UCF adds $40M aid, scholarships
University of Central Florida will provide an additional $40 million in scholarships and other aid to students in the coming years.
Dubbed the “Constellation Fund,” the money will come from unspent operating dollars from prior years and will be distributed to students over the next three to four years.
University President Dale Whittaker described the additional funding reflects UCF leaders’ goal of balancing affordability with academic excellence. The additional scholarship money should help UCF attract high-performing students, Whittaker added during a meeting with the Board of Trustees.
“I’m very proud of this record investment in institutional aid,” Whittaker said, adding it “reflects a strong commitment to student success” at UCF.
The trustees approved the scholarship money this week as part of a plan that spells out how the university will use unspent opThe
erating dollars. The university also will spend $20 million on maintenance projects.
UCF already offers a variety of need- and meritbased aid programs, the school said, and the new Constellation Fund will supplement those.
A group with input from students, faculty and school leaders will help develop a plan for distributing the money by Feb. 1. Some scholarships may be awarded as early as spring 2019.
Nearly half of UCF students work more than 20 hours a week, which sometimes means they have to enroll in fewer classes and take longer to graduate, according to the university. For some students, an unexpected medical bill or car repair can prevent them from taking their last few classes, the university said.
The money could be used to help students reduce the number of hours they need to work, provide additional graduate fellowships or replace student loans with grants or scholarships. “The Constellation Fund allows us to make one of the nation’s best-value educations even more affordable,” said Marcos Marchena, the chairman of the university’s board of trustees, in a press release.
Helping students get through faster could, in turn, help the university. Four-year graduation rates are one factor considered in the state’s performance funding system, which allows universities to get additional funding.
The Board of Governors also uses graduation rates as one of several criteria that determine which universities are considered preeminent, a status that UCF has tried for years to attain.
UCF is classified as “emerging preeminent,” a step below the top tier. Those deemed preeminent also receive extra state money. Achieving a fouryear graduation rate of 60 percent or better is one of last criteria UCF must meet in order to achieve preeminence.
Between 2013 and 2017, 43.8 percent of UCF students graduated within four years.