Houstonians got a brief whiff of UH’s dirty laundry Monday when they turned to page A6 of the Houston Chronicle.
The Chronicle reported that since 2004 the University has suffered a 2.4 percent enrollment decrease. Contrast that to a two percent gain among all public institutions across the state.
What’s more, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has set a goal of increasing enrollment to 36,346 students by 2010, a number Provost Donald Foss told the Chronicle was "extremely challenging."
UH is undergoing an identity crisis. In the past, the administration solved low enrollment by branching out into the suburbs such as Cinco Ranch, Clear Lake, Sugarland and Victoria. While it solved the problem, it helped pigeonhole UH into a commuter campus.
If UH wants to be on par with its two chief rivals, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A’M, it’s going to have to overhaul how the campus operates.
In the battle for local students against The University of Texas – San Antonio and Sam Houston State University, UH should play its strongest suit: its location.
Houston is large and getting larger, and there are plenty of talented high school seniors in this city who are looking for a good university to call home.
The school should focus on keeping Houstonians in Houston. High school graduates often leave the city for college, only to return after they graduate to look for work. The University should focus attention on key departments that will produce the most employable graduates for the Houston area.
Departments should dedicate their budgets to getting the most talented faculty in a few key areas, and should put their already limited scholarship money into attracting top-notch students in those fields, particularly graduate students.
If UH administrators don’t want a commuter campus anymore, they will have to build up the campus’ infrastructure.
The Master Plan is a good start. Building quality, affordable housing along with retail and restaurants should give students a reason to stick around after class.
UH will, however, have a difficult time balancing its newer, more traditional college students with its core customers, commuters. And eventually we will have to make a decision as to what the face of UH will be for the future.
That choice is up to you, the student. Whether you choose to accept the new neighborhood UH is constructing will be the key to creating the traditional college atmosphere the university lacks.
Ultimately the school is what we, the students, make of it.
Wooten, the opinion editor, can be reached at [email protected]
