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Group looks at improving access to education

A task force seeks ways to make higher education more accessible to serve a growing need for workers with college educations.

ORLANDO - Faced with the prospect that Florida's higher education system isn't going to keep pace with the state's booming population, state education officials Monday began a six-month study to devise ways to make it accessible in the future.

Officials at the first meeting of the Task Force on Access to Higher Education said they plan to have ready a series of recommendations for the state Legislature by the beginning of next year.

The task force is made up of members of the state Board of Education, the Florida Board of Governors, state lawmakers, county school board members, private college groups, community college officials and board of trustee members at the state's universities.

"It's pretty clear that ... this state is going to far outstrip its capacity to offer higher education," said Phil Handy, chair of the state Board of Education.

The task force is going to examine the future of some popular higher education programs, such as the Bright Futures scholarships, which are paid for with lottery money, and the prepaid tuition plan, which lets families buy tuition contracts in lump sums or monthly payments. The money is pooled in long-term investments and those earnings are aimed at keeping pace with the cost of tuition when a child is ready to begin college.

The task force also will study the role private colleges and universities can play in easing the strain on the public higher education system and whether community colleges might some day be able to award more four-year, undergraduate degrees.

Planning how Florida addresses the future of its education system is crucial to the long-term growth of the state's economy, which is among the nation's leaders in new jobs created.

"This is this most profound question facing education in Florida," Handy said.

By 2012, Florida will have 9.5-million jobs. Of that figure, 4.25-million jobs will require a high school education or less; 3.1-million jobs will require a vocational certificate; 1-million jobs will require a community college certificate; 750,000 will require a bachelor's degree; and 250,000 will require a master's degree or higher, according to education department estimates.

"In shaping the future, it gives you the upper hand if you look ahead," deputy education commissioner Hanna Skandera told task force members.

[Last modified June 21, 2005, 02:30:30]