State: Freshman minority enrollment stays level

TALLAHASSEE -- Freshman minority enrollment at Florida's 11 universities stayed flat for the third year in a row, despite a record number of incoming students and aggressive recruiting that replaced affirmative action.

The enrollment figures, scheduled to be released today, show that as a proportion of the total freshman enrollment, the number of minority freshmen at the state's universities decreased 0.5 percent, including a decline at the University of South Florida.

But Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan, who will announce the figures along with Secretary of Education Jim Horne, is expected to focus instead on the total number of new minority freshmen.

The figures are similar to those announced last year, when Brogan said enrollment showed an additional 577 minority freshmen entered the university system: an increase of 5 percent. But that failed to note that overall freshmen enrollment systemwide went up 4.5 percent, meaning the racial mix remained essentially unchanged.

Nonetheless, Brogan and other state officials credit University of Florida officials with an outstanding effort to recruit blacks, Hispanics and other minorities.

The school took an embarrassing drop in minority enrollment after Gov. Jeb Bush introduced his One Florida program in 1999, which replaced affirmative action with active minority recruitment.

This year's preliminary figures show the number of African-American freshmen at UF increased 43.26 percent, from 460 to 659, compared with last year. The number of Hispanic students increased 13.13 percent, from 716 to 810, and the number of Asian students increased 6.78 percent, from 487 to 520.

Blacks now comprise 10 percent of UF's freshman class, compared with 7.15 percent last year.

Nikki Fried, UF student body president, credited the increase to top administrators visiting high schools, a new public relations campaign to get the word out about UF and partnerships with high schools across the state.

UF officials established outreach programs with three low-performing high schools in Jacksonville and Miami, and created a minority ambassador program to stage campus events and visit high schools during vacations. They also increased the number of minority scholarships and added four new admissions officers to expand recruitment efforts.

Carolyn Roberts, a member of the Florida Board of Education said: "We are delighted but we expected this. They had a plan in place. We are going to celebrate and then move forward to improve diversity further."

State Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, the immediate past president of the state's legislative black caucus, said she wasn't convinced that minority enrollment at the school was improving.

"I think that One Florida did more to hurt the enrollment of African-American students," Wilson said. "I don't have a lot of faith in statistics like that. Once we pass the political season we'll see what the numbers really are. The black caucus will look at that," she said.

At the University of South Florida, the number of black freshmen decreased from 636 last year to 586 this year, a 7.86 percent decrease. Blacks now comprise 12.76 percent of USF's freshman class, compared with 15.23 percent last year. But Hispanic student enrollment is up at USF; they now comprise 12.1 percent of the freshman class, compared with 11 percent last year.

Throughout the university system, the number of nonresident alien students dropped by about 20 percent, apparently due to increased immigration pressures resulting from Sept. 11.

At Florida State University black enrollment held steady, while Hispanic enrollment fell by 2 percent.

"Enrollment figures at all universities over time have risen and fallen with no one even noticing until One Florida came along," Brogan said.

-- Times staff writer Anita Kumar contributed to this report.

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