The dean of UF's College of Medicine congratulated Florida's two new medical schools Thursday for receiving preliminary national accreditation, but he expressed concern for UF's medical education amid a state budget crisis.
Dr. Bruce Kone said he looks forward to working with the new schools at the University of Central Florida and Florida International University, which can start recruiting their first classes after receiving preliminary accreditation Wednesday.
The schools will receive final accreditation when their first classes graduate, which means the schools could receive federal grants and loans.
Meanwhile, Kone said he's worried that UF's medical school might lose its own accreditation status because of a lack of adequate state funding.
He said the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the national accreditation group, told UF that its lack of state support could jeopardize the school's accreditation, which was renewed this summer for the next eight years.
UF must tell the committee in May how state support has improved, Kone said, and if it hasn't, UF could lose its status within a year.
Kone said he hopes the state Legislature will give every medical school a set amount of money per student.
At this time, he said the state covers about 30 percent of the approximately $72,000 annual cost to educate a UF medical student.
