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Education: Striving for Excellence
Florida’s educational system makes workforce readiness the top priority at every level.
Public and Private Universities
At 11 public universities, dozens of private colleges and universities and hundreds of technical institutions, Florida’s future workforce is busy today acquiring the knowledge and skills that will be needed by employers tomorrow.
Enrollment at Florida’s 11 public universities tops 300,000; another 120,000 students attend private, independent colleges and universities. In 2006-2007, public universities in Florida awarded close to 65,000 degrees. The state boasts four major medical schools; two more — at the University of Central Florida and at Florida International University — are slated to open in 2009.
The Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF) is an association of 28 private, accredited and not-for-profit schools that are Florida-based. With classes at 180 sites throughout the state, ICUF schools turn out one-third of all college degrees awarded in Florida, including 26% of baccalaureate programs and 56% of first professional degrees (doctors, lawyers, dentists, pharmacists, optometrists and podiatrists).
Additional educational options are available at career schools and for-profit colleges where classes tend to be smaller and the curriculum heavily career focused. According to the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges, the number of for-profit colleges offering degrees in Florida has grown from 238 in 2003 to 313 in 2008, and enrollment is on the rise. In 2006-2007, approximately 135,000 students were enrolled at Florida’s for-profit colleges, up 23% from the previous year.
WORKING TOGETHER
The Centers of Excellence program, launched by Florida legislative mandate in 2003, began with just three centers. In July 2008, the list grew to 10 with the addition of the Center of Excellence for Advanced Aero-Propulsion at Florida State University in Tallahassee.
The new center is a collaboration of the state’s premier researchers in aerospace and aviation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the University of Central Florida, the University of Florida and FSU, working to bridge the gap between academia and industry and give university-produced innovations a better chance at commercial viability.
Florida’s aerospace industry employs some 83,000 highly skilled workers and has an estimated $100-billion impact on the state’s economy. The new center will aim to help the industry remain competitive while it contends with an aging workforce and the need for ever-more innovative technologies.
For More Information
To learn more about how the right talent, facilities and can-do attitude are coming together to fuel the innovation economy in Florida, see the special report Florida Innovation.
