Topic: FAU Board Expected to Close Port St. Lucie Campus

[FAUDowning]

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As one of the proud FAU graduates from the Architecture program in Fort Lauderdale, I will definitely be sad to see that campus go.  Don't get me wrong, I loved it up in Boca as well and have always been a sponsor of getting the commuter out of FAU, but for the home of the arch, urban planning, and criminal justice field I feel it was a great place to have part of the school.  Everyone would love to see one main campus but then we lose any grasp of entitlement outside of Boca and that is scary.  Sad to see FAU having to go to such measures.

[walty12]

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The real issue is that times are changing.  The student loan bubble is on its way to busting.  Students are taking too much money in loans out and that will not be able to sustain.  FAU has been able to increase tuition dramatically over the last 10 years due to student loans.  The "traditional student" will be most affected when this bubble bursts and student lonas become harder to get.

Online courses and people working while going to school is the shift of now and the future.  Closing the Fort Lauderdale campus is a mistake because of the location for working students and its visibility in downtown Broward.  We need Broward to think of itself as a FAU county.

Its a really bad idea and I hope it was one of truly last resort.

[Owl2Doc]

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Although I'm a proponent of FAU closing down certain campuses to consolidate resources - for instance, the more I read about the Treasure Coast campus the more I realize what a terrible drain it was on the university - but I was never a fan of closing Ft. Lauderdale.

With the reputation of the Architecture program, that campus had purpose. Same thing with SeaTech.

But the fewer students you have, the more likely you are to get the axe. That's especially a shame because Davie has a ton of students and, like I mentioned, is a waste of our time. They can't close Jupiter either because they might lose their valued connection to Max Planck and Scripps, despite the fact that the Honors students are unhappy because they're missing out on the traditional trappings you get on the Boca campus (Honors should be moved to Boca)

[SigEp77]

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I guess I need to jump in here to set some records straight:

1) State universities are only compensated state dollars for each FULL-TIME student attending
2) For analysis sake, let's say we make $1 million per 1,000 students enrolled full-time.
    - As we currently only have 13,000 Full-time students attending we'd receive $13 million in state funding
    - We have about 29,000 students currently enrolled in some form of classes, which means that for the other 16,000 students we do not receive ANY state funding at all (an additional $16 million we would have earned from the state for full-time students).  Yet, FAU still needs to have 55% more classrooms with professors paid, electricity, water and maintenance costs -- ALL with ZERO state funding.

Far too often, many students believe "but I pay butt-loads in tuition"!!

Sadly, even though tuition has raised at FAU, Florida Universities are consistently ranked in the Top 5 states for cheapest tuition rates (in-state)!

Also, whether you "used financial aid" or never received a scholarship in your life... you benefit from private donors to foot the total bill at the university so if FAU ever calls you asking for a donation - just know that it's the ONLY way that ANY public or private University can function!  

KEY FACT: State dollars + Your fully paid tuition ONLY pay for about 85% of the real cost of your classes at FAU!  The other 15% is paid by alumni donors, business donors and Planned Giving (wills, etc.)

So, in reality EVERYONE receives private funding (a form of scholarship) if you take a class!

Full-time students simply help the University actually recoup the extra ~40% or so that the state pays whereas that money is not given to help compensate the University for the 16,000 students who are not currently full-time status.

Well said!!!

[duder]

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I think Walty has hit the nail on the head in saying that the college landscape is going to be changing significantly in the next few years.  When the student loan bubble bursts I think you will see more non-traditional students taking classes because people will have to work they're way through school instead of taking out  monster loans.  I can honestly say when I was there 00-03, I don't think I knew one bio major who graduated in 4 years, we were all on the 5 yr track.  I was taking between 12-14 credit hours a semester plus summer classes while working 35-38 hrs a week for money.  I think we will be seeing a lot more of that type of student in the future.

Point is no one likes cuts, but we are at a point where some things need to be in order to remain in the black. 

[walty12]

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Just as a follow up to the above conversation...

http://money.msn.com/college-savings/11-worst-public-university-grad-rates

Just 56% of college students complete a four-year degree within six years, according to a 2011 Harvard Graduate School of Education study.

[Rick]

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Took me just under six years.......

Seemed like an eternity at times!

[Owl2Doc]

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I feel your pain. Mine took even longer... but I did manage to finish with three degrees so I guess it was maybe sort of worth it.

Anyway, brought me closer to the school. That's for d@mn sure.

[Rick]

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.. but I did manage to finish with three degrees so I guess it was maybe sort of worth it.

[Rick]

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