Florida’s state universities to move classes online, citing coronavirus

Florida higher education leaders on Wednesday directed all state universities to move classes online as soon as possible, citing the spread of coronavirus. The Board of Governors for the State University System called for schools to offer remote, online teaching while keeping campuses open and operations regular for students who don’t have the option to relocate. Dorms, dining halls and health centers will remain available to students, said system spokeswoman Renee Fargason. More from the Tampa Bay Times and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

See also:
» State to boost online education to prepare for potential impact of coronavirus

Florida Trend Exclusive
Florida's business school deans talk about their MBA programs

John Kraft is the dean of Florida business school deans. At the helm of University of Florida's Warrington College of Business for 30 years, he has overseen huge growth in MBA programs. The future, he believes, is all about flexibility. Read what he, and other deans told Florida Trend.

Florida will keep 12 public universities for now after plan to merge Florida Poly, New College fails

Florida will keep its 12 public universities—for now. Plans to merge Florida Polytechnic and New College of Florida into the University of Florida died Friday due to a lack of support in from the Senate. Even though Senate President Bill Galvan previously expressed interest in the idea, House Speaker Jose Oliva says it was obvious there weren’t enough votes in that chamber. “It’s a shame, but it’s the process,” he said of the House’s move to abandon the plan put forth by Rep. Randy Fine (R-Brevard). [Source: WFSU]

Florida House scraps controversial proposal to survey college students and faculty about political beliefs

The House on Tuesday ditched a controversial proposal that would have required state colleges and universities to survey students and faculty members about their viewpoints. Rep. Ray Rodrigues pushed the surveys as part of a wide-ranging higher education bill (HB 613). But on Tuesday, the Estero Republican said the so-called intellectual freedom survey was “negotiated out of the bill" with the Senate and will no longer be considered during this year’s legislative session. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Florida Education Association optimistic state will provide pay raises for teachers

The Florida House and Senate are both poised to pass raises for classroom teachers. But with only a few days to go in the regular Legislative Session, the two chambers have not agreed on who will be eligible for more pay. For an update, WMNF spoke with Florida Education Association vice president Andrew Spar. The FEA is an association of education labor unions. [Source: WMNF]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida’s college athlete compensation bill faces speed bump [WJXT]
A fast-moving bill to allow student athletes in Florida to hire agents and ink endorsement deal reached a speed bump Tuesday, as lawmakers attempted to reconcile differences between their dueling proposals. The Senate had passed its version earlier this week, which the House took up Tuesday and replaced with its own version that provides health insurance to student athletes.

› St. Johns County students most likely to succeed in Florida, study says [St. Augustine Record]
St. Johns County students are more likely to succeed than any other school district in Florida, according to a new study. 24/7 Wall Street, a financial news organization, created an index that analyzes different factors that influence student success. The study looked at child poverty rates, the teacher-to-student ratio, per-pupil spending, the share of adults with a college education, and the high school graduation rate to determine the school district where students are most likely to succeed in every state.

› USF breaks ground on new Research Park innovation building [Florida Trend]
A new, state-of-the-art facility in the University of South Florida Research Park will bring together researchers, patent officers, entrepreneurs, financial investors and corporations to enhance technology commercialization and the Tampa Bay region’s growing innovation and knowledge economy. USF and area leaders gathered with the business community today for a ceremonial groundbreaking for the first new USF building in the research park since 2005.

› Florida House unanimously passes military education bill [Space Coast Daily]
The legislation adjusts the criteria used to grade public schools by recognizing the achievement of students who complete coursework in military preparedness, such as Junior Officer Reserve Training Corps and earn a high score on the ASVAB test. The ASVAB is the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. The test evaluates a student’s readiness for occupational training and enlistment in the United States Military.