Bills would reshape college map

Proposed changes at USF and SPJC would expand enrollment, ratchet up competition and increase costs.

By BARRY KLEIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 15, 2001

No large Florida county is more higher-education deprived than Pinellas. It was true 45 years ago when the state awarded the University of South Florida to Tampa instead of St. Petersburg, and is even more true today.

But that could change soon if state lawmakers approve two measures designed to refashion the area's education landscape.

One would make the St. Petersburg branch of USF largely autonomous. Administrators there say that would allow them to almost double enrollment within four years, from 3,400 to 5,800.

That's twice as many students as are now enrolled at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. It's almost as many as are studying at the University of West Florida in Pensacola.

The other measure would allow St. Petersburg Junior College to become the first community college in Florida to offer four-year degrees. Administrators say that could attract an additional 1,000 students by fall 2002.

"There is a very real demand for these degrees, especially in northern Pinellas," says SPJC President Carl Kuttler.

Both proposals, however, have their critics in the Legislature.

Some say the changes at USF-St. Petersburg would complicate the proposed reorganization of higher education in Florida. Some say the changes at SPJC would encourage other two-year schools to follow suit, diluting their traditional mission.

But the proposals have the backing of community leaders, local politicians and the presidents of the institutions involved.

That's because everyone walks away with something.

USF gets to keep control of its largest regional campus. SPJC gets room to grow. The community finally gets a significant increase in higher education offerings.

"There are no losers here," says state Sen. Don Sullivan, the Pinellas Republican who has provided much of the muscle behind the proposals.

An uneasy relationship

Sullivan says the fate of both bills is uncertain, and is likely to remain so until the legislative session's final days.

But one thing is clear: Neither would be cheap to implement.

Both schools would have to beef up hiring to accommodate the surge in enrollment. USF-St. Petersburg says it would need 32 new faculty members by 2005-06 and 89 new support employees. That would cost $9.8-million, most of which would recur every year.

SPJC would have to hire five new professors and upgrade its library to meet accreditation standards. Kuttler says he isn't sure how much that would cost, but says he expects to begin accepting juniors and seniors by fall 2002.

Those students would get a price break under the legislation, which requires SPJC to charge them a lower tuition rate than what is assessed at state universities.

At USF, that was about $75 a credit hour this year. SPJC charged about $50 a credit hour.

Sullivan says the lower rate doesn't mean SPJC students would get a lesser degree. The college can afford to charge less, he says, because it doesn't incur the extra costs associated with being a research institution.

USF officials say their offerings would be superior.

"People will know what they are buying," says Kathy Betancourt, USF's associate vice president for university relations.

That comment underlines the often uneasy relationship between the two schools. There have been a number of squabbles in recent years, most of them over program offerings and what were perceived as broken promises.

Tensions seem to have eased recently, especially since July, when Judy Genshaft took over as USF president. Unlike her predecessor, Betty Castor, Genshaft has not resisted SPJC's push to offer baccalaureate degrees.

But there is little doubt the changes would ratchet up competition.

Genshaft says she doesn't see a problem.

"There is enough there for everyone to do," she says.

Kuttler agrees, but says he won't be bothered if the institutions elbow a bit for market share.

"One thing we've learned is a little competition can be good, especially for students," he says.

Sullivan says the bill contains several provisions that would ensure SPJC does not become a "full-spectrum, degree-granting, liberal arts institution."

For at least the next four years, the college could offer complete degree programs only in nursing and teacher education, which are in high demand. The school also could provide students holding two-year technical degrees the chance to upgrade to a four-year diploma.

That would change in 2006, when SPJC could try to add degree programs at its Tarpon Springs campus, where the four-year offerings would be based. But the college would need the permission of a new "coordinating board," whose members would include the USF president and the president of nearby Pasco-Hernando Community College.

The PHCC president was a recent addition to the board, added by way of amendment to ensure SPJC couldn't poach on its competitor's territory. SPJC also agreed not to recruit PHCC students for its four-year programs.

"Generally speaking, we're satisfied with that," said PHCC President Robert Judson. "We thought it was in our best interests to have some input."

Lamentable record

If the changes are approved, it will happen because of this state's lamentable record at producing college graduates.

Florida ranks near the bottom of the 50 states in the production of bachelor's degrees and in the percentage of residents who hold them. Its high school graduates are among the least likely to enroll in college.

Pinellas County has been particularly ill-served, especially since it lost the competition for USF in the mid 1950s. In terms of population, it is now the largest county in Florida without its own state university. That's true even though it has more college-age residents than four Florida counties that do have universities.

Opponents of the proposed measures are aware of the numbers. They just think there are better ways to improve them.

State Rep. Lindsay Harrington, R-Punta Gorda, says he would prefer community colleges expand their offerings through distance-learning programs or partnerships with existing four-year schools.

Kuttler says SPJC already does both, but still can't meet local needs. More than 500 SPJC students take courses at USF-St. Petersburg.

SPJC has 750 students enrolled in its university center in Seminole, where it partners with other Florida universities to offer four-year degrees.

Sullivan predicts Florida eventually will establish a "middle tier" of universities focused exclusively on undergraduate education. He doesn't see SPJC fitting that role, but says USF-St. Petersburg would be a prime candidate.

Most on the St. Petersburg campus don't seem interested.

They want to maintain ties with USF, as long as the relationship includes the new freedoms promised in the bill, which include control of the campus budget and a separate governing board.

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