this was posted in a facebook group I'm in:
Email from MTSU Pres McPhee
Dear Colleagues:
I hope that your summer is off to a great start!
As we begin this summer session, I wish to provide to you an update on the recent crime incidents in some of the areas adjacent to our campus. Your university leadership, in partnership with the City of Murfreesboro and its police department, has been working diligently and aggressively, to address this unfortunate situation.
Our most recent meeting with city officials and manager of apartment complexes was held just last Thursday at City Hall. In collaboration with the Mayor and the Murfreesboro Chief of Police, we are currently putting in place a strategy that addresses some of the key issues identified by the police.
Among these are:
· stronger enforcement of rental property agreements, particularly targeting individuals who are engaged in criminal acts,
· increased police presence in areas with large numbers of reported criminal activity and the ability to hold housing complex owners accountable if they fail to properly secure and manage their properties, and
· better interaction and communication between our campus police and the Murfreesboro City Police, who typically have jurisdiction in these area.
Also, let me mention a couple of things I feel are extremely important:
· These recent criminal incidents are NOT occurring on our campus. They are happening in public areas that surround our campus, sometimes 2-3 miles away.
· The most recent acts of violence are not random acts against our students or community members. These incidents are connected to individuals who are engaged primarily in illicit drug activities.
· Our campus is relatively safe compared to institutions of the same size.
· The latest campus crime statistics from the TBI show a decrease between 2015 and 2016 in most major categories at Middle Tennessee State University including:
§ theft,
§ assaults,
§ DUI,
§ burglary,
§ trespassing
§ and sexual offenses.
· We have invested considerable resources toward making the campus safe. Some examples of actions our campus has taken during the past year to enhance campus safety are:
· installation of 428 interior and exterior surveillance cameras throughout the campus
Interior 231
Exterior 76
Garages 91
Other locations 30
Total 428
Over the summer and fall of 2017, we are planning to install the third phase of video surveillance cameras. Plans are to complete 163 additional cameras for a total of 591 by Fall 2017 semester. I would like to point out that all of these cameras will be connected into one system so our university police have a single locations for access to any area on campus.
· Furthermore, we have:
§ installed 7 new emergency call boxes around campus
§ improved campus lighting,
§ hired additional police officers, increased foot patrols and community policing,
§ and…developed and implemented a public awareness campaigns through Student Health Services and MTSU Housing and Residential Life focusing on student and employee safety.
I would like to emphasize that most of the individuals making recent headlines from these off campus apartment complexes are not currently enrolled students. These are individuals who are engaging, in some form or fashion, in the use or sale of illegal narcotics.
Many, myself included, are rightly concerned about these incidents. Some are voicing their concerns on social media. Unfortunately, as people struggle to identify reasons for this concern, a false narrative has emerged along with unsubstantiated rumors, that I feel must be directly addressed. Despite what has been stated on social media…Let me be very clear here: MTSU has not lowered admissions standards to achieve growth. Some institutions responded to declines in enrollment by eliminating or altering admissions criteria or going to a more nebulous process that widens their pool of applicants but also may diminish the academic quality of their freshman classes. In fact, we have done just the opposite, we have raised our admission standards twice, in 2004 and 2008, which resulted in an increase in enrollment of high-ability students. This means MTSU has one of the highest admission standards among public universities in the state.
We at MTSU go after the best students, period. Middle Tennessee State University is a major comprehensive university. While we are located in Murfreesboro and we first serve the middle division of our state, we recruit throughout the state of Tennessee and, in many cases, the region and the nation. We are going after high-ability students no matter where they live, just as the University of Tennessee does, as do our other public and private competitors in and out of our state.
We are seeing application growth from the areas that we have focused upon in recent months, including a 21 percent increase in out of state interest; a 15 percent increase from East Tennessee; a 12 percent increase from Williamson County; and 3 percent increases from Rutherford and the rest of Middle Tennessee. This growth helped off-set our flat, year-over-year numbers from Memphis and negative numbers from the West Tennessee region, where we saw a 13 percent decline last year
Thanks to our efforts to attract higher-ability students, our average GPA and ACT scores of incoming freshmen have increased over the years. Our Fall 2016 GPA average was 3.44, compared to 3.28 in 2011; our Fall 2016 ACT test average was 22.4, compared to 21.9 in 2011.
Just last week, MTSU was recognized again as the No. 1 choice of the majority of Rutherford County’s valedictorians and salutatorians. We have earned that distinction for the past several years.
Simply put, if we had to choose between quantity and quality, we would rather have fewer, better students who properly reflect the quality and purpose of our University. Our campus growth mirrors that of the mid-state region and reflects the fact that MTSU is considered a great value in higher education and attractive option for some of the region’s best students.
I will keep you updated on our progress in these areas.
Sincerely,
Sidney A. McPhee
President
Middle Tennessee State University
Email from MTSU Pres McPhee
Dear Colleagues:
I hope that your summer is off to a great start!
As we begin this summer session, I wish to provide to you an update on the recent crime incidents in some of the areas adjacent to our campus. Your university leadership, in partnership with the City of Murfreesboro and its police department, has been working diligently and aggressively, to address this unfortunate situation.
Our most recent meeting with city officials and manager of apartment complexes was held just last Thursday at City Hall. In collaboration with the Mayor and the Murfreesboro Chief of Police, we are currently putting in place a strategy that addresses some of the key issues identified by the police.
Among these are:
· stronger enforcement of rental property agreements, particularly targeting individuals who are engaged in criminal acts,
· increased police presence in areas with large numbers of reported criminal activity and the ability to hold housing complex owners accountable if they fail to properly secure and manage their properties, and
· better interaction and communication between our campus police and the Murfreesboro City Police, who typically have jurisdiction in these area.
Also, let me mention a couple of things I feel are extremely important:
· These recent criminal incidents are NOT occurring on our campus. They are happening in public areas that surround our campus, sometimes 2-3 miles away.
· The most recent acts of violence are not random acts against our students or community members. These incidents are connected to individuals who are engaged primarily in illicit drug activities.
· Our campus is relatively safe compared to institutions of the same size.
· The latest campus crime statistics from the TBI show a decrease between 2015 and 2016 in most major categories at Middle Tennessee State University including:
§ theft,
§ assaults,
§ DUI,
§ burglary,
§ trespassing
§ and sexual offenses.
· We have invested considerable resources toward making the campus safe. Some examples of actions our campus has taken during the past year to enhance campus safety are:
· installation of 428 interior and exterior surveillance cameras throughout the campus
Interior 231
Exterior 76
Garages 91
Other locations 30
Total 428
Over the summer and fall of 2017, we are planning to install the third phase of video surveillance cameras. Plans are to complete 163 additional cameras for a total of 591 by Fall 2017 semester. I would like to point out that all of these cameras will be connected into one system so our university police have a single locations for access to any area on campus.
· Furthermore, we have:
§ installed 7 new emergency call boxes around campus
§ improved campus lighting,
§ hired additional police officers, increased foot patrols and community policing,
§ and…developed and implemented a public awareness campaigns through Student Health Services and MTSU Housing and Residential Life focusing on student and employee safety.
I would like to emphasize that most of the individuals making recent headlines from these off campus apartment complexes are not currently enrolled students. These are individuals who are engaging, in some form or fashion, in the use or sale of illegal narcotics.
Many, myself included, are rightly concerned about these incidents. Some are voicing their concerns on social media. Unfortunately, as people struggle to identify reasons for this concern, a false narrative has emerged along with unsubstantiated rumors, that I feel must be directly addressed. Despite what has been stated on social media…Let me be very clear here: MTSU has not lowered admissions standards to achieve growth. Some institutions responded to declines in enrollment by eliminating or altering admissions criteria or going to a more nebulous process that widens their pool of applicants but also may diminish the academic quality of their freshman classes. In fact, we have done just the opposite, we have raised our admission standards twice, in 2004 and 2008, which resulted in an increase in enrollment of high-ability students. This means MTSU has one of the highest admission standards among public universities in the state.
We at MTSU go after the best students, period. Middle Tennessee State University is a major comprehensive university. While we are located in Murfreesboro and we first serve the middle division of our state, we recruit throughout the state of Tennessee and, in many cases, the region and the nation. We are going after high-ability students no matter where they live, just as the University of Tennessee does, as do our other public and private competitors in and out of our state.
We are seeing application growth from the areas that we have focused upon in recent months, including a 21 percent increase in out of state interest; a 15 percent increase from East Tennessee; a 12 percent increase from Williamson County; and 3 percent increases from Rutherford and the rest of Middle Tennessee. This growth helped off-set our flat, year-over-year numbers from Memphis and negative numbers from the West Tennessee region, where we saw a 13 percent decline last year
Thanks to our efforts to attract higher-ability students, our average GPA and ACT scores of incoming freshmen have increased over the years. Our Fall 2016 GPA average was 3.44, compared to 3.28 in 2011; our Fall 2016 ACT test average was 22.4, compared to 21.9 in 2011.
Just last week, MTSU was recognized again as the No. 1 choice of the majority of Rutherford County’s valedictorians and salutatorians. We have earned that distinction for the past several years.
Simply put, if we had to choose between quantity and quality, we would rather have fewer, better students who properly reflect the quality and purpose of our University. Our campus growth mirrors that of the mid-state region and reflects the fact that MTSU is considered a great value in higher education and attractive option for some of the region’s best students.
I will keep you updated on our progress in these areas.
Sincerely,
Sidney A. McPhee
President
Middle Tennessee State University
