Robinson was among state university leaders presenting their
2017 Work Plans during the BOG’s June meeting. His presentation highlighted
initiatives designed to improve student outcomes, including increasing
retention and graduation rates. These efforts include enhancing the
University’s student advisement system, restructuring recruitment and
enrollment management, and expanding academic support services.
Robinson also pointed to FAMU’s recent success in
acquiring external funding and leveraging partnerships to generate additional
support to increase student success outcomes.
· In June, FAMU received
a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to increase student
success and degree production in STEM disciplines.
· The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration awarded FAMU a $15 million grant to establish
the Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems, which will provide internships
and other student support opportunities.
· FAMU signed a $5
million agreement with Lockheed Martin that will allow students and
faculty to assist with the design of space systems used for NASA exploration.
Another student success initiative is the development of
specialized 2+2 articulation agreements with members of the Florida College
System. These agreements will allow FAMU to significantly increase enrollment
of community college transfer students by providing seamless pathways to
academic programs and on-time graduation. Articulation agreements have been
established with Tallahassee Community College, St. Petersburg College and
Valencia College. Several additional agreements with other institutions in the
Florida College System are forthcoming.
The Board of Governors also released its performance-based
funding scores for 2015-2016. FAMU maintained its score from the previous year,
earning points in eight of the 10 performance metric categories. These
areas included:
· An increase in the
percent of bachelor’s degree graduates enrolled in graduate school or employed
at $25,000 or more annually (from 61.8 percent to 64.6 percent)
· An increase in the
median wages of bachelor’s degree graduates employed full time one year after
graduation (from $32,000 to $32,700)
· A decrease in the
average cost to the student earning a bachelor’s degree (from $13,830 to
$12,640 annually)
· An increase in the
six-year graduation rate for first-time-in-college (FTIC) students (from 38.6
percent to 40.7 percent)
· An increase in the
percentage of graduate degrees awarded in programs of strategic emphasis (from
51.5 percent to 58.2 percent)
FAMU’s average cost for students earning a bachelor’s degree
was among the most affordable in the state, placing the University at No. 3
among the 12 state universities.
“Although we have made some improvements, I am not satisfied
with the University’s performance,” Robinson said. “We have developed an
aggressive and focused plan for improving on all aspects of the state’s
performance metrics. FAMU is committed to elevating our standing in future
rankings.”
To help ensure FAMU accomplishes its goals, Robinson
created the Division of Strategic Planning, Analysis and Institutional
Effectiveness to provide more effective management and oversight of critical
academic programs and business operations. In the spring, colleges and schools
with professional programs developed improvement plans with action steps to
increase pass rates on licensure exams.
The University’s new five-year strategic plan also focuses
on implementing initiatives that will lead to improving FAMU’s outcome on the
state’s performance metrics. Earlier this month, the FAMU Board of Trustees
approved the plan, which will be presented to the BOG for review and
approval later this year.
“We were successful yesterday in getting the FAMU Work Plan
approved by the BOG,” said FAMU Board of Trustees (BOT) Chair Kelvin
Lawson. “The BOG leadership provided a fair challenge on the metrics that
need to improve. We will continue to work with the BOG and our own
BOT to provide the right level of focus, resources and support to achieve the
needed metric growth.”
Lawson added, “The University has laid the foundation for
increasing our performance in key strategic areas. Our board and the administration
are aligned on the strategic plan and the 2017 Work Plan. We now have
to move to the proper execution of these initiatives. We are well aware of
the areas that need improvement and are 100 percent committed to making the
needed progress.”
While FAMU will not receive funding from the state’s
performance funding allocations, based on this year’s scores, the University
will continue to take proactive steps to engage stakeholders, the
BOG, legislators and public and private partners to secure funding and
resources to improve student success and recruit and retain the best and
brightest students. The administration will leverage funding from these sources
to absorb the non-recurring performance funds that previously supported
University initiatives.
“I’d like to acknowledge the support of our Board of
Trustees, administrative team, staff, faculty, students, alumni, and supporters
who remain committed to an improved outcome in the future,” Robinson said. “We
appreciate the comments provided by the Board of Governors members, and we look
forward to their continued support of FAMU’s efforts.”