A legislative proposal to abolish the independent accreditation of USF St. Petersburg cleared the House Education Committee on Tuesday and appeared headed for approval by the Legislature.
But attached to the proposal – in House Bill 423 – was an 11-page amendment by Rep. Larry Ahern, R-Seminole, that was designed to meet some of the objections raised by the St. Petersburg campus and its allies in Pinellas County government and business circles.
Here are the highlights of the amendment:
- The separate accreditation of St. Petersburg and USF Sarasota-Manatee would end by June 30, 2020, and all three campuses would report to Tampa.
- The prestigious College of Marine Science, which is based in St. Petersburg but reports to Tampa, would become part of USF St. Petersburg.
- USF St. Petersburg would retain its name and regional chancellor.
- The Campus Board that oversees USF St. Petersburg would be expanded from five members (all residents of Pinellas County) to seven. The chair of the Faculty Senate and president of the student body would serve as ex-officio members.
- The Campus Board would submit “an annual operating plan, budget and legislative budget request” to the Board of Trustees for the USF system.
- The Board of Trustees would issue a yearly report on the distribution of fund to each of the three campuses in the USF system (Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee).
- Every two years, the Board of Trustees would publish a “regional impact report” that details the “increased investments” in specific programs in St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee.
- A 13-member task force would be created to develop a plan to “improve service to students” while phasing out the separate accreditation of St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee. Only two of the 13 members appear guaranteed to represent USF St. Petersburg (the regional chancellor and chair of the Campus Board).
- The task force would be charged with identifying “specific degrees in programs of strategic significance,” including health care and STEM programs in St. Petersburg.
- The task force would recommend maintaining the “unique identity” of each campus and establishing “pathways to admission for all students who require bridge programming and financial aid.”
In an editorial Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Times repeated its assertion that legislators should have given the issue a year’s study rather than springing it on St. Petersburg, where distrust of the Tampa campus and USF system President Judy Genshaft runs deep.
But the amendment approved Tuesday “offers better protections and potentially a brighter future for the St. Petersburg campus,” the Times said.
The newspaper called for further amendments, including greater Pinellas representation on the planning task force, protection of named colleges like the Kate Tiedemann College of Business, and assurances that “good Pinellas students” would not be shut out of admission by higher requirements.
Read the amendment here. Its provisions are underlined.
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/423/Amendment/943889/PDF
Header photo: Jonah Hinebaugh | The Crow’s Nest
