In 2023, Palm Beach State College will celebrate its 90th anniversary serving higher education needs...
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WEST PALM BEACH — In 2023, Palm Beach State College will celebrate its 90th anniversary serving higher education needs of students in our communities. During that time, the institution went through several name changes: Palm Beach Junior College, Palm Beach Community College, and finally, Palm Beach State College.
That last change was more metamorphosis than new stationery and signs, for it marked eligibility for the institution to offer bachelor’s degree programs under a landmark 2001 state law enacted to meet the increasing demand for professions such as nursing respiratory therapy. Those workforce needs have only grown and now include diverse fields such as information technology and security, entrepreneurship, project management, and others, explained Dr. Don Gladney, interim dean bachelor’s programs, who was a member of the team launching the Palm Beach State programs.
Palm Beach State now offers five baccalaureate degrees in highly skilled and in-demand fields: B.S. Human Services, B.S. Nursing, B.S.; Cardiopulmonary Sciences, B.A.S. Supervision & Management, and B.A.S. Information Management.
Why Palm Beach State? “For students who are working, taking care of family or have other responsibilities, we offer the modalities: fully online (take your class where and when you need it); live on-site classes; and ‘live-online,’ where some students are in the classroom, while others are participating on their laptops elsewhere,” said Dr. Gladney.
“Because of our flexible schedules, most full time students with an A.A. or A.S. degree have the opportunity to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in 18 to 24 months. In addition to flexibility, we certainly offer lower costs,” said Dr. Don Gladney.
Upper-level tuitions range from $123 to $130 per credit hour.
The nursing shortage predates COVID and has dominated local and national headlines since. There are not enough nurses to meet demand. The Florida Hospital Association quantified the shortage in early 2022: seventy percent of Florida hospitals are facing critical staffing shortages, particularly in nursing.
While COVID thrust the crisis onto the evening news, the nursing shortage was already top of mind at Palm Beach State College when it launched its bachelor’s degree in nursing program in 2012.
“We are creating innovative ways to increase the flow of students through our programs and into hospitals that need them, explained Edward Willey, dean of health sciences. “Ultimately, it’s all about patient care. Getting students trained at the highest level directly impacts patient care, wherever it’s delivered.”
One of the keys to Palm Beach State’s bachelor’s program is that it’s fully online. “Nurses today are working three, four, or more twelve-hour shifts a week. If they then had to drive to campus to take classes at prescribed times, they may not be able to do it,” explained Dr. Nadine Sirota, department chair of the A.S.N. to B.S.N. program. “What online allows is flexibility with their learning in order to advance their degree, which helps to fill the current shortage.” All bachelor’s degree students will have received hands-on training through clinicals at local hospitals during their associate degree program. “Plus, two of our courses had additional clinical components, 48 hours each,” added Tina Collins.
“All of our online courses are certified by Quality Matters,” a nonprofit internationally recognized organization that certifies the quality of online and blended college courses, said Dr. Collins, “Our faculty develops the curriculum and administers the courses.”
Community partnerships are key elements of all health sciences programs at Palm Beach State.
“We have had very productive meetings with many of our hospital administrators, particularly chief nursing offers,” said Dean Willey. “And we are not just talking about hospitals. We have a new relationship with Trustbridge hospice and many other healthcare providers.”
When students receive their Associate of Science Degree in Nursing, they are eligible to take what is commonly called “the boards,” a national test that evaluates fitness to practice. That’s followed by a Florida nursing license. R.N.s are then eligible to work in any Florida healthcare facility. To advance to nurse manager, medical researcher, or educator, for example, one must have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. From there, nurses are eligible for master’s and doctorate degrees.
Professionals in cardiopulmonary sciences are among those angels in scrubs and PPEs we all admired on the TV news, working bedside with some of the sickest COVID patients during the frightening peaks of the pandemic.
They provided no only the breath of life from complex machines, but also, above their masks, the kind eyes of compassionate souls, Many of those Registered Respiratory Therapists (R.R.T.) are graduates of Palm Beach State’s two-year Associate of Science programs. Now, many more are advancing their careers and expanding their horizons by earning bachelor’s degrees in cardiopulmonary sciences at Palm Beach State College.
“Our program is ideally designed for working respiratory therapists,” explains Dr. Nancy L. Latimer, who helped design the B.S. program and is a fulltime faculty member, professor, and department chair. It’s one hundred percent online, classes can be taken around work schedules, and there are no clinicals required.” Dr. Latimer told of one R.R.T. who was a traveling therapist during the pandemic. “She earned her bachelor’s degree from Palm Beach State between shifts in North Dakota!”
Bachelor’s degrees open doors to supervisory and management positions at work, with corresponding pay increases. Some graduates will want to continue the path to a master’s degree, which provides, among other opportunities, the credentials to teach at the university level and help address the critical shortage of respiratory therapists. “Our program is versatile and affordable in many cases it can be complete in about a year, and most employers have tuition reimbursement plans.” said Dr. Nancy L. Latimer.
Dr. Suzie Duff, LMHC, says it’s not unusual for people to ask what a bachelor’s degree in Human Services is all about. As department chair, she has a simple answer: “Human Services is a ‘people helping’ profession.” Then she adds context. “It’s a big umbrella, and under it we do all the things, other than medical, that help people. Our graduates help people with developmental difficulties like autism and Down Syndrome; people experiencing home insecurity, domestic violence, children in the DCF system and their parents. It could be the elderly; it could be anybody who’s in need. We are there for them.” There is excitement in her voice and humanity in her mission. Dr. Duff and her fellow professors train students to serve vulnerable people “with respect, with cultural competency, and with the confidence to guide their clients while allowing them to make decisions for their own lives based on what they know is best for them.”
“Human Services and other baccalaureate programs are part of the evolution of the new Palm Beach State College,” explained Dean of Academic Affairs at the Lake Worth Campus, Sheila Scott-Lubin, M.ED. “They enable students to start here with an associate of arts or associate of science degree, then stay straight through to their bachelor’s degree.” The B.S. degree in Human Services, in particular, was born from student desire. “The associate’s degree program had been in existence for twenty years, graduating exceptional students who work at community social services organizations,” added Associate Dean of Social Science, Susan Caldwell, M.A. “Many went on to earn their bachelor’s degrees in related fields at other institutions.” Why can’t we stay here, with professors we love, at a college where we feel safe and supported, they asked.
The Human Services Business Partnership Council agreed. The council’s members represent leading local social services organization, some large and well known, others small but powerful in their work. These organizations rely on a steady stream of qualified prospective employees, and often provide internships for real-world experience. The BPC also provides feedback on trends in the field - helping the college and the department meet community needs. For example, over ten years ago when the addiction-treatment field was exploding in Palm Beach County, the BPC helped guide the department to develop an addiction studies program that today delivers highly qualified, caring professionals to the area’s best treatment facilities.
Human Services baccalaureate enrollment numbers demonstrate the program’s appeal. Launched in 2020 during the early days of the COVID pandemic, enrollment increased by 60% from Spring 2021 to Spring 2022. “I believe the pandemic made many people rethink what they want to do with their lives and careers,” Dr. Duff theorized. “It was like an existential shift - people decided they wanted a career that helps people who are hurting.”
To incoming students, she says: “Success is a series of stepping stones. The first step is a college credit certificate, which becomes a stepping stone to an Associate of Science or Associate of Arts degree, which becomes a stepping stone to a Bachelor Science. At each level you can get a job in the community helping people. With each succeeding step you get more job opportunities. You are building your career as you build your education.”
It happens here. It happens everywhere. Bad actors seeking ransom. Unscrupulous companies stealing trade secrets. Foreign enemies bent on bringing down America.
The defenders? Amazingly skilled and dedicated teams of cybersecurity experts, some trained right here at Palm Beach State College.
“We’ve been training students at the associate of science level since 2016,” said Dr. Don Gladney, interim dean, bachelor’s degree programs. “Our first-generation cybersecurity lab opened that year, and now we offer a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Information Management with a concentration in Security/Network Assurance that prepares people to manage and lead teams as opposed to just being a technician. The focus there is beyond tools and techniques, extending to developing policies, procedures, practices, audit and the critical task of keeping senior management apprised of the state of security.”
The cybersecurity lab enables professors to simulate all sorts of virtual environments without creating a potential hazard. “They are using the same penetration testing and network monitoring tools that are currently used in the industry. When they leave us, degree in hand, they can walk into a workplace and be ready to start on day one.”
At the end of the term, students participate in a “capstone” class incorporating all they have learned to resolve a real-world problem. “What sets us apart is that our capstone projects are presented not only to faculty but to members of our advisory boards comprised of some of the people who will eventually hire our students. It’s a crowning achievement, right before commencement,” Dr. Gladney explained.
Palm Beach State is also creating cybersecurity career pathways in partnership with the School District of Palm Beach County. “Some public high schools focus on cybersecurity, and through dual-enrollment, students can get an early start on certifications for their associate degrees.”
Some of the baccalaureate students’ training extends beyond the classroom, even involving other universities. “We have done some ‘war game’ exercises with students from Florida State, where teams compete to break into systems - monitored very closely, of course - in a virtual environment that’s safe and secure. Teamwork and learning can be fun!”
