The Texas A&M-Kingsville System Center began classes this Fall on the campus of Palo Alto College with an enrollment of 156 students, 644 students short of the 800 originally projected.
“I don’t know how that original enrollment estimation came about. That projection was rather high in my estimation,” said Dr. Garry Ross, dean of academic and student affairs at the center.
Ross said the center is off to a successful start and believes the number of students enrolled this semester is more realistic.

“I think the fact that six months ago we didn’t even exist and now we are offering programs to roughly 160 students is pretty phenomenal,” said Ross.
Ross said additional academic programs are to begin next Fall. The center is expected to add Agriculture and Engineering degree plans. The center will continue to add more programs as student enrollment and demand increases, said Ross. “I expect there will be another 50 to 60 students enrolling next Fall,” said Ross.

The A&M System Center offers junior- and senior-level courses toward bachelor’s degrees in Nursing, Psychology, Criminology, Business Management, Computer Information Systems and Education. Students are required to complete freshman- and sophomore-level courses before enrolling.

“We are finding out from students that there are other programs they would like us to offer, and we are doing all we can to suit their needs,” said Ross.
The new center celebrated its opening Sept. 11 with officials from Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Palo Alto College, the Alamo Community College District, University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio and District 19 State Senator Frank Madla.

It was Madla who saw the need for a four-year university on the South Side of San Antonio. He successfully pushed for a legislative appropriation of $1.6 million for the Texas A&M University System to operate a center at Palo Alto College.

“With classes close to home and on a bus route, and with a child care center nearing completion, Palo Alto College and the A&M Center are poised to expand the number of South Texans earning college degrees,” said Dr. Enrique Solis, president of Palo Alto College.

In the agreement between Palo Alto and Texas A&M-Kingsville, students of the center are permitted to use Palo Alto facilities, including the student center, computer laboratories and library.
“I have found that the class size, instructors, curriculum required and the expectations from the professors to be excellent,” said Rogelio Garcia, a Palo Alto graduate, who’s now a criminology junior at the Texas A&M-Kingsville System Center-Palo Alto.

At a Feb. 15 press conference in San Antonio, A&M System Chancellor Howard D. Graves explained that the A&M-Kingsville System Center at Palo Alto is the response to a clear and documented need among South San Antonio residents. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board answered that need when it approved the request of the A&M System to create a center on Jan. 27.

“The future of Texas depends heavily upon access to higher education for all of its residents,” said Graves. “I believe this center will be another important advance in providing that access to South Texans.”
Executive Director Rosario Torres Raines, who has been at Texas A&M-Kingsville since 1971, is responsible for setting up academic and student services for the new center.

“I am very proud to help create a pathway for educational opportunities for the residents of South San Antonio,” Torres Raines said.
By partnering with Palo Alto College and creating the center in existing facilities, the A&M System is following the coordinating board’s “Pathway Model.” In this model the center stays a branch of the lead institution until its enrollment reaches 5,000 students or the equivalent of 3,500 full-time students. Once this benchmark is reached, the center will have the opportunity to seek freestanding status as a four-year institution.

Texas A&M-Kingsville has nationally recognized programs in Engineering, Wildlife, Agriculture and the Sciences and is known for developing the nation’s first doctoral degree in Bilingual Education.

For more information regarding the A&M-Kingsville System Center, visit http://www.tamuk.edu/PaloAlto/index.html. The center office is located in the Palo Alto College Student Center, Room 101. The office phone number is (210) 921-5488, and the fax number is (210) 921-5489.