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Colleges Push Back On Plans To Clamp Down On Baccalaureate Degrees, Names

State College of Florida

A one-year moratorium on new bachelor degree programs at Florida’s community colleges expires next month. But a proposal that would revamp how and when schools could establish new programs, has yet to clear the legislature. More than 100 programs have been created at the schools during the past eight years and the Board of Education has never rejected a single proposal.

Sen. Bill Galvano noted last year what had become a trend. The community colleges, dropping “community” from their title in favor of new or different names. Some were way too close to existing public and private universities, causing friction there—for example, the Florida State College in Jacksonville, and Florida State University. Then there were conflicts over duplicate programs. A colleges and universities offering the same program in the same place. Galvano characterized it as “mission creep”.

“There has been a mission creep originally intended to be an add on to the mission, has now supplanted in this sponsor’s opinion—the core mission," he said last year.

Galvano managed to get a one-year moratorium on new baccalaureate programs at the state’s community colleges, but it expires in May. A proposal this year by  Sen. Kelli Stargel would lift the moratorium, but calls on stronger justification for new programs, and stricter oversight of them. It would also require an annual review of the programs, and those that aren’t performing could be shut down. But her plan ran into trouble Wednesday in the Senate Education Appropriations Committee. Stargel wasn’t there and an aide filled in. But Democratic Sen. Jeremy Ring says he has lots of questions.

“My thought is, um…I really want to address them to Senator Stargel whose obviously not here. but she’s not here…a lot of this was Senator Negron’s amendment, and uh…I guess I’ll address them to you, but--"  

The measure was temporarily postponed by Committee Chairman Don Gaetz—keeping it alive a little longer, until Stargel can explain the plan.

On the other side of the issue are the Presidents who run those community colleges. Carol Probstfeld is President of State College of Florida-Manatee/Sarasota. She’s okay with most parts of the bill— but there are three exceptions. The first is a cap on the percent of students that can enroll in community college baccalaureate degree programs.

“To put a cap on institutions when many of them are over that cap, makes no sense. But the bottom line is, philosophically, we certainly don’t put limits as a state, on our community development efforts, why would we put limits on our ability to be responsive to those efforts?”

Probstfeld takes issue with a perception that colleges are duplicating programs, and says most of the current programs are a response to local workforce needs. She disagrees with another provision that requires a longer approval process for the programs. But draws the line at language that would require the schools to change their names. 

"We started off as junior colleges. Then we became community colleges when the 2+2 system became the focus and we became state colleges---yet another name change, instead of clarifying our mission, confuses what the mission is," she says.

The House version of the bill will be taken up Thursday. It’s late in the legislative session and bills are starting to die. The proposals response in the Senate casts doubt on its future, but either way it goes one thing is for certain. Colleges can resume creating new baccalaureate programs, because the state moratorium expires May 21st.

Follow @HatterLynn

Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lynn has served as reporter/producer for WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas.  She is an award-winning member of the Capital Press Corps and has participated in the NPR Kaiser Health News Reporting Partnership and NPR Education Initiative. 

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