Khator meets the needs of a new generation

Redefinition doesn’t come easy. Listen to today’s conversations about UH, and there won’t be too many people who mention a university with the environment of a glorified high school, or one where most of its students show up for class and leave. But that was the story of UH just six years ago, before President and Chancellor Renu Khator made the University what it is today – the house that innovation built.

Innovation was the underlying theme of the President’s “State of the University” Fall Address, which took place on Oct. 2 in the Moores Opera House. Khator came to UH in January 2008; in Fall 2009, UH had an undergraduate enrollment of just over 28,000 students. Six years later, the University has increased that number by almost 12 percent, boasting an undergraduate enrollment of almost 32,000 students.

A changing student body
The trend is continuing. Since Khator’s arrival, the University has only experienced one annual dip in undergraduate enrollment, a drop of around 900 students between 2012 and 2013 to which Khator attributed “recent changes, including new admissions standards” as the cause. Between 2013 and 2014, UH experienced a four percent increase in undergraduate enrollment.

Undergraduate enrollment isn’t the only growing number. The University experienced a 5 percent increase in the number of semester credit hours students have registered for between 2013 and 2014, a larger growth trend than undergraduate enrollment. UH’s tightened admission standards have welcomed a new breed of student, one that’s more likely to enroll full time.

“(UH students) understand the value of completing on time and getting into the workforce early,” Khator said.

Struggle on a national scale
The increase can also be attributed to UHin4, one of Khator’s most vocally-supported initiatives, where students can choose to sign up for a fixed four-year tuition rate and graduation plan that guarantees open availability of the courses the students needs to graduate.

It’s an effort to combat the University’s sub-par graduation rate. Currently, UH’s six-year graduation rates stands at 48.2 percent, well below the 71 percent average of public Tier One universities and the 59 percent average of national public universities. The University’s six-year graduation rate has risen over six percent since Khator’s arrival, but the number was still addressed as “a work in progress.”

“Even if nothing else were to change, the UHin4 program — the fixed 4-year tuition and completion plan — alone will move the graduation rate above the national average,” Khator said.

Nearly half of the Class of 2018 has enrolled in UHin4, surpassing Khator’s initial goal of enrolling 30 percent of the freshman class. She praised the program as “a phenomenal success.”

This is the first year of the program’s implementation, so only time will tell if UHin4 is as effective as it’s predicted to be. Still, Khator remained vehemently focused on improving the University’s national standings and raising admissions standards without sacrificing institutional access.

“I think we as a public institution have a mission to provide education…If you have fire in your belly, come to us, and as long as you are ready, we will help you graduate.”

– President Renu Khator

Access above all
UH’s freshman class has an average higher SAT score than ever at 1143, and 96 percent of freshman are enrolled full-time, meaning that more traditional college students are coming to UH. However, Khator is not interested in diverting attention from the non-traditional students the University has historically catered to.

During her Fall Address, Khator maintained that “(providing) access while making the University even more affordable” stands at the helm of her priorities when considering new initiatives for improvement.

“I think we as a public institution have a mission to provide education,” Khator said last month at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. “If you have fire in your belly, come to us, and as long as you are ready, we will help you graduate. We are serving a phenomenal student body… and no roadblock should stop them.”

U.S. News & World Report ranked UH 16th in the nation in graduating students with the least amount of debt, and the White House’s “first-ever ratings system” has UH ranked low (on a scale of low, medium and high) in cost, median borrowing and loan default rate.

In Fall 2009, UH’s tuition and fees averaged out at $4,163 per semester, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The fixed tuition for students in Fall 2014 not including student fees was $4,750 per semester, a 13 percent increase from 2009’s average.

A breed of its own
Khator, referencing national trends, said she knows the University’s mission is an increasingly challenging one. For example, students born in the highest quartile of family income have an 85 percent chance of earning a college degree, while those born in the lowest quartile have an 8 percent chance of earning a degree. Hispanics, who make up more than 25 percent of UH’s student body, are 50 percent less likely to earn a college degree than the general population.

“As disturbing as these trends are, they make us relevant to the nation,” Khator said. “Our diversity makes us a prototype.”

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