Do you know that FAU recently achieved something that few universities in our region are able to accomplish? Although it often doesn’t capture much attention outside the halls of academia, reaffirmation of accreditation is an important process that all universities must go through every 10 years to show that they’re providing their students with a high quality educational experience. Strong schools encounter few issues during the process, and the level of success of a university’s application is a reliable indication of its overall health.
In the course of the extensive institutional examination that’s required for reaffirmation, 98 percent of all schools in our region are asked to revise some of their policies and procedures. But not FAU. You can count our University among the 2 percent that got it right the first time.
We recently completed the reaffirmation process with “no additional action” requested by the accrediting body that oversees all universities in the Southern Region, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. This provides objective, authoritative confirmation of what we already knew to be true – that FAU is a strong and vibrant university that is providing excellent educational opportunities to students.
Unconditional reaccreditation is just one of dozens of recent achievements made possible by the hard work of our faculty, staff and students. As this year draws to a close, I’d like to reflect on some of the many ways that FAU has moved forward over the past 12 months.
• Enrollment reached an all-time high of nearly 31,000.
• Undergraduate and graduate degrees were awarded to more than 7,100 students.
• Members of our world-class faculty received many high honors, including two Fulbright Awards.
• The Life Science Initiative was launched on the Jupiter campus to advance collaborations with international research giants Max Planck and Scripps Florida.
• FAU researchers attracted more than $33 million in external funding.
• For the second year, FAU served as statewide administrator for the Troops to Teachers program. Also, both GI Jobs magazine and Military Times recognized FAU as one of the nation’s best universities for veterans.
• FAU’s Weppner Center for Civic Engagement and Service was named to the U.S. President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the fifth year.
• We welcomed a new head football coach, Charlie Partridge, who brings 17 seasons of collegiate coaching experience to the Owls program.
We can all take great pride in these successes and many others as we ring out the old year and ring in the new. Here are my warmest holiday wishes to everyone in the FAU family. Have a relaxing break, and I’ll see you in 2014!