Madelain Tigano–The Corsair
PJC’s Board of Trustees approved Pensacola State College as the college’s new name on Jan. 19.
However, the college must first be allowed to offer four-year degrees before the name officially can be changed. Once the process is completed, PJC can move forward in asking the Florida Legislature to pass the appropriate legislation confirming the name change, according to Larry Bracken, PJC’s executive director of government affairs.
“The Legislature will not allow a name change, under the current laws, until the college has other approvals. But Board of Trustee authority is the first step,” he said.
“We had hoped we could get the legislative authority this session, but apparently we must get the [Southern Association of Colleges and Schools] authority first. Palm Beach College and Seminole State College have both completed the SACS process and are, therefore, seeking legislative approval this session,” Bracken said. “We had hoped to be on their bill, but now we will continue to seek SACS approval and seek legislative approval in the next session.”
PJC’s administration team anticipates the official name change to take place in spring 2011.
Baccalaureate degree approval and a name change are two separate processes, said Dr. Ed Meadows, PJC’s president.
In the baccalaureate degree process, the Board of Trustees’ approval to start the process has been completed and the application has been sent to the Division of Colleges of the Florida Department of Education for review.
In February, the Board of Trustees will have to approve the application for further processing. PJC will then seek the approval from the Florida State Board of Education, which is scheduled for March.
Funding for PJC to offer four-year degrees has to be in the 2010 legislative budget.
“Last year, token funding was $100 per institution,” Meadows said. PJC doesn’t plan on getting a great deal of funding.
To finish the process, approval by the SACS is set for June.
“If the approval process continues as it has in the recent past for the other community colleges, PJC could possibly enroll a limited number of students in two applied bachelor degree programs this coming fall,” Meadows said, in an opinion viewpoint for the Pensacola News Journal.
“Our goal is not to compete with state universities, but rather to provide viable economic and educational alternatives for students and employers in our area. That has been PJC’s mission since we opened our doors in 1947, and remains our primary interest.”
The Florida Department of Education provides a way for community colleges to include a baccalaureate degree option “for specific populations to access further education in a cost-effective manner to meet the needs of today’s workforce and to move readily to compete in an increasingly globalized market.”
In fall 2010, PJC hopes to offer four-year Bachelor of Applied Science and Bachelor of Nursing degrees. Applied science degrees are more career or field-oriented and are designed to offer more hands-on training within the coursework. Universities usually don’t offer these types of degrees.
PJC plans to offer a Bachelor of Applied Science in Administration and Supervision with four concentration areas: Organizational Administration; Public Safety/ Public Service; Healthcare Management; and Graphic Design. PJC will still continue to offer its two-year associate in arts transfer programs.
Why add State?
“When a college changes its name it should withhold its identity and reflect its mission,” Bracken said.
State colleges are part of the Florida College System composed of 28 two-year and four-year public institutions, states a Pilot Project created by the 2008 Florida Legislature. “Based on their mission, level of accreditation and appropriate authorization, the colleges within this system offer Bachelor’s degrees, Associate degrees, career and technical certificates developmental/remedial studies, and/or adult education.”
“Pensacola State College means our college located in Pensacola is a state supported college, not a private college,” Meadows said. “This name is similar to hundreds of other state colleges across the country that identifies the region of the state in the name.”
Palm Beach State College, Daytona State College, Indian River State College, Polk State College, Seminole State College, and Santa Fe State College are some of the community colleges in Florida that have completed the baccalaureate degree process and successfully changed their names to identify them now as state colleges.