- UF President John J. Tigert created General College out of concern that UF students were not getting a strong liberal arts education. Many universities across the nation formed general colleges in the 1930s to strengthen students’ core education and to provide better counseling services to undergraduates. The attrition rate was very high at the time—1/3 of first and second year UF students dropped out of college before their junior year. Through increased student counseling, General College helped to alleviate this problem. First and second year students at UF enrolled in General College and earned an associate of arts degree before entering the academic college of their choosing to complete their bachelor’s degree. In 1945, the college was renamed University College and the curriculum was changed to provide specific courses for those students who intended to enroll in one of the upper-division colleges and a general program of study for those students who sought only the associate of arts degree.
