The Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities – A Bold Idea Becomes a Shared Vision
How three urban universities transformed student success in Florida
As Helios Education Foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary, we are reflecting on the bold ideas and partnerships that have shaped opportunities for students across Arizona and Florida. The Helios 20th Anniversary Impact Story Series has recognized long-term partnerships that show what happens when vision, leadership, and collaborative investment align over time.
The final story in this series is one that stands apart. It began not with a formal plan, but with a simple conversation between three university presidents sitting down for lunch and imagining something no one in Florida had ever attempted at this scale:
Instead of competing for students, what if Florida’s public metropolitan universities worked together to dramatically improve their college outcomes and success?
The Start of a Unique Collegiate Partnership in Florida
Around that table in 2013, leaders from Florida International University (FIU), the University of Central Florida (UCF), and the University of South Florida (USF) - schools that, combined, serve the majority of Florida’s Pell-eligible, first-generation and historically underrepresented students – spoke of a shared challenge and a shared opportunity.
“The presidents asked themselves how student success could work at scale, how we could increase graduation rates, persistence rates, and bring down the cost of higher education, especially for students who were underrepresented and undercounted in traditional models,” recalls key architect of the collaboration Michael Preston, former executive director of The Consortium and current associate vice president for Student Success at Texas State University.
The opportunity was clear. FIU, UCF, and USF already operated at an enormous scale—collectively serving more than 185,000 students, or 49% of all students enrolled in Florida’s State University System. Within that footprint, 55% of all Pell Grant recipients, 54% of underrepresented students, and one in four first-generation students in Florida were pursuing degrees at one of these three institutions. Yet each institution was working independently to improve student success.
"We saw this as a really unique partnership opportunity, one that we have not been able to find anywhere else in the country, where three universities of this stature have come together. It’s a model that I think really needs to be shared and championed across the country,” said Paul J. Luna, President and CEO of Helios Education Foundation.
Why FIU, UCF and USF Decided to Collaborate at Scale
Instead of competing, FIU, UCF, and USF chose to share data, strategies, transfer pathways, advising practices, and the lessons learned from the students they serve.
“If we could make transfer more efficient and help students feel welcome—if we could reduce ‘transfer shock’—we knew we could change graduation outcomes,” Preston explained. “Most transfer students drop half a GPA point in their first semester. If we impact that, we impact persistence to graduation.”
This wasn’t just another initiative. It was designed to alter how higher education works for students and especially transfer students who often have the least support and time to find their footing.
– Michael Preston, Former Executive Director of The Consortium
Helios’ Catalytic Role in Supporting The Consortium
As a foundational partner, Helios supported The Consortium from concept to execution, investing in the infrastructure, research, and coordinated strategy that transformed a bold idea into a force for student success.
- 2015: Building the Foundation
Through a Helios capacity grant, The Consortium was able to build a governance structure, plan a shared approach to research, and focus teams on the core drivers of student success for the initiative.
- 2017: Designing for Scale
A second Helios investment supported strategic planning, cementing the governance model, data sharing structures, and research framework.
- 2020: Keeping Students on Track During Crisis
When COVID-19 disrupted students’ education and jobs, Helios provided completion scholarships to keep students enrolled, especially those who could not absorb financial shock.
- 2021–Present: Transforming Transfer Success
Helios awarded The Consortium a significant grant to accelerate transfer student success initiatives that lead to degree completion at FIU, UCF and USF.
Testimonials:
Actionable Results from the Transfer Student Success Initiative
The Consortium has assumed a pivotal role in increasing the success rates of transfer students across Florida, some of which include:
- More than 1,500 advisors and success coaches trained through the Higher Education Coaching Academy, including nearly 1,000 from 16 Florida College System institutions, building a shared advising philosophy and giving students a more consistent experience as they move between institutions.
- Implementing a transfer coaching model that helped students understand a wide range of opportunities available to them and address challenges that may get in their way on the path to a timely graduation.
- Held seven Transfer Summit on Accelerating Transfer Success conferences, expanding a statewide learning network and creating a shared space for leaders to exchange ideas, adopt proven practices faster, and accelerate solutions to common barriers facing transfer students.
- Advanced a shared articulation and transparency strategy, resulting in new tools that help students understand how their credits transfer, reducing uncertainty in one of the most critical moments in a student’s journey and helping more students stay on track to graduate.
As Helios reflects on 20 years of impact, The Consortium stands as a testament to what visionary leadership looks like in higher education. It reminds us that systems don’t change by one singular player. They change when partners commit to something larger than themselves and stay committed.