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ADRIENNE P. SAMUELSSt. Petersburg College hopes to address a shortage of teachers in economics, computers and wood shop.
The University of South Florida is "reluctantly" phasing out three bachelor's degree programs in education so that St. Petersburg College can add them to its curriculum.
With the change, SPC will offer Tampa Bay's only four-year degrees in business education, technology education and industrial-technical education. The programs will start in January 2005.
The degrees are for prospective teachers who want to educate students on subjects such as economics, computers or wood shop. SPC administrators hope adding the programs will help the college train new teachers needed to fill a growing shortage.
"Even though the basic enrollment is not a large enrollment, it's an important one," said Tom Furlong, senior vice president over baccalaureate programs and university partnerships at SPC. "This is the kind of thing (where) we can go out and show we're responding to the needs of the school superintendents and try to (address) the teacher shortage in these areas."
USF is phasing out those programs by fall and said the move is prompted by a lack of funding.
The school will focus on master's degree programs in career and technical education, which have a waiting list.
Colleen Kennedy, USF's dean of the College of Education, said money was a big part of the reluctant decision.
"This decision was necessitated by the current fiscal climate in which the College of Education must focus its limited resources," Kennedy wrote in an e-mail.
USF will beef up its master's degree programs, she wrote. And USF and SPC are working together to ensure a "smooth and efficient" transition.
Florida's Education Commissioner Jim Horne approved the move Monday, Furlong said. The switch won't be official until it is voted on at a March board of directors meeting.
SPC left its junior college status behind in 2001 with the addition of bachelor's degree programs. Now the school offers associate's degrees and separate bachelor's degrees in nursing, dental hygiene, technology management and education.
These degree programs should not be confused with the university partnership program, in which SPC teams up with other universities to share the use of classrooms or online network to teach classes. SPC's new education degrees will come with a diploma bearing the SPC name.
The education college had about 400 students last fall, most from Pinellas County with a few from Pasco and Hillsborough counties. The school is planning for 50 additional students to join one of the three new degree programs.
Cheaper tuition should be a draw for students.
"Our rates will be lower because we are charging about 30 percent less for fees," Furlong said. "If your daughter was getting ready to go to USF for this, it'd be the same job, same opportunities, and a lower price."
- Adrienne Samuels can be reached at 727 445-4157 or samuels@sptimes.com