Enrollment Decline Leads to Loss of Dining Surplus at FAMU

A decline in enrollment has led to the end of a dining program surplus that had helped fund athletics at Florida A&M University, reports the Tallahassee Democrat. FAMU's enrollment had dropped from an all-time high of 13,277 in 2011 to 12,069 last year, resulting in fewer meals served by the school's foodservice provider, Sodexo.

As a result, the profit formerly realized by FAMU from the program, which had gone to cover deficits in the athletic program, turned into shortfalls of some $38,000 a week that the school had to cover. FAMU says it is attempting to renegotiate the contract with Sodexo in advance of a further enrollment drop, to around 11,000, expected for this fall.

The school says the drops are due to tightened academic standards required of incoming freshmen.