In its first full year, the Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities, a partnership between Florida International University, University of Central Florida and University of South Florida delivered key achievement on their collaborative efforts. For example, members of the career readiness team designed a Virtual Career Fair program that brought 70 employers including AT&T, Verizon and The Mayo Clinic along with over 1,800 students/alumni for over 700 career related discussions. Campus workshops and career resources that were specific to each campus were also made available to all students from Florida Consortium universities.
Also noteworthy, 75 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) faculty investigated and developed a lengthy list of improvements that included:
- A STEM First-Year Experience course and summer Bootcamp to help STEM majors succeed in introductory science and math courses
- The team also proposed a proficiency exam for pre-calculus and stretching Calculus over two semesters because Calculus is often “the” barrier to advancing in STEM fields of study
- The group also took a critical look at General Chemistry course requirements to help prepare students to succeed in Organic Chemistry, another important course for STEM fields of study