Senate committee hears how Florida colleges and universities link bachelor’s degrees to jobs

At a meeting of the Florida Senate Committee on Education Postsecondary, college and university leaders described how bachelor’s degree programs in Florida are being designed and evaluated to improve short- and long-term workforce outcomes for graduates.

Kathy Hebda, chancellor of the Florida College System at the Department of Education, told senators the college system is expanding workforce-oriented bachelor’s degrees under a statutory approval and accountability process that requires local university consultation, Department of Commerce labor-demand data, industry support and a cost analysis. "It's laid out in Florida statutes and our State Board of Education rule," Hebda said.

The committee heard system-level results and institution examples. Hebda said the Florida College System had 47,526 students enrolled in baccalaureate programs and that 205 baccalaureate programs were currently offered; 235 programs have been approved historically and 12 have been terminated. She said the system saw a 6.7% increase in program enrollments in 2024–25 (including 103,668 dual-enrollment students) and growth in fundable full-time-equivalent (FTE) enrollments. Median first-year wages for recent baccalaureate completers working in Florida were cited as $61,564, with the system average salary higher when using the mean.

Emily Sykes, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at the State University System Board of Governors, described complementary work in the university sector: performance-based funding metrics that track time-to-degree, three-year graduation rates for transfer students, and a MyFloridaFuture dashboard that reports graduates' earnings, debt and employment by institution and major. "I wanna take a moment and just thank you all for your continued investment in the number 1 state for higher education," Sykes said, adding that the State University System now measures that roughly 64% of students complete bachelor’s degrees in four years and that about 74% of bachelor’s graduates are either earning $40,000 or more one year after graduation or are continuing in graduate school.

Panelists from individual institutions described programs that connect students with employers and credentials. Florida Gulf Coast University President Tumur described employer-driven microcredentials and digital badges that are embedded in courses and certified by the university; he said one region-wide employer partnership has grown university alumni at that company from about 50 to more than 500 and that a $23 million regional workforce grant supported placing about 1,300 people into jobs.

University of Central Florida President Cartwright described UCF’s Knights Career Navigator, mandatory career modules tied to the MyFloridaFuture tool, large employer partnerships (including Lockheed Martin internships and a CWEP work program with nearly 500 student employees annually) and a co-located Kenneth G. Dixon Career Development Center that houses career services, experiential learning and undergraduate research.

Northwest Florida State College President Ponder reviewed his college’s five bachelor programs (applied science in project management; applied science in management and supervision with specializations; BS in early childhood education; BS in elementary education; and BS in nursing), said about 370 students are enrolled in those four- and five-year programs, and reported that 83% of his bachelor’s graduates remain in the college’s service area and about 91% remain in Florida. He also noted first-time licensure pass rates for his teacher-prep and nursing programs that exceed state averages.

Interim President Diaz of the University of West Florida highlighted cybersecurity and defense pathways, a $320,000 award from the Florida Defense Support Consortium to support clearances and industry certifications, and partnerships creating paid, degree-aligned part-time positions (he cited a new partnership with Leonardo Helicopters and paid roles tied to aviation training at Whiting Field).

Committee members asked how microcredentials and stackable certificates relate to course credit and transfer. President Tumur and other presenters said many microcredentials are embedded within credit-bearing courses and are designed to transfer under Florida’s common course list and existing articulation agreements; where employer-specific short credentials are used, universities described assessing and certifying competencies so credentials can be portable or stackable into degree pathways.

No policy votes on statutes or program approvals were taken at the hearing. At the end of the meeting Senator Rodriguez moved to adjourn; with no objection the motion was adopted.

The presentations collectively emphasized three recurring points to the committee: statutory and rule-based guardrails around new baccalaureate program approval, statewide data and accountability (including Department of Commerce data and MyFloridaFuture results), and local employer partnerships and experiential learning (microcredentials, paid internships, co-ops and career-center colocation).