<\/p>\n
A student focuses on calibrating an extension piece of a rotating mechanical device in the engineering atrium on Thursday, March 26. Various engineering student groups collaborated on projects for different classes.<\/p>\n
Kendal Asbury<\/p>\n
If there is one thing Austin Wehle remembers from his real estate investments course last semester, it is that his professor revealed UCF plans to divert support, funding and enrollment from other programs to prioritize the engineering and business colleges.<\/p>\n
Wehle, senior finance major, was sitting in a late-night lecture in the fall 2025 semester when Dr. David Harrison brought up the university’s strategic plan, which he had heard in an administrative meeting. Wehle said that, in a side tangent on investments, Harrison disclosed UCF planned to invest less in other academic programs to increase the business and engineering colleges.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said something one time about how the university’s investing more capital in engineering and business schools, and less in other schools because they’re high-yield fields,\u201d Wehle said.\u00a0\u201cI remember that one line, so clearly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harrison, the director of the Dr. Phillips School of Real Estate, declined to comment on his statements to the class of around 40 students.<\/p>\n
While the Board of Trustees’ goals to increase enrollment in engineering, business and technology fields have been outlined, the plan to limit enrollment and investment in other areas of study has not been\u00a0disclosed publicly.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dr. Alexander Cartwright, UCF’s president, announces that the university has reached preeminence at the UCF Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, Sept. 22, at the Fairwinds Alumni Center. Cartwright stated in the same meeting that the university would aim to enroll \u201c50,000 engineers and domain technologists by doubling down on our strengths.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jeremy Gottschalk<\/p>\n
President Alexander Cartwright unveiled portions of the university’s vision at a Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 22, 2025<\/a>. He said that, following last semester’s preeminence designation, the university would aim to enroll \u201c50,000 engineers and domain technologists by doubling down on our strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n While on the surface, the growth seems promising, some UCF students, faculty and alumni said it could have detrimental impacts.<\/p>\n When asked about the plan to manage enrollment and recruitment of students outside these fields and how it would affect them, Courtney Gilmartin, vice president of strategic initiatives and communication, declined to comment.<\/p>\n \u201cOverall enrollment fluctuates,\u201d Gilmartin wrote in an email to\u00a0The Charge\u00a0when asked about how the plans would affect students in other areas of study.<\/p>\n Margot Winick, director of media relations, stated in an email \u201cexisting capacity\u201d would be maintained when asked whether the university planned to expand overall student enrollment.<\/p>\n \u201cUCF is focused on maintaining academic quality and the student experience while operating within existing capacity for housing, classrooms, facilities, and infrastructure,\u201d Winick said.<\/p>\n Brayden Cox, third-year finance major, was also sitting in Harrison’s lecture when the university’s shifting priorities were used as an example for investments in high-yielding products or companies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just tying finance and real estate into real-life examples,\u201d Cox said. \u201cBut then he hinted at the direction that the university is planning to go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Cox and a few other students in the course confirmed they were told expansion of the business and engineering programs would be prioritized, and other academic programs may have to remain the same or decrease in enrollment numbers to accommodate.\u00a0<\/p>\n The university denied a request to speak to Dr. Paige Borden, a Board of Trustees faculty member responsible for the design and development of enterprise analytics and integrated planning, to confirm the university’s plans. However, in a Dec. 4 board meeting, Borden commented on the aim to \u201cconvince more students to pursue programs that are STEM-heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n Representatives also denied all requests to speak with any member of the board about comments made in both the public and private meetings.<\/p>\n When asked directly if the plan would include capping the number of students accepted to other majors to reach enrollment goals, Gilmartin and other university representatives declined to respond.<\/p>\n According to the university\u2019s analytics and integrated planning website, enrollment in the fall 2025 semester reached 70,989 students.\u00a0<\/p>\n Students walk to attend classes, presentations or study sessions inside the Business Administration II building on Thursday, March 26.\u00a0\u201cThe state university system\u2019s role is to support the economic priorities of the state,\u201d Dr. Ronald Piccolo, dean for strategic initiatives in the College of Business, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kendal Asbury<\/p>\n UCF as Florida’s Technological University<\/p>\n Dr. Ronald Piccolo, the associate dean for strategic initiatives in the College of Business, attributed the university’s shifted focus and the president\u2019s goal to the state\u2019s economy and industrial needs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe state university system\u2019s role is to support the\u00a0economic priorities of the state,\u201d\u00a0Piccolo said in an interview. \u201cThere\u2019s not as much flexibility as one might think.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said that, because of this, it is important that the university offer programs and resources that help students get jobs in the current market.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a university, we always want to be preparing students for what\u2019s next,\u201d Piccolo said. \u201cThe Florida economy is becoming increasingly technology-focused with several initiatives at the state level.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This aligns with the goals outlined in a statement published on UCF Today in August of last year<\/a>, welcoming the incoming freshman class for the fall 2025 semester.<\/p>\n \u201cUCF continues to align its academic programs with the needs of vital industries that power Florida’s economy and provide students with strong employment opportunities,\u201d\u00a0Ryan Randall wrote in the article.<\/p>\n Though the university refused to confirm, in a local initiatives funding request to the Florida Senate for the fiscal year 2025-26, Cartwright and the vice president of governmental relations, Janet Owen, outlined priorities in public documents<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Owen, lobbyist for the university, wrote that the funding would be aimed at \u201cincreasing STEM enrollment and graduates for increasing the available talent pipeline and highly skilled workforce needed by Florida high-tech employers; increasing workforce in higher-paying jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n Melissa Dagley, director of the Center for Initiatives in STEM, stated in December\u2019s board meeting, when discussing academic programs aimed at increasing students enrolled in STEM-related majors, that \u201cincreased earning by STEM graduates\u201d was a motivation for the direction.<\/p>\n \u201cMost important is the attempt to capture the full institutional return on investment, specifically looking at the impacts created by students staying at UCF and in their STEM majors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The investment potential is something Wehle said Harrison shared when discussing the reasoning behind the university’s shifting focus.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you’re shifting to be a technological university, then investing more in that department is going to happen,\u201d Wehle said.\u00a0\u201cIf they’re investing more into the high-income makers, they’re hoping they’ll give back for the education that they’ve received. It helps the university grow.\u201d<\/p>\n Students collaborate on different projects for their classes on Thursday, March 26, inside the engineering atrium. \u201cThe vision of Engineering and Computer Science is to be a top producer of engineering and computer science talent and to advance the state of the art in our disciplines in ways that impacts the global society,\u201d Dr. Michael Georgiopoulos, dean of the college, wrote in an email.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kendal Asbury<\/p>\n The dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science,\u00a0Dr. Michael Georgiopoulos, echoed this goal, yet declined to acknowledge the university\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n \u201cThe vision of Engineering and Computer Science is to be a top producer of engineering and computer science talent and to advance the state of the art in our disciplines in ways that impact the global society,\u201d Georgiopoulos wrote in an email to\u00a0The Charge.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot speak to the president\u2019s comments,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n However, the university’s goal was reflected in an unannounced landing-page website rebrand that occurred the first week of classes in January, according to Wayback Machine, an internet archive.<\/p>\n On the new website, UCF is branded as \u201cFlorida’s technological university,\u201d rather than the previous statement, which included the university’s tagline, \u201cBuilding a bold new future for Florida and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs Florida\u2019s Technological University, we are focused on preparing students across all majors for a technology-driven future but integrating digital and tech competencies across all disciplines,\u201d Winick wrote\u00a0in an email when asked about how this vision would impact recruitment strategies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Financial investments in STEM-focused programs<\/p>\n The board is set to approve and allocate the largest financial donation in university history to the College of Business during a scheduled meeting on April 15<\/a>. The investment is set to further business education and resources, as well as rename the building.<\/p>\n The investment will lead to \u201cpositioning UCF to lead in technology-driven business innovation and marking a defining milestone in the university\u2019s trajectory,\u201d according to a news release sent by Winick.<\/p>\n According to the university\u2019s\u00a02025 Accountability Plan<\/a>, the university is also projected to spend $290 million in science and engineering research in the 2026-27 academic year,\u00a0with an overall research allocation of only $350 million.<\/p>\n The State University System also requested funding from the Florida Legislature to continue providing the\u00a0Programs of Strategic Emphasis waiver<\/a>, also known as the STEM waiver, which provides a\u00a050% tuition and fee reduction<\/a>\u00a0for students in 12 eligible programs, including finance, accounting, engineering and related fields.<\/p>\n Moreover, 50% of students who received a merit scholarship in the 2025-26 year were in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, according to university statistics. Additionally, around 7% of recipients were going to the College of Business and 10% in the College of Medicine.<\/p>\n Only 1%\u00a0of students who received a scholarship were in the College of Community Innovation and Education, and just over 4.5% were in the College of Arts and Humanities.<\/p>\n Winick said \u201cscholarships are awarded regardless of a student’s field of study\u201d and that specific majors are not taken into consideration.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the\u00a0legislative budget request<\/a>\u00a0the Board of Trustees submitted to the Florida Board of Governors in 2024, the academic programs the university was prioritizing were outlined.\u00a0The first goal stated by the board under strategic investments was \u201ccontinue to expand the university\u2019s capacity to educate 20,000 students annually in engineering, computer science and related programs.\u201d<\/p>\n UCF currently holds the No. 2 spot in best colleges in the state for engineering, according to U.S. News and World Report, and is among the top 75 in the nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The diversity dilemma<\/p>\n Florida House Representative Anna Eskamani \u2014 who earned her bachelor\u2019s, master\u2019s and doctorate at UCF \u2014 said the shifting focus on STEM fields had the potential to harm the university, especially if the university planned to gut other programs or cap enrollment.<\/p>\n \u201cCuts to these programs would harm faculty morale, diminish intellectual diversity, and make it harder for UCF to serve as a space for open inquiry,\u201d Eskamani wrote in an email.<\/p>\n Eskamani, who earned a dual undergraduate degree in political science and the discontinued women’s studies major, said that it could also \u201cerode the very values that make it a model for access and inclusivity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Out of the 16,778 students enrolled in the university\u2019s engineering college in the fall semester, only 3,679 are female. Similarly, only 39% of the students in the College of Business are female.<\/p>\n The gender disparity has raised\u00a0concerns among students and alumni that the university is neglecting its commitment to a diverse student body, especially if the administration plans on keeping overall enrollment the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEngineering and business programs already have significant gender and racial disparities,\u201d Eskamani said. \u201cIf any university intends to keep total enrollment flat while dramatically increasing engineering and business majors, that inherently means fewer opportunities for students in other disciplines.\u201d<\/p>\n Other programs have more diverse demographics, like the College of Arts and Humanities, where more than half\u00a0of enrolled students are female. Moreover, around 66% of students in the College of Education and Community Innovation identify as female.<\/p>\n Shia Kirby, third-year political science and writing and rhetoric double major, said she has noted a difference in gender composition between colleges in the past and that shift in programs of focus \u201cdefinitely raises some concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n Kirby said she wishes the university would promote more collaboration between the two areas of study, rather than invest more in one.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not just the prioritization of majors and fields that are predominantly male-centered, but also thinking about the lack of prioritization that all of the majors across UCF are equally represented and invested in,\u201d Kirby said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The impact on other academic programs<\/p>\n The increasing emphasis on STEM-focused areas of study has raised concerns among faculty and students about the value of other programs.<\/p>\n Dr. Emily Johnson, a professor of technical writing within the College of Arts and Humanities, said in an interview that this disparity of funding and resources had \u201cbeen on her mind recently.\u201d<\/p>\n Kyle Bloomfield, freshman mechanical engineering major, builds a boat out of a plastic bottle in the Texas Instruments Innovation Lab in the Engineering Atrium on Thursday, March 26, for a required project for first-year engineering students.<\/p>\n Kendal Asbury<\/p>\n Johnson recounted a faculty senate meeting last semester in which Cartwright and the board discussed the importance of focusing on technology and engineering.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir messaging was, \u2018We\u2019re pitching UCF as Florida\u2019s premier engineering and technology university,\u2019\u201d Johnson said.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s hard sometimes to hear that your university is focusing, publicly, on fields that aren\u2019t necessarily, obviously, your own field.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Many students, like first-year English technical communication graduate student Alexa Wareck, have noticed a shift in focus and are worried about how this will affect their studies and professor morale.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most exciting points about the program is how enthusiastic the professors are about their research, and our research, and our opportunities,\u201d Wareck said. \u201cLosing this university support and funding will impact that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Johnson said the impact of decreasing support on instructors’ passion has concerned her, seeing how recent decisions and lack of funding have affected her work, along with that of her coworkers and students.<\/p>\n \u201cI worry that it\u2019s hurting collaboration and perceptions of different fields and areas of expertise,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWhen everything\u2019s focused on STEM, it can be tempting to look at everything else as less important, less rigorous, less prestigious or less worthy of your time.\u201d<\/p>\n Kirby also works as a writing consultant at the University Writing Center within the College of Arts and Humanities. She said that, in her time as a student\u00a0at UCF, she has seen\u00a0a \u201cheavy shift in focus on more STEM projects and institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she has seen this most in the resources, programs and opportunities offered to students outside of STEM fields by the university.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI have noticed that humanities and liberal arts programs at UCF have been affected by budget cuts,\u201d Kirby said. \u201cAs somebody who has two majors within the humanities and liberal arts, and really studying these less-STEM focused careers and paths, it really feels like there’s a lot less to access in terms of next steps.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not that the jobs aren’t there; UCF just isn’t investing in opportunities for students in these programs,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Humanities-based resources \u2014\u00a0such as the University Writing Center \u2014\u00a0that have been affected by the university’s funding support students of all majors. The UWC itself promotes \u201ccross-disciplinary learning,\u201d according to the\u00a0center’s website<\/a>, and has reached more than 10,000 students last year, said center director Dr. Amy Cicchino.<\/p>\n In addition to helping students with essays and papers for ENC courses, tutors often help with lab reports, graduate school applications, business reports, dissertations and more.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople don’t realize how deeply intertwined these majors are,\u201d Kirby said. \u201cThat cross-disciplinary exchange from students of different programs is really cool, and the university should capitalize on that.\u201d<\/p>\n However, resources available to STEM students alone seem to be the focus, she added.<\/p>\n Borden, in a board meeting on Dec. 4, reiterated the administration\u2019s focus on students pursuing STEM-related majors through a coaching program that John Buckwalter, the provost of the university, said aligned with UCF\u2019s analytics and strategic vision.<\/p>\n \u201cThis program is a true example of how a seed of an idea has evolved into a powerhouse of student outcomes and is really supporting our student success and well-being of our College of Engineering and Computer Science students and all students interested in STEM,\u201d Borden said.<\/p>\n The board also stated in the 2024 funding request that \u201cUCF has hired top-producing faculty in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, as well as other STEM-focused colleges.\u201d<\/p>\n This was supported by an ambitious and record-breaking hiring initiative for the College of Engineering and Computer Science last semester, as the university brought on 39 new faculty members. This was the third consecutive year that the college had appointed more than 30 new faculty members, according to the CECS department website<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe College of Engineering and Computer Science has hired several faculty members in the areas of AI,\u00a0energy, digital twins and hypersonics, among others,\u201d Georgiopoulos stated in a UCF Today article<\/a>\u00a0about the hiring initiative. \u201cIt has expanded the college\u2019s research<\/a> and educational expertise in areas that are of national importance and are in line with UCF\u2019s vision of being Florida\u2019s premier engineering and technology university<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n No public plans exist to increase hiring or program offerings for other areas of study, according to\u00a0The Charge’s findings.\u00a0Upon request, university representatives declined to confirm whether there were any goals to increase enrollment in other majors aside from engineering and business.<\/p>\n The strategic plan’s effect on admissions<\/p>\n The university\u2019s acceptance rate was 33% as of fall 2025<\/a>, and has been steadily\u00a0declining in recent years, down from 44% in 2020.<\/a>\u00a0However, the rate of admittance varies by college and reflects this concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n The university accepted roughly 49% of students<\/a> who applied for the College of Engineering and Computer Science for the fall 2025 semester, while accepting only 15% of students<\/a> who applied for the College of Community Innovation and Education that same semester.\u00a0<\/p>\n University officials stated that \u201cUCF does not admit by major,\u201d but did not respond to inquiries on whether each college had allotments or caps on the number of students they could admit.<\/p>\n The board revealed goals to increase the percentage of bachelor’s and master’s degrees awarded in Programs of Strategic Emphasis each year in the Accountability Plan, aiming to ensure that 60% of degrees awarded are in the designated STEM fields.<\/p>\n Students visit the Office of Undergraduate Admissions on Friday, March 27. The university accepted\u00a048% of students<\/a>\u00a0who applied for the College of Engineering and Computer Science for the fall 2025 semester, while accepting\u00a0only 15% of students<\/a>\u00a0who applied for the College of Community Innovation and Education.<\/p>\n Kendal Asbury<\/p>\n In February of 2025, Winick reported in a UCF Today article that \u201cenrollment in UCF’s engineering and computer science programs has increased 17% in just three years<\/a>.\u201d However, it was not explained how this increase came about or at what cost to other programs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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