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Written by Camila Fernandez & Philippe Buteau/FIUSM Staff
While the University celebrated recent accomplishments at a Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, Sept. 10, Provost Kenneth Furton gave an update on student performance funding.
The amount of state funding the University receives depends on student success rates on different measures common to all Florida state universities.
Measures include percent of graduates employed full-time in Florida or continuing their education in the U.S. one year after graduation and their median wages one year after graduation. Also, average cost per bachelor’s degree; six-year graduation rate for first-time-in-college students; academic progress rate; bachelor’s degrees awarded within programs of strategic emphasis; percent of undergraduates with a Pell grant and graduate degrees awarded within programs of strategic emphasis.
Programs of strategic emphasis includes majors within the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
Furton said the University will focus on three key initiatives, which are the Graduation Success Initiative, enhancing STEM success and preparing students for the workforce through internships. These points will help to improve academic quality, operational efficiency and return on investments, he said.
The University’s strategic plan calls to add more hybrid and online education — 67 percent face-to-face with professors, eight percent hybrid and 25 percent online to 30 percent face-to-face, 30 percent hybrid and 40 percent online by 2020.
Student internships from 4,637 to more than 6,000 annually will be added.
FIU had the largest summer graduation ceremony this year with over 3,600 graduates, according to Sandra Gonzalez-Levy, External Relations senior vice president. Furton said the City of Miami Beach and the City of Doral will expand paid internships by 30 to 40 additional internships every semester.
Expanded 133 part-time internship opportunities with Florida Power & Light is included. The University will also continue to further efforts through the Graduation Success Initiative to increase 6-year baccalaureate graduation rate to 60 percent, Furton said.
An agreement between the board and the Lieutenants Benevolent Association, a labor organization that represents officers in negotiations for wages and benefits, expired in June 2014. An updated agreement between the two groups includes a raise by four percent, bonuses and back pay for University police lieutenants.
Police chief, Alexander Casas, thanked his lieutenants for all their work.
A new Bachelor of Arts in Latin American and Caribbean studies was approved to expand the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center. With the degree, students will find employment in areas like government agencies, non-profit organizations and translation and interpretation services, said Francisco Mora, director of LACC.
A Master of Science in marketing was also approved. It is a 10-month program that focuses on digital marketing, brand development and marketing analytics.
The board also welcomes two new BoT members appointed by Gov. Rick Scott. Leonard Boord and Michael Joseph will succeed Sukrit Agrawal and Marcelo Claure.
The Florida Senate must confirm the appointments, however.
Boord is the founder and chief executive officer of Slon Capital, which invests in lower to middle market established companies. He is also a member of the Celistics Holdings SL BoT and studied at the University of Miami.
Joseph is the east Florida division president of the Hospital Corporation of America. He also studied at the University of Miami.
If the Florida Senate confirms his appointment, Joseph will be another member of the University’s BoT who holds a high-ranking position in a healthcare related company like Chairman Albert Maury.
Their new terms would last from Aug. 26, 2015 to Jan. 6, 2020.
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