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State Joins College Grad Push

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By ADAM EMERSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 1, 2007

Florida is joining 18 other public college systems nationwide in a plan aimed at graduating more low-income and minority students from its public universities.

The collection of states and university groups vows that, by 2015, it will halve the gap separating the number of white students who enroll in college and graduate and the number of low-income and minority students who are college-educated.

Florida's graduation rates 'are stagnant,' state university system Chancellor Mark Rosenberg said in announcing his part in the nationwide effort Wednesday. 'We have a lot of students in who are not getting out.'

The rate of students graduating from Florida's 11 public universities in six years is about 62 percent.

While 65 percent of white students who entered college in Florida in 1999 as freshmen graduated in six years, the graduation rate for Florida's black students was 51 percent, and for Hispanics the rate was 58 percent.

Graduation Gap Affects Many

The gulf in achievement is not unique to Florida, however. Wednesday's announcement was a signal from college systems in 16 states and Puerto Rico that they must come up with different ways to get more poor and minority students to college and keep them there until graduation.

The National Association of System Heads, along with the nonprofit Education Trust, is mounting the nationwide effort, called 'Access to Success.' Other college systems joining Florida's include the California State University, the State University of New York and the University System of Maryland. Some states have more than one system of public colleges participating.

Florida will ask the state Legislature for $83 million this year to cover efforts to increase its graduation rates, which include paying for more advisers and for computer systems that track student progress.

The state's universities will have to increase graduation rates among black students by 7 percentage points and rates among Hispanic students by 4 percentage points to meet the 2015 goal.

Money, Cooperation Required

Accomplishing this will take money, Rosenberg said. Florida has the largest student-to-faculty ratio nationwide, and students can get lost in large classes. Most schools have frozen hiring in light of recent budget cuts, and economic forecasts remain gloomy.

Success also will require cooperation with high schools and community colleges to determine what it takes to get students to Florida's universities and keep them there, Rosenberg said.

Most of the systems have promised to boost student success in remedial programs and to keep students from withdrawing from or failing in college algebra courses, one of the most common barriers to achievement.

Minority students make up about 36 percent of Florida's university enrollment, but their numbers have grown faster over the past several years than the number of white students. Graduation rates for all, however, have changed little in that time.

University leaders also want to increase the amount of financial aid for students who need it most.

The 19 college systems in the effort enroll more than 2 million undergraduates. 'When 19 meet their goals, thousands of students will join the rank of college-educated Americans,' said Tom Meredith, president of the National Association of System Heads.

Reporter Adam Emerson can be reached at (813) 259-8285 or

aemerson@tampatrib.com.

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