Interim President of Florida A&M University
Since our founding in 1887, FAMU has dedicated itself to
fulfilling its motto “Excellence with Caring.” And while our legacy is filled
with great achievements and a reputation for a premier student experience, we
are a human institution that sometimes has missed the mark. However, even in
those moments, we have always found a way to make excellence a priority, and
not lose sight of our commitment to caring.
While 2,088 students moved in on time to eight of our other
housing facilities without any major issues, we fell short at Palmetto North
with delays and outstanding renovations.
Although last week’s unfortunate move-in delay for our new
students assigned to Palmetto North was not our best day as a University, we
took immediate corrective action and within 72 hours were able to resume normal
operations with the help of the entire University community, including alumni
and students.
FAMU’s core values include accountability, collaboration,
service, integrity and fiscal responsibility. Keeping those in mind, University
leaders and staff worked hard to identify what caused the delay and took steps
to ensure that this situation does not occur again.
Our decision to open additional living spaces was made
knowing that research shows freshman students tend to be more successful when
they live on campus. With the good news of freshman enrollment exceeding our
initial expectations along with more than anticipated residential housing
applications, we began to identify alternative on-campus housing options for
first-year students. As a result, we decided to open Palmetto North.
But with all of the hard work and preparation to make room
for our students, we did not accurately project the time it would take to have
all the maintenance issues resolved in our Palmetto North residential units. It
was not until the scheduled move-in day that we were advised that those units
would not be ready as planned.
Accordingly, teams across campus quickly developed a plan of
action, which began with notifying students and their families that their
move-in would be delayed for about 72 hours, which gave us sufficient time to
complete the necessary maintenance. About 45 students arrived to check in
during the original move-in period, and we were able to place them in local
hotels, provide transportation for them to and from campus, arrange meal
services on campus, offer free temporary storage, and reimbursement to the
parents for their extended stay until the units were ready.
In addition, we offered assistance to approximately 10
students who decided to move off campus by inviting them to our off-campus
housing fair and covering deposit payments for their apartments, which will be
returned to the University upon the expiration or termination of their lease.
We are also working with all Palmetto North students who remained on-campus to
discount their first-semester residential fees.
To ensure a continued higher level of service to our
students, we are conducting additional follow-ups within each unit at Palmetto
North, making sure every student is housed in a safe, healthy and clean
environment.
Every student who checked in for housing at Palmetto North
has been placed in an apartment or room on campus. All 164 spaces are now open
and fully operational, and all known issues have been corrected.
Every student and every parent deserve the facts. Of those
spaces with maintenance issues in Palmetto North, perhaps 10 had moisture
issues – all of which have been addressed. Routine repairs and maintenance addressed
the other issues.
No students remain in hotels, and no student was turned away
from on-campus housing. The 14 remaining available beds in Palmetto North will
be offered to students on our housing waiting list. The upgrades at Palmetto
North have led to considerable student and parent satisfaction.
Christian Rowe, a first-year graphic design student from
Chicago, came to move into Palmetto North with the help of his aunt and uncle
early last week. “Easy” is how Christian explained the move-in process once the
units at Palmetto North officially reopened on last Friday. He
complimented the University for working hard to make things right. “I think
they (the University) did what they could do despite the move-in delay,” he
said.
He also was impressed with the help he received from staff
and other students.
Said freshman Shederia Williams from Miami, who is pursuing
a degree in nursing: “You guys came through. The move-in was pleasant.” Her
roommate Toni Green, an architecture student from St. Louis, echoed her sentiments.
Marie Ducarne, a criminal justice student from Miami by way of Haiti, commented
that the move-in process went more “swiftly” than expected.
To hear the satisfaction of our students made every early
morning and late night that it took to get Palmetto North back online
worthwhile and rewarding. Our team will continue to make sure that our new
Rattlers are satisfied with their housing experience. While I am proud of the
great display of caring over the course of last week, I want each of our
stakeholders to know that we will not accept anything less than excellence when
it comes to housing – and all that is associated with Florida A&M
University.