Local college administrators tackle issues with the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance

Local administrators told the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance on Feb. 26 that they are grappling with issues such as keeping up with changing technology and producing graduates with the skills that local employers need.

The Creating the Talent Pipeline luncheon was hosted by the LWRBA, which brought the presidents of five local colleges together at Grove restaurant in Lakewood Ranch.

The panel, moderated by Business Observer Managing Editor Mark Gordon, included Tommy Gregory of State College of Florida, Brett Kemker of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, Michele Morgan of Keiser University, Larry Thompson of Ringling College of Art and Design, and Doug Wagner of Manatee Technical College.

In the hourlong session, Gordon asked questions answered by each panelist in turn. 

How has new technology, including artificial intelligence, affected education?

Gregory (SCF): "We’re talking about AI and cyber security at State College of Florida, and I'm sure my colleagues are the same. We're addressing that demand for the workforce to have those skills, and we have a talented team of faculty. We have created workforce certificates that meet that need, and two-year degrees to produce that workforce to meet the AI challenges in the future.

Thompson (Ringling): First of all, we spend a fortune on technology. We have our computer labs that are filled with the latest and greatest. One of our latest developments is, we're the first art school to put in a program in virtual reality. We are the first art school to start a certificate like what you have in AI, because we know that the students are going to need to be able to have those skills. 

Kemker (USF-SM): We have virtual reality labs now. We incorporate AI and VR into every course that is necessary or appropriate. We want our students to graduate embracing AI and virtual reality to make them a better professional. 

We work closely with the community to stay on top of the technology that we need to be teaching or certifying our students in, and I think we've done a very good job of that. Internships are very important so that they can learn the applications of this technology moving into the future. 

Morgan (Keiser): We're no different. Forget your politics. The current administration has made no secret that AI is our future, and we will be going full-bore after it. We also have a fully standalone AI program offered in our Pembroke Pines campus, but we can certainly bring it to this area if there's a need. 

One thing that we've done is invest in eSports. We have a very successful team in a variety of games, nationally ranked here in Sarasota, but we've also added a concentration of eSports to our sports management offering.

What is your school doing to prepare students for the workforce?

Thompson (Ringling): We have a program that we call Index, which stands for industry experience, where we partner with people in the community, and they can bring a project to Ringling, and then we put a team together of students to work on that project. When our students graduate, some stay in this area, but not enough. Probably the biggest employer is actually an architectural firm that uses virtual reality. Another is in marketing and advertising kind of agencies, etc, but they go on to Los Angeles, New York, basically the big companies that are doing computer animation or motion design.

Wagner (MTC): We have a program called Workforce Wednesday. It's open for all the companies here locally. They come into each of our campuses, set up a table and students will talk to all the representatives. With 50 different programs, we're required by our accrediting body to have advisory councils with people who are in the industry hiring the students. Students already live here, so they stay in our community.

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

Gregory (SCF): We're very similar to MTC and STC, and that is that the majority of our students are staying here. We’re producing hundreds of nurses, everything from two-year degrees to four-year degrees. Hospitals are reaching out to them well before graduation. Most of our students have a part-time job or they have a full-time job and they're taking college classes in the evening or online part-time. We've got about 10,000 in that category. We have another 10,000 that are already in the workforce.

Kemker (USF-SM): You've heard the term experiential learning. We've managed to take that a bit further by incorporating that concept into a Quality Enhancement Plan, which is part of our national accreditation. We have what's called a reverse career fair, which is really kind of novel, and we do that annually. We invite the community businesses in, they set up tables, and the students interview them, and it's been a great success. 

Morgan (Keiser): We do a lot of the same things and 85% of our graduates stay local. So it's important that we prepare them well, because they're going to be the nurses taking care of us, the people working on our computers and protecting our privacy and our security, and they're going to be our chefs and our bakers.

If the U.S. Department of Education closes, what are some of the threats facing higher education?

Kemker (USF-SM): While I don't think the Department of Education is closing, it might need a tune up. We'll have to see, you know, what the ramifications of a tune-up looks like. We've stubbed our own toe on this one because we don't market what we do to the community. We're creating knowledge. We're developing new technologies where we're doing all sorts of things. Our students are absolutely amazing, and I don't think we do a good job of marketing what we do to the general public.

Morgan (Keiser): Who knows what's going to happen? But we seem to think that should something happen with the Department of Ed, it would be a disaster, to us, to business and to America. Quite honestly, if we did not fund higher education, it would be disastrous to our brain trust to being first in all these things we want to be first at. 

Thompson (Ringling): As a private institution, we're not suffering from the situation that might be happening with the state, but we get federal funds for student financial aid. And our students require student financial aid because we are expensive. So it would be disastrous if they eliminated the federal financial aid programs for all of higher education. 

There is also a decline in students going to college. There are fewer 18-year-olds than there had been in the past. But the other big issue is that males are no longer going to college at the same rate as females. We are now 75% female, which is a total sea change. 

Wagner (MTC): The federal financial aid is the Pell Grant. We all receive it. Right now, 86% of our students right now are on the Pell Grant to attend Manatee Technical College. If the Pell Grant does go away, which I think would be a stretch, I could go to business and industry in this community and say, we're training for plumbers, we're training for roofers, we're training for construction workers, and I would bet you we could find the funds to help support the students who couldn't financially attend our schools. 

Gregory (SCF): What's going to happen if DOE goes away? We're going to do a lot less reporting. I'm going to have a lot more free time. Would it have negative unintended consequences? There's no doubt. 

It identifies the other threat that we're all facing, and that is education has been the target for a long time, and this message out there that you don't need a college education is very misleading. Very few people are going to succeed without it, and the facts are staggering. All you have to do is enroll in one of these institutions of higher education, and your lifetime earnings are expected to increase by a million dollars. So we've got to change the messaging on higher education.

What can businesses do to connect more with your institution?

Wagner (MTC): We need you. We need you to serve on our advisory council. We need you to come to our open house. We need you to come in and speak to our students. Talk about what you're doing. Talk about why your career is a good one. We want all the students to graduate and stay here locally, because there are so many careers available. 

Gregory (SCF): As I look across this room, I see people that mentored me. I would say you can help all of us simply by mentoring those who are related to you, who work for you. Get them to enroll, get them to take that first step. If you can support them financially, fantastic, but simply mentoring them to enrolling and then supporting them as they pursue their college education is what SCF needs. 

Thompson (Ringling): We would love to have any businesses connect with us, especially through our Index program or recruiting on campus and so forth. There's a lot of ways to connect with the college, and we would love for you to be partners with us as well.

Kemker (USF-SM): I invite you to come to the campus. If you haven't been to the campus, I'll walk around with you, and we'll meet some of the students so you get a feel for what we can do. I can get a feel for what you would like from us. 

Morgan (Keiser): Communicate. Communicate, communicate. Let us know what your needs are. We can do our research all day long, but we can miss the mark by doing that. Support our students, whether it be through an internship opportunity, externship and clinical, whether it be that you hire them and mentor them, or, if your company is interested in sponsoring students, scholarships.