Christian Meza
Managing Editor
Texas A&M University-San Antonio accepted its largest ever freshman class this semester in part with the continuous benefit from the Jaguar Promise program, said university President Salvador Hector Ochoa.
“It’s very critical to give our students financial support. It’s very important to use every mechanism we have to provide for financial support,” Ochoa said.
The Jaguar Promise is a program that awards free tuition and fees to eligible full-time students and transfers that must be Texas residents.
Ochoa said he believes the Jaguar Promise is a great utility for students and their families who fear being in debt because of how harmful financial barriers can be.
Financial Support
Ochoa said providing financial resources for students has been the focus and is why A&M-San Antonio is investing in endowed scholarships.
“Our philosophy now is endowed scholarships, with endowed scholarships… that donation which becomes a gift that keeps on giving, you live off the interest of that,” Ochoa said.
“In one year, we were able to find 7 or 8 endowed scholarships, which is incredible. It’s important to continue that effort and magnify.”
Endowed scholarships, initial donations are treated more as an investment. The interest pulled from donations within a year is what is able to be used towards scholarships for students in the future.
“The other thing is our Dream Maker event. It’s one big event that we do to tell our story to companies and corporations. Last year we were able to raise over $300,000,” Ochoa said.
Sponsors may donate anywhere from $1,500-$50,000 at the Dream Maker scholarship and award ceremony. Specific amounts of donations give different levels of donor perks.
“I think there are a lot of people who believe in this institution, “ Ochoa said. The thing that makes it really difficult for us is that it’s very nice to do that with alumni. However, most of our alumni are in their 30’s to early 40’s. They are growing, having children, paying bills, taking care of their needs.”
Retention and Recruitment
About 67% of undergraduates at A&M–San Antonio are first-generation college students, and community outreach plays a key role in encouraging them to enroll at the university.
The La Familia program makes college opportunities more accessible for students and families by providing workshops that cover enrollment guidelines and assistance for essential documents.
In 2024, 85 high school seniors from the Southside took part in the La Familia program. More than half of those seniors attended A&M-San Antonio in their freshman year.
“Of those 85, two-thirds came here because we inspired the parents. That’s a real good investment,” Ochoa said. “What we’re looking at is a real long-term investment, I think for us a big thing is to really provide a university where ambition meets access.”
Although A&M-San Antonio’s enrollment has taken a dip from 7,956 students in fall 2024 to 7,668 in fall 2025, the expansion of academic programs remains key to Ochoa for recruitment and retention.
Ochoa believes enrollment numbers “would be greater” if A&M-San Antonio were able to offer more specific programs. “We have some long-term plans to be able to grow that in the future,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa values student retention just as equally as recruitment.
“People say, ‘Well, just bring them here,’ but no, the other thing is what do we do to retain them?” Ochoa said. “I see it as a long-time picture. “I’m really proud of the fact that our sixth-year graduation rate doubled… It increased from 19%-38%.”
Graduate and undergraduate graphics of enrollment by ethnicity and gender for fall 2025 at A&M-San Antonio created by Wesley Keller.
