Seminole State remains among best in Florida College System for performance

For the second consecutive year, Seminole State has been recognized as a top performer in the Florida College System for its support for students and the success of its graduates.

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,” said 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 said. “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 collegewide effort that yielded improvements in nearly every indicator of student success.”