The 800-figure is a reference to full-time equivalencies, or FTE. Not all students enroll full-time, so the request for accelerated growth could result in an additional 1,000 students on campus next August.
Thursday afternoon, Provost James Brennan will tell faculty members that the University System of Maryland has asked Towson to enroll "considerably more" students in Fall 2006 than it had initially anticipated.
"We're trying to figure out how to do it," Brennan said in an interview.
The University will determine whether the request is reasonable and respond to the system in the coming days.
The possible increase raises questions about housing, parking and staffing, as the University attempts to help absorb the increasing number of high school graduates who hope to enroll at four-year universities.
Every year, TU grows a little bit by admitting a certain number of studentsâ€" enough to replace the ones who graduate or leave, plus some additional ones. For instance, TU enrolled 17,667 students last fall, and 18,011 this fall â€" an increase of about 340. (The target was between 250 and 300 additional students.)
Towson was projected to grow by about 250 students in the fall of 2006, with an eventual goal of reaching the 21,000-student mark by 2010.
Administrators had anticipated "slower growth in the early years and more substantial growth in the outer years," Lonnie McNew, Towson's senior associate vice president for enrollment management and institutional research, said.
But the University System of Maryland may be steering TU toward a model of more substantial growth in the initial years.
"We ran a number by the administration," USM vice chancellor for administration and finance Joseph Vivona said on Tuesday. "It would be greater than the rate of growth this year," he said, and thus greater than the 250 additional students Towson had anticipated for next year.
Presumably, the university system would commit to a certain level of funding for the increased headcount.
Brennan explained the financial logistics of enrollment growth.
"Let's say it costs $10,000 to educate a student," Brennan said, choosing a round number to make the math easier. "Right now we receive about $4,300 from the state of that $10,000."
Most of the difference â€" more than half of the total cost â€" must be collected from tuition. "That's a pretty hefty burden for students," he said.
Towson's request is clear: $5,000 per full-time equivalent for the growth. (In other words, $5,000, instead of $4,300, for each student above 18,000.) Additionally, the subsidy for the current students should "catch up" to the growth and reach $5,000 within five years. Vivona said Towson's request makes sense.
"Towson did a very good job of planning how it could grow," Vivona said. "My bet is that we're going to request funding in the budget to facilitate that growth."
Furthermore, Vivona said state budget officials have indicated "they're very interested in supporting enrollment growth."
At the Faculty Convocation, scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the Potomac Lounge, the Provost will describe a request for about 25 new faculty lines in the next budget cycle.
|
|
|
| Home | Copyright Brian Stelter |