Florida Trend Exclusive
Degrees of change

Florida's business landscape is evolving rapidly, and the state's MBA programs are evolving with it. From new concentrations in health care leadership and human resources to data analytics, cybersecurity and brand strategy, schools are reshaping their curricula to meet the demands of a changing economy and an increasingly complex global marketplace. As employers seek leaders who can balance analytical rigor with strategic vision, empathy with innovation, and ethical judgment with technological fluency, these programs are stepping up offerings for professionals at every stage of their careers. [Source: Florida Trend]

See also:
» Uncoding Leadership
» AI Insights
» Market Ready
» Cultivating Space Leaders

Florida schools fret future with fewer babies being born

As Florida school districts grapple with declining enrollment, officials are paying close attention to birth rates. They’re not offering much hope. Across Florida, as in much of the nation, the birth rate is at an historic low of 1.6 children per woman, and shrinking. Fewer babies today means fewer kindergartners five years later. The changes are impacting how schools do business, with families having a growing number of education options. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Sociology no longer a general education course at Florida universities

The board governing Florida’s universities voted last Thursday to remove sociology as a general education offering at the state’s public universities, leaving it available as an elective course. The decision, while not on the agenda for the meeting at University of West Florida, comes after state rulemakers and faculty tugged back and forth over what a sociology curriculum will look like. [Source: Florida Phoenix]

Florida seeks input for rule on excused school absences for religion

The Florida Department of Education is preparing new rule updates aimed at further protecting students’ religious rights in public schools. It has announced plans to refine the state rule enforcing statute on excused absences for religious instruction or holidays, with an online workshop tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. April 7. A growing number of states have been authorizing “release time” for families to take their students out of school for off-campus religion lessons. Florida’s current rule, first adopted in 1989, has not been updated since 2010. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Florida Education Commissioner looks ahead to changes in state’s education system

Florida’s Education Commissioner is looking ahead to new changes to the state’s education system this summer. Commissioner Stasi Kamoutsas highlighted what he thought were the most important education bills on their way to becoming law during a Capital Tiger Bay event in Tallahassee on Tuesday. He talked about the priorities on school safety, including the expansion of Florida’s guardian program which allows trained employees to carry concealed guns on college campuses. [Source: WCTV]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› FGCU uses AI holograms to train future clinicians [Gulfshore Business]
With the help of an AI-powered platform called “Dr. Hologram,” students at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Marieb College of Health & Human Services are using cutting-edge technology to prepare for their futures as health care practitioners. Marieb College trains students for careers including nursing, physician assistant, physical therapy, occupational therapy, exercise science and social work. Joseph Buhain, director of interprofessional simulation and emerging technology at FGCU in Fort Myers, said the university is seeking to advance not only innovation in learning, but innovation in medical technology.

› North Florida College works to keep graduates local through career pathways [WTXL]
North Florida College is doing more than educating students — it’s working to keep them in the communities they call home. Serving a service area of more than 4,000 square miles across six rural counties, NFC offers a range of degree and workforce programs designed to prepare students for career opportunities close to home.

› Growing and shrinking: 2 new Orange schools to open as 7 others to close [Orlando Sentinel]
Minutes after the Orange County School Board voted this month to close seven half-empty schools, it had to make another seemingly contradictory decision: Choose names for two new schools set to open in August. The votes underscored the two realities facing Orange County Public Schools. District and state officials project a steep, nearly 10,000-student decline in traditional public school enrollment in Orange County over the next five years, fueled by lower birth rates, a loss of immigrant students and the increasing popularity of state-funded voucher scholarships for private school and homeschooling services.

› University of Florida part-time MBA program tuition changes [Gainesville Sun]
The Florida Board of Governors voted to keep in-state tuition the same for the University of Florida's weekend part-time MBA program. Tuition for out-of-state students in the same program will increase by about 20% at the Jacksonville and Miami campuses. University officials argued the tuition increase is necessary to make the program more competitive and improve its national ranking.

Early attendees say New Epic Universe theme park lives up to the hype