It’s been called Florida Community College at Jacksonville for 20-plus years - since the state’s two-year schools decided that “junior college” wasn’t a very respectful name - and it’s possible that another name change is coming.
This time, it also will reflect growth.
Due to the anticipation of the school getting a four-year program leading to a degree in fire science management, the school technically won’t be just a “community” college in current parlance.
The school’s president, Dr. Steve Wallace, says he’d like to keep the name and is talking to the accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, about avoiding the requirement for a name change.
“We prefer to maintain our identity,” said Wallace, who has built the college into the state’s second-largest in size and a leader in various technology training. “We have built an excellent reputation and a name change would be undesirable, given our success.”
If the school must get rid of “community” it would have to make a major change as there already is Florida College, a small private college in a Tampa suburb. More massive would be the signage changes ranging from big signs on campuses to return addresses on envelopes.
One school approved for four-year degrees has made the change: Miami Dade Community College is now Miami Dade College. Daytona Beach CC has been approved.for four-year degrees and, like FCCJ, wants to retain its current name.