Dr. Jonathan Gueverra, President and CEO of the College of Florida Keys, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on at the college.
While the governor did sign the budget, he did veto $535 million, some of which will affect the college.
Dr. Gueverra said, “It’s hard. You put a lot of time and effort into making these requests. And it’s the same thing every year, though. It’s either they get, not put on as part of the request, or they get all the way to the end. As I said to our team yesterday, I walked into our meeting with a box of tissue, and I put it on the table, and I looked around and I said, don’t anybody dare take a tissue out of this to dry your crying eyes, because even though we did not get our wishes this year, and it’s a little disconcerting, because the money for the chiller infrastructure is really important, because we do need, and God forbid, we should have a break this summer or in the fall when classes begin, it could really, really have a negative impact. But we have had price increases for the charter school when we were under construction, and we were able to get the money from the state, ultimately, so we could complete that. We have been working on putting in two additional generators that would help us to have backup over the complete campus. So you have to take it as it comes. Some years you get what you ask for, and some years you don’t. We still get an increase in our operating funds so that we can try to give our employees an increase, and also to do some things for our students, so that we can continue to see them graduate and go on to lead a successful life. So as bad as that is, I’m just at the point where I’m going to go again.”
A new accreditation agency is possibly in the works at the state.
Dr. Gueverra said, “I’m not exactly sure what it means for us, but I will tell you that our state of Florida, along with Texas, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Tennessee have formed a collaborative, and they’re calling it the Commission for Public Higher Education. Right now, the universities are the ones who are primarily involved in this. I think the goal is for these six states to create their own accrediting agency and the goal is for the leaders of these six states to somehow take over the work that was being done by the accrediting entity that currently accredits the universities in these six states and the College of the Florida Keys, along with all other public and private colleges in the state of Florida, are currently accredited by SACSCOC, and as a result of legislation that was passed a couple of years ago, we are in the process of seeking accreditation with HLC, and we’re at the point where, at the end of this month, we will be going to Chicago to talk with the various stakeholders on the institutional accreditation committee, because they have done the site visit and have told us that we need to proceed to the very next step. We have not, as institutions, been told anything about this new entity. What this will entail is that this new entity will need to apply to the federal government to receive approval to be an accrediting body, and then, obviously they will need to set up the infrastructure to review institutions. So a host of things can happen, one of which could be that, since the state of Florida is involved, any institution that is currently accredited and is in good standing, they could simply say, we’re not going to put you all through that ringer again. We’re going to bring you in and as they develop the system, then they start to begin to review each institution individually. So it could be a complex process, and I don’t know what it will actually look like and who will take the lead.”
The college’s Marine Environmental Technology program recently returned from a unique learning experience offered each summer.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We’ve been doing this for several years, and Dr. Rice and Dr. Brodsky and others, and this year it’s been Dr. Rice, our Chief Science Research Officer, and Doctor Gregory, they took our students down for two courses that helps the Bonaire government and the environmental sustainability folks down there. They did two courses. One is the assessment of coral reef habitats, and the other is monitoring Caribbean Reef Fish. They take some of the lecture work that they need, and then they go down to Bonaire and they apply those concepts and actually practice the methods that are used by federal, state and regional agencies. We also take experts, industry experts, from here and from there to be a part of this. The students have logged as many as 20 dives over the week that they were there. So this is great for them, and especially since many of the students in the program are diving enthusiasts. They love this, and it is something we hope to continue. The students, they pay for this in one form or another, because this is a real nice add on for them, but it’s a great thing to have on the resume. It’s an exciting experience, and it gives them an opportunity to deal with something on an international level. So I would encourage anybody who wants to know more about the program and what these students are learning to check out some of the photos that are available on our social media pages. It’s very, very exciting. Those students, they work really hard, and they now have earned their PADI certification, and this is really the gold standard in the industry. Many of those students, prior to going out to additional job opportunities, they will stay with the college for a while, so probably two or three of them will be with us for a while, actually beginning the process of teaching or doing something related. So we give them additional experiences. But in the end, this is just a great example of how we work with our industry partners, how we work with industries to allow our students to take certifications, and these certifications not only prepare them for employment, but it’s also a testament to the work that we do with the students in the classroom that at the end of it all, they take these exams, just as they do in law enforcement and nursing and so many of the other programs that we do. They take these exams and they receive the certification based on the education that we were providing.”
Water safety days starting in April and go through August.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We are very proud to be a part of this. A lot of major kudos to Lori Bosco, I have referred to her as the hardest working swim coach in Key West. But she is definitely on the forefront of all of this. She and her staff teach the students, these young people and their families, they put them in the water. They teach them how to properly put on a life jacket, how they should enter the water, to float, to swim while using a life jacket. They also learn safety, especially in the summer months, where everybody’s looking to get a little bit of water on them with the heat and humidity, how to know when somebody’s in distress, how to use a buoy. The college recently received a donation, so we have life jackets for infants and small children from the Florida Keys Health Start Coalition. So we’ve been using these for the swim lessons at the pool. The life jacket donation was also facilitated by the Department of Health Monroe County, the Florida Department of Health, and they’re also providing vouchers for free swim lessons, so that the students, once they go through the safety part of it, children up to age four, they can get into the Water Smart Florida program. So we’re offering all of these lessons because during the summer months, the stories about drowning and some kid being found by a pool or they wander in. So we’re doing all of this. In addition, Lori is doing her mermaid academy activities throughout the year. That’s a week long experience for aspiring mermaids, seven through 12, and it runs July 14 through the 18th, from 8:30 to 4:30 pm. They learn how to swim using the mermaid tails. They do mermaid arts and crafts, and they perform a mermaid show.”
Summer adventure camps are also continuing at the college.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We still have spots available in the art camp, the tropical hobbyist and young writers and the code breakers camp. If folks are interested, we have information on our website. Again, this runs until August 2, so please go on our website, and look for our summer camps and you can sign up your young ones, or you can just stop by the college and come to the administration building.”
August 1 is the deadline for applications to start in the fall semester and classes begin August 19.
Dr. Gueverra said, “It’s right around the corner. So we are looking at just over a month away, and classes will begin. Please, if you are interested in being at the college for the fall, August 1 is the time, and we like to make sure that people have all their paperwork in, especially with the continual change in state and federal regulations. Sometimes if you started an application back in January and you didn’t complete it, I guarantee you some things may have changed, little things like, who gets a tuition waiver? Some of those things would have changed. So we want people to make sure that they get this information in on time, so that we can help them. Because the sooner you get that application completed, the sooner you can register for classes, get your books, get your supplies. I was speaking to a young lady yesterday, she came in and she had to bring a photo of her dad to prove her Florida residency. She has an appointment for Monday to come in to speak to an advisor. And I said to her, have you applied for scholarships? She says, I don’t think so. I said, how do you plan to pay for this? She says, well, I think some member of my family is going to do something. I said, you need to check around and make sure you apply for scholarships, because we have funds. Then when she said, I’m really interested in the nursing program. I said, especially in nursing, we have multiple organizations, individuals, entities, that help us to help our students to complete their nursing program. Also our CFK Academy, our high school, is still accepting applications for the upcoming school year by our waiting list because the lottery program is closed, so there are still some spots left. So if you’re interested in starting classes, either at the college or at the academy, now’s the time to make sure you go ahead and submit those applications, or call us, go to our website and let us help you.”
For more information, click here: https://cfk.edu/