{"id":20349,"date":"2013-10-14T10:13:19","date_gmt":"2013-10-14T14:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=20349"},"modified":"2013-10-14T10:17:10","modified_gmt":"2013-10-14T14:17:10","slug":"update-shaky-start-to-10000-college-degree-programs-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/10\/14\/update-shaky-start-to-10000-college-degree-programs-in-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"Update: Shaky Start To $10,000 College Degree Programs In Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"College<\/a>

posterize \/ freedigitalphotos.net<\/p>

College savings? Gov. Scott challenged Florida schools to offer $10,000 degree programs.<\/p><\/div>\n

Last November, Gov. Rick Scott challenged Florida\u2019s colleges to offer $10,000 degrees<\/a> for programs that place students in high-demand fields.<\/p>\n

Most of the schools in the Florida College System pledged to meet that challenge, but as the Sun Sentinel reported over the weekend, the results so far have been mixed<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 the degree options are limited, the eligibility requirements are often tough and the marketing efforts have been light.<\/p>\n

Broward College\u00a0opened the program up a month ago, but so far no one has signed up for any of the 80 open slots. \u2026 [Broward College and Palm Beach State] have decided against offering discounts in nursing, one of the most popular high-demand degree fields.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article goes on to point out that Miami-Dade College has been able to integrate the degree programs<\/a> into its American Dream initiative:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe four-year degrees, which are expected to cost less than $8,000, are actually an extension of the college’s American Dream scholarship that gives free tuition and fees for two years to high performing Miami-Dade high school graduates. About 62 MDC freshmen have signed up\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Scott\u2019s challenge initially was met with both support and skepticism<\/a>\u2014proponents viewed it as a worthy experiment and critics called it a gimmicky shell game.<\/p>\n

As the Tampa Bay Times pointed out<\/a> in a profile of St. Petersburg College\u2019s $10,000 degree program, the pledge extends only to tuition:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe $10,000 tab does not include the cost of books and materials, which can run over $1,000 a year. It doesn’t include meals and housing, which the University of South Florida estimates at nearly $9,000 a year.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Two dozen of the qualifying colleges that offer baccalaureate degrees in the Florida College System signed on to the pledge<\/a>. Only ten were ready to enroll students in $10,000 degree programs this fall:<\/p>\n