USF trustees question administration’s plan for College of Education

Nearly a month after the University of South Florida announced plans to phase out undergraduate programs in the College of Education and shift its focus to graduate programming, the school’s Board of Trustees expressed concerns about the decision and the process and communication behind it.

“How we went about this is absolutely inconsistent with the history of my board involvement and I’m not pleased about it,” trustee Byron Shinn said at a Tuesday Board of Trustees committee meeting. “And to be blindsided as a trustee in our community is inappropriate and unsatisfactory.”

Discussion of the future of the College of Education was not listed as an agenda item, but Board of Trustees chair Jordan Zimmerman brought up the topic anyway.

“It’s something all of us as board members are hearing and the community is very interested in as well,” he said. “The state needs good teachers, and there’s nowhere else in Hillsborough County where you can get a teaching degree.”

USF officials have repeatedly pointed to declining enrollment programs as a main reason for phasing out its undergraduate programs. According to USF data, over the past 10 years, total enrollment in the College of Education has dropped from 5,117 students to 2,384 students and undergraduate enrollment has fallen from 2,893 to 1,066. At the same time, USF is facing nearly $37 million in budget cuts in the coming months, and the College of Education will experience a $6.8 million financial reduction over the next two years. Those factors have caused administrators to look at alternative approaches to educating teachers, including continuing to admit undergraduates in education to focus on specific areas where USF has other programmatic synergies leading to an advanced degree and “master teacher” credentials.  

Provost Ralph Wilcox, who has pointed out that students seeking education degrees can attend state colleges, private schools or go through alternative certification programs, insisted that no decisions have been made to terminate programs at either the graduate or undergraduate level, and said the school is “not about to deny students applying for education at this point and time.”

He added the College of Education is currently gathering data to create a proposal to present to USF leadership and trustees in December. However, trustee Nancy Watkins was skeptical that axing undergraduate education degrees isn’t already a done deal.

“We are steamrolling to December where I believe we will be asked to eliminate an entire degree program or college,” she said. “Everything I’m hearing today is in total conflict with what I’ve heard before. I’m being told nothing is happening and yet I’m hearing this word ‘reimagine’ over and over again. Reimagine has one definition in this context and that’s to get rid of it.”

Based on what she’s read and heard from the public, it was clear to Watkins that undergraduate degrees were going away before the trustees were made aware of the plan. 

“If that is not true and we are going to have a robust discussion on the topic, then perhaps we need to correct public perception,” said Watkins, who has called for an additional workshop to discuss the College’s future. “But to say no decision has been made yet is very much in opposition to what I’ve seen and read.”

Other trustees weighed in with their opinions and suggestions to keep the undergraduate programs, including going to the state and asking for funding. Some questioned the way the College of Education is being marketed, and several pointed out that salaries for new teachers have gone up due to new budget allowances which could create new interest in the teaching profession.

“We have to think about what that will do for demand for a Bachelor’s degree in education as the pay completely changes from where it is now to where it is going,” Zimmerman said. “I believe it is a responsibility that a state university has to offer a Bachelor’s in Education. It’s what we owe our communities, what we owe our families and what we owe our students.”

USF president Steve Currall closed out the discussion by reaffirming the university’s commitment to the process going forward. He said he recognizes the need for ongoing dialog and deliberation on topics surrounding undergraduate programming, and added that leadership is listening to faculty, staff and other stakeholders who want to make their voices heard. That said, he also pointed out the need for the university to make its final decision based on evidence and data, while remaining mindful of community responsibility. 

“It’s very important we consider all these things in our decision making,” he said. “It’s not just about quantitative metrics or financial metrics, it’s also about the mission of the university and our role and our contributions to society and the state.”

The Board of Trustees will meet again Tuesday, Dec. 8.