After dipping down to its lowest point in 13 years, FAMU’s six-year graduation took a slight bounce upward in 2008-2009.According to FAMU’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) report, 41 percent of the Class of 2008 (which entered in 2002) completed baccalaureate degrees this year.
That’s up from a 39 percent six-year graduation rate for the Class of 2007. That figure was the lowest since 1995, when 39.4 percent finished undergraduate degrees in six-years. Among Florida’s public universities, only FAU (38 percent) and FGCU (35 percent) had lower rates that year. The national average for the Class of 2007 was 53 percent.
FAMU President James Ammons points to rising college costs as the number one factor that hurts the FAMU’s graduation rate.
FAMU's median family income is only $30,000 per year. When tuition and fees rise, FAMU students usually enroll in fewer courses.
"These are students who can't call home and say, 'Mom, I need $1,000 for a class,'" Ammons said. "Ninety percent of FAMU students are on financial aid."
Ammons has taken some big steps to help students graduate faster, including hiring a new director of retention and calling for students to be given more help in applying for financial aid.
However, FAMU's decision to implement a 7 percent differential option on top of the 8 percent tuition bump approved by the Florida Legislature could have an unintended negative impact on future graduation rates. The new tuition increases threaten to eat up the new financial aid provided by U.S. President Barack Obama's American Opportunity Tax Credit.
The maximum Pell Grant award increased from $3,000 in 1998 to $4,310 in 2007. But still, the new financial aid did not stop FAMU’s lower division credit hour loads from dropping. Pell Grants have not kept pace with tuition hikes.
Kids/parents can pay for everything they want, like $140 a mo in cable, cell phones, cars, gas, but when it comes to an education they want it FREE!
ReplyDeleteThis bull skit needs to stop!!!
2:16 AM
ReplyDeleteIn some countries it is free... Educations should be free otherwise you have a bunch of kids that will potentially end up in jail. So the question is you want to pay for them getting a education and be productive citizens or do you want them to end up in jail where you will be paying for them to be locked up the rest of their lives. You will be paying either on the front end or back but the bottom line is you will be paying for these folks one way or the other.
This is suppose to be the richest country and the only superpower in the world yet when it comes to health-care and education we not even in the top 10 of nations in those categories. Now that is what you need to be outraged at..
Hubba 8:19! It's funny that we can't see that WE're taking on the "exclusive" attitudes that oppress others and ultimately our society.
ReplyDeleteThe cost of rent and utilities in Tallahassee is more of a detriment than the few who have the things that you obviously covet. You don't even know how they got what they way! Remember that most Americans are consumers these days and how could our youth escape that without CHANGE? And if you keep calling them "kids"(not sure how lil goats got admitted), you're bound to get a mixed bag of results. They're adults and young adults(human) and when you expect more you extend more and progress comes full circle. Your bitterness is infectious and WE don't need it over here.
ReplyDelete2:16 AM, You're correct. Access to higher education is free in many countries or is more affordable. However, it isn't fair to compare access to higher education in America to access in those other countries. In many of those countries, the citizens are placed in tracks as early as elementary that either prepare them for work in an industry (blue collar work) or prepare them for the academy. So not all citizens in those countries have the free access we'd like to think. In American, students who barely graduated from high school or who are returning students for whatever reason still have an opportunity to attend college and at a relatively affordable price.
ReplyDelete9:08 AM makes a good point. Today's students' monetary priorities reflect our culture's consumer behavior; however, such behavior still doesn't alleviate families of their responsibilities to save and to teach their kids to save and prepare for their future. I've met too many students in Tallahasse--students (black and white from FAMU, FSU, TCC--who seem overly preoccupied with having the latest (and in many cases, the most expensive) fashions and trends. I'll spare you the detailed examples I've encountered because I recognize they only reflect my experience with students.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as a culture we do need to re-examine our priorities and what we value. Yes, education should be affordable; thus, the govt. should strive to make it as affordable as possible. However, families have to do a better job of planning for their children's future. Just imagine how much college tuition could be set aside if we as parents didn't rush out to buy some of the following, especially for children who are in elementary:
*Gaming systems (and the latest versions every other year)
*televisions, however small, for every room in the house
*cell phones for our children
*cars for freshmen and many sophomores (encourage them to stay on campus and/or use public transportation)
8:58 AM and others, there's nothing elitist about expecting families to plan for their children's future. If many of us can finance $20K-40K cars in 5 or 6 years (cars that lose their value as soon as we drive off the lot), surely we can do more to finance our children's future.
8:19 a.m.,
ReplyDeleteWhile education in some countries is indeed free, so is health care. But that is not now and has never been the case in this country.
The fact is that these kids have messed up priorities and refuse to invest in their own education --- something which will pay BIG dividends--- for instant gratification and short-term gain.
It's really time to make college more affordable. The costs are getting out of control.
ReplyDeleteExactly. You do it. Things are so different than even when I was there in the late 80's.
ReplyDelete