St. Pete College First to Accept Governor's $10,000 Degree Challenge
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Gov. Rick Scott, joined by St. Petersburg College President William D. Law Jr. and Brad Jenkins, SPC Associate Dean of Engineering Technology & Building Arts, announced the “Governor’s $10,000 Degree Challenge” during a press conference held at the college Monday.
Law said SPC would be the first Florida college to accept Scott’s challenge to create a $10,000 degree program targeted at making higher education more affordable and results-oriented for Florida families.
Scott said, “I am issuing a challenge to our state colleges to find innovative ways to offer a bachelor’s degree at a cost of just $10,000 in fields that will provide graduates with the best opportunity for employment. As I travel the state, families tell me that they care about three things – getting a good job, a quality education and enjoying a low cost of living. As a former community college student myself, I know how important it is for us to keep costs low while working to connect students with degree fields that prepare them for great careers. Working with the Florida Legislature, this ‘$10,000 Degree Challenge’ will help us continue to improve the value of our higher education system for Florida families and we are pleased that St. Petersburg College is the first school to step up to the plate.”
Law said, “St. Petersburg College is once again excited about the opportunity to be part of a statewide college pilot program that lowers the cost of a college education for the citizens we serve. Affordable education always has been at the forefront of the college’s mission. SPC is uniquely positioned to build on its bachelor degree commitments and will be offering its Tech Management Program.”
Read more about the announcement on the college's news blog.
rick barasso
10:35 am on Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Did the Dean lose a bet, that he has to be seen with the governor?
rick barasso
10:36 am on Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Romney didn't want to be seen with this guy!
Michael D.
10:59 am on Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The problem I have is that if I'm an employer, and I see a student who went to UF, FSU, USF, Miami, UNF, UWF, or a student that went to SPC. Which of the students with the same exact resume am I hiring? SPC is viewed as a secondary college, not a top teir university for the state of Florida. I'm glad they are working to make education more affordable, but what is that $10,000 degree going to be worth?
Cecilia
12:38 pm on Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Worth a LOT more than NOT going to college at all. Besides, if an SPC grad moves out of state the (unnecessary and unfair) stigma of having attended SPC (which at some point will probably become SPU) will be diminished and all that employer will see is a qualified candidate applying for a position holding a four year degree. At some point, unless the degree is Ivy, a degree is a degree!
Not a big fan of this Governor by any means, but I do like this challenge. Good for SPC for stepping up to provide quality and affordable education to those who otherwise might not be able to afford it.
Michael D.
5:01 pm on Wednesday, November 28, 2012
wow, must have touched a nerve. It's an honest question, and one that will be asked about from employers in and out of state. I have two Masters Degrees from USF, and I have had to explain to some out of state companies (fortune 500 companies) what and where USF is. So image that same question of a smaller community college/university? And no, all degrees are not made equally. Or else graduates from the University of Phoenix would be all over the place in upper management.
Who is WILLIAM BINNEY?
9:20 pm on Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Want to create a worthwhile $10,000 degree??? Eliminate the unnecessary Prerequisites the students are forced to pay for......or should I say, the taxpayers are forced to pay for considering college tuition is so subsidized by the Govt nowadays. It's a nice racket the system has set up. Students shouldn't be forced to continue studying topics not related to their chosen field. Say you want it to remain a 4 year degree............imagine how proficient the people would be in their specific area if they had those additional two years to learn their trade.
Today, a degree is nothing more than an expensive piece of paper usually indicating a mountain of debt. Unless one has achieved a degree in a necessary field, the only thing it shows a potential employer is the ability to endure something for 4-5 years.
And if you really want to make education more affordable, you must remove the Govts involvement. If the Govt wasn't funding a large majority of the College education in the US, these Colleges wouldn't be able to continue the increasing of their tuition. It's the same with every aspect of life.........once the Govt creates vehicle for prices to increase, what do you think is going to happen?? Why would colleges lower their rates when the taxpayers are shouldering the burden?
Lynda
11:25 pm on Wednesday, November 28, 2012
It would be too bad if making a 4 year degree affordable meant replacing an actual "education" with only taking college courses for a current "trade". It is the broad prerequisites that give value to a degree as well as make it useful in a changing world. People who can't continue to learn beyond the basic skills used in their current jobs are really useless in most career environments. I guess I would also like some proof of Government funding of a "large majority of the College education in the US". If taxpayers were really funding education, students and their families wouldn't be burdened with so much debt from trade schools, community colleges, private non-profit colleges or large universities. The real scandal in post-high school education is the for-profit schools that scam students by promising jobs and not delivering anything except debt. These schools need to be better regulated under strict consumer protection oversight.
JaaaaaaayBeeeeeeeeee
7:34 am on Thursday, November 29, 2012
Regarding Samuel's comment ... I went to SPC when it was SPJC.... late 70s. There was a testing program available called CLEP ... I think it is College Level Evaluation Program, IIRC. It allowed you to skip classwork that you could prove you were already proficient in. I managed to skip my entire freshman year thanks to great parochial school base to start with. So, I started SPJC as a sophomore.
Went on to USF and earned my BA at the age of 20. It was quite a help because my family had just moved here and started a business, and believe me, cash was tight. I supplied about 1/3 of the costs working part-time.
The CLEP program is still available, info at ... bhttp://clep.collegeboard.org/oring Not only a huge help economically, but sitting through the same classes for a second time would be a waste of time and energy, and the more you can do to keep that momentum toward getting a degree is important.
Michael D.
10:52 am on Thursday, November 29, 2012
CLEP, SAT 2's, and high school dual enrollment, they are all available. And most are not used to their ability. I was fortunite to be able to use all three to skips certain math courses, and social sciences.
David Conkle
4:09 pm on Friday, November 30, 2012
My question is this: How are you going to provide a 4-year degree when the books alone could eat up to a third of the costs? This is all just smoke and mirrors from a Governer that does't want to fund education in our State. We need to vote this clown out of office and send him back to ripping off Medicare and Medicaid, seems like it is the only thing he is good at -- ripping off everyone! What a smelly ass....