Corps records new highest overall GPA and other achievements

Texas A&M's Corps of Cadets recently published its 2022-2023 "State of The Corps" report online, with updates and facts from Corps commandant Brig. Gen. Patrick Michaelis '93 and staff.

As a donor to The Association of Students, your annual gifts help provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in support to the Corps of Cadets. This includes scholarships for cadets as well as funding to the Corps overall and to special units including the Fish Drill Team, Ross Volunteers, Parsons Mounted Cavalry and the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band.

View the entire "State of The Corps" report here. A few highlights are below.

Academics

The Corps continued to see academic success in the spring of 2023. The organization posted a spring 2023 term overall GPA of 3.22 - the highest on record for the Corps! 72% of students in the Corps posted a 3.0 or higher, with 274 individuals posting a 4.0.

The Class of 2023 is the ninth consecutive class to finish their time in the Corps with a term and cumulative GPA above a 3.0. They posted the highest spring senior class GPA on record with a 3.26.

This year, we increased academic support efforts sponsored by the Office of the Commandant, and worked closely with the colleges to help our cadets succeed academically. The Corps of Cadets now upholds a reputation of academic excellence among the faculty and administration – something that is critical to the overall success of our Corps at Texas A&M.

Corps strength

The Corps of Cadets began the school year with a strength of 2,105 cadets. A few snapshots of the 2022-2023 Corps:

• 716 new cadets joined the Corps in the fall semester, with an additional 44 joining in the spring.

• The Corps ended the year with an 82% retention rate, improving by 11% over the previous academic year.

• The Class of 2026 was 19% female at the beginning of the Spring 2023 semester.

• 21% of our cadets were from out of state.

• 3,708 scholarships were awarded to cadets, totaling $11,189,901 for the 2022-2023 academic year.

• The Corps accumulated 12,419 total community service hours for the 2022-2023 academic year.

The March to 3,000 initiative supports the Corps’ efforts to grow our membership, while retaining current cadets at a higher rate. We continue to focus on recruiting high-quality young men and women.

Commissioning

The Texas A&M Corps of Cadets remains the number one producer of military officers for the country, outside of the three service academies. 

In August and December of 2022, the Corps commissioned 87 new officers. This May alone, we commissioned 149 cadets into the armed forces - an indication of the confidence the Department of Defense has in the Corps to produce some of our nation's finest military officer. These newly commissioned officers will now enter the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force as second lieutenants and ensigns.

We should all be proud of the tradition of service to our great nation that our cadets continue to display - a tradition that spans over 145 years.

March to 3,000 Update

• The Corps of Cadets organization was reorganized this past fall to account for improved span of control and anticipated growth. For the first time in decades, the Corps reintroduced minor units to the leadership structure. Effective the 2023-2024 academic year, the Corps structure will include 4 major units and 11 battalion/group units.

• The Office of the Commandant has restructured into functional areas to strengthen collaboration amongst teams and provide more in-depth support to cadets.

• The Office of the Commandant has added term recruiter positions to the Corps recruiting team. Term recruiters are recent graduates of the Corps who will function as embedded recruiters in Prospective Student Center (PSC) locations. Houston and Dallas are the first target PSC locations where term recruiters will focus their efforts.

• Through collaboration with TAMU Health, the Office of the Commandant will add Corps Performance Coaches to our staff. These Corps Performance Coaches will integrate a focused approach to building life-skills and resiliency into the cadet experience. The focus will be on the whole cadet to include physical, mental, nutritional and spiritual health.

• The Office of the Commandant has worked with Faculty Affairs to fund and begin hiring four Professors of Practice. These Professors of Practice will facilitate the integration of leadership theory taught in the classroom with practical application to create an immersive leadership development experience that touches every aspect of cadet daily life. The Professor of Practice will have 20+ years of experience as either a military officer or C-suite leader and possess experience or equivalent education in leadership and organizational development.

We look forward to seeing these new developments in action across the Quad. The Corps of Cadets continues to be an organization that is dedicated to the success and well-being of each student , and we are excited to see the ways in which these updates will benefit the Corps experience for years to come. Stay up to date with our March to 3,000 progress by visiting tx.ag/Marchto3000.