TAMIU Posts Whopping 14.4% Enrollment, 13.5% SCH Increases For Fall 2006

Fall 2006 enrollment growth at Texas A&M International University is up a whopping 14.4% over last Fall’s enrollment.  Semester Credit Hours (SCH), upon which state funding is based, is  also up an impressive 13.5% over Fall 2005.

In numbers pending final certification by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, total Fall 2006 enrollment has climbed to 4,917, up  from last Fall’s 4,298.

Dr. Ray Keck, TAMIU president, said that the increase clearly shows more students are making TAMIU their regional University of choice. He credits strong recruitment and marketing efforts for the increase.

“It’s clear that more students are making TAMIU their choice for higher education. We have a state-of-the-art, growing campus with a gifted faculty and programs that  are richly relevant to our students.  Our student recruitment staff has worked rigorously to help students enroll.  Their efforts, paired with an aggressive multi-media marketing campaign, have helped to bring our message home,” Dr. Keck said.

Keck said the efforts of the University’s enrollment management group that spearheads student recruitment are leading the state.

“This team, under the leadership of Minita Ramirez and Gina Gonzalez, continue to lead the State in efforts that target increasing the percentage of Hispanics participating in higher education.  They are helping us to realize our mission daily and offering a model for the State to follow,” Keck added.

This semester at TAMIU, undergraduate students number 3,897 or 79 percent of students, while graduate students number 1017 or 21 percent of students.

Keck provided additional information on the Fall 2006 class:
The College with the highest enrollment is the College of Arts and Sciences with 2,167 students.

The most popular undergraduate majors are early childhood bilingual education, criminal justice, nursing and business administration.

The most popular graduate majors are education, educational administration, school counseling and business administration.

The overall average student age is 25 with undergraduates averaging 23 and graduates 32.  Doctoral students average 34 years of age. The University's youngest student is 14, the oldest 73.  The student/teacher ratio is 1:16 and class sizes average 23.

Female students outnumber males 62 percent to 38 percent and 90 percent of all students identify themselves as minority, including Hispanic, African-American, Asian and Other. Fifty-six percent are full-time, while 44 percent are part-time.

While 94 percent of students come to the University from Texas, about 5% are foreign.  Students from 20 different countries number in this Fall’s population.

For additional information, please contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at 326.2180.

University office hours are from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu