Synergy a welcome shift in Manatee County higher education

Synergy is the operative word in higher education these days. Rather than compete for students and stature, colleges and universities are uniting to extend their academic reach to best serve communities, economies and ambitions. This innovative collaboration alters the model of higher education, erasing campus borders and morphing schools into what is called a “multiuniversity.”
That is happening here in a multitude of constructive ways.
A seamless enrollment process already exists between the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, New College and the Ringling College of Art & Design. The pilot program, which launched a year or so ago, allows students to expand their knowledge in fields and classes not available at their home institutions and earn credits at the other schools. By pooling each institution’s unique resources, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts — and thus more attractive to prospective students and higher enrollment.