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State Ties Reward To College Degrees

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By ADAM EMERSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 5, 2007

TAMPA - The debate this fall over how to bankroll Florida's public universities has dealt mostly with raising tuition and new fees. But universities also got a little-noticed new source of money meant to boost their abysmally low graduation rates.

In addition to increasing tuition by 5 percent, lawmakers in October set aside $4 million for universities to share, and those graduating more students get a larger cut of the pie.

The concept is simple: Reward universities that produce more bachelor's degrees, and thus send more graduates into the work force. Other states have tried this carrot-and-stick approach, which departs radically from the status quo in Florida.

Many of the state's education leaders, however, say the status quo is failing. Only three of the state's 11 public universities have graduated more than half of their students in six years and only one, the University of Florida, has a four-year graduation rate above 50 percent.

The state now subsidizes a university education largely based on a school's enrollment, and students pick up the rest in tuition. While this model helps a university accommodate more students, it does little to ensure they graduate on time, educators say.

"Our graduation rates are stagnant," state university system Chancellor Mark Rosenberg said in an interview last week. "It's just as important to get students out as it is to get students in."

Getting students out is easier at some schools than at others, however. Most university leaders say performance incentives are good, but many say that lawmakers approved a model that's too simplistic.

Schools such as UF or Florida State University will naturally draw more money than others because of their size and their highly qualified student body, some argue.

Affect On Admissions

What's more, leaders at the University of South Florida fear this newest way of divvying up money may encourage some schools to close their doors to students who, while qualified, may take longer to graduate.

USF, for one, admits many students who are the first in their family to go to college, Vice Provost Ralph Wilcox said. These students qualify for admission, but often take longer to graduate.

They don't have the at-home role models of college preparedness that third- or fourth-generation students at, say, UF or FSU have, Wilcox said.

"College is something new for them," Wilcox said. "And they often don't have the economic means to attend full time."

Just 48 percent of students who started as freshmen at USF in 1999 graduated in six years, according to state records. The university's most-recent four-year graduation rate is 21 percent.

With the number of graduates it has recently produced, USF would get $517,116 of the $4 million lawmakers approved, the fourth-highest amount in the state. The University of Central Florida, which enrolls the most undergraduates in the state, gets the highest amount, $845,194.

Although USF isn't considering limiting access of first-generation students now, Wilcox says a "singular focus on graduation rates" in the coming years may restrict admission for these students at all of the state's universities.

"I think continuation down this rather simplistic path could be absolutely devastating," he said.

There's no certainty that this funding model will continue, though. Lawmakers approved, and Gov. Charlie Crist signed off on, one-time money to provide these graduation incentives.

State Rep. Joe Pickens, chairman of the Schools and Learning Council, called the incentives "a good first step" that likely will evolve over time. "I certainly agree that different institutions of higher education have different clientele."

He predicts, however, that lawmakers may further consider rewarding higher graduation rates and not solely bankroll schools based on the number of students they enroll.

"I would say, that, in the overall scheme, it's a nominal amount of money now," said Pickens, R-Palatka. "If they the universities have constructive observations on how this will work, we'll be happy to listen to them in the next session."

Rosenberg said the Board of Governors, which oversees the 11 state universities, will further consider the best ways to reward a university's graduation rate at its winter meetings.

The Right Way To Reward

But wherever the board's suggestions lead, Rosenberg said it will ask for $20 million in incentives that recur yearly when the Legislature convenes in the spring.

The idea of rewarding a school's graduation rate has been debated for years, but the argument gained traction after a consultant surveyed Florida's university system and found that its funding system did little to reward outcomes.

The consultant, Alceste Pappas, encouraged the state to adopt a reward system, one that used a sophisticated model rather than a simplistic one.

As USF's Wilcox noted, Pappas said that "mission differences, student mix differences, and multiple other factors ... impact retention and graduation rates."

The current model awards points to universities based on the number of Florida residents who graduate in four to six years and on the number of transfer students who receive a bachelor's degree in two to four years.

The formula also rewards universities that graduate students with degrees in critical need areas, such as nursing and education, or on "emerging technologies," such as engineering.

Dan Holsenbeck, vice president of university relations at UCF, said he was delighted with the result, but understands that larger universities like his came out on top.

While UCF's six-year graduation rate is the state's third-highest at 57 percent - behind UF (79 percent) and FSU (68 percent) - the sheer number of its students who met the state's criteria put it above the others.

Right now, though, the money does little to affect a university's bottom line, Holsenbeck said.

"I think if you're going to recognize performance funding, you're probably going to need larger sums than these," he said.

Reporter Adam Emerson can be reached at (813) 259-8285 or aemerson@tampatrib.com.

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