Enhancing Graduate Education at Texas Tech University: The Path Forward President M. Duane Nellis Meeting of the Board of Regents August 7, 2015

Restructuring TTU graduate education since 2013 Where we’ve been and where we are 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

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 74 th nationally (top 18%) (ahead of all Big 12 peers except UT, Oklahoma, ISU, & Kansas) Number of doctoral degrees awarded is ranked 64 th nationally (top 16 %) (ahead of all Big 12 peers except UT, ISU, & Kansas) 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) Where we’ve been and where we are

Enhancing the graduate enterprise of TTU revolves around four themes Elevate academic identity Enhance professionalization Expand globalization Increase diversity and inclusion The path forward

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 Summary of Goals

US lag in Ph.D. production threatens competitive advantage The path forward

Enhancing Graduate Education at Texas Tech University: The Path Forward President M. Duane Nellis Meeting of the Board of Regents August 7, 2015