A committee that studied Texas A&M’s capacity over the past few months has recommended the university pause its undergraduate growth on the main campus over the next five years after enrollment grew 33% over the past decade, according to a report shared by A&M President Mark A. Welsh III.
The report identified deficiencies in on-campus housing, dining and study spaces. Recommended solutions include increasing housing by 2,500 beds, increasing infrastructure of classroom and dining space on A&M’s west campus, and looking into the feasibility of an underground tunnel system from main campus to west campus that would have an all-electric transportation system.
Welsh shared the capacity study report, along with a student experience study report, to the campus community on Monday. Both studies were led by Joe Pettibon, A&M’s vice president of planning, assessment and strategy. Welsh announced the formation of the two studies at his state of the university address last fall. He wrote he is seeking feedback on the student experience study report until Sept. 10 and the capacity study report until Sept. 17.
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The capacity study report recommended A&M target adding 15,000 new undergraduate students (11,750 freshmen and 3,250 transfers) per year over the next five years. The capacity study report said the fall 2023 enrollment included 16,267 total new students (12,865 freshmen and 3,402 transfers).
At the same time, the capacity study report recommended the university should still allow graduate, online and locations outside Bryan-College Station to continue growing at “modest rates.” After the five-year window, growth should be well-planned and forecasted to a minimum of 10 years out to plan infrastructure.
A&M’s enrollment grew by around 17,500 students from 2013-23, according to the capacity study report. The student experience study report said there were 57,047 undergraduate students at A&M’s main campus for the fall 2023 semester, up from 42,037 in fall 2013.
The capacity study report shows A&M has a “significant number of areas” that must be improved to account for its current enrollment, including on-campus housing, dining, study and meeting spaces.
On-campus housing for undergraduates has decreased to 20%, which has created challenges for the local Bryan-College Station communities, according to the capacity study report. Students and residents have battled over housing issues in recent years.
The student experience study report said because A&M cannot guarantee housing for its entire incoming class, many spring-admitted students have trouble securing on-campus housing for the fall semester which has created a trend of first-year students living off campus. Data from the student experience study report shows the percentage of freshmen living on campus dropped from 72% in fall 2019 to 63% in fall 2022. And while there are several new, high-density student housing developments off campus, they have high costs. Students said the enforcement of the city of College Station’s “No More Than Four” ordinance has exacerbated the student housing shortage and lack of affordable housing.
The capacity study report recommended A&M increase the number of on-campus beds by 2,500 to allow 25% of undergraduates, particularly freshmen, to have the option to live on campus.
The university’s growth also has caused transit and parking issues. The capacity study report said campus parking has fluctuated between 35,000 and 38,000 spaces over the last 10 years, and the student experience study report said only 73% of all students on main campus had a parking permit for Fiscal Year 2023. The capacity study committee has recommended encouraging campus community members to park once and use other modes of transportation to move around campus.
The student experience study report recommended the university look to expand infrastructure of bikes, motorcycles and mopeds, look at ways for students to have permits for multiple parking lots and garages, and consider expanding the number of parking spaces on campus. The capacity study report recommended expanding A&M’s current bus fleet by 10%, which would add 9-10 new buses.
One idea proposed by the capacity study committee is to look at the feasibility of building a tunnel system through campus to increase the movement of people. An all-electric, underground public transportation system running from the Polo Road Garage to White Creek Apartments called “The Aggie Loop” would take three years to build at an estimated cost of $250-$350 million.
According to the capacity study report, 30% of students’ academic homes are now on A&M’s west campus, but parking needs have not kept pace. The capacity study report recommended creating a west campus development plan that included more on-campus housing, dining, recreational spaces, study spaces, parking and more.
The capacity study report also recommended building a west campus classroom facility with over 100,000 square feet that projects to cost $130 million that would have several 100-seat or greater classrooms that would allow core curriculum classes to be taught on both sides of campus.
Another idea proposed by the capacity study committee to alleviate transit concerns on west campus is to create a minimum 20-minute offset start time for west campus courses that would begin 15-30 minutes after east campus classes.
The student experience study report said students desire readily available dining options across campus. The report showed the number of daily dining transactions has increased 87% in the past 10 years, but the seating in A&M’s three dining halls has decreased by almost 1,000 during that time due to renovations and the additions of retail space.
The student experience study report included a quote from an unnamed current student who spoke at a listening session and said, “Why are dining halls closed from 2:30-5:30 p.m.? This is when I am the most hungry. Even the Corps TAMU has their dining halls open with no breaks.”
The capacity study report recommended adding 28,000 square feet in dining to the West Campus Dining Center, returning the engineering space in Sbisa Dining Hall back to dining, work with the Barnes & Noble bookstore to shrink its space in the Memorial Student Center basement to add more dining space, and increase utilization of Duncan Dining Hall by the Corps of Cadets.
Despite the hike in enrollment, the report said student achievement has remained steady. The average time to complete a degree has remained at four years, 61.7% of full-time freshmen graduated in four years and 81% of students had a job or were accepted into graduate school at the time of graduation. A&M’s overall program rankings also have continued to be maintained or improved, its research expenditures continue to grow, and the university has an all-time high (56) of National Academy faculty members.
“Growth may be built into the DNA of this campus, as every dean has indicated a desire to continue to grow in the coming years, either with new degree programs, degrees at new locations, or an increased focus on graduate and online degree programs,” the capacity study report said. “The opportunity to meet that desired growth is certainly present. An analysis of admissions application data suggests that, despite growth, there are still thousands of qualified students who are not offered admissions each year due to capacity constraints, with many seeking entries to the largest undergraduate degree programs.
“The university has done a remarkable job in many areas to manage the growth that has occurred over the past decade, while achieving markers of maintaining and enhancing the overall success of the university.”