Benchmarking St. Petersburg College:
A Report to Leadership
Project Eagle Evaluation Question #5
www.spcollege.edu/eagle/research/evaluation/peeq5.htm
What Are the Appropriate Models for St. Petersburg College and the University
Partnership Center to Expand Access to Bachelor's and Master's Degrees?
Executive Summary
www.spcollege.edu/eagle/research/beep/BEEP19.pdf
www.spcollege.edu/eagle/research/beep/BEEP19.htm
"...at St. Petersburg College, getting
your four-year or graduate degree
has never been easier."
(Lars Hafner, UPC Vice-President, in the SPC University Partnership Bulletin, 2001-2002)
Introduction
In
1999, St. Petersburg College (SPC) received a
multi-year federal grant (Project Eagle) to build a national
model for increasing access to four-year degrees and workforce training for
students attending community colleges. Access would be enhanced by increasingly
flexible educational opportunities - with courses, programs and support
services delivered at a time and place, in a way and at a pace, best suited to
the needs of the individual learner.
Part
of Project Eagle is an evaluation of e-learning practices at the college, using
a series of six critical questions formulated by the Project Eagle Action
Committee (previously known as the Project Eagle Working Group) and shaped into
a project eagle evaluation plan by the project's
external evaluator. The evaluation for the fifth question began with an
examination of the best e-learning practices related to that question, both
nationwide and worldwide, using the Web as the primary source of information.
The results were published in Best
Educational E-Practices (BEEP), Issue 14, Providing Four-Year and Graduate
Degrees in a Community College Setting.
Then
a list of all practices related to the question and currently in use at SPC was
compiled and compared to those included in BEEP #14. A report was prepared that
benchmarked SPC with the best of what is occurring nationally and the results
submitted to the college leadership. This is a summary of the findings and
recommendations of that report.
Background
The
fifth question to be evaluated dealt with ways to expand access to bachelor's
and master's degrees at the community college level. In October 2001, such
activities were investigated nationwide. The results appeared in BEEP #14 and included
two-year colleges offering baccalaureate degrees, community colleges partnering
with four-year colleges and universities, and other unique innovations.
From
February to the middle of March 2002, SPC's efforts in those areas were
examined.
Current programs were analyzed, and selected staff, administrators and faculty
interviewed.
*This report was originally scheduled for completion on February 28, 2002, but was postponed one
month because of delays in the publication of previous Project Eagle Evaluation
Questions.
Results
When
current practices to increase access to four-year degrees at community colleges
nationwide were examined, SPC's upper-level efforts were found to be exemplary. Activities fell
into three categories:
A.
Two-Year Colleges That Now Offer Baccalaureate Degrees. At the present time, SPC is one of
a very small number of community colleges nationwide that has made the
transition to a four-year institution. While some have made application, no
others in Florida have been approved at this time.
The college
planned its initiative very carefully: identifying areas of critical need, then
working with local agencies and educational institutions to present its plans
in a most positive, non-threatening light. The success of their efforts where
others in the state have failed demonstrates the importance of knowing
community needs and both informing and cooperating with others involved or
impacted. These two factors seem to be very important for any two-year school
to achieve four year-status.
With an
expected initial enrollment of 600 in August 2002, the three bachelor's
programs selected - Education, Nursing, and Technology Management
- will provide needed opportunities for the Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando county population to
further their education without long-distance travel.
B.
Community College and University Partnerships. SPC's University Partnership Center (UPC) is
one of the largest of such ventures in the country. 1800 students are currently
enrolled in 30 baccalaureate and 14 graduate programs offered by 12 partnering
institutions both in and outside the state of Florida.
Like SPC's
recently approved four-year degree initiative, the UPC has been carefully
planned. Critical need areas are clearly defined before any new programs are
offered or additional partners approached. With the completion a new and
impressive building, the UPC now has the capability to offer a full range of
services to students, both present and potential.
C. Other
Ideas for Increasing Access to Four-Year Degrees. Interestingly, most of the
innovative ideas found in an examination of colleges and universities
nationwide have been or are being explored at SPC. These include the following:
- Military partnership - SPC has applied
to be a participating institution with eArmyu.
- Teacher
recruitment program - A program is under discussion with Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties. SPC is also
under contract with the Florida Department of Education to provide
training materials for a statewide electronic alternative certification
program.
- Bridge
program - SPC's Hospitality Management program allows students to
continue their studies at UPC partner Florida International University with support from the local
Hotel and Restaurant Association.
- Reverse transfer program - UPC
students take needed prerequisite courses at SPC.
- Post-graduate
certificate - A Visual Disabilities certificate is offered by UPC partner Florida State University.
Review and Recommendations
In a county
in which access to upper-level degrees ranks 67 out of 67 in a state that ranks
49 out of 50, the college has taken four unique positive steps to turn the problem
around: increasing access points throughout the county, including coursework at
the St. Petersburg Campus of the
University of South Florida; developing a large eCampus thereby opportunities by means of
online courses (165 this session); creating the UPC; and changing the college's
status to a four-year institution.
If not the
only one, SPC is the in the company of very few colleges in the country that
have taken on these initiatives so ambitiously, particularly in the offering of
upper-level courses. If it succeeds in coordinating and balancing the diverse
types of programs it is now able to offer, the college can certainly claim to
be national model in improving access to four-year degrees.
The contents of BEEP were developed under a grant from the U. S. Department of Education (DOE). However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the DOE, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
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