Although many universities nationwide are not coping well with higher-education funding cuts, UF tends to roll with the punches.
Nationally, students are dropping out of school and being left to swim in debt, according to The American Dream 2.0, a report released last month by a group of college presidents, civil rights leaders and advocates.
It also said 46 percent of American college students don’t finish any credential within six years.
But UF spokesman Steve Orlando said UF has reacted well to the state funding cuts.
The freshman retention rate at UF is 96 percent, and 83 percent of students graduate with a degree within six years, Orlando said.
“We keep students by starting off with great students,” he added.
He attributed much of UF’s success in student retention and graduation to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
“With about 29,000 applications and only 6,400 slots, there is no way we wouldn’t get the best students possible,” Orlando said.
He said the reason UF students accumulate less debt than students at other public universities is because UF’s tuition is lower than the national average. Students also have Florida Bright Futures and Florida Prepaid scholarships that decrease the need for financial aid.
Jonathan Thomas, a 21-year-old UF computer engineering junior, received financial aid, which enabled him to study without racking up debt.
“If I were to drop out of UF for any reason, it would be because of the rigorous coursework, not debt,” Thomas said.
Orlando said UF advisers and faculty members try their best to accommodate students financially.
“We would never want the lack of monetary funds to hold students back from getting what they have worked so hard to obtain,” he said.
Vanessa Grimaldi, a 20-year-old UF finance sophomore, spoke about how friendly Daniel Schieltz, a financial aid adviser, was when she sought financial help.
“He really listened to my issues and helped me out as much as possible,” Grimaldi said.
Orlando stressed that UF will do a lot for students to get the aid they need — including lay off faculty members.
He said that UF has been very good at allocating its resources so that students don’t graduate with large debts.
“There is a reason why the national average of university students that graduate with debt is two-thirds, whereas at UF it is only one-third,” he said.
