FAMU-FSU College of Engineering: A tale of two universities

There is little news in this latest update.  The local paper, which is extremely against the separation, is actively working to write as many stories as it can to keep this an open issue and in the public view.  Basically hoping to drum up opposition to avoid the split.

Not the job of journalist, but sadly, it is a profession that long ago abandoned objectivity.


Enrollment, graduation numbers going in different directions at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering

By the numbers

FAMU-FSU College of Engineering students
ENROLLMENT

FAMU		FSU
369	2013	2142
529	2008	1603
714	2003	1618
880	1998	1058

Source: State University System

Undergraduate and graduate degrees

FAMU		FSU
41	2013	327
63	2008	342
105	2003	190
107	1998	207

Source: State University System

In 1998, COE enrollment
was comparable between
FSU and FAMU.

"In 1998, FSU had 1,058 undergraduates enrolled at the college; FAMU had 830. Fast-forward 15 years to the 2012-13 academic year, with numbers available on the Board of Governors’ website: FSU had 2,142 students, more than double its 1998 figure; FAMU had 369, fewer than half its enrollment of 15 years earlier.
The number of students earning diplomas has followed nearly identical trends. FSU awarded degrees to 160 undergraduates in 1998, compared to 267 in 2013. FAMU went from 100 to 34.
The College of Engineering has two budgets, a joint budget that is managed by FAMU as the Legislature mandated when it created the unique, combined college in 1982, and a separate FSU budget maintained by FSU to cover the costs associated with additional faculty positions. The joint budget is about $11 million, while the FSU budget is $5 million “and has been growing,” Yeboah said.
There are 23 FAMU and 27 FSU tenure-track faculty in the joint budget, and 36 tenure-track faculty in the separate FSU budget."

"How it works
The COE is run by a Joint Operating Council made up of the president, provost and chief financial officer at each institution, with the chair rotating. A Joint Management Agreement gives FAMU responsibility for fiscal matters, including the joint budget, and maintenance. FSU oversees the administrative side —Yeboah is tenured faculty at FSU, while serving as a dean for both universities — and it is responsible for security at COE.
Even though 50 of the 86 faculty positions at COE are paid through the joint budget, the universities have separate collective bargaining agreements covering salaries, benefits, bonuses and raises."

"For FSU, a separate college of engineering is considered a must if it is to reach its stated goal of becoming a top 25 public university, and to be considered for invitation to the prestigious Association of American Universities. FSU, ranked No. 40 in the most recent US News and World Report listings, has many programs already ranked among the top 25 in the country. Not the FAMU-FSU COE — which isn’t even listed among the top 100."