New College mission change, drops “distinctive academic program”
New College of Florida’s Board of Trustees is weighing a potential change to the college’s mission at its November 19, 2024 meeting, which includes dropping any mention of New College’s distinctive academic program which consists of independent study, narrative evaluation instead of grades, individualized educational contracts, and senior thesis.
The new mission statement includes vague and convoluted phrasing such as “eternal verities”, “moral disciplines”, “the good, the true, and the beautiful”, and “man’s long struggle to defeat ignorance” without clarifying how these ideas translate into concrete educational practices.
| Current NCF mission statement | Proposed NCF mission statement in 2024-11-19 BOT meeting materials |
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New College of Florida prepares intellectually curious students for lives of great achievement. It offers a liberal arts education of the highest quality in the context of a small, residential public honors college with a distinctive academic program which develops the student’s intellectual and personal potential as fully as possible; encourages the discovery of new knowledge and values while providing opportunities to acquire established knowledge and values; and fosters the individual’s effective relationship with society. |
“Give me a firm place to stand, and I shall move the earth.” Archimedes In man’s long struggle to defeat ignorance by pursuing truth, New College educates its students in the great traditions and moral disciplines of our civilization so that they can lead principled lives of consequence. Through academic excellence, New College develops within students the capacity to think critically and humanely and to conduct themselves with civility, courage, and honor. Together, we seek the good, the true, and the beautiful, in the firm knowledge that only through the eternal verities can we move the earth. |
The proposed mission statement is out of step with the clear educational aspirations seen in the mission statements of other Florida universities (provided below) and peer institutions identified by Mercer for the 2023 presidential compensation study that set Richard Corcoran’s salary range (also provided below).
Mission statements at other Florida universities
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) is an 1890 land-grant institution dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, resolution of complex issues and the empowerment of citizens and communities. The University provides a student-centered environment consistent with its core values. The faculty is committed to educating students at the undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional levels, preparing graduates to apply their knowledge, critical thinking skills and creativity in their service to society. FAMU’s distinction as a doctoral and research institution will continue to provide mechanisms to address emerging issues through local and global partnerships. Expanding upon the University’s land-grant status, it will enhance the lives of constituents through innovative research, engaging cooperative extension, and public service. While the University continues its historic mission of educating African Americans, FAMU embraces persons of all races, ethnic origins and nationalities as life-long members of the University community.
Florida Atlantic University is a public research university with multiple campuses along the southeast Florida coast serving a uniquely diverse community. It promotes academic and personal development, discovery and lifelong learning. FAU fulfills its mission through excellence and innovation in teaching, outstanding research and creative activities, public engagement and distinctive scientific and cultural alliances, all within an environment that fosters inclusiveness.
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a transformative, learner-centered institution dedicated to student success that strategically serves Southwest Florida and beyond.
FGCU, as a regional comprehensive institution, provides academic, economic, and cultural enrichment for our community through impactful partnerships and excellent teaching, learning, scholarship, and public service. We create pathways for our students to thrive as engaged, responsible, global citizens. Through undergraduate and graduate programs, FGCU students receive a distinctive education with experiential learning, community service, and participation in a living laboratory of sustainability practices.
Florida International University is an urban, multi-campus, public research university serving its students and the diverse population of South Florida. We are committed to high-quality teaching, state-of-the-art research and creative activity, and collaborative engagement with our local and global communities.
Serve students and industry through excellence in education, discovery, and application of engineering and applied sciences.
Florida State University preserves, expands, and disseminates knowledge in the sciences, technology, arts, humanities, and professions, while embracing a philosophy of learning strongly rooted in the traditions of the liberal arts. The university is dedicated to excellence in teaching, research, creative endeavors, and service. The university strives to instill the strength, skill, and character essential for lifelong learning, personal responsibility, and sustained achievement within a community that fosters free inquiry and embraces diversity.
UCF is a public research university invested in unleashing the potential within every individual; enriching the human experience through inclusion, discovery, and innovation; and propelling broad-based prosperity for the many communities we serve.
The University of Florida is a comprehensive learning institution built on a land-grant foundation. We are The Gator Nation, a diverse community dedicated to excellence in education and research and shaping a better future for Florida, the nation and the world.
Our mission is to enable our students to lead and influence the next generation and beyond for economic, cultural and societal benefit.
At the University of North Florida, we ignite a passion for learning and discovery through transformational education in a supportive environment that leads students to rewarding careers and lifelong success. Our beautiful campus is a hub for talent development, relevant research and community engagement, where we enrich lives and fuel the economic and overall prosperity of Northeast Florida and beyond.
Led by outstanding faculty and professional staff, the University of South Florida conducts innovative scholarship, creative activity and basic and translational research, and delivers a world-class educational experience promoting the success of our talented and diverse undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. As a public metropolitan research university, USF, in partnership with our communities, serves the people of Florida, the nation, and the world by fostering intellectual inquiry and outcomes that positively shape the future - regionally, nationally and globally.
UWF delivers a learner-focused university education that enables students from varied backgrounds to meet their career and life goals. UWF research and community partnerships advance the body of knowledge and enhance the prosperity of the region and the state.
Mission statements at institutions included as peers in the 2023 Mercer college president compensation analysis
The mission of Bethune-Cookman University is to educate a diverse community of learners to become responsible, productive citizens and solution seekers through the promotion of faith, scholarship, creative endeavors, leadership and service.
Brandman University (now UMass Global)
The mission of UMass Global is to provide students with an accessible, inclusive and transformative education based on excellence and flexibility, creating lasting value and relevance for a dynamic world.
The primary purpose of this corporation is to conduct regular four-year college courses in education, music, sciences and the liberal arts, and to grant certificates, diplomas and any and all degrees evidencing completion of any course of training, together with any and all honorary degrees and to provide training for Baptist youth and others desiring to be affiliated with Baptist theology and theological instruction and such other instruction as may be needful and advantageous in preparing and qualifying ministers and others for Christian work. (Articles of Incorporation of California Baptist College, 1954).
Colby is committed to the belief that the best preparation for life, and especially for the professions that require specialized study, is a broad acquaintance with human knowledge. The Colby experience is designed to enable each student to find and fulfill their own unique potential. It is hoped that students will become critical and imaginative thinkers who are welcoming of diversity and compassionate toward others, capable of distinguishing fact from opinion, intellectually curious and aesthetically aware, adept at synthesis as well as analysis, broadly educated with depth in some areas, proficient in writing and speaking, familiar with one or more scientific disciplines, knowledgeable about American and other cultures, able to create and enjoy opportunities for lifelong learning, willing to assume leadership roles as students and citizens, prepared to respond flexibly to the changing demands of the world of work, useful to society, and happy with themselves.
When Grinnell College framed its charter in the Iowa Territory of the United States in 1846, it set forth a mission to educate its students "for the different professions and for the honorable discharge of the duties of life." The College pursues that mission by providing an education in the liberal arts through free inquiry and the open exchange of ideas. As a teaching and learning community, the College holds that knowledge is a good to be pursued both for its own sake and for the intellectual, moral, and physical well-being of individuals and of society at large. The College exists to provide a lively academic community of students and teachers of high scholarly qualifications from diverse social and cultural circumstances. The College aims to graduate individuals who can think clearly, who can speak and write persuasively and even eloquently, who can evaluate critically both their own and others' ideas, who can acquire new knowledge, and who are prepared in life and work to use their knowledge and their abilities to serve the common good.
High Point University’s inspiring environment, caring people, and engaging education equip graduates for success and significance by cultivating the values, knowledge, mindset, and skills necessary to thrive in a competitive and rapidly changing world.
Hillsdale College is an independent institution of higher learning founded in 1844 by men and women “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings” resulting from civil and religious liberty and “believing that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.” It pursues the stated object of the founders: “to furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nation, color, or sex, a literary, scientific, [and] theological education” outstanding among American colleges “and to combine with this such moral and social instruction as will best develop the minds and improve the hearts of its pupils.” As a nonsectarian Christian institution, Hillsdale College maintains “by precept and example” the immemorial teachings and practices of the Christian faith.
The College also considers itself a trustee of our Western philosophical and theological inheritance tracing to Athens and Jerusalem, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law.
By training the young in the liberal arts, Hillsdale College prepares students to become leaders worthy of that legacy. By encouraging the scholarship of its faculty, it contributes to the preservation of that legacy for future generations. By publicly defending that legacy, it enlists the aid of other friends of free civilization and thus secures the conditions of its own survival and independence.
Lynn University’s mission is to provide an innovative, global and personalized education that enables students to realize their potential.
Maryville University of Saint Louis
Maryville University is one of the outstanding private universities in the Midwest offering an innovative liberal arts education leading to excellent academic and professional programs in the Arts and Sciences, Health Professions, Education and Business that prepare students for a life of engagement and achievement in multiple fields of endeavor.
Molloy College (now Molloy University)
Molloy University, an independent, Catholic university rooted in the Dominican tradition of study, spirituality, service and community, is committed to academic excellence with respect for each person. Through transformative education, Molloy promotes a lifelong search for truth and the development of ethical leadership.
Ringling College of Art and Design
Ringling College of Art and Design provides excellence in education; promotes innovation in art and design; and fosters the creative, intellectual, professional, and personal development of its students and the greater community at large. The College recognizes that scholars, artists, designers, and creative professionals play a significant role in society. Through its policies and practices, the College provides educational programs that help students, the community, and the world understand art and creativity as essential dimensions of life.
In support of this mission:
Ringling College prepares students for successful careers that contribute positively to society.
Ringling College strives to enroll both full and part-time students from diverse backgrounds who intend to become creative professionals.
Ringling College provides community interaction within the complex world of cultural and artistic disciplines for cultural enlightenment, lifelong learning, artistic appreciation, and career development.
Ringling’s curriculum balances the teaching of technical knowledge and skills with the development of critical, conceptual, and creative abilities and supports courses that provide historical, multicultural, global, and future perspectives.
Ringling’s faculty consists of professionally active and teaching-oriented artists, designers, professionals, and scholars.
Academic programs along with Advising, Career Services, and an extensive co-curricular student life program help prepare students for a creative profession, life-long learning, and graduate level studies.
Ringling College provides the opportunity for all students to gain professional experience prior to graduation by connecting them with leading brands and clients to develop creative solutions to business challenges.
The University of Tampa is a comprehensive, independent university that delivers challenging and high-quality educational experiences to a diverse group of learners. Four colleges offer about 200 areas of graduate and undergraduate study. The Spartan Studies general education curriculum helps to prepare students to be successful, contributing members of the global community. Graduate and continuing studies programs exemplify our commitment to the professions and community.
The University’s 110-acre residential campus in downtown Tampa provides an exceptional setting for learning both on and off campus. Valuing the community’s international heritage, the University attracts students, faculty and staff from around the world with diverse backgrounds to facilitate intercultural learning.
UT is committed to the development of each student to become a productive and responsible citizen. The University conducts classes in personalized settings in which learning is enhanced through application by balancing “learning by thinking” with “learning by doing.” Students are taught by highly qualified faculty members dedicated to teaching, scholarship, advising and continued intellectual growth. Students participate in learning partnerships with faculty and the community through clinical and consulting assignments, internships and research experiences. Academic services and co-curricular activities support individual well-being and development, and provide leadership opportunities. UT strives to provide a rich and inclusive learning environment for all students to prepare them for careers and lifelong learning.
Wilmington University is committed to excellence in teaching, relevancy of its programs and offerings, and individual attention to students. As an institution with inclusive admission policies, it offers affordable and accessible higher education to students of varying ages, interests, and aspirations through both face-to-face and various online formats.
The University provides a range of exemplary career-oriented undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates, or customized offerings based upon market needs, for a growing and diverse student population. A highly qualified, full-time faculty works closely with part-time faculty drawn from the workplace to ensure that the university’s programs prepare students to begin or continue their career, improve their competitiveness in the job market, and engage in lifelong learning.
