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NEWS
| february 18, 2004
Enrollment
Spring numbers released today
If there is an increase, this
will be the 13th consecutive semester of growth for UTA.
By Kate
Bolen
The Shorthorn Staff
Spring enrollment numbers are set to be released today.
In the spring 2003, 22,679 students were enrolled at the university
and administrative officials say they anticipate that number will
increase significantly. If it continues to increase, it will mark
the 13th consecutive semester in enrollment growth for the university.
Like UTA, other UT System institutions are hiring more faculty because
of rapidly increasing enrollment.
Susan Griffith, UT-Pan American’s executive director for institutional
research and effectiveness, said her university must hire more faculty
due to the increase in enrollment of 15,152 students for this semester.
UT-Pan American had 14,174 students enrolled in spring 2003.
Dr. Griffith also said the current projection of enrollment for
fall 2004 is more than 17,000.
To make accommodations, she said, temporary faculty members were
hired, and classroom use was increased throughout the day and evening.
“We have had to do a lot of juggling, but students are still
getting their classes and things are rocking along,” Griffith
said.
By the beginning of fall 2004, UTA will have 50 new faculty members
to help accommodate the past years’ enrollment increases.
While the university has some catching up to do, some faculty members
hope for another enrollment increase because it will continue the
promotion of more faculty hires.
Theatre Arts Chair Kim LaFontaine said that with each release, the
department compares the numbers from previous years to see if there
is a trend.
“And, so far, there has been a good trend,” LaFontaine
said. “Numbers are up, and this translates into more resources
for us. We are very pleased.”
He said since Theatre Arts is a growing department, it needs all
the help it can get. Due to increasing numbers, several adjunct
professors have been hired as well as the new tenure-track position
in technical theatre for fall 2004.
Both tenure-track positions come from the 15 given to the College
of Liberal Arts.
LaFontaine said, if this continues, the department will be able
to bring in a new performance artist faculty member within the next
two years.
“We are all excited about the whole thing,” he said.
“Everything is going well and morale is high.”
With the release of the figures, Music Department Chair Larry Wiley
said planning for the future is much easier, both long- and short-term.
“It gives us a good sense of what direction we are going in,”
Dr. Wiley said. “It is pretty crucial to our program.”
Wiley said in regard to the Music Department, enrollment numbers
provide information about how many students are in certain majors
and the number of credit hours students are taking.
Also, he said, the numbers help secure funds and recruit faculty.
The Music Department is searching for a replacement for a visiting
tenure-track position, Wiley said.
CORRECTION
This article should have said a spring enrollment
increase would mark the 15th consecutive semester of growth.
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