Downward expansion may bring freshman by 2014

Ashley Smith
The Signal
With the approval of downward expansion from Texas legislation over the summer, the University of Houston-Clear Lake could see freshman students taking classes here by fall 2014.

The university plans to start small, admitting 540 freshmen the first year of downward expansion, with a projection of 1,350 freshman and sophomores within five years.

Before UHCL admits any freshman, many plans still need to be worked out, especially the expansion of the campus and services the university offers to students.

“We have completed a prospective business plan for downward expansion including the need for additional faculty and staff based on projected levels of enrollment and core curriculum requirements,” said William Staples, president of UHCL.

To accomodate the incoming freshman, several student services will increase and be added to enhance the college experience.

“Student services is going to have to grow tremendously,” said Darlene Biggers, associate vice president for student services. “We are going to have to expand some services as well as completely add some new services.”

The growth of services starts from the beginning of the college experience – admissions. Biggers said that with the admission of freshman, the university will have to implement testing and placement programs to make sure students are placed in classes within their skill level.

Also freshman will come to UHCL not knowing what field they want to study so academic services, like career exploration programs, will also need to be added.

As entering freshman and sophomores grow in numbers, more services and facilities will need to be added, including housing, comprehensive dining services as well as recreational activities.

Biggers sees student life as well as international and intercultural services growing, offering more activities on campus for students.

Growth has already begun for recreational activities, starting slowly with more recreational events like ping pong tournaments. Biggers said that eventually the university will begin offering club sports, then intramurals and eventually more organized sports.

“We need to start small and grow from there,” Biggers said.

As of right now, administrators are still in the planning phase with many decisions left to be made – like what freshman classes will be offered and whether the university should start with offering freshman classes in one school before expanding to others.

The budget and recent budget cuts will have an impact on changes as well as time frame.

“Financial resources are among the many factors that will determine the actual date for implementation of downward expansion,” Staples said.

Though the fall of 2014 is the tentative start, Staples reiterates that it is just an estimation of when the university hopes to be able to accommodate the incoming freshman. Staples plans to make an announcement outlining the university’s plan later this month or early October.