USF sees a day when it will join the ranks of Florida's 'preeminent' universities

[Gator88NE]

Now, Florida’s lawmakers are considering a tier of “emerging preeminent” universities, which would meet at least half of the 12 benchmarks and receive up to $5 million each year. The expectation is that, one day, these “emerging” schools would become full-fledged preeminent universities alongside UF and FSU. The University of South Florida in Tampa was the only school that would have met the criteria for emerging preeminence in 2015.

“There’s certainly a compelling case to be made that the University of South Florida is rightfully in the mix when it comes to positioning as a top-tier university in the state of Florida,” said Ralph Wilcox, the provost and executive vice president of USF.

The categories include the average grade-point average and SAT score of incoming freshmen; the six-year graduation rate; the amount of money the university spends on research; the number of doctoral degrees it awards annually; and endowment size, among others.

There’s no question that UF and FSU perform at the highest level overall, and turn away more and more highly competitive students each year.

But by some of the measures considered for preeminence, USF actually leads the pack. It was awarded 292 patents over three years, about 30 more than UF and three times as many as FSU. And according to a 2015 Board of Governors report, USF spent more on research and appointed more doctoral degrees than FSU.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/college/usf-sees-a-day-when-it-will-join-the-ranks-of-floridas-preeminent/2267019

[Lurdes777]

Very interesting, thanks. We are still to hear from USF after the deferral. I wonder how their Honors college stacks up to UCFs Honors