College explodes with epic hordes of new students

Florida State College at Jacksonville is under siege, not by Swine Flu or bomb threats, but by students. According to the school's Web site, during the fall semester of 2009, classrooms and blackboard were packed with 42,897 students. Compared to last year's numbers, that adds an additional 906 students to the roster.The appeal to many students can be found in the fact that Florida State College at Jacksonville offers you the chance to get your core classes completed before transferring to a university. This appeals to some for financial reasons, and to others to build momentum before starting at a university.

"I figured I could still live at home and retain my job at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island and just bank the money I would be spending on rent and get the same classes everyone else is taking at a senior college for their pre requisites," said Matthew Schubert, a sophomore who is taking advantage of Florida State College's transfer program.

"[Florida State College at Jacksonville] has been great for me because of monetary reasons mostly," said Tiffany Binkley, a sophomore student at South Campus. "While I'm getting my AA degree here, I can save my money because I can live with my parents. "

Binkley pursued her GED after dropping out of high school, and started her first semester at FSCJ soon after in order to save herself years of manual labor. "I dropped out of high school and I couldn't go to a university right after, I had no other choice except to work for minimum wage for the rest of my life," Binkley added.

Florida State College at Jacksonville currently offers seven bachelor degree programs: Nursing, Early Childhood Education, Networking and Telecommunications, Fire Science Management, Information Technology Management, Public Safety Management, and Supervision/Management. This helps to change the view of the college from a part-time institute to a full-time institute, something that can also be attributed to our name change from Florida Community College.

Another reason Florida State College at Jacksonville is gaining prospective student favorability lies in its ability to, even as a community college, offer multiple ways for students to access classes.

"People come here and engage in learning in different ways," said Dr. Donald Green, executive vice president of instruction and student services. "There are those who like traditional classes, those who like Hybrid classes, there are those that like to do online."

Hybrid classes are a mixture of both online and in class sessions. This allows you to get the most education without spending a lot of time in the classroom. Regular on-campus classrooms are made more accessible because of the college's ten campuses and centers.

Florida State College at Jacksonville is one of the nations leading providers of online education, which lead students to the final alternative: online classes. These courses have gained remarkable fame over the past semester.

"Our online [classes] are up 50 percent. People are accessing education in different ways," Green added.

Florida State College at Jacksonville offers six degrees that can be obtained solely through online classes: Associate Degrees in Business Administration, Criminal Justice Technology, Financial Services, Associate Degrees in Science degrees in Industrial Management Technology, and Environmental Science, and "Florida's famous" Associate Degree for University Transfer. The transfer plan assures acceptance to a state university.

There are also twelve certificates that can be completed completely through online classes.

Yet another option, summer classes, are popular as well. Florida State College at Jacksonville offers students the opportunity to keep the momentum going by letting students take courses over summer break. This seems to be a good idea for those wishing to grab their degree earlier.

"I don't like being out of school for more than a month, it makes me too anxious. Plus, I can get my degree faster," Binkley said.

Florida State College at Jacksonville turns out to be the school of choice, not only for high school drop outs, housewives aspiring to enter a career, or even elderly people looking to keep their minds active, but for everyone hoping to gain a new level of meaning in their lives. Maybe this explains the sudden boom of Florida State College at Jacksonville's enrollment.