The University of Florida will discontinue its binding early-decision program this coming fall, according to university officials. Instead of letting students choose among three application deadlines — October 1, November 1, and January 16 — the university will offer a single deadline in early November.

According to Janie M. Fouke, the university’s provost, Florida is abandoning the early-decision program because it disproportionately favored students who applied early, instead of evaluating the merits of all applicants regardless of the timing of their applications.

“We felt that the program wasn’t a good match for Florida,” said Ms. Fouke. “We collected information and found that students we would have admitted in an earlier pool would be denied admission just because they applied later. People who are dependent on knowing their financial package would not even apply early decision.”

The university joins a host of other institutions that have dropped early-decision options in recent years, including the University of Delaware, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Virginia. —Elizabeth F. Farrell