Seminole State Remains Among Best in Florida College System for Performance

SANFORD, FL – Seminole State College of Florida has gone gold again, achieving the highest rating in the Florida College System for performance funding for the second consecutive year. With its gold ranking, Seminole State will receive nearly $4 million in additional funding, up from $3.06 million last year.

The State Board of Education recognized Seminole State for its continued success in student retention and completion, the number of graduates who are employed or continuing their education and the entry-level wages for graduates.

“Retaining our status as a ‘GOLD college’ for the second consecutive year highlights our commitment to student success. Through the efforts of our faculty and staff, we are helping our students achieve their goals at the highest level,” says Dr. E. Ann McGee, president of Seminole State. “Additionally, partnerships like Destination Graduation, which involves the resources of United Way with funding from the SunTrust Foundation, have helped us achieve GOLD status. The performance funding from the State will allow us to provide even more support for students, faculty, staff and programs.”

Seminole State, which also ranked gold among the 28 FCS institutions in 2017, showed gains in nearly every measure and beat state averages in nearly every indicator in the rankings for 2018-19, with a thin margin of just .75 points separating Seminole State from a perfect score of 40.

Seminole State’s overall completion rate is 8 percent higher than statewide averages, and student retention is more than 3 percent higher than statewide averages. Both completion and retention increased significantly from 2017 results. According to data provided by the State Board of Education, nearly 96 percent of Seminole State’s graduates are employed or continuing their education, and the average starting wage for the College’s graduates is more than double the average starting wage in Seminole County, Seminole State’s service area.

Across the college, there were significant efforts at every level to help students complete their courses, earn credentials and find meaningful employment, according to Dr. Mark Morgan, associate vice president of institutional effectiveness and research at Seminole State.

“It was another amazing year of results for Seminole State, with continued gains in course completion rates and graduation rates,” Morgan says. “The completion specialists and Student Affairs staff did an outstanding job of helping students complete courses, stay enrolled and obtain resources to sustain progress toward credentials. Academic Support was outstanding, as well, with numerous outreach efforts to help students. It was a college-wide effort that yielded improvements in nearly every indicator of student success.”

Featured

  • University of West Florida Opens New Laboratory Facility

    The University of West Florida recently announced that renovation work is complete on a new lab building for its campus in Pensacola, Fla., according to university news. Building 80 will serve as the home to the university’s civil engineering program and the Tyler Chase Norwood Construction Management Program.

  • DLR Group Hires Higher Education Business Development Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that Senior Associate Megan Todd will serve as its new Higher Education Business Development Leader, according to a news release. Her responsibilities will include building the firm’s reach and client relationships in the California higher education sector, based out of San Diego.

  • Colorado State University Global, SCTE Launch Online Certificate Program

    Colorado State University Global (CSU Global), based in Denver, Colo., recently announced a partnership with CableLabs subsidiary the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) to launch an online certificate training program for broadband professionals, according to a news release.

  • Construction Begins on East Austin CTE-Focused High School

    The Del Valle Independent School District recently announced that construction has begun on a new CTE-focused high school in Austin, Texas, according to a news release. Del Valle High School will measure in at 473,338 square feet and have the capacity for 2,400 students.

Digital Edition