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Future anthropology majors be warned, Gov. Rick Scott does not believe such programs contribute much to Florida’s economy and wants them on the losing end of university funding decisions.
Reforming Florida’s college and university system will be one of Scott’s top priorities when the state Legislature convenes in January, the governor said in an interview Monday with the Herald-Tribune.
Leading Scott’s list of changes: Shifting funding to degrees that have the best job prospects, weeding out unproductive professors and rethinking the system that offers faculty job security.
The governor has been discussing the ideas in interviews across the state as he previews a soon-to be released 2012 legislative agenda. Scott also is paving the way for the changes by making them central to his appointment process for new university board members.
Scott said Monday that he hopes to shift more funding to science, technology, engineering and math departments, the so-called “STEM” disciplines. The big losers: Programs like psychology and anthropology and potentially schools like New College in Sarasota that emphasize a liberal arts curriculum.
“If I’m going to take money from a citizen to put into education then I’m going to take that money to create jobs,” Scott said. “So I want that money to go to degrees where people can get jobs in this state.”
“Is it a vital interest of the state to have more anthropologists? I don’t think so.”
Top leaders in the Republican-controlled Legislature have expressed strong support for university reforms.
Future Senate President Don Gaetz plans to make overhauling the state higher education system one of his signature issues. Gaetz has called Florida a “second tier” state in attracting companies because universities are not producing the right graduates.
Makes sense to me. Students are free to go to universities in other states if their major is not offered in Florida. I don't see a problem with this overall, although its not my most preferred austerity plan.
This would make Florida more competative in the long run. There are plenty of colleges and universities outside of the state system which offer those majors with little economic return to the state.
Many states are going through the same thing. Recomendations of majors to cut state funding to or delete form the state university systems are usually made by the state univeristy board of governors based on statistics offered by the universities themselves.
No one is entitled to have the major of their choice funded by the state.
Life is hard and gets harder if you have an anthropology, general studies, psychology, sociology, women's studies, or art history degree and over $100K in student loan debt.
This would make Florida more competative in the long run. There are plenty of colleges and universities outside of the state system which offer those majors with little economic return to the state.
Many states are going through the same thing. Recomendations of majors to cut state funding to or delete form the state university systems are usually made by the state univeristy board of governors based on statistics offered by the universities themselves.
No one is entitled to have the major of their choice funded by the state.
Life is hard and gets harder if you have an anthropology, general studies, psychology, sociology, women's studies, or art history degree and over $100K in student loan debt.
Makes sense to me. Students are free to go to universities in other states if their major is not offered in Florida. I don't see a problem with this overall, although its not my most preferred austerity plan.
Funny that a conservative such as yourself suddenly believes that the government is capable of seeing into the future and picking what skills are economically more viable than others. Call it educational central planning if you like, but it certainly has nothing to do with the free market principles that you espouse when it is intellectually convenient.
Life is hard and gets harder if you have an anthropology, general studies, psychology, sociology, women's studies, or art history degree and over $100K in student loan debt.
haha quote of the day. I believe the original quote was a John Wayne character in The Sands of Iwo Jima: "Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid."
This would make Florida more competative in the long run. There are plenty of colleges and universities outside of the state system which offer those majors with little economic return to the state.
Many states are going through the same thing. Recomendations of majors to cut state funding to or delete form the state university systems are usually made by the state univeristy board of governors based on statistics offered by the universities themselves.
No one is entitled to have the major of their choice funded by the state.
Life is hard and gets harder if you have an anthropology, general studies, psychology, sociology, women's studies, or art history degree and over $100K in student loan debt.
Ha, ha. That is funny! Err, you are kidding, right? You may be against State funding Education. But you certainly wouldn't be for the State selecting in what disciplines people are educated, I hope.
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