Students see issues with Texas State enrollment increase

Texas State University set an enrollment record of 35,568 students last fall semester, according to a Texas State press release. This is the 16^th consecutive year that the student enrollment has increased.

President Denise M. Trauth is pleased with the increasing amounts of enrollment.

“This new high in student enrollment demonstrates that Texas State continues to be a leading university in the state, and that students and their families recognize our institution offers both an outstanding educational experience as well as an exceptional value,” she said.

Though the president is happy, the students see some issues that are results of the enrollment increase.

Annat Rosenthal, a student at Texas State feels the university is not physically capable to handle housing more students.

"(The university) should expand physically, like adding more dorms and room before more students,"said Rosenthal.

Another student, dance major Mayson Hornsby, agrees that the university is running out of space.

  

“The university is pushing its maximum limit, until it grows and adds more facilities like dining halls and dorms," said Hornsby

Hornsby also thinks that not only does the university need to grow, but also the entire city of San Marcos in order to accommodate the amount of students filling the area.

  

“We have enough trouble as it is, waiting for buses or trying to get places because some places are only one lane,” she said. 

Kelsey Kotzur, a senior at the university, also thinks the city of San Marcos can’t handle the increase of students. She thinks the university shouldn’t continue to grow until the city can hold an increase of students.

“The streets are packed all the time, a ridiculous amount of traffic. I can’t ever find a parking spot at H-E-B,” said Kotzur.

Though students see over-crowding at the university and in San Marcos, most agree that if the university increases physically, they would like to see the enrollment continue to increase.

"Education is a great thing so increased enrollment just means more people getting a good education," said Frankie DiMento, a senior at Texas State.

Ashley Jeffries agrees that Texas State enrollment should increase as long as the campus also grows.

    

“It makes our school more reputable." 

Enrollment Leaves Student Body Divided

Enrollment Leaves Student Body Divided

This past fall marks Texas State University's 16 consecutive year breaking attendance records with a total of 35,568 students enrolled.

According to some students, the continual growth of Texas State is a necessary step in the right direction for the school to become more reputable.

Ashley Jefferies

Music major Ashley Jefferies said the university should continue to grow as long as it adapts to the population increase and makes the school more reputable. 

Jefferies’ outlook on the increasing growth of the student population is positive, but the continual construction is giving her doubts.

"There is always construction, and they could do a better job at creating better buildings and facilities," said Jefferies.

Others aren't such avid supporters of the school’s growth due to the continual construction and the limited space at the university.

Mason Randolph

Even though the school has been growing substantially during the past 16 years, the majority of the growth has come recently. Construction has been constant burden for the past couple years around campus.

"Construction is so frustrating because it seems like it's always going on," environmental studies major Mason Randolph said.

Gina Adibi

Another student, Gina Adibi, 21-year-old engineering major said it's kind of annoying and parking sucks. She said since she lives near campus the trip to school isn't such a burden.

Construction is always expected when there is exponential expansion like the university is dealing with right now, but some students suggest making admission to Texas State more difficult.

"They need to make admission to Texas State harder," English major Kelsey Kotzur said.

Kelsey Kotzur

Similar to Kotzur, Randolph believes that the school should maybe think about putting a cap on the number of students admitted to the university.

"They should set a goal, like, 3,500 students and then try to accommodate those many students, like making more parking spots and stuff rather than just building more dorms," he said.

The total number of students enrolled wasn't the only record that was broken this year; the undergraduate enrollment reached a new record of 31,032. Largely in part by the incoming freshmen class recording a class of 5,181. Of those students, approximately 49 percent were in the top 25 percent of their graduating high school class.

"Of those, a larger number of freshmen from the top 10 percent of their graduating class were among this group than in previous years," Texas State University President Denise M. Trauth said in a statement.

High enrollment shows that the school is successful in its efforts to become a leading university in the state.

“This new high in student enrollment demonstrates that Texas State continues to be a leading university in the state, and that students and their families recognize our institution offers both an outstanding educational experience as well as an exceptional value,” said Trauth.

Growth at Texas State

In the fall of 2013, a record-setting enrollment of 35, 568 was announced at Texas State University in San Marcos. 

This enrollment exceeded last year's number by more than a thousand. 

This is the 16th year in a row that Texas State has had record enrollment. 

“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,” Texas State Univeristy President Denise M. Trauth said.

Growth at Texas State is viewed as positive and some students had their opinion on the matter, some not so positive. 

"Its kind of annoying. Parking sucks. 

Luckily I live at the vistas so I can walk to class. Otherwise I'd be screwed," said senior Gina Adibi.

.

When asked if the university should continue to grow, Annat Rosenthal said it should grow physically because she does not believe that the school can accommodate all the students.

"Trying to find space in all of my classes has been hard, 

especially in my music classes," said sophomore Derek Thigpem. 

"If we keep increasing professors and classes, it has to be proportional. 
 We have to focus on quality" Chelsea Marshall.

Trauth said the new high in student enrollment demonstrates that Texas State continues to be a leading university in the state. 

"Students and their families recognize our institution offers both an outstanding educational experience as well as an exceptional value," she said. 

Everything' Bigger in Texas by Pamela Patino

Texas State University’s record breaking enrollment numbers for the fall of 2013 may be a celebration for the university, but students have mixed feelings about the large increase.

For 16 consecutive years Texas State has set new enrollment records. The most recent number is 35,568 students. In the fall the university also took in the largest freshman class in the school’s history of 5,181 students.

Texas State President Denise Trauth feels that the growing student population reflects the success the university has had in becoming one of the premier campuses in the state.

“This new high in student enrollment demonstrates that students and their families recognize our institution offers both an outstanding educational experience as well as an exceptional value,” said Trauth in a statement.

This sentiment is not  necessarily reflected on campus. Some students feel that growth is inhibiting their experience at the university rather than benefiting them. One of the many problems students are having is with what seems to be never-ending construction and the effects on traffic.

"People have complained about traffic and I will agree there's a lot of cars on the road. Construction is so frustrating cause it seems like it's always going on," said Mason Randolph, environmental studies major.

Another complaint that students are having is parking. For some students, it seems almost impossible to find parking on campus due to the huge freshman class currently enrolled at the university.

"It's become more difficult to find parking. Very crowded especially since we have the biggest freshman class this year," said Ashley Jeffries, music major.

Kelsey Kotzur, a senior at Texas State, believes that the parking problem has gone beyond campus, and is now affecting San Marcos as a whole.

"Now the streets are packed all the time. I can’t ever find a parking spot at HEB," she said.

Along with parking difficulties and on-going construction, some students feel that the school's growth has affected their academics as well.

"It makes it hard to register for classes that I want because of all the people in the school," said Jesse Bremea, business management major.

However, not all student think the increase in enrollment rates are a bad thing. The university's growth also means that more jobs will be on the market, and more opportunities for students to find on campus jobs.

 "I am an RA on campus, so that's good for me because it’s giving me and other people jobs," said Mayson Hornsby, dance major.

Regardless of opinion, the fact is that Texas State is growing and will continue to grow in the years to come.

Texas State University set enrollment records in the Fall 2013 semester

Perras Benford

February 26, 2014

Enrollment at Texas State University has set a record high this school year, creating some advantages and disadvantages for students.

University officials announced a record enrollment of 35,568 students last fall, an increase from 34,225 during the fall of 2012. The increase has led to a diverse student body, but also stresses concerns like parking and class size.

University President Denise M. Trauth said in a statement this increase is a great thing for the university, because it helps to make Texas State stand out amongst other colleges in the state.

“Students and their families recognize our institution offers both an outstanding educational experience as well as an exceptional value,” she said.

The increased numbers at Texas State have also lead to an increase in minority students. Hispanic enrollment increased 12 percent with 10,682 students, leading to the Hispanic student population accounting for 30 percent of the entire student body.

Texas State Provost Eugene Bourgeois said in a statement he is pleased with the efforts made by administrators at Texas State to recruit students from all backgrounds. 

“As the demographics of Texas continue to shift, it is important that our institutions of higher learning adequately reflect the growing diversity of this state," he said.

Some students, like Sydney Afflitto, were drawn to attend Texas State because of the catering to minorities.

“I chose Texas State because of its diversity program,” said Afflitto.

The increased growth at Texas State has affected many areas of student life, including construction, class size, and parking.

 “Parking sucks,” said engineering major Gina Adibi. "Luckily I live at the Vistas, so I can walk to class. Otherwise I’d be screwed."

Adibi thinks it is a good thing for the campus size to increase.

“It is cool that we are becoming more well known,” she said.

Ashley Jefferies, a music major, shared a similar sentiment for campus growth.

“It makes our school more reputable,” she said.

Jefferies also expressed a need for bigger buildings. 

“They could do a better job at creating better buildings and facilities. For instance, the music building is super tiny," she said.

Other students said they would like to see the campus expand in order to accommodate the growing student population.

“Trying to find space in all of my classes has been hard, especially in my music classes,” music major Derek Thigpem said. 

The enrollment at Texas State does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon and University President Trauth thinks that is a good thing. 

"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," she said. 

Basic Story 3 Draft 1 Ricardo Barge (Diverse Leads)

Ricardo Barge

February 26, 2014

Where to park?

Texas State University announced that it marks its 16th consecutive year that student enrollment has increased from the previous year.

            Texas State University has a record-setting enrollment of 35,568 students for the 2013 fall semester, this is an increase from 34,225 students that attended the 2012 fall semester. Ashley Jeffries, a music major at Texas State University, says this is in part due “especially since we have the biggest freshman class this year." With the increase of students the impact that it has is both positive and negative. Prestige for the university increases with the enrollment increase, but what about the space available for those students to park?

Parking at Texas State University has always been a problem according to 25-year-old music major, Mitch Quintanilla.

“I started in 2006 and left for a few years. Parking has always sucked,” he said.

            With parking being a problem over the years on campus, the overall growth of the university will increase that problem. Unless the proper plans are in place to accommodate with the growth. Transfer student form San Antonio Shanna Bradford who has only been here one semester even understands that.

“If it continues to grow at that rate there definitely need to be expansion plans already in place so there's not that congestion problem with traffic," she said.

                                                                                                                   

            With the planning for more parking comes construction of parking garages. San Marcos already has construction happening all over town due to population increase, which increases traffic all around town. Texas State University student Sydney Afflitto lives with the traffic every day, but believes parking garages still need to be built.

“I mean it's a pain, especially with driving and stuff, but I think that parking is definitely an issue. In order to create more parking, there has to be construction,” she said.

                                                                                                       

With the increase of enrollment there is also an effect to the parking at local establishments outside of campus. Senior at Texas State University Kelsey Kotzur notices the parking shortage around town.

“Now the streets are packed all the time, a ridiculous amount of traffic. I can’t ever find a parking spot at HEB,” she said.

With the growth of student population the city of San Marcos will need to adapt as will the university itself.

            

Enrollment Record at Texas State University

A record-setting announcement was made for the 2013 fall semester at Texas State University regarding the enrollment of 35,568 students, as opposed to 34,225 students for the 2012 fall semester.

This marks the 16th consecutive year that Texas State has had a new record for enrollment. Texas State officials are quite pleased, as this is something to boast about, yet some of the students have a different mindset about the growing population.

"This new high in student enrollment demonstrates that Texas State continues to be a leading university in the state, and that students and their families recognize our institution offers both an outstanding educational experience as well as an exceptional value," said Texas State President Denis M. Trauth.

With the amount of students at the University being at an all-time high, there have been mixed emotions in whether this is seen as something beneficial or not. When students were interviewed throughout the campus about this record high and how it has affected them, answers varied. Ongoing issues seemed to be traffic, parking and construction with most upperclassmen that were interviewed. In addition, finding spaces in classes seemed to be a problem.

"Its kind of annoying. Parking sucks. Luckily I live at the vistas so I can walk to class. Otherwise I'd  be screwed," said senior Gina Adibi.

"Well, people have complained about traffic and I will agree there's a lot of cars on the road. Construction is so frustrating cause it seems like it's always going on," said senior Mason Randolph."They should set a goal, like, 3,500 students and then try to accommodate those many students, like making more parking spots and stuff rather than just building more dorms," he said.

  "Trying to find space in all of my classes has been hard, especially in my music classes," said sophomore Derek Thigpem.


Not all students seemed to be so low about the growth at the University. Some students specifically came to Texas State because of its diversity and population, while some did not notice a difference at all.
 
"As a freshman it was normal for me," said freshman Annat Rosenthal. In addition she felt like the university was the perfect size for her and that is why she wanted to attend in the first place.


When Freshman Victoria Herrera was interviewed, she had positive things to say about the growth as well as the university in general.
 "It's a good thing because I'm one of those people. I started last semester. It gives you a chance to meet people from all walks of life. I really like the small town of San Marcos and the campus is big but not overwhelming," she said.


Texas State continues to grow and diversify. Only time will tell if this trend will continue and if the student body will embrace the ever growing population.