Improved four-year graduation rates and a movement toward a more common university-wide experience are among the goals expressed by UF administrators at Wednesday's Board of Trustees meeting at Lake Wauburg.
Members heard presentations on the state of the university and the vision for the future at the retreat.
UF Provost Joe Glover said the university wants to have freshman-level common courses, meant to be taken by most or all new first-year students.
He also spoke of the university's desire to boost the four-year graduation rate, currently at 58 percent, and the six-year rate, currently at 82 percent.
"We are, I would say, in the middle of the pack with respect to our peers," Glover said.
To improve the rates, he noted an opportunity to require students to attend at least one summer term and the admission of a 2,000-student cohort to attend the university only during spring and summer semesters.
Glover also touched on block tuition as an incentive to move students toward degrees faster.
Under the policy, the university would charge tuition for full-time students at a flat rate set at the cost of 15 credits.
The Board of Trustees approved the measure in December. They agreed to wait a year to implement the policy, scheduled to start in fall 2012.
