Florida State's four-year graduation rate is No. 1 in State University System

Byron Dobson | Tallahassee Democrat

Florida State University’s four-year graduation rate of 68.4 percent is the highest in the State University System, school administrators told a Board of Governors committee this afternoon.

The four-year graduation rate also is the highest ever recorded among state universities. The figures are taken from the latest data reported in the State University System’s 2018 Accountability Plan.

“This wonderful news is the result of hard work and creative thinking by faculty and staff across campus,” FSU President John Thrasher said. “They are putting students on a path toward earning a degree while providing them with a strong undergraduate experience that prepares them to be successful after graduation.”

Of the freshmen who entered the university in 2013, 68.4 percent graduated in four years. By comparison, only 49.3 percent of freshmen who started at FSU in 2005 graduated in four years.

“That’s a very big deal. That’s among the Top 15 public universities nationally,” said Provost Sally McRorie, who is also executive vice president for academic affairs.

McRorie said attaining the highest four-year graduation rate is the result of several initiatives at the university aimed at making student academic performance a top priority.

“This success is a return on those investments, which have been major for a university that has the second-lowest state tuition in the country,” she added.

Those include academic mapping, which provides counseling in planning courses for each student as they enter the university and move toward graduation.

A second focus is the Take 15 initiative, in which students are urged to take at least 15 credit hours each semester to keep them focused on graduating in four years.

FSU also has a direct focus on students who are first in their families to attend college through its Center for Academic Retention & Enhancement. FSU has added 410 new students in the program this summer.

McRorie said students in the CARE program regularly have higher retention and graduation rates than the general student body.

“We’ve shown that regardless of background, students can thrive in higher education,” McRorie said. “We’ve virtually erased graduation rate gaps between all categories of underrepresented and traditional student populations.”

Thrasher and McRorie presented FSU’s plans for next year to the Board of Governor’s Strategic Planning Committee.

Florida A&M University President Larry Robinson will present on Wednesday morning during the governors meeting at the University of Central Florida. FAMU's four-year graduation rate is 21.8 percent.

The University of Florida's four-year graduation rate is 66 percent.

More: Florida State athletics finding success across the board

Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.