Florida A&M University (FAMU) scored its highest ever points total under the Florida Board of Governors’ Performance Based Funding (PBF) model. FAMU scored 79, up from 73 in 2020. As a result of the score, FAMU anticipates receiving a PBF allocation of $12.65 million.
The importance of the score was highlighted during the daylong President’s Retreat Tuesday at the Al Lawson Center as President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., convened his Senior Leadership Team and other managers to discuss the University’s “March to the Top 100” – how FAMU will break into the U.S. News & World Report top 100 public universities. FAMU was ranked 117 in 2020.
The ranking is influenced by such factors as the ACT/SAT scores of entering freshmen, retention rates, graduate indebtedness, and social mobility. Class size, student-faculty ratio, full time faculty and faculty salaries are also key factors affecting a university’s ranking. Robinson and Provost Maurice Edington, Ph.D., also spoke about efforts to increase compensation to recruit and retain top faculty and staff.
Robinson said FAMU needs to step up because other universities are not standing still. One of the areas of biggest improvement is in the four-year graduation rate, which rose from 27.7 percent in 2020 to 34.6 percent in 2021.
The number of bachelor’s degrees earned by transfer students with associate degrees also rose sharply, from 269 to 325. FAMU showed year-over-year improvement on eight PBF metrics.