Is Florida Gulf Coast University really a 3rd tier school? I'm being serious here. It's a state school, one of 11 I think. It's AACSB accreditted, which I believe only 25% of business schools attain. Is there some ranking so I can see where it lands? I know it's not top 100 by any means, but 3rd tier? The King Kamali of MBAs? Ouch!
Yes, it is. The truth is, as a state, Florida is not serious about funding education and it shows; this is true in K-12 public schools as well.
Think of it this way: much of the wealth in FL is held by people who moved to the state at or near retirement. Many people's parents and grandparents live in Florida. This is a population of people whose children, for the most part, are already grown. Their children were likely educated up North or otherwise out of state. Accordingly, this mature population (who vote and have a lot of political power) is less inclined to see the value in paying higher taxes to fund things like education.
The people in FL with children who need a good public education are effectively politically impotent. They tend to be poor, or immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, etc. For the most part, the parents of these children are not politically active so they essentially "take what they get" when it comes to public schools.
With few exceptions, the universities in FL are in the lower bottom half with regard to quality, academic rigor, reputation, pay, etc. I am not saying any of this to be mean spirited; it is simply a fact. One of my best friends is on the faculty at FGCU; we both went to grad school near Boston and eventually came to FL for personal reasons. For a time, I worked at two universities in FL.
Having experienced higher education in other parts of the country, I would not allow any young person in my family to attend a FL university. I love FL and still have lots of family there; but all the K-12 kids in my family attend private schools. At one school, the tuition for Pre-Kindergarten is $16,840. For grades 1-5 it is higher; for grades 6-8 it is even higher; and for grades 9-12 tuition is $20,600. I have personally inspected each of the schools my nieces/nephews attend to ensure the quality. We have all agreed that when the time comes, none of the family children will go to a Florida university.
