Talk of split brings USF Poly accreditation to a halt

An accrediting commission has suspended its review of USF Polytechnic after learning in news reports about a move to split the Lakeland institution from the University of South Florida system.

USF submitted an application to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for separate accreditation of USF Poly within the USF system.

USF took the same steps with its other campuses. USF St. Petersburg and USF Sarasota-Manatee have obtained separate accreditation.

But the process has come to a halt for USF Poly, according to an Aug. 24 letter from the accrediting association's Colleges Commission.

"The Commission will suspend review of the application recently submitted pending clarification of the status of USF Polytechnic," Cheryl D. Cardell, vice president of the association, says in the letter.

A news report that came to the association's attention, Cardell said, "raises questions about the status of USF Polytechnic."

A move to establish Poly as a university independent of USF first came to light in July in news reports about a letter to the state university system's Board of Governors signed by 29 Polk County business and community leaders.

The letter said a continued relationship with USF "will impede not foster growth" of the Lakeland campus, concentrating decision-making at the main campus in Tampa.

USF spokesman Michael Hoad said the accrediting association's decision is understandable.

"We would expect SACS to say they won't review the application until the governance discussion is finished," Hoad said.Gov. Rick Scott, speaking today with the Tampa Tribune Editorial Board, joined the list of those who question whether Florida can afford an independent USF Poly.

"I think it's tough because … if we're going to add another layer of management, how do we pay for that?" Scott said.

The campus isn't even off the ground yet. Pushed by powerful state Sen. JD Alexander of Lake Wales, and despite major budget shortfalls, the Legislature allocated $35 million this year to start construction work in Lakeland.

Scott said he didn't veto the spending measure, as he did $615 million in other appropriations, because of USF Poly's mission. Scott said higher education should focus more heavily on math, science and technical studies, as Poly would.

The board of governors has directed USF to make a presentation at its meeting Wednesday in Miami about the future of USF Poly.

Separate accreditation is voluntary but seen as a badge of quality for each USF campus. It is a prerequisite for many graduate programs and without it, students would have trouble transferring credits to other universities.

The status of USF Poly's accreditation is now up the air.

The review is suspended, according to the accreditation commission's letter, until the status of USF Poly is clarified.

<b>Editor's note</b> An earlier version of this story misstated the accreditation status of USF Sarasota-Manatee.