Building and Learning Together
After a truly challenging year, the clock struck midnight on and the promise of 2021 came alive. But what does this mean? The world isn’t suddenly different. The challenge of finding employment after college still prevails for too many learners. Furthermore, while more Americans were made more aware of social injustice last year, social change is not inevitable. So, what can we do about this in 2021 and beyond?
First, transfer student success is at the core of Florida International University, University of Central Florida, and University of South Florida culture. Over 50% of our students begin their studies at one of the 28 state colleges in Florida. Throughout 2020 we exchanged best practices, shared learnings, and discussed institutional improvements via our Transfer Success Network.
Together, we are committed to increasing graduation rates while shortening time to graduation. By 2031, transfer students at Florida Consortium institutions will graduate at the same rate as their first time in college (FTIC) peers. How will we accomplish this? Throughout the new year we will explore course transfer alignment, inclusive coaching, and ways to incentivize full-time enrollment among transfer students together.
Second, for the past few years’ faculty and administrators at FIU, UCF, and USF have been working with EMSI and Burning Glass, our workforce analytics partners to identify ways to bridge what students learn in the classroom to careers. Starting this spring, the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Florida will conduct a skills audit for seven academic programs. This work will help faculty, advisors, and coaches at Florida Consortium institutions help employers find more talent and learners map out wider and more dynamic career pathways.
Throughout the past year we all witnessed a divided nation. Leaders at FIU, UCF, and USF made a commitment to evaluate their campus communities together. The Year of Reflection was born from that commitment. This collaborative initiative includes a cross-campus evaluation designed to institutionalize diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Year of Reflection Kick-off convening featuring President Mark B. Rosenberg, President Alexander Cartwright, President Steve Currall, and Paul J. Luna, President and CEO at Helios Education Foundation will take place later this month.
And finally, according to the National Student Clearing House, enrollment declined for students in the lowest income brackets by 29%. This is noteworthy because one-third of students at FIU, UCF, and USF are Pell eligible. Concurrently, about one in ten spring employment offers were revoked and one-third rollbacked of start dates as of June 2020.
The time is now. While we cannot be sure what 2021 has in store, our collaborative work will help learners across the Sunshine State this year and beyond.
Related Resource:
National Clearing House Enrollment Report