Edison State College
Coordinates: 26°33′05″N 81°53′14″W / 26.551348°N 81.887241°W
| Edison State College | |
|---|---|
| Motto | A Higher Degree of You |
| Established | 1962 |
| Type | Public state college |
| President | Jeffery Allbritten |
| Students | Fall 2012 enrollment 16,052 |
| Location | Fort Myers, Florida |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Blue and white |
| Website | edison.edu |
Edison State College (Also commonly referred to as ESC, ECC, and Edison) is a state college in Florida, part of the Florida College System. The college has its main campus (Lee County Campus) in Fort Myers in Lee County, and branch campuses in Charlotte and Collier counties. The college also has an outreach program in Hendry and Glades counties. The college is named after inventor and industrialist Thomas Edison, who lived in Fort Myers during the winter months. The name of the school is expected to change to Florida SouthWestern State in July of 2013. [1] [2]
Accreditation
Edison State College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate and baccalaureate degrees.
History
The college, previously known as Edison Junior College, Edison Community College and Edison College, admitted its first students in the fall of 1962. In 2011, the Edison experienced turmoil as faculty voted no confidence in its president and senior vice president;[3] a few weeks later, President Kenneth Walker announced his impending resignation planned for 2013 while at the same time the Board of Trustees announced plans to reinstate a former vice president for academic affairs who had "raised allegations of racial discrimination in the hiring of a dean."[4] Just over a year later in June 2012, the college's regional accreditor placed the institution on probation in the wake of continuing problems.[5]
Degrees and programs
ESC offers two-year associate's degrees (the Associate of Arts (A.A.) and Associate of Science (A.S.)), four-year bachelor's degrees (the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and the Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.)), and certificate programs.[6] The college also has a dual enrollment program, which is available to 10th, 11th, and 12th-grade Florida public high school students, students of private schools, students of public online schooling such as Florida Virtual School, and homeschooled students.[7] The college also offers non-credit continuing education courses.
Students
- Fall enrollment 16,052
- 34.1% full-time; 65.9% part-time
- Campuses: Lee campus (56.5%), Collier campus (16.6%), Charlotte campus (11%), Hendry/Glades Center (2.2%), and Edison Online (13.7%)
- 64.2% of students were 24 years old or younger, 35.8% of students are over the age of 24
- 58% White, 22.9% Hispanic/Latino, 14.4% other minorities
- 50% of fall 2012 enrolled students received financial aid.
Campuses
The main campus, the Lee County Campus is located on about 140 acres (0.57 km2) between College Parkway and Cypress Lake Drive in south L ee County. The campus is made up of 24 permanent buildings, including one- and two-story classroom buildings, a library, a bookstore, a cafeteria, a student center, and laboratories for science, computer science, nursing, health technologies, and college preparatory classes. The Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall located at the Lee County Campus is a venue which hosts plays, shows, and concerts. The Edison Pops Concert Series is held there annually.
The Collier County Campus is a 80-acre (320,000 m2) site near State Road 951 and Rattlesnake Hammock Road in east Naples. It opened in March 1992.
The Charlotte County Campus is a wooded site on Airport Road in Punta Gorda. It opened in 1997.
Edison also provides services to Edison State College students in Hendry and Glades counties.
Edison State College is governed by its District Board of Trustees composed of nine representatives from Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Glades and Lee counties. The members are appointed to four-year terms by the governor of Florida. Currently about 340 professional and support staff members provide the full-time instructional and support services for the more than 15,000 credit and nearly 3,000 non-credit students who participate in Edison courses and programs each year.
Notable Alumni & Attendees
Alumni Status is open to all graduates of Edison State College, all former students of ESC who regularly matriculated and left the College in good standing.
| Alum | Notability |
|---|---|
| Matt Hudson | member of the Florida House of Representatives |
| Tina Wainscott | American author |
| Fuzzy Zoeller | Professional golfer, currently plays on the Champions Tour |
References
- ↑ http://www.winknews.com/mobile/index.php/mobile/article/2014-01-08_Edison-College-to-become-Fla-South-Western-State-College
- ↑ http://www.nbc-2.com/story/24399496/florida-house-supports-edison-state-name-change
- ↑ Leslie Williams Hale (April 5, 2011). "Edison faculty vote results: 84 percent no confidence in President Walker, Browder". Naples Daily News. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ "Edison State College’s Embattled President to Resign". The Chronicle of Higher Education. April 27, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ Dave Breitenstein (June 21, 2012). "Edison State College placed on probation by accrediting agency". The News-Press. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ "Academic Programs". edison.edu. 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
- ↑ "High School Accelerated Programs". edison.edu. 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-21.