2015-16 State of the Corps

6,961 Views | 38 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by TXAggieMom11
74OA
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5:07p, 6/17/16
AG
IMPRESSIVE!!

Looks like the Trigon might need to proactively reserve some land in the Campus Master Plan to build more Corps dorms in the not-too-distant future. The Haney Drill Field area, for example, would be a convenient location to extend the Quad once the old band building comes down soon. Or perhaps use the space between dorms 9 & 11 and 10 & 12 to build two dorms on an east-west axis like dorms 7 & 8?
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OldArmy71
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8:12p, 6/17/16
AG
Yes, it is.
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aggiejim70
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8:16a, 6/20/16
AG
I don't understand why this thread has not taken off with kudos to the General and his staff.
The person that is not willing to fight and die, if need be, for his country has no right to life.

James Earl Rudder '32
January 31, 1945
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Swing Your Saber
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11:15a, 6/20/16
Rock1982
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3:03a, 6/21/16
AG
Well done Commandant!
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93Spur
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11:10a, 6/21/16
Exceptionalism is expected, so meeting our unrealistic expectations through exceptional work by the Commandant and his staff is simply par for the course. So there's no interest in saying thanks

(ok - To the Commandant and his staff - Thank you for ensuring the Corps will continue for at least another 20 years, so I can get the kids through).

Now, if there was a single less-than-exceptional item, this board would be lit up with comments, complaints and counter-complaints.
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wildmen09
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3:56a, 6/25/16
AG
Awesome!
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Postal
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6:01a, 6/27/16
AG
This is great! I love that there is still a strong Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M. The Corps was not dying on the vine, but there were several years that the Corps dwindled and we wondered why. I wonder if there was a state of the Corps report like this for 2005-2006, and even one for 1995-1996? I think it is important to see just how far we've come.

Thanks again to the Commandant, his staff, and to the Cadets!
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BQ92
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7:42p, 6/27/16
AG
Very impressive!
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HBCanine08
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9:27a, 6/29/16
ABATTBQ87
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3:13p, 7/1/16
AG
2015-2016 State of the Corps = 5.1% of the undergrad student body

  • 967 cadets joined the Corps last year
  • Corps Strength on the first day of school was 2,520; over 2,300 marched at Final Review
  • 365 female cadets 15% of the Corps (again a record number of female cadets)
  • Overall fish attrition for the year was 16%, the lowest in many years ?? (See 2013-14)
  • we expect a Corps strength of nearly 2,600 for the Fall 2016 semester

2014-2015 State of the Corps = 5.2% of the undergrad student body

  • 938 cadets joined the Corps last year
  • Corps Strength on the first day of school was 2,470
  • 344 female cadets 14% of the Corps (largest number of female cadets on record)
  • Overall fish attrition for the year was 20%
  • We expect a Corps strength of nearly 2,550 for the Fall 2015 semester

2013 2014 State of the Corps = 5.5% of the undergrad student body

  • 962 cadets joined the Corps last year
  • Corps Strength on the first day of school was 2,450
  • 323 female cadets 13% of the Corps
  • Overall fish attrition for the year was 17% the lowest ever
  • The Corps now owns every dorm on The Quad. Every dorm is filled with cadets
  • We expect a Corps strength of over 2,550 for the Fall 2014 semester

Since the fall of 1999 the Corps has averaged 5.4% of the student body.

It has fluctuated as low as 4.0% in 2001 and high as 6.4% in 2004

If they expect a Corps enrollment of over 2,600 this fall the question should be asked

"where are all the cadets from the previous three classes?"

According to the fish numbers (less attrition) there should be:


  • 798 seniors (class of 17) (962 less 17%)
  • 750 juniors (class of 18) (938 less 20%)
  • 812 p-heads (class of 19) (967 less 16%)
TOTAL: 2,360 returning cadets.
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74OA
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4:10p, 7/1/16
AG
At what Corps strength is the Quad at max capacity?
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to 74OA • 4:22p, 7/1/16
AG
quote:
At what Corps strength is the Quad at max capacity?
after renovations: 2,664 capacity
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CharlieBrown17
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 5:24p, 7/1/16
AG
There's similar attrition every year, not just as fish.

Grades, discipline issues, fish that don't come back to piss heads but don't quit during fish year, etc.
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74OA
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 5:35p, 7/1/16
AG
quote:
quote:
At what Corps strength is the Quad at max capacity?
after renovations: 2,664 capacity
So how does the Corps continue to grow long-term if the Quad is roughly 32 rooms from being maxed out by the anticipated 2600 strength in 2016?
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to CharlieBrown17 • 6:34p, 7/1/16
AG
quote:
There's similar attrition every year, not just as fish.

Grades, discipline issues, fish that don't come back to piss heads but don't quit during fish year, etc.


Just surprised that there's such turnover when the corps is focused on retention at almost all cost
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to 74OA • 6:50p, 7/1/16
AG
quote:
quote:
quote:
At what Corps strength is the Quad at max capacity?
after renovations: 2,664 capacity
So how does the Corps continue to grow long-term if the Quad is roughly 32 rooms from being maxed out by the anticipated 2600 strength in 2016?


Fill the quad and everyone will be happy, which means maintaining a corps that is approximately 5% of the undergraduate enrollment
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74OA
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 7:32p, 7/1/16
AG
quote:
quote:
quote:
quote:
At what Corps strength is the Quad at max capacity?
after renovations: 2,664 capacity
So how does the Corps continue to grow long-term if the Quad is roughly 32 rooms from being maxed out by the anticipated 2600 strength in 2016?


Fill the quad and everyone will be happy, which means maintaining a corps that is approximately 5% of the undergraduate enrollment
Since undergrad enrollment is steadily growing, even if the Corps maintains a roughly 5% representation, it will continue to grow numerically. The Quad is essentially full now, so where are all those additional future cadets going to live?
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to 74OA • 8:04p, 7/1/16
AG
I suggest they build 2 band dorms along side of the new drill field, which would allow the corps housing to exceed 3,000

When A&M enrollment hits 60,000 the corps should have a strength of approximately 3,000, if they maintain the 5% rule
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musicman55
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3:12p, 7/6/16
AG
I believe that the strength objective is 3,000 by 2020. One or more of the southside modular dorms could be used for the additional cadets... those five dorms (Rudder, Underwoood, Appelt, Wells, and Eppright) have current bed capacities from 235 to 300 each, depending on the dorm.
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74OA
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In reply to musicman55 • 4:05p, 7/6/16
AG
quote:
I believe that the strength objective is 3,000 by 2020. One or more of the southside modular dorms could be used for the additional cadets... those five dorms (Rudder, Underwoood, Appelt, Wells, and Eppright) have current bed capacities from 235 to 300 each, depending on the dorm.
Communal life on the Quad is an essential component of building Corps unity and cross-unit relationships. I'd hate to see that diluted.
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musicman55
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In reply to 74OA • 4:30p, 7/6/16
AG
Don't disagree.... but what do you do? Restrict the size of the Corps to only that number that can fit in Dorms 1-12? Can't see doing that. I want any A&M student who wants to be a cadet to be able to have that opportunity. Regarding the "experience", a good barometer would be how well the units assigned to live in the Commons dorms this year coped with it.

IMO, mistakes were made 25 years ago when the Administration decided to cram every damn dorm they could between Krueger Dunn, the north end of the Quad, and the Drill Field. Who knows, some of those modulars might be approaching the end of their functional life and could be replaced. But what's done is done. I do not believe that the master plan for the Quad contemplates any sort of new construction of dormitories for the Corps. Not that plans couldn't be changed of course, but once a "plan" is published it's pretty hard to get bureaucrats to deviate from it.

I don't know if additional dorms, designed to resemble the current Quad in appearance, function, and amenitites, could be built on the current "footprint" of the Quad and its greenspace or not. Someone who's much better at space planning and construction would have to weigh in on that question.
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74OA
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In reply to musicman55 • 4:47p, 7/6/16
AG
I made two suggestions in my OP up top. From my admittedly amateur perspective, Haney Drill Field looks to be an obvious opportunity to extend the Quad with similarly sized Corps dorms once the Band shifts to its new drill field adjacent to the soon-to-be-built Music Activities Center.....
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Warrior 66
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5:40p, 7/6/16
I will do my best to address the obvious issue of growth of the Corps vs space on the Quad for cadets.

First, as I addressed in this year's State of the Corps, the goal is now to grow the Corps to 3,000 cadets by the year 2020 (the original goal was 2600 by 2020, but we should attain that goal this year). That goal has been approved by the President, and we have done the analysis to ensure that we can logistically support that growth. I feel confident that we can achieve that growth to 3000 cadets by the year 2020 - something we need to do to keep pace with the continued growth of Texas A&M University.

Second, the issue of attrition of cadets over 4 years is something we have been focused on for at least 4 years now. Time was that as many as 50% or more of a class would attrit over 4 years. Not just their fish year, but over the 4 years that that class was in the Corps. We have reduced that number to just over 35% over 4 years, but its still a number we would like to see reduced over the 4 years that a class is in the Corps of Cadets. Recruiting is only part of the equation when it comes to sustained growth of the Corps. Retention is the other part. Retaining good quality cadets over 4 years helps us continue to grow our Corps.

Third, we are currently in discussions to determine the best options for where to place the extra cadets that don't fit on the Quad, once renovations are complete and we have maxed out rooms on the Quad (approx 2600 beds). We are currently discussing 3 options:

1. Hart Hall. Due for renovations next year, and located near the Trigon, its an option that could be open for those cadets that can't fit on the Quad. Approx 220 cadets could potentially live in Hart Hall, once renovated, if necessary.

2. Modular dorms near the Quad. These are being converted to "Engineering Learning Communities," and since over 30% of our cadets are in the College of Engineering, it would be a natural fit to put some of our STEM outfits in those modular dorms right near the Quad, where they could also be integrated into the Engineering Learning Communities. Thats doesn't mean separate from the Corps at all - it just means that academically you'd have students and cadets in the College of Engineering living together, with Corps units still living as Corps units, and still a full part of the Corps, but able to benefit academically from the Engineering Learning Community.

3. Build a new Band Dorm(s) near the new Music Activities Center on Duncan Field. Intent would be to build a dorm or dorms that could hold up to 450 cadets, which would in turn provide plenty of space on the Quad for the remainder of the Corps.

Again, these are currently only being discussed, and NOTHING has been decided at this point. There are obvious pros and cons for all of these options, and I won't get into those here. Suffice it to say that steady growth of the Corps is a GOOD problem to have, that people are talking about it SERIOUSLY now, and we will do all we can to ensure we find the right solution or ALL of our cadets and for our Corps.

Thanks for your support of our Corps. Gig 'em!
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74OA
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In reply to Warrior 66 • 6:00p, 7/6/16
AG
Thanks for the update. So using Haney to expand the Quad is a non-starter? As I mentioned earlier, the atmosphere of the Quad where the Corps lives and binds as a integrated community is important to preserve if at all possible, rather than accepting physical fragmentation. But, of course, I don't need to tell you that....
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Warrior 66
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7:26p, 7/6/16
The modular dorms are just as close to the Quad as Haney Drill Field is. It is not currently part of the discussion for expansion of the Quad in the future. It IS part of the discussion about the next phase of the Quad renovation, but again, it is NOT currently being considered for additional dorm space.
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to Warrior 66 • 7:10a, 7/7/16
AG
quote:
First, as I addressed in this year's State of the Corps, the goal is now to grow the Corps to 3,000 cadets by the year 2020 (the original goal was 2600 by 2020, but we should attain that goal this year). That goal has been approved by the President, and we have done the analysis to ensure that we can logistically support that growth. I feel confident that we can achieve that growth to 3000 cadets by the year 2020 - something we need to do to keep pace with the continued growth of Texas A&M University.
Since the fall of 2013 the Corps has grown from 2,450 to 2,520; an increase of 70 cadets over 3 years.

The average fish class in that period is 956 cadets.

To reach Corps strength of 3,000 cadets by 2020 means that the fish classes will have to average 1,038, an increase over current numbers by 82 students.
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Warrior 66
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8:56a, 7/7/16
Assuming we can improve retention across all 4 years that a class is in the Corps, we anticipate that we will have to recruit ~1000 fish a year in order to achieve 3000 by the year 2020. As mentioned previously, it takes a combination of recruiting AND retention in order to achieve sustained growth of the Corps. And as I stated before, we feel confident that we can achieve that goal.
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74OA
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9:07a, 7/7/16
AG
Great problem to have. Is Duncan sized to sit a 3000 Corps?
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Warrior 66
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3:55p, 7/7/16
Duncan was renovated 3 years ago, and currently has a capacity of 2700. We are already looking at options for feeding a Corps of 3000, including potentially expanding Duncan (maybe a second floor, assuming it can be structurally supported), and eating in shifts for a certain number of outfits. Nothing decided yet, but we know we can figure out a way to accommodate feeding a Corps of 3000.

And you'r right - this is a GREAT problem to have!
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Trident15
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7:50p, 7/7/16
AG
Awesome. Glad to see the Corps continue to grow
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to Warrior 66 • 7:01a, 7/29/16
AG
quote:
Assuming we can improve retention across all 4 years that a class is in the Corps, we anticipate that we will have to recruit ~1000 fish a year in order to achieve 3000 by the year 2020. As mentioned previously, it takes a combination of recruiting AND retention in order to achieve sustained growth of the Corps. And as I stated before, we feel confident that we can achieve that goal.
Assuming you can improve retention? What are you going to do, shake your unicorn snow globe and hope for change?
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to Trident15 • 7:01a, 7/29/16
AG
quote:
Awesome. Glad to see the Corps continue to grow
Corps is stagnant like pond water, not growing at all.
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ABATTBQ87
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 12:31p, 9/9/16
AG
quote:
2015-2016 State of the Corps = 5.1% of the undergrad student body
  • 967 cadets joined the Corps last year
  • Corps Strength on the first day of school was 2,520; over 2,300 marched at Final Review
  • 365 female cadets 15% of the Corps (again a record number of female cadets)
  • Overall fish attrition for the year was 16%, the lowest in many years ?? (See 2013-14)
  • we expect a Corps strength of nearly 2,600 for the Fall 2016 semester
Current undergraduate enrollment Fall 2016 = 50,177

If Corps enrollment holds at 5.1% of the student body total = 2,559

What's the Corps strength for the fall, and what is the fish class size?
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sharpdressedman
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In reply to ABATTBQ87 • 1:59p, 9/9/16
quote:
quote:
Assuming we can improve retention across all 4 years that a class is in the Corps, we anticipate that we will have to recruit ~1000 fish a year in order to achieve 3000 by the year 2020. As mentioned previously, it takes a combination of recruiting AND retention in order to achieve sustained growth of the Corps. And as I stated before, we feel confident that we can achieve that goal.
Assuming you can improve retention? What are you going to do, shake your unicorn snow globe and hope for change?
You put a lot of effort into being a dick.

The Commandant tells us what he sees and willingly includes multiple scenarios, pointing out what circumstances are trending. He is, by far, the best source of timely and accurate Corps-related information and feedback on this site. The Corps is alive, well and growing only because many good people are determined to see it thrive.

Endowing a handful of Corps scholarships is a great way to both step-up and play a meaningful role in preserving what I believe to be the best learning and leadership program on the entire campus and stay connected with current students. You don't have to be a BMA to make a big difference in the lives of our future national leaders. You can endow four Sul Ross scholarships for the cost of one Presidential Endowed Scholarship. The TA&MF will lead you through the process and tailor your giving to maximize the benefits in accordance with your wishes.

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