USF will close its College of Education due to budget cuts, reports say - Tampa Bay Times

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Two student newspapers at the University of South Florida are reporting that the school is eliminating undergraduate programs in the College of Education due to budget cuts.

The Crow’s Nest from the St. Petersburg campus and The Oracle based at USF Tampa separately reported that the decision was announced at a meeting of faculty and administrators on Wednesday. The university had no immediate comment Thursday.

According to The Oracle, the college’s graduate programs would continue as part of another USF college. The newspaper cited information from two College of Education faculty members.

In a letter to faculty Thursday, the interim dean of the College of Education, Judith Ponticell, announced a “strategic reimagining and reconfiguring” of the college to become the Graduate School of Education, which may be housed under the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences. The move is anticipated to cut $6.8 million from the college’s budget over two years.

“This change reflects the evolving demands of students, who are increasingly seeking alternative pathways to teacher certification outside of the traditional baccalaureate degree,” Ponticell wrote. “Going forward, USF education students will have an opportunity to earn teacher certification through a Master of Arts in Teaching degree which may be completed in a fifth year following a baccalaureate degree in a content area, giving Education students a competitive advantage among job seekers in the market.”

Over the years, the USF College of Education has been a major training ground for teachers in the region’s K-12 schools. It’s website says it is home to more than 2,200 students and 130 faculty members. The college offers 14 undergraduate majors, the website says.

Arthur Shapiro, president of USF’s United Faculty of Florida chapter, said he had heard about the cuts, adding that the union will be meeting with USF leadership on Friday to get more details.

He said he has concerns over how the cuts could impact faculty, but needs more information.

The university said earlier this month that it planned to cut $37.6 million from its budget over the next nine months. By 2022, it also plans to make additional cuts and find new sources of revenue that would total $56.9 in savings for USF.

More than $13 million in cuts would come from USF’s various colleges, which are in the process of implementing them.

In addition, USF president Steve Currall and top administrators plan to take pay cuts.

Over the last 10 years, enrollment in the College of Education has dipped to almost half of what it was. In fall 2009, the college enrolled 2,893 undergraduates and 2,224 graduate students. By fall of 2019, the numbers had fallen to 1,066 undergraduates and 1,318 graduate students across USF’s three campuses.

The combined number of undergraduate and graduate degrees dropped from nearly 1,500 in 2009 to 804 last year.

Timothy Boaz, president of the Faculty Senate, said the announcement caught most of the campus by surprise. He said he gets the sense it was a decision made by administration with little consultation of faculty.

“This kind of came out of the blue,” he said. “We knew there would be some programs affected, but I don’t think anyone had a clear sense of which they would be. ... This is something the faculty feel we should be part of those conversations. This is going to result in a pretty significant change. I think it’s going to have important implications for the university and important implications for the community.”

Lea Mitchell, director of leading and learning for Pasco County schools, said she has seen universities in several states, such as Colorado and Kentucky, trend toward five-year programs that end in master’s degrees with certification. She said if that’s the way USF is headed, it could possibly benefit rising teachers. She noted it could lead to new partnerships between the university and school districts.

“There’s opportunity for it to be really positive,” despite the negative financial circumstances that appear to be driving USF’s decision, Mitchell said.

This is a developing story. Stay with tampabay.com for updates.

Times staff writer Jeff Solochek contributed to this report.

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