also listed enrollment change percentages at Prairie View A&M (-9), Sam Houston State (+4), Texas Southern (-16.5), University of Houston (-0.7), UH-Clear Lake (0), UH-Downtown (+0.1), Houston Community College (+4), North Harris Montgomery Community College (+3), Texas A&M (+1.8) and UT-Austin (+1).

Other numbers of interest include Stephen F. Austin, with 11,756 students and a 4.13 percent increase, Texas State-San Marcos with 27,503 and a 1.38 percent increase, and University of North Texas, with 33,550 and a 5.02 percent increase.

The Coordinating Board news release also indicated that 80 percent of the enrollment growth this fall occurred at the state's two-year colleges. Sam Houston State is attracting increasing numbers of those students who complete or near their associate degree.

SHSU has articulation agreements with 14 community colleges, including three signed this fall.

The "joint admission" features of the community college articulation agreements provide students a mechanism to maximize utilization of facilities and programs offered jointly by their college and Sam Houston State while making the transition from the associate to the baccalaureate degree.  

Joint admission includes:

The ability to attend both schools separately, alternately, or both schools simultaneously;

An SHSU picture ID/bank card;

Access to SHSU sporting events;

A Sam Houston State email account accessible from any Internet connection world wide;

Sufficient disk space on a Sam Houston State Internet server to create and maintain a home page and store important files from one semester to the next;

Access to the Sam Houston State University library and computer facilities;

The ability to transfer work from the college every semester without charge for inclusion on a SHSU transcript even though the student has never attended SHSU.  

In addition, jointly admitted students can look up their transcript at any time using the SHSU computer account and utilize SHSU's degree plan generation software.   They also have access to the award-winning Student Advising and Mentoring Center.        

Because of the recent agreements, community college transfer students are less likely to even visit the campus before enrolling. When ready to transfer they can be advised online, by phone, or a physical visit.   They can then register and pay online. Many shop for an apartment online prior to their first trip to Huntsville.

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SHSU Media Contact: Frank Krystyniak
Oct. 27, 2006
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