FAMU awarded $1.5 million in performance funds to 775 students to help them continue their education

During the 2020-21 school year, FAMU awarded $1.5 million, from its performance-based funding allocation, to 775 students to help them continue their education.  The University described the awards as “Academic Progression Grants” which helped to address the students’ financial needs, according to information contained its accountability plan submitted to the Board of Governors.
 
The grants, not only helped needy students continue their education, but also helped the University improve in two metrics on the state’s 2021 PBF metric --- retention and graduation rates.
 
The strategy paid off for FAMU as it saw a 9.2 percent one-year increase in its retention rate from 73 percent for 2018-19 to 82.2 in 2019-20, the second-best improvement among Florida’s 12 public universities.   Despite the improvement, FAMU still missed its 86 percent retention rate goal.
 
FAMU also saw a 6.9 percent one-year jump in its four-year graduation rate to 34.6 percent, falling just short of its goal of reaching 38 percent.
 

Rep. Alexander

The BOG of recently shifted to using a university’s four-year graduation rate as opposed to the more standard six-year graduation rate.  At that time State Rep. Ramon Alexander, D-Tallahassee,  had been a vocal critic of the sudden change and said it unfairly harmed FAMU.  Rep. Alexander played a key role in applying legislative pressure on the BOG to eliminate its practice of withholding performance funds to universities that achieved success, but who’s overall scores were among the bottom three.
 
FAMU, this year scored 79 points on the BOG’s PBF metric, one its best scores in recent years, but still finished among the bottom three universities.  The University will receive $26.7 m in PBF fund this year.