USF Poly placed on long path to independence

The state university Board of Governors set out a pathway for USF Polytechnic to become an independent university, but with benchmarks that will likely take years to meet.

Meantime, it continues as a campus of the University of South Florida.

Both USF President Judy Genshaft and State Sen. JD Alexander, on opposite sides of the 14-week debate, said Wednesday they were happy with the decision.

Polytechnic Chancellor Marshall Goodman, however, wasn't commenting. He had emerged as the main spokesman for independence, but at one point during Wednesday's meeting, board member John Temple said he believed Goodman was incompetent and asked Genshaft if she had the authority to fire him.

She didn't answer. Asked after the meeting if she planned to make a governance change at Polytechnic, she said there had been "bumps in the road" in the relationship between USF and its Lakeland campus.

"We have to get the system working again," she said.

On a 13-to-3 vote, the Board of Governors approved the independence path with nine conditions, the first of which is that Polytechnic achieve accreditation as a USF campus from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Polytechnic was in the middle of that process, which can take up to five years, when the independence effort began in July, prompting SACS to put the application on hold.

The other criteria are based on elements of a business plan that Polytechnic produced for the board two weeks ago. Among them:

• Attaining 1,244 full-time students or the equivalent, with at least half enrolled in STEM programs - science, technology, engineering and math - and 20 percent in STEM-related programs.

• Construction of a planned science and technology building, phase one of a Wellness Center, and residence halls to hold 190 students.

• Putting in place a full set of support services, including financial aid and information technology, though Poly could share these services with another university.

To meet student concerns about a transition, the board added that all students enrolled at USF Polytechnic will be able to graduate with USF diplomas, if they meet the requirements.

Also, the board will monitor Poly's progress and have the responsibility of giving its final approval once the campus thinks it's met the goals.

Both Genshaft and Alexander agreed it could take years.

Alexander, however, told the board he had serious concerns about USF's commitment to shepherding Polytechnic to independence.

He said after the meeting that if in the coming months he sensed USF wasn't doing its part in the plan, he would work on assigning the task to another university.

Genshaft was the first to address the board concerning Polytechnic's independence. She vowed, with her voice wavering at the end, to do everything possible to help the campus achieve its goals.

The campus was established as a polytechnic in 2008 with a focus on training students for high-wage, high-technology jobs.

"I have every confidence that we can bring to Polk County the STEM and applied technology programs that it so richly deserves and I believe we can do it through the University of South Florida."