AUSTIN (KXAN) — Universities in Texas are dealing with record enrollment numbers and keeping up with this growth is getting more difficult.
It’s raising concerns about students getting access to the core courses they need to graduate.
In a Higher Education Senate Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, lawmakers were briefed on this, after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asked them to look into growing concerns.
University of Texas at Austin Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Rachel Davis Mersey and Texas A&M University Executive Vice President and Provost Alan Sams were invited to testify.
One of the hardest things for UT and others is ensuring all students can easily take the core classes they need to graduate.
To combat this, Mersey said they’re no longer accepting the top 6% of high school students from their graduating class. That automatic admission threshold is now the top 5%.
Sams said one of Texas A&M’s internal committees is recommending they pause undergraduate enrollment growth on the main campus for the next five years to give the university a chance catch up.
“This growth has put a strain on our both physical infrastructure, but also the scheduling of course offerings,” Sams said. “Adding faculty could provide additional course offerings, either in person or online, [but] additional facilities are needed.”
Texas A&M’s student body has grown more than 30% in the last 10 years, Sams said. That’s more than double the average of all other public universities in the state.
Both Mersey and Sams said their universities have added more core classes to help out. Mersey said UT Austin is even offering some core classes over the summer at lower prices. She told lawmakers UT Austin’s four-year graduation rate has now grown to 74.8% — the highest rate ever.
Lawmakers did had some concerns about students’ access to in person classes versus online, but Mersey and Sams testified that doesn’t seem to be an issue right now.
Another point that generated conversation and question in the subcommittee hearing on Tuesday was artificial intelligence.
Dr. Michelle Singh the assistant commissioner for digital learning on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board testified.
She laid out an initiative with three goals:
- Use AI technology ethically
- Stay at the front of AI innovation
- Help educators understand it
The University of Texas at San Antonio president Taylor Eighmy spoke on how this prepares students for working in a digital-driven future. But some senators expressed concerns about AI helping educators create curriculums.
Eighmy assured the committee that artificial intelligence will be a tool for teachers and is not a replacement.