{"id":133292,"date":"2023-08-31T00:01:18","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T04:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=133292"},"modified":"2023-08-30T18:56:57","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T22:56:57","slug":"new-college-of-florida-works-to-enroll-more-male-students-as-shake-up-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/new-college-of-florida-works-to-enroll-more-male-students-as-shake-up-continues\/","title":{"rendered":"New College of Florida works to enroll more male students as shake-up continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

New College of Florida \u2018rebalancing\u2019 heavily female campus\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Eight months after Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida fired and replaced more than half of New College of Florida\u2019s board of trustees, his appointees are leading an effort to \u201crebalance\u201d the ratio of male to female students at the school.<\/p>\n

As of 2022, two-thirds of New College of Florida\u2019s student body was composed of women. This year, more than half of the incoming class is made up of men, largely due to the recruitment of student athletes.<\/p>\n

Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who was appointed by DeSantis to the university\u2019s board of trustees, recently defended the implementation of policies that some critics have labeled<\/a> \u201caffirmative action for men.”<\/p>\n

“This is a wildly out-of-balance student population, and it caused all sorts of cultural problems,” Rufo told<\/a> The New York Times<\/em> in August, discussing the overwhelmingly female student body at New College in an article headlined “At a College Targeted by DeSantis, Gender Studies Is Out, Jocks Are In.”<\/p>\n

Rufo added New College has become \u201cwhat many have called a social justice ghetto,\u201d which the board is hoping to change.<\/p>\n

The Fix<\/em> reached out to Rufo for this story, but has not yet heard back.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune<\/em> reported<\/a> in July that increased enrollment of men at New College of Florida \u201ccame with a decrease in overall grade point average and test scores,\u201d which was partially attributed to the college significantly expanding athletic programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe average GPA of enrolled freshmen and transfers is 3.7 this year compared to 3.96 last year, records showed. This year’s average ACT score was 24, down from 27 last year. The average SAT score was 1147, a drop from 1239 the year prior,\u201d the Herald-Tribune<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch of the drop in average [standardized test] scores can be attributed to incoming student-athletes who, despite scoring worse on average, have earned a disproportionate number of the school’s $10,000-per-year merit-based scholarships,\u201d it noted.<\/p>\n

When contacted by The Fix<\/em>, New College of Florida spokesman Nathan March said the college\u2019s admissions standards were not decreasing and called allegations of sex-based affirmative action \u201cabsurd.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust one look at the combination of returning and record-breaking newly enrolled students demonstrates that our campus is a cross-section of America. The student body is the most diverse it has been in school history,\u201d March said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many factors that play into evaluating that which a student is projected to contribute to the college community,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

An effort to build an athletic program from the ground up by the school\u2019s Interim President Richard Corcoran has \u201clargely driven\u201d the increase, USA Today <\/em>reported.<\/a><\/p>\n

In January of 2023, DeSantis reshaped New College of Florida\u2019s board of trustees by making six new appointments to the board, including Rufo, a conservative activist.<\/p>\n

That same month, the board fired<\/a> New College\u2019s president and replaced her with Corcoran, the former commissioner of the Florida Department of Education.<\/p>\n

James Uthmeier, DeSantis\u2019s former chief of staff who now serves as the manager of the governor\u2019s 2024 presidential campaign, said the actions taken by the governor were designed to reshape New College into an institution that prioritized classical liberal education.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is our hope that New College of Florida will become Florida\u2019s classical college, more along the lines of a Hillsdale of the South,\u201d Uthmeier told<\/a> the Daily Caller<\/em> in January.<\/p>\n

New College of Florida\u2019s only full-time gender studies professor resigned<\/a> this month following a move by Rufo to eliminate<\/a>\u00a0the program altogether.<\/p>\n

DeSantis signed a law<\/a> in May to defund DEI departments at Florida\u2019s public colleges and universities after a state investigation found schools were spending millions of taxpayer dollars on DEI-related initiatives.<\/p>\n

MORE: New College enrolls more students, looks to cut gender studies<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

IMAGE: U.S. News and World Report<\/a><\/p>\n

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