We are excited to welcome you to our campuses next month! To help us provide high quality classes, student services, extracurricular activities, and athletic programs in a healthy environment, we strongly recommend that all students get vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus before arriving on campus.

Since the onset of the pandemic, our successes are a result of our campus
communities accepting a shared responsibility for their health and well-being and
practicing recommended precautions. Being vaccinated can protect your health
and you are likely to avoid disruptions in your semester if you are exposed to COVID-19.

Thank you for doing your part to help our campus communities prepare for a healthy fall semester.

View the official letter as a PDF

Self, UCF’s associate director of Undergraduate Affairs and past chair of the UCF Faculty Senate, will assume his new additional leadership roles Aug. 4. He has been vice chair of the ACFS the past two years.

The main purpose of the advisory council is to work toward higher quality educational opportunities at the state’s four-year colleges and universities, and provide input from a faculty perspective. Self says the council typically meets three times a year, but recently has been meeting more than once a month to address issues and concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘One goal for the ACFS that I have is to ensure that each of the SUS institutions has a strong faculty constitution by which they can enable good shared governance.’

“One goal for the ACFS that I have is to ensure that each of the SUS institutions has a strong faculty constitution by which they can enable good shared governance,” Self says, adding that not every Senate or similar body at each campus has the same level of governance. “I am hoping we can as a group facilitate the needed conversations at each SUS to bring the entire system to a stronger shared-governance level.”

As a sitting member of the Board of Governors, Self says he’s looking forward to sharing the perspective and experience he has had as a faculty member and former UCF trustee.

“I take the fiduciary duty of the role very seriously and hope to contribute significantly to the board’s work during my tenure,” he says.

Self received his Bachelor of Science in microbiology from the University of Florida in 1993, followed by his doctorate in 1998. At the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, he studied anaerobic microbiology and biochemistry to prepare for independent research.

He came to ��AV in 2003 as an assistant professor, where he has done extensive research and has also been involved in service to UCF, including serving eight years on Senate joint committees and councils and seven years as a faculty senator. Self served as chair of the Undergraduate Council for two years and three years as the Faculty Senate chair. He served as a Provost Faculty Fellow five years ago.

He has been awarded seven patents since 2009 with four more pending.

“I was very proud to serve as the previous chair of the UCF Faculty Senate and as a member of the Board of Trustees for three years, through some of our more turbulent times as a university,” Self says. “I am excited to see what UCF will become in the next 10 years and am excited to be a part of that maturation as an institution.”

UCF Lake Nona Medical Center, which will be built adjacent to the UCF College of Medicine, is a public-private partnership with UCF Academic Health, a direct support organization to the university, and the North Florida Division of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), the nation’s largest hospital company.

Focused on providing healthcare services to the community as well as education and research, the hospital will help the College of Medicine increase residencies and clinically based research, and ultimately help build Medical City into more of a healthcare destination providing first-class health care.

The hospital “will fulfill our promise to become a hub of innovation and a healthier Orlando,” said UCF Board of Trustees Chairman Marcos Marchena.

“The aspirations that we have worked on from day one are that we would have a first-rate, top-tier medical school. It is clear to me that we need a hospital if we are going to achieve our highest ambitions for the medical college,” said UCF President John C. Hitt.

Under the agreement, HCA will spend $175 million in cash to build and begin operations of a 100-bed hospital. No state money will be used and UCF will not incur any debt. UCF and HCA will share governance, each appointing four members to the hospital board.

Dr. Deborah German, vice president for medical affairs and founding dean of the College of Medicine, said the hospital is necessary for UCF to deliver on the economic development promises it made when the college was approved more than 10 years ago. “In the United States and around the world, the best health systems have an academic component at their heart and the best medical schools have hospitals,” she said.

In 2012, the university purchased the land in Medical City and began seeking partners. Last summer, UCF formally invited hospitals nationwide to submit partnership proposals. HCA, Florida Hospital and Orlando Health did. In September, UCF trustees approved a partnership with HCA, citing its nationwide hospital operations experience, financial strength and extensive research programs.

“We are grateful to the Board of Governors for their approval and very excited to move forward in building a community-based teaching facility,” said Michael P. Joyce, FACHE, President of HCA’s North Florida Division. “Today marks a milestone for all of us at HCA. This investment benefits the future physicians we’re privileged to train, as well as the entire Lake Nona community. It also allows us to expand our footprint in the Orlando area, making healthcare more accessible for Central Floridians.”

Lake Nona is one of the Top 10 fastest-selling master-planned communities in the United States and the fastest-selling in Orlando. More than 1,000 families are moving to Lake Nona every year.

The unanimous vote formally recognizes the Ů��AV as an “Emerging Preeminent Research University” and authorizes the release of an additional $5 million in state funds to the university.

“With your ongoing support, UCF will help advance Florida to national prominence as we make Central Florida an extraordinary place to study, to work, to play, and to live,” President John C. Hitt told board members gathered at New College in Sarasota.

With Thursday’s vote, UCF and the University of South Florida have now been awarded the newly created designation of “Emerging Preeminent Research University” by meeting certain quality benchmarks established by the state. That designation allows UCF to work toward the same preeminent status now held only by UF and FSU.

The university plans to use the additional $5 million in state money to enhance quality and move closer toward preeminent status.

That’s the same strategy that has guided the university’s use of performance funding from the state over the past several years.

Four years ago, the Legislature instituted performance funding, which awards additional revenue to state universities that meet quality standards in areas including graduation and retention rates, post-graduation employment, continuing education and others.

This year, UCF was first among the state’s 12 public universities – its second first-place finish. Ů��AV is the only institution to be in the top three every year the rankings have been in place.

UCF has used most of that extra money to hire 200 additional tenured and tenure-track faculty members, and plans to use this year’s performance funds to add another 45.

The university already has achieved seven of the 12 measures required to earn preeminent status, including national rankings, GPA and SAT scores, graduation rates, research spending, patents earned and doctoral degrees awarded.

“UCF will remain diligent in building on the metrics we have reached. And we will use the emerging preeminence funding to help us attain full preeminence status,” Hitt said.

UCF’s goals for achieving that status include:

In a separate presentation, the Board of Governors also heard about best practices in 2+2 articulation, with the DirectConnect to Ů��AV program serving as a model. Jeff Jones, UCF’s vice provost for Regional Campuses, explained how the program provides smooth transitions and timely degree completion for students who transfer to UCF after earning associate’s degrees from six partner state colleges.

Jones explained how UCF and its partner state colleges are coordinating curriculum and degree programs to ensure transfer students are ready when they come to UCF, and how UCF faculty and staff are embedded at partner institutions. At the same time, DirectConnect to ��AV is closing the achievement gap between traditional and transfer students.

The Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the State University System, is scheduled to discuss the performance funding achievements of the state’s public universities today. UCF earned 39 out of a possible 50 points, making it among the university system’s top three performers. UCF has ranked in the top three among all state universities during all three years that performance-based funding has been awarded.

If the Legislature funds the Board of Governors’ request for performance funding this year, Ů��AV plans to use its share to hire more faculty members.

Last year, UCF earned $21.8 million in performance funding, which it is using to hire new faculty members in high-demand areas from molecular biology to mechanical engineering.

“Our new faculty members will help UCF strengthen academic programs in STEM fields and other strategic areas, and they will help students across our university thrive in the classroom and in research labs,” said UCF President John C. Hitt. “We hope this year’s allotment of performance funding will enable us to create a significant number of new faculty positions.”

UCF also is using last year’s performance funding to pay for two new software programs with national track records of promoting student success. One such program, leveraging predictive analytics, uses student data to identify which students are struggling and likely to leave school. Counselors will reach out to those students to offer them services, from tutoring and counseling to help applying for financial aid.

The performance funding model implemented by the Board of Governors rewards universities based on their performance on 10 metrics critical to students, families and taxpayers — from student retention rates to the cost-per degree awarded.

UCF by the Numbers:

The Targeted Educational Attainment (TEAm) grants, funded by the Florida Legislature and approved by Gov. Rick Scott, are designed to produce more students for careers in the state’s highest-need areas, as identified by a Board of Governors analysis.

The awards mark a major accomplishment for UCF, USF and FIU, which will address education gaps in the areas of information technology and accounting. The consortium was granted:

The universities, in three of Florida’s largest metropolitan areas and collectively serving about half of the students in the State University System, recently formed the Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Universities.

Through this consortium, the universities will share best practices, policies and programs to provide maximized career-readiness, particularly among under-represented and limited-income students. Examples include enhanced predictive analytics to better track students’ degree progress, more targeted support through mentors and advisors, and closer partnerships with local companies to open up more internship or practicum opportunities.

The universities will also explore ways to maximize efficiencies by sharing things such as software programs or student tracking systems to continue upward trends in student retention, completion and career placement.

The universities will use the shared knowledge gained in forming the consortium to tackle the projects funded through these TEAm grants.

“We’re proud the Board of Governors recognizes the potential of USF, UCF and FIU working together to help meet Florida’s most pressing workforce needs,” said USF President Judy Genshaft. “This is the first of many successful collaborative projects for this consortium.”

The TEAm awards follow more than 18 months of work by the Board of Governors’ Commission on Florida Higher Education Access and Attainment, a coalition of education, business and legislative leaders that identified the largest gaps between bachelor’s degree production and job needs. The effort marks an unprecedented level of collaboration between elected leaders, universities, state colleges and the business community.

“Providing opportunities for Florida’s students to compete in the global economy is critical to our future success as a state,” said House Speaker Will Weatherford. “The Florida Legislature was proud to provide support to the Board of Governors in its efforts to link our state universities to our workforce.”

Former Board of Governors chair Dean Colson, who launched the commission, said: “This is just one great example of how our institutions are responding to the job needs of our state. Florida is a national leader in that regard, as evidenced by the strength of the proposals that won these prestigious awards.”

“Aligning university and college degrees with the state’s workforce needs will help foster a talent-supply pipeline focused on Florida’s future,” said David Hart, executive vice president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. “This will provide greater opportunities for job creators to successfully compete in a global marketplace, and greater opportunities for Florida families.”

The additional grant recipients are:

The grant recipients must spend the funds by the end of the 2014-2015 academic year. They also must submit semi-annual reports to document outcomes, including the number of graduates entering the high-demand fields.

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Facts about the State University System of Florida and the Board of Governors

The State University System of Florida is a constitutional body led by the 17-member Board of Governors. The system has 12 universities and more than 335,000 students, making it the second-largest public university system in the nation. Responsibilities include defining the distinctive mission of each institution and managing the system’s coordination and operation. The Board appoints a Chancellor who serves as the system’s chief executive. For more, visit www.flbog.edu.

The appointment, which is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate, was made in Miami during a meeting of the Board of Governors of the State University System. Martins replaces former UCF trustee Meg Crofton, who moved to California.

Martins holds an MBA from UCF, where he is a member of the College of Business Administration’s Hall of Fame and serves on the Dean’s Executive Council for the college.

He has spent 26 years in professional sports management, mostly in executive positions with the Magic, and became the team’s CEO in 2011.

Over the past eight years, Martins also led the Magic in a transformation of its business operations, which saw the most successful business year in franchise history in the 2010-11 season.  The transformation received the recognition of the SportsBusiness Journal, which named the Magic as a finalist for Professional Sports Team of the Year, the only NBA team to be named a finalist.

In addition, Martins was instrumental in helping to secure the new state-of-the-art Amway Center in Orlando, which opened in October 2010.  The facility was named a finalist for the SportsBusiness Journal’s Sports Facility of the Year Award for two consecutive years, and captured the award in 2012.  Additionally, the Amway Center was honored with the 2013 Customer Experience Award by TheStadiumBusiness Awards.

Martins also is past chairman of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission and The Central Florida Partnership. He serves on the board of directors of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, the executive committee of the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center and the Central Florida board of directors for Seaside National Bank & Trust.

Martins, a native of New Jersey, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Villanova in 1986. He lives in Orlando with his wife, Juliet, and two daughters.

Each state university in Florida has a 13-member Board of Trustees responsible for budgeting, implementing programs and maintaining education standards. The Board of Governors appoints five of the trustees; the governor appoints six members, and the other two members are the chair of the Faculty Senate and the president of the student body.

The appointment will run until January 2016.

UCF ranked first, along with the University of South Florida, among the state’s public universities. Ů��AV is the largest university in the state, and USF is among the largest.

The Board based the additional funding on how state universities performed in three areas:

“The objective criteria set by the Board of Governors show that large universities can produce great results for students and the state economy,” said UCF spokesperson Grant Heston. “We will continue to ensure students receive an outstanding education that prepares them well for their careers and lives after graduation.”

The Princeton Review and Kiplinger magazine rank a UCF education as one of the best academic buys in the nation. Data show that the percentage of UCF students who graduate with debt, and their debt load, are below national averages.

��AV is also productive and efficient. In 2012-13, the university awarded more than 15,000 degrees, more than any other state institution. UCF did so while spending nearly 40 percent less than the state average on administrative costs.

Beverly J. Seay was appointed by the Florida Board of Governors to a five-year term that started Thursday. Seay’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

Seay is the vice president and general manager for global professional services at CAE Integrated Enterprise Solutions, a leader in modeling, simulation and training for civil aviation and defense. CAE employs about 8,000 people at more than 100 sites across 30 countries.

She also serves on the dean’s advisory board for the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and she is a board member of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council.

Before joining CAE, Seay worked for Science Applications International Corporation for 24 years. She managed the development and delivery of services, systems, products and operations support for modeling, simulation and training for customers such as the U.S. Department of Defense, NATO and several foreign governments.

Seay earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in computers, information and control engineering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

UCF trustees reluctantly approved tuition increases in May while making it clear that they are concerned about repeated state budget cuts to higher education that leave students “paying more for less.”

The state has cut $144 million from UCF’s budget during the past five years, including $52 million this year. Tuition increases have made up for only a portion of those cuts.

Even with the increases, UCF’s tuition costs will remain among the lowest in the nation. UCF also has been named among the nation’s universities offering the best-value educations by Kiplinger and The Princeton Review, and 49 percent of UCF students graduating last year left with no debt from their time at UCF compared to 33 percent nationally.

Tuition and fees combined for an undergraduate in-state student taking 30 credit hours of courses will increase from $5,584 to $6,247 beginning in the fall.

Trustees and administrators said in May that the impact on students would be severe if the university could not increase tuition and was forced to cut course sections in response to the state cuts. The 2012-13 tuition increase will raise about $20 million to support additional class sections, new faculty hires and need-based financial aid.

UCF already has made significant strides in operating as efficiently as possible. Administrative expenses total 39 percent less per student compared with the State University System average, and the university is saving $4.5 million annually by making campus buildings more energy efficient.

Tuition for graduate students was not on the Board of Governors’ agenda Thursday. At UCF, tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student will increase 4 percent in the fall, bringing the total tuition and fees to $8,816 for a student taking 24 credit hours.