Did you have a rough day? At least you don’t work in the fundraising department at Florida Atlantic University.

Lulu Ramadan of University Press reports.

FAU poised to lose $7 million in funding due to poor academic performance

FAU falls far behind other Florida schools on academic performance, and that may cost them $7 million in state funding.

On Thursday, June 19, the Board of Governors — the board that oversees all 12 state universities — approved a new budget plan that takes $100 million of money budgeted for Florida universities and divides it up based on which schools have the best academic success and affordability.

FAU falls last on that list.

The model is based on university characteristics like graduation rate, job placement, cost per degree and retention rate, among other things. Because of poor performance in these areas, FAU won’t get a cut of the funding and will instead lose $7 million in funding.

FAU, University of West Florida and New College of Florida are all set to lose funding. Florida Polytechnic University, which officially opens in August, is unaffected by this new model. The remaining eight state universities will divide up the $100 million.

According to Chancellor of the State University System Marshall Criser III, that money isn’t lost completely. The three universities losing funding have an opportunity to restore it through an improvement plan.

“Our goal is not to take money away from any institution,” Criser said. “What I believe that this plan does is demonstrates that the State University System understands the importance of investing students’ dollars and taxpayers’ dollars in the quality of the education we provide for our students.”