11 minute read
ATTRACT
TRUE VALUE
MTSU’s standing as a destination of choice for first-generation students and its long success in helping low-income students who meet admission standards overcome obstacles often posed by tuition and fees are well established.
50% 30% MTSU UT-K
Pell aid recipients
The University of Tennessee System recently announced that students eligible for Pell Grant aid (family income of $50,000 or less) and who qualify for the HOPE Lottery Scholarship can attend one of their institutions without paying tuition or mandatory fees. I’m proud to say that MTSU students in this category have attended our institution for years without paying tuition or mandatory fees.
Our Admissions and Financial Aid teams are among the best at helping our low-income students qualify for the full range of federal and state scholarships and assistance. In all, about 50% of MTSU’s student population receives Pell aid; about 30% of UT–Knoxville’s population receives Pell aid. That’s why we are a destination of choice for first-generation college students. And we’ve done all of this while raising our admissions standards and setting records on average ACT scores of our incoming freshmen.
MTSU’s full-time undergraduate tuition and fees of $9,206 remains the lowest of the state’s three largest universities. The University of Tennessee–Knoxville charges $13,006, while the University of Memphis costs $9,701. Our affordability makes MTSU more accessible to students from all income levels seeking a top-tier educational experience.
Student success is the core and fiber of MTSU—central to its mission and defining the strength of its integrity as an institution of higher education. The University is committed to: recruiting students who value student success and have the potential to achieve in a studentcentered culture; enhancing the academic experience of students to better ensure their success; and, facilitating student success through innovation and the use of data-informed best practices.
THE UNIVERSITY NOW REFINES ITS FOCUS TO SHAPE A DISTINCTIVE MTSU STUDENT EXPERIENCE THAT SUPPORTS ENGAGED LEARNING, BUILDS SELF-CONFIDENCE IN LEARNING, INSPIRES LIFE-LONG LEARNING AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, AND REWARDS LEARNING SUCCESS. “
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TRUE DEMAND
MTSU is proud to provide the largest adult degree program in the state. The University has focused upon and developed a streamlined program unrivaled in the state of Tennessee and which is designed to help adult learners complete their degrees as quickly as possible. Our Prior Learning Assessment program lets adult learners who return to college earn college credit for what they already know and have learned through their many and varied professional experiences.
Our University College’s adult outreach initiative specifically works diligently and proactively to draw students back to campus who departed MTSU without completing their degrees. As just one example, with funding support from my office, staff from University College and other areas from across campus conducted an outreach calling campaign for four weeks. The dedicated team contacted students who had left MTSU more than a year prior but had completed at least 60 credit hours. The results were impressive: We made 4,574 phone calls to students; we left 1,952 voice mails; 500 of the students requested transcript evaluations to see what they needed to compete their degrees; 15 students learned they had sufficient credits to graduate immediately; and 30 students enrolled.
TRUE JOURNEY
Tennessee’s Reverse Transfer program provides students with a unique opportunity to complete degrees that were started, but not completed, at one of our state community colleges. More than 47,000 students started their studies at a Tennessee community college but transferred to a four-year institution without finishing their associate’s degrees. Under the state’s reverse transfer program, credits earned at a fouryear institution can be counted toward the community college associate’s degree. Based on data released during the reporting period, MTSU is the best in Tennessee for the number of transfer students taking advantage of this program. Since it began in Spring 2015, 646 MTSU students have been awarded associate’s degrees through reverse transfer, an important program for students to apply credits they have earned.
As just one example of MTSU’s ranking as the preferred destination in Tennessee for transfer students, Gareth Laffely (pictured at right) is an uber-talented multi-instrumentalist known most prominently as a flutist and the youngest artist to reach No. 2 on the Billboard New Age chart. He enrolled at MTSU to pursue marketing as a means to help him promote his career as a musician after earning an associate’s degree from Volunteer State Community College.
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TRUE SERVICE
MTSU’s veterans-support program made another appearance in the Military Times Best Colleges 2018 ranking by the Vienna, Virginia-based publication. It represents the sixth consecutive straight time MTSU has received the honor, formerly known as Best for Vets, and the first year the University cracked the top 50. MTSU rose to 49th out of 140 four-year schools on the 2018 list after being 75th out of 130 four-year schools selected in 2017. The University ranked 65th out of 125 schools in 2016 and 94th out of 100 in 2015. The only other Tennessee school making the 2018 list was the University of Tennessee–Chattanooga at 114th.
At the heart of our service to vets is one of the finest military centers on any college campus in America. The 3,200-square-foot Charlie and Hazel Daniels Center (named after the country music superstar and his wife, who have donated generously to the center) is the largest and most comprehensive veterans’ center in Tennessee and among the largest in the nation. It serves MTSU’s nearly 1,000 student veteran and military family members, giving them a one-stop shop to meet many academic, Veterans Affairs, and career needs.
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A major enhancement in the Daniels Center’s efforts during the reporting period was the ramping up of the center’s assistance to aid graduating vets transition not just from combat to campus but from college to career—securing full-time employment after graduation from MTSU. Daniels Center representatives also now routinely recognize area corporations like Dollar General (photo at left) for their strong partnerships in hiring veterans and placing MTSU vets specifically in full-time positions.
During the reporting period, hall of famer Charlie Daniels performed at the inaugural MTSU Veteran Impact Celebration at The Grove at Williamson Place. By night’s end, Daniels, Journey Home Project co-founder David Corlew, and the nonprofit foundation’s newest board member, MTSU alumnus and U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Terry “Max” Haston, presented a $100,000 check for the Daniels Center. Coupled with more than $41,000 raised through corporate sponsorship of tables, gifts in kind, and pledges, officials estimated about $171,000 was raised for MTSU’s nationally recognized center in one magical night.
TRUE CHAMPIONS
Blue Raider sports teams experienced another exciting and productive year in 2017–18. Since our University accepted an invitation to join Conference USA in November 2012, Blue Raider squads have consistently reached postseason play, won championships, and earned C-USA All-Academic team status.
The statistics I get the most excited about are the ones our student-athletes—a special student population by any measurement, given the level of commitment required to both maintain academics and excel in Division I sports—are generating in the classroom.
For example, during the Fall 2017 semester, 13 of 15 teams had a semester team grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Overall, 196 of 329 student-athletes (60%) recorded a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Our NCAA Graduation Success Rate for studentathletes set a new school record at 88%. Six of our athletic programs recorded a perfect 100% GSR score: men’s basketball, men’s tennis, women’s basketball, soccer, women’s tennis, and volleyball.
MTSU also shared the American Football Coaches Association’s 2017 Academic Achievement Award, along with Alabama, Cincinnati, Northwestern, Utah, Utah State, and Virginia. All seven schools recorded a 100% graduation rate for members of its freshman football student-athlete class of 2010. attract 15
Student-athletes by the numbers
57% with 3.0 or higher GPA
Highlights from the Spring 2018 semester included: 185 of 323 (57%) of all student-athletes had a 3.0 or higher GPA; 11 of 15 teams earned a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher; and the cumulative GPA for all student-athletes was 3.096.
MTSU saw 53 student-athletes win the Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal (3.75 or higher cumulative GPA) and 179 student-athletes listed on the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll (3.0 or higher cumulative GPA) during the 2017–18 academic year. Blue Raider baseball, women’s golf, and volleyball all earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards for scoring in the top 10% in their respective sport based on their most recent multi-year Academic Progress Rate (2016–17). The women’s golf program, led by 11th-year head coach Chris Adams, was recognized for the fifth straight year and had a perfect
179 listed on the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll
score of 1000. Volleyball also had a 1000. Every Blue Raiders sports team came in at over 969 (out of 1000). MTSU had 13 of 15 sports (indoor and outdoor track count as one) post at least 975 for the multiyear report.
Such record performances again confirm our commitment to winning in the classroom as well as on the playing field. It reflects that student success is our top priority.
TRUE FLEXIBILITY
MTSU celebrated 20 years of its online educational offerings during the reporting period. The University also announced a record enrollment for its online courses and accepted an international award for online course quality. Offered through University College, MTSU Online courses began in fall 1997 with seven classes and 53 student enrollments. It now offers more than 400 courses. The not-for-profit Online Learning Consortium, which assesses the quality of online educational programs around the world, formally presented the University with its Exemplary Endorsement award. MTSU is the only Tennessee university to have received this designation.
Nationwide, nearly one-third of all college students take at least one online course, and two-thirds of those online learners are at public institutions like MTSU. MTSU Online Learners range from the age of 17 to 82. Online courses increasingly have become an important part of the instruction at MTSU. In Fall 2017, the number of students enrolled in online courses surpassed the 10,000 mark for the first time. That number was 2,819 in 2008 and 7,876 as recently as 2015.
Also in 2017–18, faculty developed a total of 70 new online courses, while redesigning an additional 54 existing online courses.
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engage : “ to occupy, attract, or involve (someone’s interest or attention) . . . “to participate or become involved in . . . TRUE ENGAGEMENT
The formula for student success involves more than just ensuring students enroll, make it to class, fulfill course obligations, and get consistent and proper academic advising on their journey toward a degree. After all, college life is more than just books and classrooms.
TRUE PRACTICE
Whether it’s one-of-a-kind, hands-on learning in real-life situations outside the classroom, incredible research pairings with a professor that are usually only available to grad students at other universities, or building an ePortfolio documenting and reflecting on academic and co-curricular connections and involvement as they prepare to enter the workforce, MTSU offers students myriad opportunities not just to attend college but to engage their minds and spirits in an immersive experience.
TRUE PREPARATION
Days start early for School of Agriculture students at the farm laboratory at MTSU’s Experiential Learning and Research Center, the University’s flagship agricultural outpost. The cows need milking, the livestock need care, the crops need tending to, and even the drone may need to be charged before taking flight.
The school unveiled its latest endeavor—the MTSU Creamery—in summer 2017, along with its new bottling process. It marked the first time in nearly 50 years MTSU had bottled milk products, which are now for sale to the students and public at campus locations and some retail spots locally.
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TRUE COUNTRY
A five-student team of our Media and Entertainment students got a behind-the-scenes look at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas in April 2018 and 2019, thanks to a grant from Brentwood-based American Addiction Centers—yet another great example of extending our classroom to the country’s biggest entertainment capitals.
TRUE ’ROO CREW
For the fifth straight summer in 2018, MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment deployed a team of student multimedia communicators to cover the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on the 700-acre farm affectionately called by MTSU administrators as “the Bonnaroo campus.”
