State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota
SCF Profile
State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) is an accredited, public Florida institution established to provide college training for the residents of Manatee and Sarasota counties. The College is a member of Florida’s state college system and receives the majority of its funding from state allocations, tuition and fees.
SCF is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award associate and baccalaureate degrees.
Enrollment in credit classes at the College is about 27,000 students annually, including residents of Manatee and Sarasota counties, individuals from neighboring Florida counties, many other states and several foreign countries.
Students attend classes at SCF locations in Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch and Venice; at many business and public sector sites throughout the community; and via online opportunities.
The College is a member of the Association of Florida Colleges, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the American Association of Community Colleges and the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities.
SCF History
On Sept. 17, 1957, the State Board of Education established Manatee Junior College as an approved college with the primary mission of providing college training for young people and adults. On Nov. 5, 1957, Dr. Samuel R. Neel, Jr. became the first president. The College began its first classes with 502 students on Sept. 2, 1958, in a former senior high school. In 1959 the first classes were held on the current southwest Manatee County campus with a full-fledged sophomore class and a large freshman class enrolled in university-parallel courses.
In 1973 classes were offered at Venice High School to provide higher education opportunities for residents of south Sarasota County. The College Board of Trustees in 1977 established the College’s Venice Center, which initially was supported with contributions from citizens of North Port, Englewood and Venice. In 1983 the College received an appropriation from the Florida Legislature to build the current full-service campus in Venice, which was dedicated on March 30, 1985.
The College’s name was changed to Manatee Community College in 1985.
In January 2003, the College opened the Center for Innovation and Technology at Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park on 5 acres of land donated by Schroeder-Manatee Ranch. This location offers both credit classes and a wide variety of noncredit, personal and professional development and workforce training classes. In 2007 Schroeder-Manatee Ranch donated an additional 5 acres and a Medical Technology and Simulation Center was opened in 2010.
In 2009, the State Board of Education approved the College’s proposal to deliver a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. To reflect this change to a four-year degree-granting institution, the College’s name was changed from Manatee Community College to State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. The College remains committed to the associate degree programs while expanding its mission to a two-year, four-year multiple-campus institution offering four-year degrees needed to meet the higher level education needs of the local workforce.
About 43,000 graduates have received SCF degrees in the College’s history.
SCF Locations
SCF Bradenton is located in southwest Manatee County close to Sarasota Bay. The 100-acre full-service campus is located 10 miles from I-75 and can be reached using Exit 217.
SCF Venice is located on U.S. 41 in south Sarasota County, 42 miles south of SCF Bradenton. The 100-acre full-service campus is easily accessible from Venice, Englewood and North Port. The campus is located eight miles from I-75 and can be reached using Exit 191.
SCF Lakewood Ranch is located in northeast Sarasota County at 7131 Professional Parkway East, Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park, two miles from I-75, and can be reached using Exit 213.
SCF Mission Statement
State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, guided by measurable standards of institutional excellence, provides engaging and accessible learning environments that result in student success and community prosperity.
SCF Vision Statement
State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota is globally recognized as an innovative model of educational organization that hosts a dynamic continuum of academic and career pathways focused on student success and community responsiveness.
SCF Institutional Values
- Leadership
- Excellence
- Accountability
- Diversity
- Self Knowledge
- Sustainability
SCF Strategic Priorities
- Student Learning and Development
- Institutional Effectiveness
- Partnership
- Technology
- Fiscal Responsibility
- Quality Workforce
- Pluralistic Focus
State College of Florida Foundation Inc.
History
In 1978, a dedicated group of concerned community leaders united around a common goal: to make certain that the first and largest public college of the Manatee and Sarasota region could meet the daunting challenges of higher education emerging in the 21st century.
Their imagination and vision created a foundation that would make a great College better, a foundation that would provide deserving students with an opportunity to earn a college education through scholarships, a foundation that would raise funds to better equip classrooms and energize faculty development. The founders visualized a foundation contributing to the cultural and economic heritage of the greater community and empowering the College through financial flexibility.
The Foundation provides more than $1.3 million in annual scholarship support to students and more than $1 million annually on faculty, program and equipment support to the College.
Role of the Foundation
The Foundation is incorporated as a charitable 501 (c) (3) corporation with a mission that includes the following four major components:
- Public promotion of the College
- Cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of private gifts
- Allocation of dollars raised
- Management of the endowment portfolio
What the Foundation Provides the College
- Annual scholarships to help students with tuition, fees and books
- Classroom instructional/laboratory equipment and library resources to equip students with 21st century skills
- Funding for capital purposes to help with new or renovated building priorities
- Faculty support to permit the College to expand “high need” programs by hiring more faculty
- Program support to help establish new and innovative programs
Information on opportunities to participate in any of the Foundation’s programs is available online at scffoundation.net.
Center for Corporate and Community Development
SCF’s Corporate and Community Development (CCD) is dedicated to providing quality learning for people of all ages. CCD provides all noncredit continuing education and some credit-related programs and services conducted at SCF campuses and off-site locations. Thousands of people annually take classes and attend events through the division.
CCD administrative offices are located at the Center for Innovation and Technology at SCF Lakewood Ranch. Offices also are maintained at SCF Venice and SCF Bradenton. The Traffic Safety Institute has offices at SCF Bradenton and SCF Venice, as well as downtown Sarasota at Main Street Plaza.
Schedules are published each term and are available in CCD offices and on the College’s website at scf.edu/CCD.
The Traffic Safety Institute
scf.edu/TSI
Serving Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties, the Traffic Safety Institute provides driver improvement and substance abuse prevention programs in an attempt to improve public safety and save lives. Programs offered include:
- Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Program
- Mature Driving Class
- Special Supervision Services
- Basic and Advanced Driver Improvement Courses
- First-time Driver License Class
- DUI Victims Panel
- Juvenile Offender-Shoplifting (court-ordered class)
- Driving While License Suspended/Revoked Class (DWLS/R)
Workforce Solutions
scf.edu/Workforce
Workforce Solutions assists local organizations to improve the performance of their employees. Workforce Solutions provides noncredit educational programs and services that promote and support professional development, economic development, and service to the community.
In addition to classes at SCF sites, Workforce Solutions provides contracted customized training and business process improvement services for local employers. Options may include traditional classroom-based training, interactive online training or in-depth performance improvement analysis and solution development. The goal of the department is to identify business solutions to meet specific needs of the business community.
A vast range of topics is available. Some of the most popular offerings include Microsoft Office applications and leadership and management courses.
Continuing and Community Education
scf.edu/CommunityEd
Continuing and Community Education combines professional continuing education training with personal enrichment opportunities.
- Personal enrichment courses enable people from all segments of the community to clarify values, increase occupational skills and enhance personal growth. Programs are provided to learners of all ages through multiple instructional deliveries. Classes range from Kids’ Summer Spectrum to courses geared toward older learners, such as Encore 50.
- Certification preparation courses enable residents to obtain licensure and to successfully prepare for licensure examinations.
- Professional continuing education courses meet the needs of career professionals in the community.
- Motorcycle rider safety courses are provided for beginner and advanced riders.
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