{"id":112964,"date":"2020-09-14T09:14:04","date_gmt":"2020-09-14T13:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=112964"},"modified":"2025-06-26T10:35:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:35:06","slug":"ucf-again-ranks-among-the-nations-most-innovative-universities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-again-ranks-among-the-nations-most-innovative-universities\/","title":{"rendered":"Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Again Ranks Among the Nation\u2019s Most Innovative Universities"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the fifth time, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ has been named among the nation\u2019s most innovative schools by U.S. News & World Report<\/em>, which unveiled its 2021 Best Colleges Rankings<\/a> Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cÂ鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is on a path to become one of the nation\u2019s leading metropolitan research universities because of our innovation and impact.\u201d
\n\u2014 President Alexander N. Cartwright<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tying for 16th with Cornell University in the publication\u2019s \u201cMost Innovative Schools\u201d category, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is Florida\u2019s top-ranked school for innovation.<\/p>\n

The Most Innovative Schools category recognizes institutions that are making the most innovative enhancements to their institutions in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities. Since the category was first introduced in 2015, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ has been named on the annual list for the fourth consecutive year.<\/p>\n

\u201cÂ鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is on a path to become one of the nation\u2019s leading metropolitan research universities because of our innovation and impact,\u201d says President Alexander N. Cartwright. \u201cWhether it is in a research lab or a virtual classroom, the ingenuity and commitment of our people shines through, transforming our students\u2019 lives and society. Today\u2019s rankings reflect our institution\u2019s dedication to excellence, to solving tomorrow\u2019s challenges and to charting a course that is unique to our strengths and values.\u201d<\/p>\n

Higher Education, Lower Debt<\/h2>\n

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ ranked No. 47 on the new Least Debt list, which recognizes institutions for their students\u2019 loan amounts and proportion of graduates that took out loans. At Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, 50 percent of first time in college students graduate with no educational debt. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½\u2019s student loan default rate is 2.4 percent, compared to the national average of 10.1 percent and 7.3 percent for Florida. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is also ranked among the nation\u2019s best value colleges<\/a> by Forbes<\/em>, Kiplinger and The Princeton Review.<\/p>\n

The university moved up eight spots to No. 62 nationally for top performers for social mobility. The category recognizes success with enrolling and graduating Pell Grant recipients.<\/p>\n

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½\u2019s engineering and computer science programs continue to earn national recognition. The university ranked No. 71 for best undergraduate computer science programs<\/a> and No. 79 for best undergraduate engineering programs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is the No. 1 supplier of graduates to U.S. aerospace and defense industries<\/a> for the sixth consecutive year, according to Aviation Week Network<\/em>, and ranks second in the nation (only to Georgia Tech) for teaching the critical skills needed by employers. Also, 30 percent of Kennedy Space Center\u2019s and 27 percent of Lockheed Martin Orlando\u2019s workforces are Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ graduates.<\/p>\n

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½\u2019s student programming team earned bronze<\/a> at the North American finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest this year.<\/p>\n

National Excellence, Local Impact<\/h2>\n

Overall, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ moved up two spots to rank No. 77 among public universities nationwide. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½\u2019s undergraduate business program ranked No. 116.<\/p>\n

The nation\u2019s most innovative schools are selected by college presidents, provosts and admissions deans. While the specific reasons for those nominations are not identified, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ has earned recognition in many areas.<\/p>\n

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Downtown recently celebrated its one-year anniversary by winning the Golden Brick Award of Excellence, for the new campus\u2019 extraordinary achievements and broad-reaching contributions<\/a>. The downtown campus \u2014 a transformational partnership with Valencia College \u2014 has fostered numerous impactful community collaborations. These include the Parramore Education and Innovation District and the Parramore Healthy Community Coalition<\/a>, which strive to reduce barriers to education and improve community health and well-being.<\/p>\n

DirectConnect to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½<\/a> guarantees admission for transfers from six regional state colleges. The program is a national model for increasing access to a high-quality college education, improving social mobility for underserved populations and supplying talent to the workforce. Since it was established at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ in 2006, more than 55,000 degrees have been awarded to students who entered the university through DirectConnect.<\/p>\n

Innovating Curriculum Driven by Demand<\/h3>\n

In direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ launched 11 new graduate certificate programs.<\/p>\n

The programs, which began this fall, offer candidates a short series of courses that were specifically woven together to provide useful tools when facing COVID-19 related-challenges. The certificates, tracks and special topics courses cover a variety of fields from business and engineering to optics and health.<\/p>\n

For example, the cyber risk management graduate certificate<\/a> \u2014 which is also available through Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Online \u2014 looks at the current cybersecurity and privacy matters affecting organizations and emphasizes managerial and risk-based approaches. Quarantines due to COVID-19 means more people are shopping and conducting work from home, thus driving demand for remote connections that increase security and privacy concerns for employers and employees.<\/p>\n

The College of Health Professions and Sciences added a course to its graduate clinical speech pathology program<\/a> geared toward preparing clinical professionals to meet the complex needs of patients hospitalized from COVID-19<\/a> and other related conditions.<\/p>\n

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½\u2019s Simulation, Technology, Innovation & Modeling (STIM) Center<\/a> received accreditation from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and the Council for Accreditation of Healthcare Simulation Programs. The STIM Center is based in the College of Nursing.<\/a><\/p>\n

Innovating Digital Learning and Research<\/h3>\n

When the coronavirus pandemic forced all of Florida\u2019s public colleges and universities to go fully remote last spring, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ leveraged two decades of online learning expertise to make a smooth transition<\/a>. University officials rolled out new websites with specialized resources \u2014 such as Keep Teaching for faculty and Keep Learning for students \u2014 and held a series of training workshops on effective online learning.<\/p>\n

This fall, more than three-quarters of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½\u2019s lecture, lab and discussion classes are online or remote, and only about one-quarter have an in-person experience.<\/p>\n

Those additions also helped Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ prepare for a new hybrid class format called Blendflex<\/a>. Offered for the first time this fall, the model splits a class of students into smaller groups to meet physical distancing requirements, with students attending one in-person class session per week. When not in a physical class, students can participate in the other sessions remotely in real-time, or access class content later through a recorded session.<\/p>\n

Despite the unique challenges of the coronavirus pandemic<\/a>, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ welcomed one of its most accomplished incoming freshman classes for the Fall 2020 semester<\/a>. The Class of 2024 entered the university having an average GPA of 4.18, the strongest in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ history. The incoming freshmen also rank among the university\u2019s top three classes for standardized test scores with average SAT and ACT scores of 1322 and 28.7, respectively.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report<\/em> ranked Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ among the top 20 Best Online Bachelor\u2019s Programs in the nation<\/a> for the third consecutive year. Over 100 fully online programs are now available through Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Online, enabling students from anywhere in the world to enroll in fully online degree programs.<\/p>\n

Innovating COVID-19 Research<\/h3>\n

In addition to catering curriculum to respond to the pandemic, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ researchers are finding innovative ways to combat it.<\/p>\n

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ scientists are developing a nanoparticle film that would \u201ccatch\u201d and kill COVID-19 on protective gear \u2014 like gloves, masks and gowns \u2014 to better shield healthcare providers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The university is leading an effort to rapidly 3D-print critical personal protective equipment<\/a>. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ researchers are paving the way for medical face shields \u2014 and eventually multi-sized respirator masks \u2014 to be rapidly produced, up to as many as 1,500 a day.<\/p>\n

Limbitless Solutions \u2014 a nonprofit on Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½\u2019s campus which develops 3D-printed bionic arms \u2014 has pivoted manufacturing to 3D print components of face shields as well as \u201cearsaver\u201d hooks<\/a> that increase the comfort of surgical masks. Limbitless Solutions also is helping create prototypes of a low-cost compact and mobile ventilator that requires no electricity and can be widely produced.<\/p>\n

Researchers are also working to co-develop\u00a0a new, rapid-acting, long-lasting disinfectant spray that instantly kills viruses without using harsh chemicals<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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