The Florida Senate

1004.87  Florida College System Task Force.--

(1)  The Florida College System Task Force is established within the Division of Florida Colleges of the Department of Education for the purpose of developing findings and issuing recommendations regarding the transition of community colleges to baccalaureate-degree-granting colleges and the criteria for establishing and funding state colleges.

(2)(a)  All members of the task force must be appointed on or before August 31, 2008, and the task force shall hold its first meeting on or before September 15, 2008.

(b)1.  The task force shall be comprised of the Commissioner of Education and 11 members appointed by the Commissioner.

2.  The Commissioner of Education shall be the chair and a voting member of the task force.

3.  The appointees shall include seven community college presidents, one state university president, the president of an institution that is eligible to participate in the William L. Boyd, IV, Florida Resident Access Grant Program, the president of an institution that is licensed by the Commission for Independent Education and grants baccalaureate degrees, and one member at large. The community college presidents appointed to the task force may not include the presidents of the institutions named to participate in the State College Pilot Project. The community college presidents appointed to the task force must reflect the diversity of program offerings and service areas of the 28 community colleges and include representatives of community colleges that are authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees, community colleges that are not authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees, community colleges that have urban service areas, community colleges that have rural service areas, community colleges the service areas of which have populations of 500,000 or more, and community colleges the service areas of which have populations of fewer than 500,000.

(3)  The task force shall:

(a)  Recommend a program approval process for new baccalaureate degree programs that are designed to meet the employment needs of Florida, including approval as a baccalaureate-degree-granting community college and as a state college.

(b)  Recommend a funding model that considers projected enrollment, adjustments for actual enrollment, program mix, and comparable support for similar programs across all institutions, including state colleges and community colleges authorized by the State Board of Education to award baccalaureate degrees pursuant to s. 1007.33 The funding model must ensure that the programs and services offered by institutions in the Florida College System in providing associate and baccalaureate degrees are delivered in a cost-effective manner that demonstrates substantial savings to the student and to the state over the cost of providing the degree at a state university.

(c)  Identify the areas, both geographic and academic, in which an increased number of graduates who have baccalaureate degrees is necessary in order to meet regional and statewide workforce needs.

(d)  Monitor implementation of the State College Pilot Project.

(e)  Recommend priorities and criteria for baccalaureate programs that may be offered without specific approval by the State Board of Education.

(4)  Any recommendation from the task force to the Legislature requires approval by at least three-fourths of the membership of the task force.

(5)  The task force shall be staffed by existing employees of the Division of Florida Colleges.

(6)(a)  Community colleges, state universities, the Commission for Independent Education, and the Agency for Workforce Innovation shall provide information and assistance to the task force.

(b)  Independent postsecondary educational institutions, representatives of the business community, and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide the task force with information to assist the task force in its deliberations.

(7)  The task force shall submit a report and recommendations to the Governor, the State Board of Education, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by March 2, 2009. The report must include any comments from the task force regarding the final report resulting from the State College Pilot Project and any specific recommendations of the task force for legislative action during the 2009 Regular Session of the Legislature.

(8)  The task force shall be dissolved effective June 30, 2010, prior to which time it shall issue its final report with recommended detailed criteria for implementing the Florida College System as a permanent part of the state system of higher education.

History.--s. 4, ch. 2008-52; s. 12, ch. 2009-228.