Santa Fe College took the top spot among the 28 state and community colleges in Florida for arguably the most important thing that happens in a student's college career - graduation.
Santa Fe ranked first in a U.S. Department of Education list that measured graduation rates for Florida's colleges.
At 56.8 percent, Santa Fe had the highest graduation rate according to data published by the DOE's National Center for Education Statistics. Its nearest competitor on the list was Brevard Community College with a rate of 47.6 percent.
"We're going to continue looking at our programs and what we offer to students with a constant eye toward improvement," said Lisa Armour, associate provost and associate vice president for academic affairs at Santa Fe. "The graduation rate information is very encouraging."
Santa Fe offers programs that target certain groups of students in an effort to help them succeed at the college level and ultimately graduate.
For example, one program, called My Brother's Keeper, supports African-American men who attend classes at the school.
This fall, Santa Fe began the Pathways to Persistence Scholars Program that helps first-time college students who earned GED certificates succeed.
The program has started with 40 participating students, said Angela Long, Santa Fe's coordinator for student leadership and activities. She is heading the Pathways operation.
Students attend a three-hour class each week as part of the program, and they will also receive advice and support from faculty mentors and other Santa Fe students who volunteer to be peer connectors for the Pathways participants.
At the end of the year, Long said she and a handful of Pathways students will travel to Washington, D.C., to give a presentation on the program to officials of the Department of Education and the White House.
As the Pathways program grows, it may open up to other kinds of students beyond those who have received GEDs, Long said.
With programs like the Pathways operation, Santa Fe is forging ahead with further plans to bolster its students and get them from freshman orientation to graduation.
