TAMIU Annual Report 2021

As the 87th Session of the Texas Legislature drew to a close this Fall, TAMIU learned its “Path to Academic and Student Success” (PASS) program would be the recipient of $6 million in funding. TAMIU president Dr. Pablo Arenaz said the partnership with TAMIU’s legislative team of Senator Judith Zaffirini and Representatives Richard Raymond Peña and Tracy King, as well as The Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp and the TAMUS Office of Governmental Affairs, was fundamental to the successful funding. “This team fought for TAMIU in what was an extraordinary Session. Because of their leadership, PASS will be a revolutionary support mechanism in bettering the lives of all TAMIU students and graduates-to-be,” Dr. Arenaz said. He spoke about PASS’s germination and how it builds on institutional strengths to improve student persistence and graduation rates, among other benefits. “After the flagship campus, TAMIU has the highest first and second-year persistence rates and six-year graduation rates in the A&M System -- rates above the State average. What PASS strengthens is proven student success strategies to facilitate community college transfers, re-enroll upper-division stop-outs, and improve all student persistence and graduation rates,” he said. $6M STATE LEGISLATURE FUNDING SUPPORT CREATES NEW ‘PATH TO ACADEMIC & STUDENT SUCCESS’ TAMIU ENROLLMENT HOLDS STRONG DESPITE PANDEMIC Despite the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Texas A&M International University’s Fall enrollment has held steady, and graduate student enrollment is up. In official enrollment figures shared with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, TAMIU reported 8,457 students, which included an 8.7% increase in graduate student enrollment. Undergraduate enrollment was 6,892, with graduate and doctoral enrollment at 1,565. Semester credit hours, upon which the University’s funding is calculated, were 93,216. TAMIU president Dr. Pablo Arenaz credited the University’s careful approach to a robust Fall on-campus experience and dedicated health and outreach services. “Alongside our Texas A&M University System, we had committed our Fall to a return to a vibrant, on- campus experience for students, faculty, and staff. To help secure that experience, we followed the science and launched a mandatory surveillance testing program for all members of the University community, continued free rapid tests, and offered on-campus vaccinations through a partnership with the National Guard. These measures, coupled with our ongoing safety and wellness measures and our faculty and staff’s commitment to delivering our mission as an essential State agency, were critical in helping us to secure this enrollment,” Dr. Arenaz said. He also noted that replacing students who have graduated is a shared challenge for all colleges and universities -- and even more so with the Pandemic’s longevity. “It’s interesting that despite a record-breaking ’20-’21 graduation class of over 1,850 students, we were able to meet this challenge successfully. The Pandemic has provided many with a chance to reflect, consider options, and plan for a new and brighter future,” Arenaz observed. TAMIU was designated by Student Loan Hero, a Lending Tree company, as the Least Expensive Public College/University in Texas. Spring 2022 registration and classes begin Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. Late registration ends Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. NEWS 5