Florida
FIU earns highest rank for FL performance award, FGCU lowest • Florida Phoenix
Florida International University ranked highest among the 12 Florida public universities in qualifying for performance-based funding awards.
Criteria to determine the awards include graduate employment or further education, median wage of graduates, tuition and fees, graduates with degrees in areas of strategic emphasis, and other indicia of academic progress.
Eleven of the state’s 12 public universities scored above 70 out of 100, the threshold to receive all of their share of state-allocated funding. The pot contains more than $300 million, with shares ranging from $71 million for the University of Florida to $5.1 million at New College of Florida.
One university will miss out on at least half of its performance-based funding. Florida Gulf Coast University would have been entitled to $15.3 million but posted the lowest score at 63. Because that’s under a 70 score, that entitles it to at least $3.8 million since it met the first requirement of submitting a student success plan and, if the plan is implemented plan by March, it would qualify to double that amount to $7.6 million.
However, the balance of the original entitlement will be shared among FIU, the University of Florida, Florida State University, and University of South Florida, which scored the highest (FSU and USF tied for third place).
“I’m very proud to say we’ve already implemented the student success improvement plan and I assure you that we are not going to have the same conversation next year, so we are already seeing the improvements in many of our metrics,” FGCU President Aysegul Timur said during the Thursday meeting of the State University System Board of Governors in Orlando.
FIU has scored the highest in three of the past four years, notching a 96 this year.
State government instituted the performance-based funding program in 2014.
Board members are talking about fiddling with the formula, partly because high-scoring universities can get penalized if their scores decline even modestly. For example, The University of Central Florida scored 85 points this year, two points less than last year; if it drops by even one point next year, it would be required to submit a student success plan, but still be eligible for 100% of funding as long its score remains above 70.
Other schools that scored lower than the year before are Florida A&M University, Florida Polytechnic University, the University of North Florida, and USF.
Additionally, FSU Board of Trustees chair Peter Collins said that increased investments to attract students who receive Pell grants — a factor in the scoring — could prove a poor use of money, because it could spark in-state competition for that pool of students.
Alan Levine, vice chair of the Board of Governors, acknowledged Collins’s point, adding that, given Florida universities’ national rankings, it makes sense for the board to start measuring Florida universities against their peers in other states, such as the University of Michigan and Duke.
“Evolving these metrics to be more specific to the institution and that institution’s goals makes a whole lot of sense, given where we are,” Levine said.
Overall, Levine praised the performance-based funding program, saying it produced improvements at FAMU.
FAMU ranking up for discussion
During the board’s Friday meeting, a representative of the FAMU Alumni Association, William Youmans, said the university’s score of 72 is respectable but argued the university deserves credit “in context of the challenges that our students overcome and the university’s accomplishments.”
“FAMU is persevering through it all,” Youmans said, given that many of its incoming students aren’t as prepared for college because of social and other barriers that the university needs to help them overcome.
FAMU is the only historically Black university in the State University System. More than 80% of its students are Black and more than 90% are students of color.
“Some metrics are interdependent and should be calculated in context to each other, such as graduation rate and university-access rate to the actual outcomes, to include the social mobility index,” Youmans said.
The social-mobility index calculates a school’s role in improving the economic mobility of its students.
Despite historical factors affecting the communities broadly served by FAMU, its students must compete with the other 11 universities in categories such as starting salary of graduates, graduation rate, and incoming high school GPA, or else the university risks forfeiting performance funds to the other universities.
In the first year of performance-based funding, 2012-13, FAMU tied for seventh out of the 11 universities. This year, it ranked tenth of 12.
FAMU was ranked the 2024 best among Historically Black Colleges and Universities by Niche and the 91st best public school in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report.
TAMPA, Fla – New SNAP restrictions will start Monday in Florida.
What we know:
These changes will ban the purchase of many sugary sodas, energy drinks, candy and ultra-processed, shelf-stable prepared desserts.
Hunger Free America, an advocacy group, is against these restrictions.
Joel Berg, the CEO, said some regulation is a good thing, but he wants to see it support access to healthy foods as a choice.
“We do support mandates to mandate that healthier food is available in stores that do accept SNAP,” Berg said. “So, it makes a lot more sense to make it easier to get healthier food.”
Berg said these restrictions are unnecessary in achieving a healthier America.
“We should make America healthier again by making healthy food more affordable, convenient and physically available,” Berg said. “We shouldn’t micromanage the eating patterns of adults to try to achieve that goal.”
The other side:
This is part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “Under the MAHA initiative, we are taking bold, historic steps to reverse the chronic disease epidemic that has taken root in this country for far too long.”
What they’re saying:
Berg said that these changes, on top of cuts to the program nationwide, will increase hunger.
“It’s not that low-income Americans don’t want healthier food; it’s that they can’t afford healthier food,” Berg said.
This coincides with the announcement that there will be cuts to WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which supplies food to mothers and young children.
“President Trump’s budget just announced that he’s proposing taking away fruits and vegetables from the WIC program for pregnant women and children under five,” Berg said. “So, they’re taking away healthier food.”
The WIC cuts would take away $1.4 billion in fruit and vegetable benefits from 5.4 million people.
Big picture view:
The SNAP changes come as part of the MAHA movement and include more than 20 other states that will implement changes over the next two years.
The Source: Information in this story comes from WIC, SNAP and interviews done by Fox 13’s Danielle Zulkosky.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The engines are revving for one final day of high-stakes bidding and family fun at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach auction reaches its grand finale today with an action-packed “Super Saturday” lineup, promising to close out the weekend with a full slate of collector car sales, live entertainment, and fan attractions.
“Super Saturday,” presented by Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, officially kicks off at 8 a.m. when gates, food courts, and the exhibitor marketplace open to the public.
What to expect
- 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: The Fantasy Bid presented by Dodge begins early, running in tandem with the automobilia auction in the arena.
- 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Thrill-seekers can catch Dodge thrill rides on the Barrett-Jackson Performance Track.
- 10:00 a.m.: New amenities open to the public, including the Stella Artois, Staging Lanes, and Food Court patios, which offer shaded seating and auction views.
- 10:45 a.m.: The national anthem will be performed in the auction arena, signaling the start of the main collector car auction at 11 a.m.
- Afternoon Entertainment: DJ sets run from noon to 5 p.m. across the various patios, and a detailing clinic by Adam’s Polishes is scheduled for 2 p.m. near the South Showcase.
For those unable to attend, the whole event will be livestreamed throughout the day on the Barrett-Jackson website and the HISTORY channel from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Today’s finale comes on the heels of a high-energy Friday that saw significant sales and notable celebrity interest.
Star power was evident throughout the day, particularly with vehicles tied to the Busch family. A 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible owned by Samantha Busch and a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 Custom Coupe were among the day’s heavy hitters, each fetching $159,500. Kyle Busch’s 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Custom Coupe also drew a strong bid, selling for $143,000.
Other Friday highlights included:
- 1968 Ford Mustang Eleanor Replica: $137,500
- 2004 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Mamba Edition: $132,000
- 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Custom SUV: $126,500
- 1957 Ford Thunderbird Custom Convertible: $121,000
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With a festival-style atmosphere and high-profile sales driving momentum, organizers expect a busy crowd for the final push at the auction block today.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A quiet Monday turned into a frantic race against time when a deputy stepped in to save a choking 1-year-old’s life.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a call about a 1-year-old baby choking. Upon arrival, the responding deputy performed life-saving procedures to help the child breathe again.
See also: Two arrested after 6-year-old arrives at Florida school with bruises, deputies say
Body camera video shows a deputy holding the baby, flipping it over on its stomach, and beginning to pat the baby’s back.
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When the baby begins to cry, the deputy is heard saying, “he’s good.”
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