Goal 1. Access and Diversity
Recruit, retain, and graduate a larger, more academically prepared, and more diverse student body.
Critical Success Factors (measures of the degree of success over the next 5 years):
- Increase student diversity to more closely reflect the high school graduates in Texas.
- Enrollment of at least 27,000 students, 82% undergraduate, with 5% in the Honors College, and 18% graduate students, including the law school.
- Retention rate of 85% for freshmen.
- Graduation rate of 55% for undergraduate students.
- Make progress toward a mean SAT score of 1200 for entering freshmen.
- Mean GRE of 1050 from master's degree students.
- Mean GRE of 1100 for doctoral degree students.
- Median GMAT of 612 for entering full-time MBA graduate students.
- Mean LSAT of 151 for Juris Doctorate degree students.
- 75 National Merit and Achievement Scholars.
- Endowed scholarship funds of $100 M.
- 4.0 average score on a 5-point scale in all areas in the student satisfaction surveys
Objectives:
Objective 1.1: Have an integrated enrollment management plan consistent with institutional enrollment priorities.
Strategies:
- Create an integrated enrollment management plan including policies, procedures, and activities that incorporate university and college enrollment priorities.
- Review and modify annually the enrollment management plan in the university and those in each college to ensure alignment with institutional priorities.
- Establish a tracking mechanism to document the integration of the university and college enrollment management plans.
- Ensure that Board policy is consistent with university strategies.
Assessment:
- Critique of enrollment management plans for the Board, university, and colleges.
Objective 1.2: Diversify the student body through increasing access.
Strategies:
- Conduct a comprehensive university-wide study that identifies existing and projected barriers to access related to ethnicity and disability.
- Establish policies and practices that eliminate barriers and allow for greater accessibility.
- Coordinate and support college initiatives for increasing diversity.
- Evaluate educational programs for nontraditional students.
- Work with system offices in recruiting.
- Seek partnerships that enhance diversity through increasing access.
- Establish educational programs in locations throughout the state that have clearly defined educational needs.
Assessment:
- Student body diversity in relation to Texas high school graduates.
Objective 1.3: Compete for the most qualified undergraduate students.
Strategies:
- Enhance the quality of selected academic programs.
- Enhance the academic environment.
- Increase the reputation of outstanding academic programs through an integrated marketing program.
- Increase university and college scholarship endowments.
- Make recruiting a priority for all members of the university community.
- Track recruiting success at area and unit levels.
Assessments:
- SAT/ACT scores of entering freshmen for the university, colleges, and departments.
- Number of National Merit and Achievement Scholars.
Objective 1.4: Improve retention and graduation rates for undergraduate students.
Strategies:
- Enhance programs intended to prepare incoming freshmen for college life.
- Identify and alleviate or rectify conditions that negatively impact retention and graduation rates.
- Identify and promote successful retention programs and activities.
- Upgrade advising and enhance opportunities for faculty-student contacts.
- Target specific retention programs for specific groups of students.
- Make retention a priority for all members of the university community.
Assessments:
- Retention rate for freshmen.
- Graduation rate.
Objective 1.5: Compete for the most qualified graduate students.
Strategies:
- Enhance the quality of selected graduate programs.
- Increase the reputation of outstanding graduate programs through an integrated marketing program.
- Establish graduate programs in disciplines where there are unique opportunities.
- Be competitive in university and college scholarship endowments and support for graduate teaching assistantships.
- Make recruiting a priority for all members of the university community.
Assessments:
- GRE/LSAT/GMAT scores of entering graduate students for colleges and departments.
- Yield by department (number enrolled/number admitted).
- Fellowships and graduate assistantships benchmarked against peer institutions.
Objective 1.6: Improve the success of graduate students.
Strategies:
- Identify and alleviate or rectify conditions that negatively impact success.
- Identify and promote successful programs and activities.
- Improve faculty mentoring of graduate students.
- Increase graduate student support for research.
- Report placement of graduates.
Assessments:
- Placement of graduates.
- Research support.
Objective 1.7: Achieve higher levels of student financial support.
Strategies:
- Make annual scholarships and endowed scholarships a fundraising priority for the university, colleges, and departments.
- Establish target levels for scholarship support for the university and colleges.
- Implement university and college marketing plans that address the need for increased student financial support.
- Identify, cultivate, and solicit donors for scholarship gifts.
- Recognize successful scholarship fundraising efforts in colleges and departments.
Assessments:
- Level of gifts received by the university and colleges.
- Number of gifts received by the university and colleges.
- Total amount of scholarship endowments.