The Texas A&M University Student Government Association recently hosted a public forum featuring university administrators, President Michael K. Young and Provost Carol Fierke.
The moderated discussion was held in the Flag Room in the Memorial Student Center on the main campus in College Station.
Here are 10 things you need to know:
1. The Student Success Task Force
The provost’s office established the Student Success Task Force to increase first-year retention rates, 4-year graduation rates and 6-year graduation rates, among other goals. The Task Force’s recommendations are expected to be implemented in October 2019.
2. Campus Growth
The university is putting a soft pause on growth to right-size resources pertaining to course offerings, student/faculty ratios and leveraging classroom technology. These and other topics currently are on the table for discussion.
3. Parking And Transportation
The campus master plan aims to provide more seamless interconnectivity of roads and smaller shuttle services moving students more quickly to more places. This will allow parking to move mainly to the periphery of campus, thereby creating the opportunity to create as much green space as possible in the interior of campus.
4. Grad Student Workloads
Regulating workloads for graduate students is complicated, and the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies is engaging faculty about best ways to mentor their students and move them successfully into careers.
5. Faculty Recruitment
A faculty reinvestment program established this year will result in the hiring another 30 faculty members across various disciplines.
6. Student Recruitment
The university is working to increase international and out-of-state populations at the undergraduate level, with enrollment increasing from less than 5 percent to 7 percent, and the goal is 10 percent.
7. Title IX
University leadership spent six weeks this summer working on sexual harassment policies with the intent to make them as effective as possible, and the university has begun to implement them.
8. The New Zachry Engineering Education Center
Moving forward, all construction and renovation projects on campus will incorporate similar innovative designs that foster interactive and interpersonal learning.
9. Office Hours With Provost Fierke
Provost Fierke offers office hours one day per month, and she encourages students to sign up on online for an appointment when they have questions, concerns or ideas they want to discuss. Last year, she met only with faculty, but she has since opened her schedule to staff and students.
10. The New Student Services Building
The Texas A&M University Hotel and Conference Center, which is located at the former site of the student services building, has increased conference capacity, intellectual dialogue and research on campus. Meanwhile, the new student services building is under construction at the former site of Bizzell Hall, which is across from the Memorial Student Center.
