User:Usfgrad

Intro

The University of South Florida System is located in the mid-western portion of Florida, more specifically the Tampa Bay area. The Tampa Bay area encompasses many counties including Hillsborough, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Manatee County. The USF system is made up of four campuses; the Sarasota-Manatee campus, the Polytechnic campus located in Lakeland, the St. Petersburg campus, and the main campus located in Tampa, Florida. The main (Tampa) campus was founded in 1956 and is located in Hillsborough County; however, commuters come from all over the Tampa Bay area. USF’s main campus is situated in a large metropolitan community and is made up of more than 1,700 acres of land and is populated by approximately 40,429 students, 9,466 of which are at a graduate level. USF is one of the nation’s top public research universities. The USF system offers 98 Masters Programs, 2 Education Specialist programs, 38 Research Doctoral programs and 4 Professional Doctoral programs.

http://www.grad.usf.edu/inc/linked-files/USF_Grad_Catalog_2011-2012.pdf

http://www.usf.edu/pdfs/USF_PocketFacts.pdf

http://www.cte.usf.edu/resources/res_8section1.html

School Specific Demographics

At the University of South Florida (USF) there are 10 Colleges providing graduate-level degrees; these include both master and doctoral options in research and professional disciplines. Of the 9,466 students enrolled in graduate programs, 53% (4,315) are full-time, while 47% (3,822) are part-time (pocketbook). The mean average of course hours that students are enrolled in as degree seeking students is 7.29; for non-degree seeking students, the mean average is 5.67 (infomart).

Table 1 Graduate student population at University of South Florida by college uploaded to blackboard

Table 2 Graduation rates at the University of South Florida in the academic year 2010-2011 uploaded to blackboard

Many graduate students are involved in school organizations; currently at USF there are ________ of organizations open to graduate-level students (insert table below). In addition, in the academic year 2009-2010, 1,864 graduate level students were employed by USF as Graduate Assistants (kristin’s fact sheet).

Many graduate students are involved in school organizations; currently at USF there are 11 organizations open to graduate-level students (http://involvement.usf.edu/search.htm). In addition, in the academic year 2009-2010, 1,864 graduate level students were employed by USF as Graduate Assistants (kristin’s fact sheet).

Within the USF student population there are 8,437 graduate students (USF-Infocenter, 2011). The average age of graduate students enrolled at USF is 31 years of age (Center for 21st Century Teaching Excellence, 2011). Males comprise 37.7 percent of the total population, or 3,065, and females make up 62.3 percent, or 5,071 students ("Student Headcount by Ethnicity," 2011). As of the fall semester of 2011 within the graduate student population 878 students identify themselves as Hispanic, 702 as Black, 27 as American Indian, 492 as Asian, 5,254 as White, 6 as Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and 89 belonging to two or more races (USF-Infocenter, 2011). There were 128 students whose race was not reported, and 861 students identified as non-resident aliens (USF-Infocenter, 2011). The national average of marital and dependent status is distributed based on the degree attained-a master’s or doctoral degree. Amongst the students seeking a master’s degree 48 percent were identified as unmarried with no dependents, 16.4 percent as married with no dependents, 10.5 percent as unmarried and living with dependents, and 25 percent as married living with dependents (Education, 2010). Within doctoral degree candidates 54.3 percent stated they were unmarried with no dependents,  17.3 percent as married with no dependents,  5.9 percent as unmarried living with dependents, and 22.5 percent as married living with dependents (Education, 2010).

Education, U. S. D. o. (2010). Profile of Graduate and First-Professional Students: Trends from Selected Years, 1995–96 to 2007–08. Web

Tables, NCES 2011(219). Retrieved from nces.ed.gov website: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011219.pdf

Excellence, C. f. s. C. T. (Producer). (2008, 09/02/2011). Introduction: What are some demographic and academic characteristics of USF

students? Retrieved from http://www.cte.usf.edu/resources/res_8section1.html

USF-INFOCENTER (2011). Student Headcount by Ethnicity [Data file]. Retrieved from http://usfweb3.usf.edu/infocenter/?

silverheader=&report_category=STU&report_type=SMAJS&reportid=103905&reportlevel=S

Financial Information

Finances play a large role in the lives of graduate students. At USF, Florida residents pay $365.71 per credit hour, while non-residents pay $775.72 per credit hour. Throughout the USF System, the estimated cost of attendance for the 2010/2011 academic year for a resident graduate student, including tuition, housing, books and other expenses, is about $24,540, while a non-resident will pay about $34,380 (“USF System,” 2010/11). Due to the high cost of tuition, many students rely on loans to finance their education. Nationally, the median debt for a Master’s degree is $25,000 and $52,000 for a doctoral degree (FinAid.org). Many students enter graduate school with loan debt acquired while obtaining an undergraduate degree. In 2007-08, over 60 percent of students that graduated with a Bachelor’s degree had loan debt, averaging $23,186 (FinAid.org). Table (#) shows the percentage borrowing and average amount of cumulative debt for graduate and undergraduate education among graduating students according to degree program. Table # Percentage Borrowing and Average Amount of Cumulative Debt Among Graduating Students by Degree Program (table uploaded onto Bboard)

Although loans pay a substantial portion of graduate tuition costs, many students receive stipends and waivers to lessen financial burdens. For the 2010-2011 academic school year, University of South Florida is providing approximately 2,300 full-time graduate students stipends, totaling over $27 million and $11.6 million in tuition waivers (“USF Annual Report,” 2010). Figure (#) describes funding sources that support Graduate Assistant stipends through state education and general resources (E & G), contract and grant funded research (C & G), and other revenue producing activities (AUX). Figure # Graduate Assistant stipends at University of South Florida for the 2010-2011 Academic Year (figure uploaded onto Bboard)

Transportation 46 graduate students at USF live in on-campus housing (J. Perkins, personal communication, September 2, 2011). This accounts for less than 1% of the total resident population (J. Perkins, personal communication, September 2, 2011). The male to female ration is fairly equal with 20 of the graduate students being male, and 26 female (J. Perkins, personal communication, September 2, 2011). Of these graduate students living on campus 20 are white non-hispanic, 8 are black non-hispanic, 1 is asian, 6 are Hispanic/latino, and 11 are non-resident aliens (J. Perkins, personal communication, September 2, 2011).

References (USF PDF - how did you all cite these? I’m seeing conflicting info in my APA 6th ed book). “USF System: Facts 2010/11.” University of South Florida, Office of Decision Support. Retrieved from http://www.usf.edu/pdfs/USF_PocketFacts.pdf

“Student Loans” (2011.) FinAid.org. Retrieved from http://www.finaid.org/loans/

“USF Graduate School Annual Report 2010-2011” (2010). University of South Florida, Graduate School. Retrieved from http://www.grad.usf.edu/inc/linked-files/annuals/Graduate_School_Annual_Report_2010-2011.pdf