FAMU reported a $1.6 million increase in net tuition and revenue in the information it submitted for its 2017-2018 financial audit by the Florida auditor general.
“The University’s operating revenues totaled $124.5 million for the 2017-18 fiscal year, representing a 2.7 percent increase compared to the 2016-17 fiscal year due mainly to increases in net student tuition and fee revenue of $1.6 million and grants and contracts of $1.3 million,” the FAMU administration reported.
FAMU lost $1.4 million in tuition and fees due to the enrollment decline in 2015-2016 under President Elmira Mangum. It then lost another $700,000 in 2016-2017, which was the fiscal year that she resigned. She stepped down as president on September 15, 2016 and left FAMU with an enrollment decline that took the total number of students down to 9,614.
Mangum defended the enrollment decline during her time in office by saying that “Quantity does have to be sacrificed in order to get quality.”
President Larry Robinson reversed the five year enrollment decline in Fall 2017 by enrolling 9,909 students. The average GPA for that freshman class was 3.39. The FAMU freshmen also posted a 1077 average on the SAT, which is above the Florida average and the national average.
Enrollment went up again in Fall 2018 to a total of 10,031 students. FAMU officials say that increasing enrollment is a big part of improving the financial condition of the university.
“Enrollment is an important factor in the outcome of the University’s financial condition. Enrollment for Fall 2018 has increased 1.1 percent compared to the previous year,” the FAMU administration wrote in its report to the state auditors. “The University projects continued enrollment growth of 4.9 percent through the 2021-22 fiscal year.”