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Impressive Inaugural Class Admitted to Florida Polytechnic University

May 7, 2014

LAKELAND, Fla. – The inaugural freshman class for Florida Polytechnic University is set, following the University’s application deadline for freshmen last week.

All told, Florida Polytechnic received nearly 3,000 undergraduate applications and has admitted 923 freshman and transfer students. Of those admitted students, 500 have already committed to attend the new University in the fall.

“Florida Polytechnic’s first class is very impressive, and it’s an honor to welcome these students into our new family,” said University Chief Operating Officer Ava L. Parker. “I commend our outstanding admissions team for successfully recruiting a diverse group of students who are among the best and brightest in our state.”

Florida Polytechnic’s incoming freshman class boasts an average GPA of 3.9 and average test scores of 1750 on the SAT and 25 on the ACT. Students are coming from all corners of the state, with the majority from Polk, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“It’s amazing to think about what we’ve accomplished in such a short period of time,” said Scott Rhodes, Florida Polytechnic’s Executive Director of Enrollment Services. “As a new university, we had a lot of ground to cover in terms of educating students and parents about who we are and what we offer. But thanks to a lot of hard work, we were able to attract quality students and be highly selective.”

Florida Polytechnic’s inaugural class begins August 25, 2014. The University will offer six undergraduate degree programs with 19 unique areas of concentration and two graduate degree programs: a masters in the College of Engineering and a masters in the College of Innovation and Technology.

All full-time undergraduate and graduate students who attend Florida Polytechnic this year will receive scholarships to cover tuition and fees, which are expected to be more than $5,000 for undergraduate students and more than $9,000 for graduate students for the Academic Year 2014-15.

Florida Polytechnic’s recruitment goal for its inaugural class was 500 students, but applications are still being accepted for transfer and graduate students.

Session Details

This session will demonstrate that practical risk management is for everyone, regardless of a formal program. Attendees will learn actionable and simple strategies that are easy to implement, enabling them to start immediately by focusing on their top risks to build greater operational resilience and ensure the sustained success of their auxiliary enterprises.

Presenter Profile

Michelle Powell serves as the pioneering Risk Manager at Florida Polytechnic University, the state’s sole 100% STEM-dedicated institution. Having been with the university for nearly 11 years, Michelle transitioned from a leadership role in Admissions in October 2023 to establish and evolve the risk management function from the ground up. In this solo capacity, Michelle builds robust frameworks for our dynamic, young university, overseeing our insurance portfolio, consulting on third-party and event risks, and developing critical campus-wide training programs. Michelle has obtained the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) Enterprise Risk Management certificate and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designations. Her distinct background in mathematics and engineering, combined with extensive higher education leadership, brings an analytical and strategic approach enhancing the institution’s resilience.