Hi I’m Mike Sanderson, I’m sorry I won’t be able to join the State University System in Palm Beach County this week as I had hoped.
I have a two comments, the other about the future of my involvement, but this comment is about the metric.
If you know Mike Sanderson, you know I love the metrics. Especially for New College. Let’s see how Richard Corcoran is doing on the metrics.
Post graduation employed, Didn’t meet the goal,Post graduation earnings, didn’t meet the goal; Cost per student, did meet the goal—because he’s paying students nearly $20,000 to go there; graduation rates, didn’t meet the goal; retention, didn’t meet the goal; Programs of Strategic Emphasis, didn’t meet the goal.
If you’d like to learn more about the 30% graduation rate, you can see the documentary, first they came for my college, or the John Oliver program, which landed. Link in description.
Also with the metrics, we get real enrollment numbers. Let’s look at the Freshmen class, First Time In College. Fall 2025, 183 FTIC students. Lower than 2022, when it was 188 FTIC students.
If you remember the Business Plan, that the legislature required New College adopt, Corcoran claimed that he would have 275 FTIC students. He didn’t even have 225 when he presented it.
Richard Corcoran’s enrollment increase is driven entirely by transfers and graduate students, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, those students don’t count to other metrics like GPA and SAT score.
Speaking of the business side, Corcoran is getting twice as much as New College did then from recurring expenses alone. It’s pathetic.
Of course, Richard Corcoran will whine and cry. It’s like that mascot gesture, wah wah wah. I’m Richard Corcoran, it’s so unfair to criticize me for the metrics.
He didn’t even meet the goal he picked “Number of Free Speech and Civil Discourse Events Hosted on Campus”
This failure evident in this accountability plan has nothing to do with the goals of the 2023 takeover of New College, which myself and many other alums have no problem with, because ‘classical education’ doesn’t contradict what New College has long championed, which is educational excellence. Rather, this accountability plan has everything to do with Richard Corcoran being a failure, a failure beyond comparison. You can see it in the drama, you can see it in the comedy, you can see it in the boring numbers.
