Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax; 713/743-8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2004

Contact: Eric Gerber
713/743-8189 (office)
713/617-7130(pager)
egerber@uh.edu

HOUSTON, April 29, 2004 – Enrollment Management at the University of Houston, which oversees admissions, financial aid and student records, will now be administered by the Office of the Provost in the Division of Academic Affairs. Since the mid-1990s, the Division of Student Affairs has been directing it.

“This move will allow us to effectively centralize and coordinate our recruitment efforts and management of financial aid and scholarships,” said Jerald W. Strickland, interim senior vice president of academic affairs and provost. “For example, the majority of scholarships are awarded through individual colleges. So this will allow us to pull that all together synergistically through the provost’s office.”

Elwyn C. Lee, vice president for student affairs, agreed with Strickland’s assessment.

“This move makes sense and the university can be truly focused in using these resources,” he said. “It will bring a greater coherence to the process.”

Lee pointed out this shift was recommended by the Dean’s Council at UH, and it reflected a change that many universities have been instituting. “There has definitely been a trend toward moving enrollment services under the provost’s office,” he said. Lee also observed that the UH scholarship committee, which helps determine how funds are allocated, was already being appointed by the provost’s office.

Enrollment Management includes the Office of Admissions, the Office of Registration and Academic Records, and the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.

No personnel changes within Enrollment Management are planned, Strickland said. The switch to Academic Affairs, which will be completed by June 1, will have no immediate effect on the day-to-day operations.

“This is the department that our students have the most direct interaction with and we’re making sure that the high level of service we’re already providing won’t be compromised in any way,” he said.

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.