TAMIU growing right before our eyes

We are growing by leaps and bounds! No, it's not what you think. The population at Texas A&M International University is not munching out big time at the Dusty Diner. The enrollment numbers are up 9.6% at the university.

The official numbers are in for fall, and the student population grew to 6,419, up a whopping 561 from last year's number of 5,858, university officials reported Monday, Sept. 28. This year's freshmen class of 723 students set a new record. Also, semester credit hours are up 9.8% to 63,317 over last fall's 57,688. The total semester credit hours are used by the state to allocate funding for the university.

"We've seen the confluence of a number of factors that have helped to bring about this dynamic growth," said Dean of Student Success Dr. Minita Ramirez in a university press release. "Clearly, the nation's economic woes see many turning to higher education to boost their marketability for future jobs or career changes, but we're also seeing higher response rates to recruitment efforts, the continued impact of HB1 students, increased financial assistance incentives to help students commit to higher education and our own strategic use of enhanced technologies to help us communicate more directly with students," said Dr. Ramirez.

Another factor that may account for the enrollment increase is the university's, "Invest in your future," advertising campaign, the marketing office touts. It has not been all rosy for everyone at TAMIU, however. Some of the drawbacks of the enrollment increase is fewer parking spaces and longer wait times for services.

"It's not that bad having to wait fifteen or thirty minutes for a counselor or tutor," said TAMIU student Alicia Coronado. "I come from a big city, and wait times can be over an hour at larger universities." "Bring a book and enjoy it while you wait," she concluded.

Enrollment tidbits:*The average student age is 23 with undergraduates averaging 22 and graduates 31. The doctoral student population numbers 33 students, who average 34 years of age. The University's youngest student is 13, its oldest 65. The student/teacher ratio is 21:1 and undergraduate class sizes average 31 students.

*Female students outnumber males 3844 (60%) to 2575 (40%) and 92 percent of all students identify themselves as a minority, such as Hispanic, African-American, Asian, and Other. Almost 55 percent of students are full-time; while 45 percent are parttime.

* While 95% of students come to the University from Texas, over 4 percent are foreign. This fall, international students come to TAMIU from 26 different countries.

*The College of Arts and Sciences had the highest enrollment with 3,219 students. The most popular undergraduate majors are early childhood education, business administration, nursing, criminal justice and biology.

*The most popular graduate majors are business administration, educational administration, information systems, school counseling and curriculum and instruction. Graduate enrollment was up