From: “Q&A: Mangum says FAMU ‘committed to diversity’”:
Q: Did Board of Governors members catch the university
off-guard by suggesting that FAMU diversify its student body population?
A: “No. The university is fully committed to diversity. One
of the three investment strategies in our Work Plan is to broaden our student
base.
This administration has visited Brazil, India, various
African countries, and China as part of our efforts to broaden the base.
We have entered into agreements that will promote student and faculty exchange and finding solutions to global social, economic, and environmental issues. We have an economically and ethnically diverse student body. We provide a multi-cultural environment, which is evidenced by the inclusion of students from about 70 countries.
Q: What is the most troubling issue brought up by the board?
A: “Given the available resources, the issue that concerns
us most is one of timing. In fall 2009, 79 percent of the freshmen enrollees
were Academic Opportunity Success (AOS) students. Many of these students
require intensive academic support services.
Our newly reorganized Student Success Center is providing
them with the wrap-around support services they need to graduate. The percent
of AOS enrollees declined to 29 percent in the fall of 2014. We can expect to
see significant improvements in the time to degree metric and our six-year
graduation rate that are correlated to the decline in the percentage of AOS
enrollees since 2009.
My administration sees this as an opportunity to come up
with new and innovative ways to move the needle forward. Working with the Board
of Governors, our Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and students we are
developing a plan that fully addresses the BOG's concerns and, moreover,
improve student success.
Students come to FAMU to get a quality education and to
graduate. I will have an announcement forthcoming shortly about the
collaborative structure that I will set up this summer to revise our Work Plan
by this fall.”
FAMU shares the BOG's concerns about student success and we
are working to enrich the learning environment to ensure that our students can
attain their educational goals. We have stabilized our leadership structure and
are now focused on implementing our strategic initiatives and ensuring
accountability.”
Read the full article here.