House Bill 2247c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 2247

        By the Committee on Colleges & Universities and
    Representative Sanderson





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to postsecondary education;

  3         requiring the Board of Regents to oversee a

  4         study; requiring an independent consultant to

  5         conduct a study; providing an effective date.

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  7         WHEREAS, the social, economic, and technological

  8  changes taking place in our environment require the state to

  9  strive to eliminate any systemic, institutional, or geographic

10  barriers to providing qualified students with postsecondary

11  opportunities that will allow them timely access to degree

12  attainment, and

13         WHEREAS, Florida's production of baccalaureate degrees

14  ranks among the lowest in the nation, and

15         WHEREAS, Florida has the fewest number of 4-year public

16  postsecondary institutions of any major state and those

17  institutions, on average, are some of the largest institutions

18  in the nation, and

19         WHEREAS, Florida's higher education institutions have

20  been able to accommodate limited growth in the past, the

21  future will almost certainly require innovative ways to serve

22  increased demands for 4-year degree programs, and

23         WHEREAS, the structure of Florida's postsecondary

24  delivery system will directly determine the effectiveness of

25  the state's efforts to increase access both to educational

26  opportunities and the production of graduates, and

27         WHEREAS, the advantages of increasing degree access

28  through universities that are primarily teaching institutions

29  versus a research university model are lower operating costs,

30  a focus on undergraduate education, and a limited

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 2247

    184-298-00






  1  institutional mission without doctoral programs or a heavy

  2  concentration on research, NOW, THEREFORE,

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  4  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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  6         Section 1.  (1)  During the interim preceding the 2001

  7  Regular Session of the Legislature, the Board of Regents shall

  8  oversee a study which shall examine the following:

  9         (a)  The production of baccalaureate and graduate

10  degrees.

11         (b)  The evaluation of facilities.

12         (c)  The evaluation of sites.

13         (d)  The evaluation of needs, including the

14  availability of postsecondary education opportunities provided

15  by existing institutions.

16         (2)  This study shall be performed by an independent

17  consultant with expertise in the field of postsecondary

18  institutions. A report of final recommendations shall be

19  presented to the Legislature by January 1, 2001.

20         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

21  law.

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