TSU spring enrollment rises after partnerships with HCC, Lone Star

09/04/1987 - Texas Southern University students (L-R) Marie Celestine, David Nunn, Deborah Jackson, Veronica McClendon and Deborah Watson hangout at the TSU sign at Tierwester. 09/04/1987 - Texas Southern University students (L-R) Marie Celestine, David Nunn, Deborah Jackson, Veronica McClendon and Deborah Watson hangout at the TSU sign at Tierwester. Photo: Micheal Boddy, HP Staff Photo: Micheal Boddy, HP Staff Image 1 of / 36 Caption Close TSU spring enrollment rises after partnerships with HCC, Lone Star 1 / 36 Back to Gallery

Nearly 8,600 students are enrolled at Texas Southern University this semester – a 5.75 percent increase from last spring’s enrollment.

Partially driving the increase is a 47 percent rise in new students transferring from community colleges, said Wendell Williams, TSU’s special assistant to the president. About 500 transfer students enrolled for the first time this spring compared to 340 students last spring, he said.

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TSU allowed students to enroll online for the first time ever this semester, and more than 80 percent of students did so, Williams said. Before, students had to enroll in person, and the ease of this process likely boosted numbers, he said.

TSU signed agreements with Houston Community College and Lone Star College last year in an effort to ease the transfer process. These agreements planned transfer credits and data sharing between the institutions.

Austin Lane, TSU’s new president, said in the fall that better relationships with local junior colleges would play a pivotal role in growing enrollment, which has declined since 2012.

Enrolling more students plays a pivotal role in receiving more state formula funding. That allocation is largely based on credit hour enrollment.

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