As I recall, I could fill up my Impala with a $5 bill. However, I usually rode my bike to most things. I even often rode my bike the ten miles to work if I did not have to steal away to go to class. Boy was I in better shape back then.
Jerry From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 9:16 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [gatortalk] Re: [gatornews] university of Florida students getting the boot? Uh, let's see... 1920... Well, look at the bright side... at least you didn't have to worry about gasoline back then. ;-) Randy -------------- Original message -------------- From: Jerry Belloit <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I am surprised that they went away from charging a flat tuition rate. I remember my first quarter at Florida, the tuition was $99 per quarter. I also remember that one time after Florida went to the semester system, I took 24 hours. I reasoned that it dropped my tuition per course to about ½ of what those taking a minimum 12 hour load. I liked it when they had a “sale” on tuition. Jerry From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 7:25 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [gatornews] university of Florida students getting the boot? University of Florida students who fail to graduate in a timely manner already risk being kicked out---UF is joking that he'll take their football tickets away, too. University of Florida students getting the boot? By Nathan Crabbe <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sun staff writer Published: Sunday, September 14, 2008 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Monday, September 15, 2008 at 12:55 a.m. University of Florida students who fail to graduate in a timely manner already risk being kicked out. BRANDON KRUSE/The Gainesville Sun University of Florida students cross Newell Drive on Thursday morning. Now UF President Bernie Machen is joking that he’ll take their football tickets away, too. Machen said he was kidding when he suggested at a recent trustees meeting that students might need to take 15 credit hours a semester to qualify for tickets. But the comment hints at an issue that UF takes seriously. For more than a decade, UF has gone so far as to kick out students for taking too long to graduate. The policy has helped improve its graduation rates to best among state universities. Yet one in five UF students still take longer than six years to graduate. Now that admissions are being cut by 4,000 students over four years, UF is looking for ways to encourage students to graduate on time and open spots for others. “Frankly I don’t know how we’re going to do it,” Machen said at the Sept. 4 meeting of the Board of Trustees’ governance committee. Machen said students at one time used to graduate in four years in fear their parents would cut them off. “But that doesn’t happen here,” he said. “It’s not a risk factor for them.” Nearly two-thirds of UF students take less than the 15 credit hours per semester. UF requires 120 credits for graduation, so 15 hours a semester would be needed to graduate in four years without summer courses or Advanced Placement credits. A flat tuition rate is being considered to encourage students to take more classes each semester. Such a rate might charge all full-time students for 15 hours, even if they take fewer credits. Since implementing flat tuition in 2005, Texas A&M University has increased the total number of credits taken by students by nearly 6 percent, according to a report by the Huron Consulting Group. Other ideas involve changes to Bright Futures. Students might be allowed to use the scholarship money in the summer, or early-graduating students could use it for their post-graduate education. The image of the hard-partying student who takes forever to graduate is ingrained in popular culture. Think Bluto Blutarsky in “Animal House” or, more recently, Van Wilder in the movie of the same name. Michael Howard, 26, said the truth of how he got behind was more complicated. He said his grades were decent, but not great, when family issues caused him to do poorly one semester. He said he had attended about five years and was 24 credit hours from finishing when he was kicked out for taking too long. He unsuccessfully tried to get back into UF for a year, before transferring to the University of South Florida and graduating there. “To be honest, it was probably the best thing for me,” he said. UF Provost Joe Glover said the university lays out a road map for each major with mileposts that students must achieve at certain times. Advisers help students achieve those goals and ensures critical classes are available when they need them, he said. He said the policy has helped boost graduation rates. About 29 percent of students starting in 1991 graduated in four years. Among students who started in 2003, nearly twice that percentage graduated in four years. UF officials say they should be able to do even better because of the large number of students who take Advanced Placement classes. The classes allow high school students to earn college credits. Most students arrive with at least 15 AP credits, according to Glover. But officials say students are using the classes to meet UF’s competitive admissions requirements, rather than get through school at a faster pace. “The truth is AP credits are becoming a way to get into the University of Florida, not a way to get out of the University of Florida,” Machen said. Brittany Carl said she arrived at UF with nearly 50 Advanced Placement credits. But the third-year environmental engineering major said her experience in her major’s difficult classes led her to lighten her course load. “I initially took 15 hours and you just can’t perform as well,” she said. Carl, 20, said she now takes 12 hours, or four classes. That allows her to do well while working as a resident assistant and participating in activities such as fencing and Campus Crusade for Christ. She said it might take her five years to graduate and she doesn’t feel she should be penalized for it. “I’m here because I actually want to take time in my classes and do well,” she said. But enrollment limits have added urgency to speeding up graduation times. UF slashed undergraduate admissions by 1,000 students in this academic year and will reduce enrollment by the same number of students in each of the next three years. That means students who fail to graduate in four years essentially prevent other students from attending. Flat tuition would be one way to boost graduation rates. Every public university, except for UF, rated in the top 25 by U.S. News and World Report charges a flat tuition rate, according to the Huron report. Bright Futures might also face changes, if lawmakers agree. One idea would allow students to use the scholarship money for summer courses, which they currently can’t do. Another idea would allow students who finish early to use unspent money for graduate school. But Glover conceded some students will take a leisurely pace no matter what incentives are offered. “Every student who walks in the doors, and every parent who comes with the student, says they want the full four-year experience,” he said. “So they come in determined to spend at least four years here but not working full bore.” Nathan Crabbe can be reached at 338-3176 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] <BR --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
