Florida universities & students get tough lesson in COVID economics

| 5/7/2020

Florida universities & students get tough lesson in COVID economics

The federal government promised to help Florida college students struggling help make ends meet amid the economic devastation caused by the novel coronavirus. A $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security- CARES- Act was approved by Congress back in March. The Act allocated more than $30 billion for education, half of which would help colleges and college students rebound from the crisis. Nearly six weeks later, some Florida universities have received the federal funds while a few are still waiting for the money. Meantime, struggling students hope the funds will be able to save their college education. [Source: WFTX]

Aspen Prize propels Miami Dade College to community honors

Miami Dade College in 2019 was awarded the Aspen Prize for College Excellence, which recognizes high achievement and performance among state colleges, as well as the Lumina Foundation Education Innovation Judges’ Choice Prize, acknowledging efforts to help adult learners earn credentials that lead to further education and employment in a rapidly changing economy. In appreciation of the positive impact of these awards on the community, MDC has been named a winner in the 2020 Gold Medal Awards for institutions. [Source: Miami Today]

College design engineers give manufacturing a try

In normal times, the University of South Florida College of Engineering focuses on product design — not manufacturing. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, that has all changed. Now students and staff have been making face shields for medical personnel at Tampa General Hospital and USF Health. [Source: Business Observer ]

USF to hold virtual graduation ceremonies for all three campuses on Saturday

The University of South Florida (USF) will hold virtual commencement ceremonies for the first time in the school’s history on Saturday, May 9. The ceremonies will recognize thousands of graduates from all three USF campuses which are located in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee. [Source: WWSB ]

Florida Bar bestows Medal of Honor on FSU center director

Mimi Graham, the director of Florida State University’s Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy, has received the Florida Bar Association’s Medal of Honor for a non-lawyer. It’s the Bar’s highest award and acknowledges Graham’s decades-long efforts helping to introduce intervention-based policies and trauma-informed programs into Florida courts. [Source: Florida Trend]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida university’s virtual graduation hacked [WFLA]
A Florida university’s virtual graduation was thwarted on Sunday by a cyberattack. Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers confirmed the ceremony was hacked Sunday. “This morning’s virtual commencement plan to honor and celebrate our spring graduates was thwarted by what our vendor partner, StageClip, informs us was a cyberattack on its servers,” university officials said.

› Looking to reboot your career? A top Miami coding school is moving classes online [Miami Herald]
If you’ve been thinking about learning to code, and still want the personal touch of a classroom — or as close to it as possible given the coronavirus pandemic — Miami-based Wyncode has two new offers. First, all Wyncode programs are now available remotely. Remote students will attend daily lectures, with instructors and teaching assistants available to answer questions or help troubleshoot problems. And until May 15, the first week of classes are free to audit.

› Florida Prepaid extends enrollment deadline [Tampa Bay Times]
The open enrollment season for Florida Prepaid college tuition funds was supposed to have ended April 30. To give families more time, while navigating the coronavirus economy, the organization’s board has extended the deadline by a month.

› Florida and other states could lose teaching positions as recession looms and pandemic continues [Florida Phoenix]
While states across the nation are attempting to reopen and boost the economy, researchers are trying to predict the potential impacts of a looming recession due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the arena of education, a new analysis predicts just under 319,000 teaching positions could be at risk if states cut funding for education by 15 percent and no government action takes place.

Tags: Education eNews

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