UW Tacoma preps for first freshman class

TACOMA – Like many high school students, Lisa McDowell is close to making one of the most important decisions of her young life: where to attend college. This year, seniors like McDowell have another option.

The University of Washington Tacoma will admit its first freshman class this fall, and it’s busy preparing the classes and services needed to accommodate up to 160 full- and part-time students. Though the details are still being finalized, UWT already has admitted 120 students and is busy recruiting more.

That’s why McDowell found herself touring the campus recently. She was one of about 140 prospective students and parents who attended a freshman preview day Feb. 25.

McDowell, a Fife High School student, also is looking at other options. But she came away with a favorable impression of UWT and more information than she got during a previous visit.

“I’m way more interested than I was in the fall,” she said.

“It’s really nice and it’s close and you don’t have to pay a million bucks,” added her mother, Drasann McDowell.

Other families offered a similar assessment following the event. And the applications keep coming: 340 as of a recent count.

UWT will continue accepting applications until it has filled the freshman class. In the meantime, the college continues to prepare for the new arrivals.

It’s hiring more faculty members, more counselors, more support staff. It’s creating freshman classes. It’s learning to address the needs of 18-year-olds right out of high school in addition to those of the working adults it has traditionally served.

“We have many faculty here who have never taught freshmen,” said Chancellor Patricia Spakes. “We have staff here who have never experienced 18-year-olds.”

UWT was founded in 1990 to serve juniors, seniors and some graduate students. Most of its undergraduates spend two years at a community college before transferring to UWT. Many return to school after working for some time.

Faced with growing demand for college education, the Legislature last year agreed to allow UWT and three other campuses – UW Bothell, Washington State University Vancouver and WSU Tri-Cities – to admit freshmen and sophomores.

To address the concerns of community college officials, UWT agreed to reserve at least 72 percent of new undergraduate slots for transfer students.

And Spakes said the campus will maintain its commitment to transfer students.

But UWT also must provide new services for traditional college freshmen like health care and recreation that weren’t top priorities for traditional working students.

And it must revisit its facilities needs in light of its new mission. For example, Spakes said finding space for a student fitness center is a top priority.

Preparing for freshmen is challenging, but also energizing, Spakes said.

Because the campus is starting from scratch, Spakes said, it doesn’t have to overcome existing traditions.