Given the history of scandals at the school, I'm not hopeful.

Texas Southern University is proposing top-to-bottom changes to ease the concerns of state lawmakers, including greater oversight from regents, tighter controls over spending and the involvement of outsiders in academic and financial matters.

The sweeping set of reforms comes after nearly two years of turmoil at the state's largest historically black university and could lead to an infusion of money from the state.

While the additional funding is an immediate and critical need, campus leaders characterized the proposed strategy as the best chance for improving a school with myriad of problems, including declining enrollment and low graduation rates.

The long-range plan calls for new policies that would require the governing board to be more involved than before, especially in money matters. At the same time, it says the regents' first priority should be to hire a permanent president.

The problem, of course, is that TSU has had these systemic problems for at least a generation. Indeed, this is not even the first time that the school will seek to bring in a reforming president to provide greater accountability and stronger financial management. After all, the last time they took that path, they hired Priscilla Slade.

Of course, that isn't the only problem with TSU.

On the academic side, TSU would use improved tests to assess the college readiness of applicants and strengthen advising and counseling programs to design "a plan for success" for each student. The university would advise students seeking job skills rather than a bachelor's degree to enroll elsewhere.

TSU, however, would not introduce entrance requirements, and doing so would be a fundamental change from its long-standing commitment to accept anyone who wants to pursue higher education, Lewis said.

"We're not concerned with your previous record, as long as you're committed from this point on," he said. "If you're committed, we can work with you."

Still, the university may ease out of the costly remedial education business, possibly transferring responsibility for improving basic math and English skills of its students to Houston Community College, according to the reorganization plan.

TSU estimates that roughly 70 percent of first-time freshmen arrive on campus without the skills needed to do university-level work. More than half do not make it to their sophomore year.

The university's enrollment plunged to its lowest point in five years with 9,544 students this fall. Although campus leaders are hopeful the numbers will stabilize next year, there is concern over a new state law that requires some students who do not complete specified high school coursework to attend a community college.

To reverse the enrollment decline, TSU must increase the number of transfer students from community colleges, said Gayla Thomas, vice president for enrollment management.

"The community college pipeline will be the wave of our future," she said.

The problem, of course, is that given the low standards at TSU, the academic life of the university is a step down for many community college transfers. Indeed, I've heard too many folks over the year describe the school as a four year community college with graduate programs. I find it ironic that the African-American community in the region take such great pride in an institution founded little more than a half-century ago in order to keep black students out of better, more prestigious schools. Indeed, it appears that the commitment to keeping things relatively unchanged is the equivalent of embracing the agenda of the racist Democrats who sought to keep blacks in their place -- that being a sub-standard segregated educational institution.

In the past, I've advocated for TSU to be folded into the University of Houston system in order to raise academic standards at the school, which is located just blocks from the main campus of the University of Houston. I've repeatedly heard objections to this from UH alums of all ethnic backgrounds. I can't help but see their point -- after all, UH has raised its academic standards and become a respected institution of higher learning. Why would we want to damage that by incorporating the sub-standard TSU into that system?

Posted by: Greg at 11:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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