FIU ranks first among Florida public universities

FIU has earned the highest score among public universities in the state according to the Florida Board of Governors performance-based funding scores announced today. This makes FIU the No. 1 public university in Florida, which is the No. 1 state in the country for higher education.
 
In Florida, state universities are evaluated on key metrics including four-year graduation rate, retention rate, cost of attendance to students and employment of recent graduates.

“The hard work of our students, faculty and staff over the past few years has paid off,” said FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg. “Our top performance this year affirms that our commitment to the academic and research mission, our intentionality, and our dedication to student success have proven to be a winning strategy.”

This news comes at the end of a banner year for FIU, which has included multiple top-50 rankings and on the heels of the $40 million donation by philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott and her husband Dan Jewett.

FIU earned 97 points, the highest score in the history of the Performance-Based Funding (PBF) Model. This represents a nine-point improvement over the university’s PBF score last year.

FIU showed significant advances in several key areas: four-year graduation rate (6.5 percent improvement), six-year graduation rate for students who are awarded a Pell grant in their first year (3.5 percent improvement), and the number of post-doctoral appointees (7 percent improvement).

“This historic top student success ranking score is the culmination of 7 years of focused efforts that ensure each of our students reach their highest potential,” said FIU Provost and Executive Vice President Kenneth G. Furton. “It cements FIU’s reputation as a Top 50 university that has been recognized with national rankings in international business, law, nursing, public health, social mobility and environmental resilience efforts. This is a testament to the high quality of our academic programs, research and impact on our community.”