Alvaro Velasquez was only three classes shy of finishing his bachelor's degree at UCF when he ran out of money.
Tonisha Stubbs had only a semester to go before graduation. But the single mother of two had used up all of her financial aid and had no way to pay tuition for the spring 2014 semester.
Thanks to a new program at University of Central Florida, neither had to leave school, and both are scheduled to graduate in May.
UCF gave both students on-the-spot grants of $2,500 each. That small amount of money made all the difference.
"Thank you, God — I'm blessed. That's all I can say," said Stubbs, 35, who was devastated by the thought of having to put off the undergraduate degree she had been working on since 1996.
Every year, students nationwide face personal or financial hurdles that can get in the way of obtaining a college degree. Some end up putting higher education on hold for a semester, a year or more. Some drop out completely.
UCF, which is working to help more students graduate, has started seeking out students like Velasquez and Stubbs to offer them the kind of personalized attention they might not have received earlier in their academic careers. Florida's largest public university is focusing on students who are very close to the finish line but need a nudge to cross it.
Oftentimes the solution is simple and not very expensive. It can be a matter of helping students with hectic work schedules figure out how to fit in the last few courses they need. Or getting some students signed up for online classes that they did not know were available.
A total of 222 students have been identified and offered help so far this school year, a university spokeswoman said. During the past two semesters, more than 30 students were given grants averaging less than $2,000 each.
"We do know that sometimes life gets in the way of completing a college degree," said Gordon Chavis, UCF's associate vice president for enrollment services. "We want to make certain that we are doing all that we can to help students be successful and to graduate from UCF."
UCF borrowed the idea for its new program, which it calls its Knights Graduation Initiative, from Georgia State University, which has received national attention for its efforts in recent years to raise its graduation rates.
Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton launched a similar initiative last year, an official there said. Since fall 2013, the program has helped ensure that 50 students graduated on time.
Though UCF has improved its graduation rates, they still are lower than some of Florida's other public universities. About 40 percent of students who start UCF as freshmen graduate within four years, according to estimates for 2012-13 that the school submitted to the state.
Two out of three UCF students graduate within six years.
College-graduation rates have become a key concern nationally. Lawmakers and others argue that better graduation rates mean more educated adults can enter the work force, leading to an improved economy and allowing America to better compete globally.
Those rates also can affect an institution's enrollment and funding. President Barack Obama has directed the U.S. Department of Education to develop a college-ratings system based on factors such as graduation rates and graduates' earnings.
The Georgia State program was introduced in late 2011. Tim Renick, vice provost there, said his school's graduation rate has risen by six percentage points during the past three years.
Georgia State, which has about half as many students as UCF, graduated an additional 500 to 600 students last year specifically because of this program, Renick said.
UCF targets students who have 18 credit hours or fewer to complete but are experiencing difficulty and are at risk of dropping out.
Velasquez, 22, is grateful for the extra financial help that will allow him to earn a bachelor's degree in computer science almost five years after he started working on it at Valencia College in 2009.
"It helped out a lot. It helped out immensely," he said.
dordway@tribune.com or 407-420-5470
