THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, August 19, 2011 -

Lilly Rockwell, The News Service of Florida

When Miami Dade College asked the State Board of Education in June for permission to offer a new bachelor's degree in biological sciences, two nearby universities objected, saying the programs were unnecessary duplications of existing degrees they offered.

But after Miami Dade College pitched the program as a way to satisfy a workforce need, bringing with them industry heavy-hitters, the State Board of Education swiftly approved the new degree with little discussion.

Universities are growing more uncomfortable with the number of bachelor's degrees being offered at Florida community colleges as the two types of schools are more and more beginning to fight for some of the same students.

Like an overdue therapy session, representatives from Florida's universities and colleges began Thursday publicly discussing this long-simmering dispute at a Higher Education Coordinating Council meeting.

The council is searching for a way to ease tension between the two groups.

"There is some spirit or feeling of competition between the institutions," acknowledged Judy Bilsky, the executive vice chancellor for the Florida College System. "Everyone wants to do a good job on behalf of students, there is that push and pull, who does what. That still hasn't been totally resolved."

The State University System is working toward developing its own regulations to prevent overlapping programs within state universities, but it has little power to prevent colleges from offering bachelor's programs.

"The question is, how do you better articulate these systems to make sure we are not falling all over one another, wasting peoples' money, whether those people are students or state taxpayers," said State University System Chancellor Frank Brogan. "And make sure at the end of the day we are all after the same goal."

Brogan, who sits on the council, said both sides were guilty of stepping on one another's toes.

"This is a dual problem," he said.

State universities and colleges are governed by two different boards. State universities are overseen by the Board of Governors and community colleges increasingly known as state colleges are governed by the State Board of Education. This can lead to conflicting programs, miscommunication and divergent goals.

That's why the Higher Education Coordinating Council was created by the Legislature in 2010 to ensure there was not duplication across both systems. The council cannot set policy but it can make recommendations.

Ten years ago, community colleges were allowed to get in the business of offering bachelor's degrees, a major change in higher education policy, where previously community colleges only offered two-year associate's degrees.

In those 10 years, nearly 130 bachelor's programs have been approved across 20 college campuses.

The intent behind allowing colleges to offer bachelor's degrees was to fulfill workforce needs and help meet the increased demand for bachelor's degrees that the state universities alone couldn't handle.

Bilsky, with the Florida College System, said there are "constraints" on the type of bachelor's degrees a college can offer. "Degrees authorized by the college system should be workforce-oriented," Bilsky said. "We wouldn't consider a degree in psychologythat's something universities cover very well."

She acknowledged that there is room for improvement in how degrees are approved.

"Processes can always be improved and I think coordination can always be better than it is right now," Bilsky said. "We are still in the infancy of Florida colleges going into the baccalaureate business."

Bilsky said two percent of the 1 million college students in Florida are bachelor's degree students.

But in the case of Miami Dade College, Ed Moore, the head of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, told the council that the objections to the college's new biology degree were ignored.

In a letter to the State Board of Education, Florida International University said Miami Dade College did not present accurate information about workforce needs, and the university offered its own data.

"There has never been any indication that FIU has not accommodated every qualified Miami Dade College graduate seeking to obtain a bachelor's' degree in biology," wrote FIU President Mark Rosenberg.

Barry University also sent a letter saying four other schools already offer biology bachelor's degrees.

"We view the creation of the Miami Dade College program as redundant with existing programs in Miami-Dade County and we question the availability of job opportunities for these graduates," wrote Barry University President Linda Bevilacqua.

But it's not just universities that are feeling slighted.

Colleges are upset over a proposed Board of Governors regulation that would allow universities to offer lower division courses on college campuses with or without approval from the college.

The regulation, which will be discussed at a Board of Governors meeting Monday, prompted Bilsky to send a letter to the Board of Governors in July asking that it be shelved until next year.

Bilsky said if state universities were to start offering classes on college campuses, it would be a disincentive to continue cooperating in the "2 + 2" program, which allows associate's degree college students to seamlessly transfer into universities. "That is something that should be resolved," Bilsky said.

Brogan said he is concerned over how these battles could impact the 2 + 2 program, which has produced a lot of mutual benefits for universities and colleges, not to mention students.

"We need to protect that, we need to nurture that," Brogan said.

The council will deliver a report with a set of recommendations to the governor, Legislature, State Board of Education and Board of Governors by the end of the year. A draft of that report is expected in October.