quote:The A&M System in 1980 had 3 campuses in Texas. The A&M System in 2015 has 11 campuses in Texas.
Keep in mind the population of Texas was about 14 million in 1980, now 35 years later it is 27 million. Texas could have 50 million by 2050 if this growth keeps up. That is 23 million more people than we have now. 23 million is more people than resides in every single state today except for Texas and California.
I can't remember the exact student population at A&M in 1980, but I think it was around 30,000, so it doesn't surprise me that it's close to 60,000 today given the growth of population. I don't think the growth in students is because admin is lowering the bar, it appears to me that the bar is the same but there are a helluva lot more Texans each year.
States like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania don't have population explosion problems, so I can see where they can keep their enrollment constant.
Sidenote - I'm please to see A&M getting money from the legislature per the story I read on Texags front page this week. If we are going to see more students then the taxpayers need to provide more money to educate those students,unless the goal is to turn A&M into a private school.
Growing the College Station campus isn't necessarily the way to keep up with population growth.
I think population growth can be a real benefit if used properly- and I think that could arguably be to slow growth of the main campus and grow the other campuses. It'll create varied education products that might fit individual needs better, and could give the main campus a real opportunity to not just sustain its academic rigor but improve it.
There is lots of opportunity for innovation in the world today and going to be a real need for innovation as we try to figure out the future of energy and so many other things in this country and the world, I'd love for our state and I'd love for our alma mater to be at the forefront of that innovation. It'd be good for all of us Aggies.
But a huge chunk the more impactful innovations have connections in one way or another to universities and academic settings that have the kind of environment that promotes real, true academic rigor, ambition, discussion, etc...
There isn't another university in the country, if the world, that has fostered that kind of environment with such a large campus and student body and so many online classes and JUCO to Bacherlors programs and etc..., etc....
When we have 10 other campuses, I see little reason to make A&M the guinea pig test subject for this model.