State college presidents prepare for legislative fight

TALLAHASSEE — Florida state colleges are preparing for a renewed legislative fight this spring over how the 28-college system is governed and the number of bachelor’s degrees they can award.

The colleges’ lobbyists told the system’s Council of Presidents, which met in Tallahassee on Friday, that the Senate is working on a major bill that is expected to contain those elements.

The proposal will follow other Senate legislation filed this week that would create new performance standards for the colleges, requiring students to earn their degrees more quickly. And it follows Gov. Rick Scott’s call to freeze tuition and fees for the college system and the state universities.

The college presidents — who are seeking a $100 million boost for their system — were also told that they could expect an initial budget proposal from lawmakers for the 2017-18 fiscal year that could reduce the current $82 billion state college budget by up to $1.9 billion.

“It’s too early to get upset,” said Ed Meadows, chairman of the presidents’ council. “Every session, every year there are always challenges. I would say that this year poses a complexity that we have not seen in a while.”

The issues are part of an initiative by Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, to overhaul Florida’s higher education system.

Some have suggested the state college system, which serves about 800,000 full- and parttime students, should be put under a separate board similar to the Board of Governors, which oversees the 12 state universities.

The state colleges are now under the state Board of Education, which also oversees Florida’s kindergarten-to-highschool system.

Another initiative may impose new limits on the ability of state colleges to issue baccalaureate degrees.

In 2015, Negron proposed limiting enrollment in each college’s baccalaureate program to 5 percent of the school’s overall enrollment.