Transcript Boards of Regents Presentation (August 2015)

Enhancing Graduate Education at Texas
Tech University: The Path Forward
President M. Duane Nellis
Meeting of the Board of Regents
August 7, 2015
Where we’ve been and where we are
Restructuring TTU graduate education since 2013
•
Vice provost-level position created to enable greater coordination across
campus. Dr. Mark Sheridan hired fall 2013
•
Graduate marketing director and recruiter added in 2014
•
Strategic enrollment management plan developed in fall 2013 and implemented
•
Transition to new, fully-electronic application platform initiated in fall 2013
•
Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellowships created to facilitate submission
of external fellowship applications
•
Graduate Center created to serve as nexus for professional & career
development activities and graduate-specific student services
Where we’ve been and where we are
More recent achievements since July 2014
•
Applications up 32% for fall 2014 and 5.2% for spring 2015
•
Record enrollments for fall 2014 (5,882, up 8.4%) and spring 2015
(5,661, up 5.7%)
•
International graduate enrollment up 19% (to 1,569) for fall 2014 and
up 17% (to 1,538) for spring 2015
•
Number of international sponsored graduate students increased by
over 50%
•
Record masters (up 8.5%) and doctoral degrees (up 2.5%) awarded
•
Two students awarded prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
Where we’ve been and where we are
TTU historical growth in the national context
•
National enrollment trends since 2008:
o Between 2008 and 2011, nation-wide graduate enrollment increased
approx. 1% per year
o More recently, between fall 2012 and fall 2013 nation-wide graduate
enrollment decreased 0.2% following a 2.3% decline the previous year
•
TTU graduate enrollment growth from fall 2008 to fall 2013 was up 16.2%
(representing a rate of increase THIRTY TWO times the national average).
And this growth has accelerated the last two years.
Where we’ve been and where we are
TTU current national rankings
•
Graduate enrollment ranked 77th in the nation (top 14%)
(ahead of all Big 12 peers except UT, ISU, & Kansas)
•
Doctoral enrollment in STEM fields ranked 74th nationally (top 18%)
(ahead of all Big 12 peers except UT, Oklahoma, ISU, & Kansas)
•
Number of doctoral degrees awarded is ranked 64th nationally (top 16 %)
(ahead of all Big 12 peers except UT, ISU, & Kansas)
Year
Rank
Percentile
No. Inst. Ranked
2009
87
21.4
418
2010
72
18
414
2011
67
17.1
408
2012
64
16.1
415
Where we’ve been and where we are
TTU current national rankings—cont’d
•
15 graduate programs were ranked in the last National Research Council
Study; 8 of these were in the top-half of their field
•
18 graduate programs were ranked in the last US News and World Report
survey (RCOBA and WCOE were in the top 100; 6 engineering programs
were in the top 100); three on-line graduate programs were top ranked
(2 in WCOE, 1 in Education)
•
Many programs have top rankings by accrediting bodies or independent
discipline-specific reviewing boards/journals (e.g., Agricultural
Communication, Clinical Psychology, Creative Writing, Rawls College
of Business, Personal Financial Planning)
Where we’ve been and where we are
Where TTU needs to improve in graduate education as we
move forward as a premier national research university
•
Percent of graduate students in student population (16% vs 20+%)
•
Percent of graduate students funded (27% vs ~40%)
•
Graduate student stipends (lag behind on average ~$4000/year)
The path forward
Enhancing the graduate enterprise of TTU
revolves around four themes
•
Elevate academic identity
•
Enhance professionalization
•
Expand globalization
•
Increase diversity and inclusion
Summary of Goals
•
Increase the number of high-quality graduate programs that align with
the nation’s workforce demands and the priorities of TTU by making
strategic investments
•
Increase graduate enrollment to 8000 by 2020
•
Increase the quality of applicants (measured by standardized tests,
e.g., GRE)
•
Increase the number of students supported by prestigious national fellowships
(e.g., NSF GRF, Fulbright, etc.)
•
Increase retention, reduce time to degree, and increase success of graduates
in the workforce
The path forward
US lag in Ph.D. production threatens
competitive advantage
Enhancing Graduate Education at Texas
Tech University: The Path Forward
President M. Duane Nellis
Meeting of the Board of Regents
August 7, 2015