Keiser, USF partner for B.S. degrees

[Drewski]

At first glance, this doesn't really scream quality to me. Maybe others that know more about this subject can enlighten me and others what the benefit of this is?

http://www.bradenton.com/local/story/116662.html

With budget cuts pending for public universities across the state, two local universities - one public and one private - have teamed up to supply the workforce with bachelor's degree graduates.

An agreement between the University of South Florida and Keiser University will now make it possible for students with an associate of science degree from Keiser University to transition more smoothly into the University of South Florida to earn a bachelor of science degree in two years.

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, pushed for the agreement to be finalized because it allowed students, especially nontraditional ones, to work and continue their education.

"We get the best bang for the buck for the community," he said.

Although the idea for the agreement began brewing years ago, the A.S. to B.S. program is happening at a time when universities are "trying to make the best use of every dollar," said Peter French, associate vice president and dean of academic affairs at USF Sarasota-Manatee.

"We agreed now was the time to emphasize a public-private partnership," French said. "For us to have an agreement with a private college represents something new."

With the program, Keiser University graduates who have an associate of science degree could attend USF and eventually earn a bachelor's in applied science with a concentration in a certain area, said French. For example, he explained, if a student had a fire science degree from Keiser, that student could graduate with a bachelor's in applied science with a concentration in public administration.

Oftentimes, students who finish their associate degrees and want to continue their studies after working for a while have a difficult time entering another institution because they are required to take a lot of prerequisites.

Students benefit from the program by having a "seamless" transition between two accredited universities, said Michele Sterner, president of the Keiser University Sarasota campus.

Other degrees are medical assisting, computer graphics and design, massage therapy, radiologic technology, crime-scene technology, culinary arts, nursing, computer networking and security management, Sterner said.

[Griggsy]

This is not a big deal. Keiser is regionally accredited by the same accrediting body as USF (SACS). The problem that prevented this before was that the state of FL core requirements that were instituted in public universities and community colleges (think Gordon rule, etc) were generally not adopted by private universities. As a result, someone with an AA or AS from a private school would end up having to basically start over if they were to attend a public school for their BA or BS.

So, basically, USF created the "Bachelor of Applied Science" degree for those folks with AA or AS degrees from private schools to allow those types of people to start off as a junior. Granted, their options are much more liimited...but at least they can get a four year degree in four years.

[ChiTownBull]

Call me crazy but why would someone attend a private community college?

Seems like a huge waste of money.

[Griggsy]

Call me crazy but why would someone attend a private community college?

Seems like a huge waste of money.

Because the goal of public community colleges often differs from that of private schools that offer associates degrees.

Public community colleges often serve as a cheap way for students to fulfill core bachelor degree requirements. Classes mostly involve the usual "liberal arts" studies, like English, Math, Science, etc. You could get an AA in Computer Science, which is 95% liberal arts courses, and 5% CS courses, for example.

Private schools' associate degrees are normally career focused in nature and often represent the "terminal" degree for those students. Classes are job-specific, so an AS in Computer science would be 95% computer courses and 5% liberal arts (maybe one English class and a couple of math classes).

That's the best way I can explain it.

[ChiTownBull]

Ok, call me biased but any AA degree is worthless IMO. Im not going ti hire anyone with any AA degree. They need to continue on and earn a bachelors degree at minimum in my field.

[ChiTownBull]

Sorry about the typos im using my blackberry

[ITBULL]

Ok, call me biased but any AA degree is worthless IMO. Im not going ti hire anyone with any AA degree. They need to continue on and earn a bachelors degree at minimum in my field.

I have 2 degrees from USF and I agree they are valuable, but I also teach as an adjunct at one of those small private schools.  Most of the students at those schools wouldn't be able to stay in school at USF and complete a full 120 hours to get their degree.  A lot of them have much different lives than the typical student coming into USF, and they need the smaller class sizes and customized approach to learning.  That's why a lot of those schools offer Medical Tech Degrees, Paralegal Degrees, and other specific jobs.  Most of the people there just want to get a decent job and start working, they don't want to take all the pre-requisites that USF would require.  Then on top of that a lot of those fields the degree doesn't matter, IT for instance if you have Certifications and no degree you will get a job over people who have a degree and no certifications.  So, these students just want the skills to get a job and they want to do it as quick as possible, and these schools cut out a lot of that red tape (I.E. - Gordon Rule) that schools like USF make you go through.