Movers and Shakers Movers and Shakers: USF, FIU, UCF Collaborate to Drive Economic Development

Representatives for each of the three universities will come together to share best practices and seek ways to advance their goals during a Student Success Conference at USF on April 21 from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the Marshall Student Center Ballroom.

The three universities currently serve nearly 50 percent of the students enrolled in the State University System and are based in areas making up of nearly 65 percent of Florida’s population, including 70 percent of the state’s minorities. Through this partnership, USF, FIU and UCF believe the number of degrees awarded can be increased by 12 percent and salaries of graduates can be increased by 10 percent. The universities also aim to increase the six-year graduation rate (FTIC) for minority students by four percentage points.

The Helios Education Foundation sees this unique partnership as a “game changer” in higher education and has provided $525,000 to assist with start-up and five-years of administrative costs for the collaboration. Keynote speaker Vince Roig, founding chairman of Helios will talk about the importance of this new state university partnership and the impact on the state of Florida. A panel discussion on student success will feature USF provost and executive vice president Ralph Wilcox and FIU provost, executive vice president and chief operating officer Kenneth G. Furton. 

The three university collaboration made a $12 million legislative budget request for 2015-16. The investment would be used to help students complete degrees through the use of predictive analytics and tracking technologies. By sharing career resources, including internship and job-search databases, students would see increased opportunities in the Tampa Bay, Orlando and Miami areas.

USF, FIU and UCF have already committed a total of more than $1 million to the partnership.

The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF is a Top 50 research university among both public and private institutions nationwide in total research expenditures, according to the National Science Foundation. Serving nearly 48,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $4.4 billion. USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference.