Threads:
- Ringling College of Art & Design, New College, USF Sarasota-Manatee and the State College of Florida announced they were forming the Consortium of Colleges on the Creative Coast, or C4.
- That means students from any of those campuses can take classes at any of the other partnering schools
- The schools could partner together to build more student housing, encourage more development on North Tamiami Trail
- The partnership is the first of its kind in the Southeast
Could Sarasota be Florida’s next college town?
The idea seems laughable at first. There are more old people with their left blinkers on in heavy traffic than there are affordable student housing units. We’re better known for sunburnt tourists than students. There are no collegiate sports to speak of – except for the rowdy Ringling College vs. New College flag football game played annually.
But 20,000 students go to the four local colleges here, and now leaders are working to make North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota the next college hub.
The presidents of Ringling College of Art & Design, New College, USF Sarasota-Manatee and the State College of Florida announced Tuesday they had formed the Consortium of Colleges on the Creative Coast, or C4.
Jamiel Law, a first-year illustration major, walks though central campus at Ringling College of Art + Design. Photo Credit: Dan Wagner
Among the main changes will be the ability for students at one of the schools to take courses at any of the other partner schools, a process known as cross registration. For example, Ringling students could take foreign language courses at New College or SCF because they are not taught at the arts school. Similarly, students studying economics at New College could take marketing or accounting courses at USF Sarasota-Manatee.
This type of course-swapping agreement is somewhat popular in the Northeast and the Midwest, but they’re rare in the Southeast. The local collective is also different in that it includes a community college – SCF – a private arts school and two publicly funded colleges; most other arrangements are comprised exclusively of liberal arts schools or community colleges.
C4 could also bring some big changes to North Tamiami Trail, particularly to the areas in between Ringling College and USF S-M. Larry Thompson, president of Ringling College, said New College and USF are already talking about creating shared student housing, something Ringling may join once it establishes a graduate program. There could be a centralized student union for all four campuses. They’re talking about co-hosting concerts for students at the Ringling Museum.
The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. Photo credit: Thomas Bender
“It’s like having a major research institution here when you look at number of students and separate campus missions,” Thompson said of the agreement. “We want to fill up North Trail to be much more of a college haven — amenities for young people, students, new graduates and so forth, so that it becomes a hip scene on 41.”
The growing college footprint could also encourage developers to build affordable housing and other hotspots such as more bars, restaurants, gyms, shops and entertainment. I mean, how awesome would a rock gym be?!
The partnership also includes Eckerd College, located in St. Pete, and FSU’s campus at the Ringling Museum.
The State College of Florida. Photo credit: Thomas Bender
