Latest news with #CPHE
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
When do classes start for Florida colleges, universities in fall 2025? Here's the list
Classes don't begin for Florida college and universities till August, but registration is open and it's time to start planning if you haven't already. Also, the state's back-to-school tax-free holiday has been expanded this year from two weeks to the entire month of August. There aren't many more state changes to be aware of. While several of Florida's new laws address education, this year's batch is almost entirely aimed at K-12 schools. However, the future of the state's university system may make a dramatic shift as part of Gov. Ron DeSantis' push to "reclaim" higher education from what he calls ideological activists. On July 11, the Board of Governors that oversees higher education in Florida approved the creation of the Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE) as an alternative to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOG). Five other Southern states — Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Tennessee — have signed on to create the new accreditor. Here's what to know about college and university start dates. Dates are subject to change to meet conditions, such as tropical weather activity. The back-to-school sales tax holiday will be from Aug. 1-31, 2025. The monthlong holiday replaces the two-week tax holiday held in prior years. Items exempt from sales tax from Aug. 1-31 include: Most school supplies selling for $50 or less Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles selling for $30 or less Clothing, footwear and accessories selling for $100 or less Computers and related accessories selling for $1,500 or less (when purchased for non-commercial and personal use) A full list of qualifying items will be "coming soon" and posted at according to the Florida Department of Revenue. Check individual institutions for registration and drop/add deadlines, move-in dates (where applicable) and more. Note that some universities may have staggered start dates for different programs, the dates shown are the earliest class start dates. (Daytona Beach): Aug. 18 (Tallahassee): Aug. 25 (Boca Raton): Aug. 9 (Fort Myers): Aug. 18 (Miami): Aug. 25 (Lakeland): Aug. 18 (Tallahassee): Aug. 25 (Sarasota): Aug. 18 (Orlando): Aug. 18 (Gainesville): Aug. 21 (Jacksonville): Aug. 18 (Tampa): Aug. 25 (Pensacola): Aug. 25 Check individual institutions for registration and drop/add deadlines, move-in dates (where applicable) and more. Note that some colleges may have staggered start dates for different programs, the dates shown are the earliest class start dates. (Davie): Aug. 15 (Marianna): Aug. 18 (Ocala): Aug. 18 (Daytona Beach): Aug. 25 (Cocoa): Aug. 18 (Lake City): Aug. 18 (Key West): Aug. 19 (Fort Myers): Aug. 25 (Jacksonville): Aug. 25 (Panama City): Aug. 18 (Tampa): Aug. 18 (Fort Pierce): Aug. 20 (Leesburg): Aug. 18 (Miami): Aug. 25 (Madison): Aug. 18 (Niceville): Aug. 18 (Lake Worth): Aug. 25 (New Port Richey): Aug. 18 (Pensacola): Aug. 18 (Winter Haven): Aug. 11 (Gainesville): Aug. 25 (Sanford): Aug. 25 (Avon Park): Aug. 13 (Palatka): Aug. 25 (St. Petersburg): Aug. 18 (Bradenton): Aug. 11 (Tallahassee): Aug. 18 (Orlando): Aug. 18 This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida colleges, universities: Start dates, back-to-school tax-free
The Hill
26-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
6 Southern public university systems form new accreditation body
Public universities in Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are eschewing long-standing accrediting bodies like the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS) to create their own certification panel, officials announced Thursday. The formation of the new Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE) follows Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's battle with SACS over its standards as he pushed his state's colleges to adopt more conservative approaches to education. '[The new body] will upend the monopoly of the woke accreditation cartels, and it will provide institutions with an alternative that focuses on student achievement, rather than the ideological fads that have so permeated those accrediting bodies over the years,' DeSantis said at an event at Florida Atlantic University on Thursday. 'We care about student achievement; we care about measurable outcomes; we care about efficiency; we care about pursuing truth; we care about preparing our students to be citizens of our republic.' 'All those things have played second fiddle if they were even given any credence at all under these more prevailing accreditation models,' he added. DeSantis said leaders of the new body have been working with the Department of Education under the Trump administration to receive expedited federal approval for the new accreditation model to undergo a 'trial run' that will entice more states to join. 'We need these things approved and implemented during President Trump's term of office, because the reality is, if it doesn't get if it doesn't get approved and stick during that time, you can have a president come in next and potentially revoke it, and they could probably do that very quickly,' he said. 'Obviously, we didn't really have the prospects of launching anything like this successfully during the Biden years, but it's a new day and I think this is going to make a big, big difference,' DeSantis continued. The Education Department didn't respond to The Hill's request for comment on the new body. Colleges that have already signed on to CPHE accreditation include ones in the Texas A&M University System, State University System of Florida, University System of Georgia, University of North Carolina System, University of South Carolina and University of Tennessee System. Florida system chancellor Ray Rodrigues, a former Florida state lawmaker who was hired for the higher education role in 2023 by a DeSantis-appointed board, said that the aim is to lift education outcomes. 'The Commission for Public Higher Education will offer an accreditation model that prioritizes academic excellence and student success while removing ideological bias and unnecessary financial burdens,' he said. 'With our current accreditor, SACS, there are nearly 50 four-year, nonprofit colleges and universities that have a four-year graduation rate of 20 percent or less and yet they're still accredited.' SACS President Belle Wheelan's office didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. DeSantis predicted other states, particularly conservative states in the South, will also sign on to gain accreditation from the new body. 'SACS has been such a problem and people want to get away from it,' he said. 'They'll see this accreditation consortium is really offering the type of vision that the leadership in those states believe in.'
