It is not money, but availability of space that makes enrollment low. We could have 100,000 or more students in College Station if anyone thought that was a good idea. Surely there are people who can not afford to pay for education at Texas A&M in College Station. What other University could they afford other than a community college? Financial aid ensures that all economic classes are represented at the University - which is appropriate. But a significant fraction of the students attending A&M work while they go to school anyway. Let's face it, Texas A&M is a very inexpensive cost. $60,000 over four years (or less) is a lot of money, but the increase in lifetime earning potential dwarfs this cost. Are students really happy to know that Texas A&M faculty are among the lowest paid in the Big 12?

Now, for students who take a slot, and party - instead of appreciate every bit of knowledge they can attain really are spitting in the face of those who would like to attend A&M but can't. But that's just a matter of maturity. We need to do a better job of throwing students out if they are not performing in order to make room for others who appreciate an education. I call on all faculty to grade much tougher and don't be afraid to give F grades. We need to get rid of the academic two-percenters and make room for those who will make Aggieland proud.

Morris Foster didn't check his numbers. According to the reports generated by A&M's Office of Institutional Studies and Planning in Fall 2004, there were 44,435 students enrolled at A&M and 1649 tenured & tenure-track faculty. In Fall 2008, total enrollment was 48,039 and the number of faculty had increased by 235 to 1884.

With a 14% increase in tenure-track faculty and an 8% increase in enrollment, it is not surprising that the faculty-student ratio didn't change very much.

Data from