Published: Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 12:21 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 12:21 a.m.
LAKELAND | It could take as long as six years for the proposed Florida Polytechnic University to become an accredited school, according to an accrediting agency, and that would create a variety of problems, including that its students couldn't receive federal aid during that time.
That news came in a recent letter from Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), to Judy Genshaft, president of the University of South Florida.
A section of the state budget, which is pending approval by the Legislature, includes plans to eliminate the University of South Florida Polytechnic and to create the new school in Lakeland, making it independent from the USF system.
Genshaft and other ?educators met with accreditation administrators at SACS last month to talk about how a new school could obtain accreditation under two different scenarios. One was if the school started out under the USF umbrella and the other was if it operated independently from the beginning.
Wheelan said she wrote Genshaft a detailed letter for the sake of clarity. "Our desire is to ensure that the processes of the Commission on Colleges are clear to all concerned."
LONGER WAIT
The plan for immediate establishment of a 12th university would mean accreditation could take as long as three to six years, she said.
It's not possible to pinpoint exact time frames, Wheelan said, because many factors are taken into account, including the readiness of the institution when it applies and the availability of audits.
Regardless, immediate independence for a new college would mean a far longer wait for accreditation, she said.
"This option would accomplish the goal of immediately creating an institution independent from the University of South Florida," Wheelan said. "However, the newly created institution would no longer be a part of its accredited ?parent' institution and would not be accredited until it had completed the application process.
"It is important to note that this could mean that during the application process, students who would graduate from this new institution would be graduating from an unaccredited institution."
That means students would not qualify for federal financial aid, she said.
It also would cause problems for university administrators.
"In addition, because the process is lengthy and because an applicant institution may not undertake a substantive change during the process, the institution would have to place on hold any significantly different programs or other changes it might wish to make until it gained accreditation," Wheelan said.
Under a plan currently pending approval in the state Legislature, assets and budgets belonging to USF Poly in Lakeland would be handed over to a new college this year.
USF Poly students and faculty would remain within the Tampa-based USF system and would undergo a 5-year "teach out" that would enable them to graduate with USF diplomas by taking classes in Polk County.
A slower route to independence was outlined late last year by the State University System Board of Governorsthat would allow the Lakeland campus to become accredited sooner, Wheelan said.
The legal change that would create a new university right away is part of the proposed state budget that still needs approval by the state House and Senate and still would need to be approved by Gov. Rick Scott.
That change is backed by Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, who has said he wants immediate independence for the school because he has "no faith whatsoever" in USF to follow through with the current plan to make the Lakeland campus independent.
FACULTY PROTESTS
Plans to create a new college that lacks accreditation are under fire by the faculty union of the Lakeland campus.
Preston Mercer, a professor at the campus, has written several letters protesting the plan, including a recent one sent to the members of the Legislature and Frank Brogan, chancellor of the State University System of Florida.
"The idea of a separate, 12th university with no accreditation, administration, faculty, students or staff is incomprehensible," Mercer said.
"How many years will the new campus be non-?productive until it can put in place a totally new faculty/staff/administration/curriculum, etc.? Years of progress will be lost with no guarantee of success and no graduates to meet immediate needs."
The goal for SACS, Wheelan said, is that all parties involved make a careful choice in deciding which course to take.
"It is our hope that as you, the University of South Florida's Board of Trustees, and others weigh options concerning the future of USF Polytechnic, a solution will be chosen which will ensure the future well-being of the university, of USF Polytechnic, and of the students involved," she said.
[ Mary Toothman can be reached at mary.toothman@theledger.com or 863-802-7512. Her Twitter feed is @MaryToothman.]
Source: http://www.theledger.com/article/20120308/news/120309478
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