JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The goal is to "soar higher together."
The University of North Florida Board of Trustees recently approved a strategic plan with the hopes of lifting the national prominence of the school while also increasing enrollment by nearly 9,000 students over the next 5 years.
That's an increase of more than 50% of the current student body and some students say they are concerned that the university has plans to grow too big, too fast.
It's early into the start of the semester and already there's a similar refrain from some students at UNF.
"I worry about class sizes and parking," said UNF freshman Cadence Beck, "parking is getting kind of hectic here."
"I feel like it's already a little too crowded, we need more garages and dorms, I don't think more students is what we need at the moment," said UNF sophomore Brennan Ambrose.
And yet according to the university's strategic plan, the student body is proposed to balloon from just over 16,000 students to 25,000 by 2028.
"It is an ambitious goal," said UNF President Dr. Moez Limayem, who believes that an increase in students is necessary to turning UNF into one of the top 100 public universities in the country.
"We will grow in majors, specialties, certificates and minors where our city, our region, needs the talent," said Dr. Limayem.
Areas of focus for majors and programs include advanced manufacturing, coastal resilience, health care and transportation to fit with the growing population of northeast Florida.
"I picked UNF because it was more intimate than a lot of other schools like UCF," said UNF sophomore Marlie Tollefson.
According to date provided by the state of Florida, UNF is the 7th largest of the state's 12 public universities. If its student population rises to 25,000 it will actually still be the 7th largest. To see enrollment sizes for all of Florida's public universities follow this link: https://www.flbog.edu/resources/data-analytics/dashboards/headcount-enrollment-by-student-type/
"We are committed to finding the resources to fund that growth so it is not at the expense of our culture; a culture of care, small classes," said Dr. Limayem, "we want to keep that and we're committed to keeping that."
According to the strategic plan more than $300 million in funding will be needed over the next 5 years to achieve the goals of expanding the student population, building the dorms and infrastructure to accommodate the influx of students as well as pay extra faculty members for the added students.
"It seems like it will build us into a good community," said UNF freshman Ethan Campos.
"UNF in 2028 will be a destination of choice for students in numbers, quality and diversity," said Dr. Limayem, "it will be a destination of choice for faculty and staff."
UNF's strategic plan still has to be approved by the State University System of Florida Board of Governors.