Wednesday, February 19, 2014

16 consecutive years of growth at Texas State University



Texas State University continues to expand its student population for the 16th consecutive year.

Student enrollment for the 2013 fall semester was 35,568 compared to the 2012 fall semester enrollment of 34,225. University officials announced September 2013 that Texas State increased its student population by 1,300 from the previous year.

“We take our role in preparing the next-generation work force in Texas very seriously, so it is gratifying to see that so many incoming students are choosing to attend Texas State,” President Denise M. Trauth said in a statement.

Sydney Afflitto
Students see the continued growth in a positive light with the ability to compete on the same level as Texas A&M University and the University of Texas.

"To an extent it's a success, a part of me thinks they're trying to compete with A&M and UT," said Chelsea Marshall, a student majoring in constructional technology.

Sixteen years of growth also helps future students in the process of choosing Texas State over other universities.

"Texas State is becoming more popular and definitely played in one of the reasons why I choose it over the other universities that I was looking into," said Sydney Afflitto, a student majoring in early education.

At the same time, students are frustrated by the construction caused by the continued growth.

"Construction is so frustrating cause it seems like it's always going on," said Mason Randolph, a student majoring in environmental studies.

A major issue that just never seems to be solved is parking. Randolph solves this problem by riding a moped to campus. Another student, Gina Adibi, solves this issue by walking from her apartment to campus.

Mayson Hornsby
Mixed feelings are present through out the continued growth as it is praised but also squeezes the current student population to breaking points caused by parking and construction. Frankie DiMento, a double major in political science and philosophy student, sees the growth in a positive light, as education is a great thing, he said. Mayson Hornsby, a dance major student, thinks the university is pushing its maximum limit and needs to add more dining halls and dorms due to the increased size of the student population, she said.

San Marcos continues to expand at the same time as the university and road construction is a constant reminder. From a local stand point, the continued growth is a positive thing as more and more students bring opportunity to the San Marcos community to meet their needs.

According to the Transportation Update from the January 2014 issue of Community Impact, San Marcos is in line to be on the on Project Connect, a regional passenger rail line from San Antonio to Georgetown. Although San Marcos has an Amtrak rail station that also serves as the central hub of the San Marcos Capital Area Rural Transportation System, the northbound train departs to Austin between 8:32 a.m. and 9:32 a.m. and the southbound train arrives between 6:30 p.m. and 7:12 p.m. Project Connect would have a train arriving at stops every 30 minutes during rush hour and between one to three hours during non-rush hour. This could potentially limit the impact of traffic congestion in San Marcos and aid in the parking situation on campus.

Another alternative is the CARTS addition of a route between the San Marcos and Round Rock campuses of Texas State University. CARTS is a free service for Texas State University students that operates Monday thru Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the San Marcos area.

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