As I was sipping my grande peaches and cream icy something-or-other at Starbucks last week, I overheard some people discussing statistics they had heard about FAU. They mentioned how diverse our campuses - especially the age differences between students. The three also debated whether there were more guys than gals in school. I realized that their quandaries were actually pretty interesting and I decided to find some answers.
I was curious how FAU really stacked up. So, I did some research and I found out some interesting tidbits about FAU that I’d like to share. Yes folks, sometimes eavesdropping is beneficial for everyone.
I started my search with the FAU Fact Book, courtesy of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Analysis – known best as the IEA.
What stuck me first from the Fact Book was the housing stats. I’ve heard FAU is a big commuter campus, but I was surprised to find out 92 percent of enrolled students in fall 2006 were living in off-campus housing. I hope that the eight percent living on campus had some good parties.
Thinking about switching your major? The top three majors by enrollment last fall were Elementary Education, Management and Accounting - all with more than 1,000 enrolled. Nursing and Psychology round out the top five - both with just over 800 enrolled.
According to the 2006 Fact Book headcount enrollment, there were 15,629 female students enrolled and 10,208 males. Sorry guys, but the girls win this one. It’s slightly ironic that not too long ago women weren’t even allowed in school – way to go ladies!
Are you from out of town? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. The top three states for enrollment after Florida are New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. More than 23,000 Florida residents were enrolled in FAU last fall followed by New York with almost 300.
A recent press release this month said FAU ranks among the top 50 four-year universities in the nation producing undergraduate degrees for minorities. The article also states that of FAU’s 26,000 students, 58 percent are Caucasian, 17 percent African-American, 16 percent Hispanic, four percent International and five percent Asian.
And the age-old question, how old is the average student? As of last fall, it was 18 years old for a first-time-in-college student, 25 for the average undergrad (a decrease from 29 last year) and 34 for a graduate student.
If you didn't know...now you know.
There are plenty more stats where these came from. For more info, visit the IEA Fact Book for yourself.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
FAU's New Innovation
This is a question I recieved as an anonymous comment on my blog a few weeks ago. You asked, I answered.
"What restaurants/retail do they plan to include in the Innovation Village? Are they going to send out a mass email asking for ideas? I was especially wondering if there would be a barbecue place, a pizza place, a bowling alley, and an arcade?"
For those of you who haven't heard about Innovation Village, it is part of FAU's Master Plan to make the Boca campus more like a traditional university. Although the plans have yet to be finalized, a Board of Trustees' meeting last November said that the structure of the Village should include student residential housing, retail space, a venue for athletics and events and even more parking! But don't hold your breath… we probably won't see a new parking garage for quite some time.
As it stands now, the plans for Innovation Village are shaky. I contacted the director of athletics, the university architect and the general counsel – all of which have yet to call me back. While Innovation Village is now a part of FAU’s master plan for the Boca campus, finalized plans for what will be included, as well as dates for when construction will begin, have yet to be determined.
Also in the works is a university football stadium (yes, folks, on campus). The new stadium, built in phases, will also be a part of Innovation Village. At the November meeting, the administration said the overall goal is to make the Boca campus a more "traditional campus," offering a more "traditional college experience."
While it is not set yet what will be included in the "retail space," the administration is considering using schools like University of Central Florida, Florida State University and University of Florida as models. These schools all offer clothing stores and restaurants, cleaners, hair salon, copy center, Internet cafe and coffee shop.
Although not part of the Innovation Village plan, construction of the new dorms – recently named Glades Park Towers – are set for a substantial opening on July 12. Director of Housing Jill Eckardt says the new dorms are a 600-bed facility with a floor plan identical to Heritage Park Towers.
Eckardt says the only difference with this residence hall is that it's "only for new students or freshman." The first floor of the hall will also include an Outakes convenience store, classroom, conference room and computer lab. This new dorm is going to be so cool, Eckardt says it's already booked full for next fall.
Stay turned for more information about FAU construction and the progress of Innovation Village.
"What restaurants/retail do they plan to include in the Innovation Village? Are they going to send out a mass email asking for ideas? I was especially wondering if there would be a barbecue place, a pizza place, a bowling alley, and an arcade?"
For those of you who haven't heard about Innovation Village, it is part of FAU's Master Plan to make the Boca campus more like a traditional university. Although the plans have yet to be finalized, a Board of Trustees' meeting last November said that the structure of the Village should include student residential housing, retail space, a venue for athletics and events and even more parking! But don't hold your breath… we probably won't see a new parking garage for quite some time.
As it stands now, the plans for Innovation Village are shaky. I contacted the director of athletics, the university architect and the general counsel – all of which have yet to call me back. While Innovation Village is now a part of FAU’s master plan for the Boca campus, finalized plans for what will be included, as well as dates for when construction will begin, have yet to be determined.
Also in the works is a university football stadium (yes, folks, on campus). The new stadium, built in phases, will also be a part of Innovation Village. At the November meeting, the administration said the overall goal is to make the Boca campus a more "traditional campus," offering a more "traditional college experience."
While it is not set yet what will be included in the "retail space," the administration is considering using schools like University of Central Florida, Florida State University and University of Florida as models. These schools all offer clothing stores and restaurants, cleaners, hair salon, copy center, Internet cafe and coffee shop.
Although not part of the Innovation Village plan, construction of the new dorms – recently named Glades Park Towers – are set for a substantial opening on July 12. Director of Housing Jill Eckardt says the new dorms are a 600-bed facility with a floor plan identical to Heritage Park Towers.
Eckardt says the only difference with this residence hall is that it's "only for new students or freshman." The first floor of the hall will also include an Outakes convenience store, classroom, conference room and computer lab. This new dorm is going to be so cool, Eckardt says it's already booked full for next fall.
Stay turned for more information about FAU construction and the progress of Innovation Village.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
“Contaminated” recycling leads to more trash
If you've ever thrown something away on campus, you had to make a big decision before dumping your trash. In fact, with four bins to choose from – regular trash, paper, glass and comingled (plastic, aluminum, etc.) – this was not an easy task. Granted, the decision of which bin to throw your junk in should only take, um, less than five seconds, we here at FAU apparently have trouble managing to put the right things in the right containers.
You might not think the one banana peel you threw in the paper bin is going to make a big difference, but according to FAU’s Physical Plant, you just contaminated the entire bin. Evan Cross, the assistant director for the plant, says the problem with FAU's recycling isn’t FAU not doing their jobs but the students and faculty “not putting their trash in the appropriate containers.” Cross says that when food and any other “trash substances” are mixed with the recyclables, the recyclables become contaminated and get thrown in the trash.
So if you’re one of those people who say they’ve seen FAU custodial staff throwing the recycling in the trash, keep in mind, it’s not their fault – it’s actually ours.
See the problem is, we’re either too lazy to care or too stupid to notice where we’re tossing our coffee cup and empty pizza box, not realizing we’re hurting the environment in the process. Because when you throw your pizza box in the bin labeled “plastic,” you just contaminated the entire bin and it can no longer be recycled.
If you are one these people – an apathetic recycler – don’t give up hope, there is still time for you to change. So next time you go to throw your soda can and candy bar wrapper away, take a moment and think about which bin you will toss them in. (The can should go in plastic/aluminum and the wrapper in the trash). Remember, one banana peel in the paper recyclables can ruin it all for the rest of us.
Be kind, please recycle. Or at least just pay attention when you throw away your trash.
You might not think the one banana peel you threw in the paper bin is going to make a big difference, but according to FAU’s Physical Plant, you just contaminated the entire bin. Evan Cross, the assistant director for the plant, says the problem with FAU's recycling isn’t FAU not doing their jobs but the students and faculty “not putting their trash in the appropriate containers.” Cross says that when food and any other “trash substances” are mixed with the recyclables, the recyclables become contaminated and get thrown in the trash.
So if you’re one of those people who say they’ve seen FAU custodial staff throwing the recycling in the trash, keep in mind, it’s not their fault – it’s actually ours.
See the problem is, we’re either too lazy to care or too stupid to notice where we’re tossing our coffee cup and empty pizza box, not realizing we’re hurting the environment in the process. Because when you throw your pizza box in the bin labeled “plastic,” you just contaminated the entire bin and it can no longer be recycled.
If you are one these people – an apathetic recycler – don’t give up hope, there is still time for you to change. So next time you go to throw your soda can and candy bar wrapper away, take a moment and think about which bin you will toss them in. (The can should go in plastic/aluminum and the wrapper in the trash). Remember, one banana peel in the paper recyclables can ruin it all for the rest of us.
Be kind, please recycle. Or at least just pay attention when you throw away your trash.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
FAU Opens New Testing Center
With all the new additions up and coming for FAU’s Boca campus, you might have missed the latest grand opening. No, sadly the Breezeway Cafeteria is not open yet, but the new Prometric Test Center is. In fact, FAU is the only university in Florida to have one. So, how does it benefit you?
If you’re interested in grad school, continuing on to medical or law school or just CLEPing out of a class, you can now take all required higher education exams on your own campus. Before this center opened, students had to drive to Coral Springs, Davie or even Orlando to test at a Prometric center.
As students, you now have access to computer-based exams such as the CLEP, GRE, LSAT, MCAT and Praxis. The center also offers testing for specialized fields such as the FTCE (Florida Teacher Certification Exam), the MAT (Miller Analogies Test) and the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). The center also administers a test called Accuplacer, which is a computer-based placement test for freshmen.
As well as a wide range of higher education exams, the center also offers test prep, non-computerized testing and the ACT and SAT to local high school students. To view a full list all of available tests, visit the center’s web site at www.fau.edu/testing. You can then click on a test for more information about that individual test and its fees, test dates and registration procedures.
According to its Web site, Thomson Prometric is the leading global provider of comprehensive testing and assessment services. And the 19-seat testing site on the Boca campus is the largest in the state of Florida.
The Prometric Test Center is located on the Boca campus in the Student Services building, room 210. The center is open for walk-in testing Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with some Saturday appointments available. For more information or to register for a test, visit www.fau.edu/testing.
Have a question of your own? Ask the UP! I will be accepting questions here as comments or you can e-mail them to me directly at mboyet@gmail.com. I want to hear from you, so please send me your questions.
If you’re interested in grad school, continuing on to medical or law school or just CLEPing out of a class, you can now take all required higher education exams on your own campus. Before this center opened, students had to drive to Coral Springs, Davie or even Orlando to test at a Prometric center.
As students, you now have access to computer-based exams such as the CLEP, GRE, LSAT, MCAT and Praxis. The center also offers testing for specialized fields such as the FTCE (Florida Teacher Certification Exam), the MAT (Miller Analogies Test) and the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). The center also administers a test called Accuplacer, which is a computer-based placement test for freshmen.
As well as a wide range of higher education exams, the center also offers test prep, non-computerized testing and the ACT and SAT to local high school students. To view a full list all of available tests, visit the center’s web site at www.fau.edu/testing. You can then click on a test for more information about that individual test and its fees, test dates and registration procedures.
According to its Web site, Thomson Prometric is the leading global provider of comprehensive testing and assessment services. And the 19-seat testing site on the Boca campus is the largest in the state of Florida.
The Prometric Test Center is located on the Boca campus in the Student Services building, room 210. The center is open for walk-in testing Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with some Saturday appointments available. For more information or to register for a test, visit www.fau.edu/testing.
Have a question of your own? Ask the UP! I will be accepting questions here as comments or you can e-mail them to me directly at mboyet@gmail.com. I want to hear from you, so please send me your questions.
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