University of Houston-Clear Lake President William A. Staples has announced the largest enrollment in the university’s 40-year history for the fall 2014 semester.
Crossing significantly over the 8,000-student count, the final headcount for the semester is 8,668, an increase of approximately 6 percent more than the previous year and 13.4 percent over the past five years.
“We are excited by all the growth this semester,” said UHCL President William A. Staples, speaking during a university-wide annual meeting that included presentations by the Vice President for Administration and Finance Michelle Dotter and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Carl A. Stockton.
“We have had several significant changes including the addition of more than 400 freshman and sophomore students from approximately 70 different high schools.”
Staples explained that the average SAT score of the enrolled freshmen is 1062, with the average high school grade point average at 3.47 on a 4.0 scale. He added that of those new freshman and sophomore students, approximately 86 percent were attending full time.
UH-Clear Lake also experienced an increase in international student enrollment, up 38 percent from fall 2013 with a record-breaking 1,391 international students studying at UHCL.
Staples attributed the university growth to not only the 2011 approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to add freshman and sophomore students this year, but also to established and new partnerships with community colleges and local high schools. He also mentioned new degree programs established to meet the needs of the community.
“We have added the Bachelor of Science in Nursing designed specifically for registered nurses who want to get their bachelor’s degree,” said Staples. “The program began this fall at the UHCL Pearland Campus and, according to our research, will fill an important need for area nurses and hospitals requiring nurses to have a bachelor’s degree.”
He also spoke about the addition of the Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction program, which received approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in July and will be open to educators in the spring 2015 semester through the university’s School of Education.
New initiatives include an upcoming redesign to the university’s website and the movement of the math center from under the umbrella of the School of Science and Computer Engineering to a university-level center providing support to all students as part of UHCL’s move from an upper-level university to a four-year university.
Staples, Stockton and Dotter concluded the presentation by thanking the faculty and staff for making the transition to a four-year university a smooth one.
Find out more about UHCL by visiting http://www.uhcl.edu.
■■■
University of Houston-Clear Lake offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, including a doctoral program, from its four schools, which include the School of Business, School of Education, School of Human Sciences and Humanities, and School of Science and Computer Engineering. In 2011, the university gained approval from the state to add freshman- and sophomore-level courses to its roster and welcomed its first freshman class in fall 2014. For more information about the university, visit http://www.uhcl.edu.
To find more UH-Clear Lake news, visit UH-Clear Lake’s newsroom, http://www.uhcl.edu/news, or follow UH-Clear Lake on Facebook,http://www.facebook.com/UHClearLake, and Twitter, http://twitter.com/UHClearLake.
