ORLANDO, Fla. — The University of Central Florida is launching a new fund to help students graduate with less debt.
- Constellation Fund will be available next year
- Scholarships, grants, fellowships, assistantships
- UCF: Fund will help students graduate faster, with less debt
The Constellation Fund is a $40 million initiative that includes scholarships, grants, fellowships and assistantships. The fund will be distributed over several years.
UCF President Dale Whittaker says the fund will be used in multiple ways, including offering short-term assistance, replacing loans and funding more graduate fellowships.
The goal is also to help students who are working while going to school. The school says nearly half of UCF students work more than 20 hours a week. That can often lead to delays in getting a degree in four years. Whittaker says the Constellation Fund will also help students who are working so they don't need to work as many hours while going to school.
Whittaker said a taskforce of students and facilty will help come up with a plan by Feb. 1 to determine student eligibility. The school hopes to have some scholarships awarded as early as spring of next year.
UCF is trying to boost its four-year graduation rate so that it can reach performance measures set by the state to help determine how much funding universities get.
More information about the fund is available on the UCF website.