TCU will admit fewer students this year
Affect of enrollment cap on minority numbers not known
By David Reese
Staff Reporter

Admissions officials say it is too early to determine if an implemented enrollment cap will affect minority enrollment next year.

Dean of Admissions Ray Brown said while the university admitted about 100 fewer students this year, the number of minorities that will attend is still in question.

He said the university’s enrollment for freshman last year was 1,514.
Brown said the enrollment cap was established to meet Chancellor Michael Ferrari’s plan of decreasing the total undergraduate enrollment to 6,500 in the next four to six years versus 6,885 this past fall.

Darron Turner, assistant dean of student affairs, said the enrollment cap will enable TCU to continue providing quality services to its students.

Brown said it is impossible at this point of the year to provide the number of minority students that will attend in the fall.

“The number of students committing to TCU by submitting deposits is volatile at the moment because the National Candidates’ reply date is May 1,” he said.

Brown said deposits are flowing in rapidly now and will continue to do so over the next few weeks.

He said that although no precise numbers on minority enrollment are available, the admissions department seeks as diverse a group of students as the university can possibly enroll.

Brown said students of color have increased steadily over the past few years.

He said this past fall that the percentage of freshman minority students was 13.1 percent versus 12.7 percent the previous year.

Although the admissions department has goals, they are neither rewarded nor punished depending on the outcome.

“Our targets are more than we had last year by at least a percentage point but it does not have to include students of color because the university resists the trap of defining diversity in that matter,” he said.

Brown said the ultimate goal is for each student to experience diversity around them through expanding one’s horizons and getting one out of their comfort zone.

“If one believes that students of color enhance the diversity aspect of TCU, then greater numbers will prove a more positive educational experience,” he said.

Turner said there are two ways TCU can get minorities to chose the university instead of going to other more ethnically diverse campuses.

“Make sure what we offer is tops and the environment must work for them,” he said.

The Board of Trustees approved an enrollment goal of 1,475, at its January meeting.

David Reese
d.w.reese@student.tcu.edu

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