The elephant in the room is a number. 58,587. That number, or perhaps the fact that the University of Central Florida is the second-largest university in the country, is what most people know about UCF.
Fact: If UCF was a city, it would be larger than Winter Park and Oviedo 麻豆精品 S攃ombined.
UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 size is the one thing that is difficult to avoid when you ask people for their impressions of the university. Of course, Americans like big. Big buildings. Big corporations. So, whynot a big university?
Fact: The UCF student body could fill the world 麻豆精品 S檚 largest cruise ship more than nine times.
What people think of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 size depends on who is talking. That number may be stated with a sense of superiority. Or skepticism. Many are positively boastful about UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 rapid growth. (UCF opened in 1968 with fewer than 2,000 students.) For them, that number is a measure of success.
Fact: It would take four Empire State Buildings to house all of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 students.
The skeptics, however, will tell you that size is irrelevant. They will tell you that, despite its great size, UCF has not yet had a great impact. They will tell you that other things are more important than size. Research funding. Endowments. Sports championships. They will even speculate that the rapid growth has come at a price.
Fact: When it comes to that number, there are those who think it means everything, and those who are certain it means nothing. Both groups are wrong.
Changing the Subject
When you travel the country promoting Orlando, you can get a sense of how UCF is viewed by others. Leslie Hielema, president and CEO of Orlando, Inc. (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce), confirms that the prevailing perception is all about size. 麻豆精品 S淭hey either know that UCF is the second-largest university in the country or that UCF is huge. 麻豆精品 S�
As Hielema acknowledges, people talk about UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 size because so much has been written about its growth (the Google search term 麻豆精品 S淯CF second-largest school in the nation 麻豆精品 S� yields 162,000 results). But while UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 immense enrollment figure casts a big shadow, that isn 麻豆精品 S檛 the only number that people should be talking about. These are equally striking:
麻豆精品 S淏etween 1999 and early 2009, the UCF Business Incubation Program facilitated the growth and development of at least 100 new high-tech companies in the Central Florida region. 麻豆精品 S� (2009 Real Estate Research Consultants report)
In 2010, UCF was ranked third in the 麻豆精品 S淧atent Power Rankings 麻豆精品 S� by the IEEE, the world 麻豆精品 S檚 leading professional association for the advancement of technology.
And, according to the U.S. News & World Report 2012 best colleges ranking, UCFis the No. 4 麻豆精品 S渦p-and-coming 麻豆精品 S� school in the country.
We need to get the message out that big isn 麻豆精品 S檛 bad. We need to tell the story of what big means, why it 麻豆精品 S檚 a benefit.
Maribeth Ehasz
Vice President of Student Development and Enrollment Services
People’s Choice
Each year, more and more students trust UCF to prepare them for graduate school or their careers.
Despite this critical acclaim, parents of prospective students are still acutely aware of the size of the university, says Gordon Chavis, associate vice president for undergraduate admissions, student financial assistance and student outreach programs. When questioned, however, his response is simple, 麻豆精品 S淚 tell them that our size affords us opportunities. 麻豆精品 S�
Chavis backs up his statement with a litany of programs, activities and clubs that have been designed to give this extraordinarily large school a more intimate feel. Prime examples are UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 living-learning communities. These residential units allow like-minded students to live with, socialize with, and motivate each other, and include such groups as EXCEL, which supports freshmen and sophomores in mathematics and science courses, STEP (Supporting Teacher Education Preprofessionals), and Nursing @ Nike. Couple that with the more than 400 official student clubs 麻豆精品 S攔anging from the Rock Climbing Club to the Moroccan American League 麻豆精品 S攁nd the point Chavis makes becomes clear.
Because of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 size, there are opportunities for everyone to fit in. 麻豆精品 S淚 think the size is a good thing, 麻豆精品 S� sophomore Cynthia Florentino says. 麻豆精品 S淯CF has really helped me grow as a person. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淲e need to get the message out that big isn 麻豆精品 S檛 bad. We need to tell the story of what big means, why it 麻豆精品 S檚 a benefit, 麻豆精品 S� says Maribeth Ehasz, vice president of student development and enrollment services.
Top Ten U.S. Universities by Size:
| 1 | Arizona State University | 59,794 |
| 2 | University of Central Florida | 58,578 |
| 3 | Ohio State University | 56,867 |
| 4 | University of Minnesota | 52,557 |
| 5 | University of Texas at Austin | 51,112 |
| 6 | Texas A&M University | 50,051 |
| 7 | University of Florida | 49,589 |
| 8 | Michigan State University | 47,800 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania State University | 44,485 |
| 10 | Indiana University | 42,731 |
My goal isn 麻豆精品 S檛 necessarily about growth or even access. I want UCF to be every applicant 麻豆精品 S檚 first choice.
Gordon Chavis
Associate Vice President, Undergraduate Admissions
You Say Big. Hitt Says Access.
When pressed to answer the question of whether size matters, or more specifically, whether growing so large was the goal in the first place, the subject turns to a single word, 麻豆精品 S渁ccess. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淭hat is President Hitt 麻豆精品 S檚 real goal, 麻豆精品 S� Chavis says. 麻豆精品 S淔rom the very beginning, he has always been committed to giving as many people as possible access to a college education. 麻豆精品 S�
Maribeth Ehasz agrees that access is the aim, but viewed through the lens of someone whose mission is to nurture those 58,587 students, she sees a bigger picture. 麻豆精品 S淥ur goal, 麻豆精品 S� she says, 麻豆精品 S渋s access and success. 麻豆精品 S� She insists that these two objectives are inseparable. 麻豆精品 S淲e are concerned with giving [students] a quality education and a positive experience. 麻豆精品 S�
Bigger, Better? Rising SATs
Increasing the quality of incoming freshmen is getting tougher and tougher, so UCF is reaching out to high schools to provide programs to help them prepare their students for college.
Growth is Great, But What About Admissions Standards?
The assessment of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 growth would be incomplete without a closer inspection of the quality of students admitted. Who are these 18-year-olds who are flocking to UCF in record numbers?
While it is well known that enrollment has increased dramatically, what is lesser known is that test scores of incoming freshman have also risen steadily.
Fact: Over the last 10 years, enrollment at UCF has risen by 63 percent and the average SAT scores of the incoming class have risen 98 points.
Fact: UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 fall 2011 freshman class included 74 National Merit Scholars, which ranks UCF 34th in the nation.
麻豆精品 S淚f the quality were to dip, then we will rightly become upset about the size of UCF 麻豆精品 S� says Gordon Chavis.
President Hitt agrees. In his 2011 麻豆精品 S淪tate of the University 麻豆精品 S� address, he stated that 麻豆精品 S淕rowth at UCF is about improving the quality of life for our students, their families and our city-state. 麻豆精品 S�
Giving more students access to a college degree is admirable, but complicated. According to a May 2011 New York Times article, 麻豆精品 S淓mployment rates for new college graduates have fallen sharply in the last two years 麻豆精品 S� only half of the jobs landed by these new graduates even require a college degree, reviving debates about whether higher education is 麻豆精品 S榳orth it 麻豆精品 S� after all. 麻豆精品 S�
The article explains that salaries for college graduates have gone down: 麻豆精品 S淭he median starting salary for students graduating from four-year colleges in 2009 and 2010 was $27,000, down from $30,000 for those who entered the work force from 2006 to 2008. 麻豆精品 S� The picture gets even darker when you consider that 41 percent of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 2010 graduates completed their degrees owing an average of $18,966 in student debt.
Yet, Floridians still covet a college education. According to the State University System, enrollment in Florida 麻豆精品 S檚 public universities rose 2.6 percent during the 2011 麻豆精品 S�2012 academic year. And for good reason. State data shows that high school graduates earn an average of $28,000 a year, while those with a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degree earn an average of $68,400 annually. Plus, with competition for jobs being fierce in this down economy, many employers won 麻豆精品 S檛 even interview an applicant who doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 have a college degree.
So, there may be many reasons that students desire a college education, but perhaps the real question is whether Florida 麻豆精品 S檚 businesses and employers desire more college graduates. The Lumina Foundation, an independent organization working to increase college graduation rates, has been studying that very issue.
Projection: By 2018, 59 percent of Florida jobs will require a college credential.
Fact: In 2010, only 36.5 percent of adults in Florida had college degrees.
Projection: By 2025, only 42.6 percent of adults in Florida will have college degrees.
The Lumina Foundation 麻豆精品 S檚 figures imply that providing greater access to a college education is a necessary goal if we, as a state, are going to grow economically.
Changing Face Of UCF
UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 increase in size and quality has been accompanied by an increasingly diverse freshman class. Minority enrollment is currently at a record 37 percent.
How Big is Too Big?
All this discussion of growth naturally leads to the question of 麻豆精品 S淗ow big is too big? 麻豆精品 S� President Hitt has stated, 麻豆精品 S淭here is no magic number at which enrollment must stop, but the Orlando campus does have limits on how many students it can serve. 麻豆精品 S� So, is infrastructure the only thing that could slow the university 麻豆精品 S檚 growth? Or, could that be overcome through the expansion of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 regional campuses or by increasing the number of online courses?
As Chavis, Hielema and even the students we spoke with have all implied, maybe we just need to change the subject. Maybe the question of whether size matters is simply not relevant. Ehaszinsists that UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 commitment to growth is simply in the university 麻豆精品 S檚 DNA. 麻豆精品 S淚 wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 stop the growth, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 part of who we are … always striving for access and success. 麻豆精品 S�✦
There is no magic number at which enrollment must stop, but the Orlando campus does have limits on how many students it can serve.
Maribeth Ehasz
Vice President of Student Development and Enrollment Services