SFCC was one of five community colleges included in a Florida Senate bill that would upgrade them to four-year state colleges.
The bill, approved by the Senate on Wednesday, would allow SFCC to begin offering bachelor's degrees.
The bill now awaits approval from the House.
Anne Kress, SFCC's provost and vice president, said the program aims to offer four-year degrees at community colleges in the state to ease the state's work force shortages in industries such as nursing and education.
"Gainesville is obviously a health hub for north central Florida," Kress said.
In an interview Thursday, UF President Bernie Machen said the program seems like a good idea, especially since UF recently announced it would accept 1,000 fewer transfer students this year due to budget cuts.
But Kress said the focus is to train students for jobs in high demand in the state and not necessarily compete with UF. SFCC could soon offer four-year degrees that aren't offered at UF, including one for a clinical lab technician.
The bill also creates a task force, which would determine funding for the program, to study the pilot program in its first year.
The task force would determine which fields are most in need of college-trained personnel.
If the bill is passed by the House and approved by Gov. Charlie Crist, the program could begin within a year, Kress said. SFCC could start offering four-year degrees within a year or two.
That could mean more students enrolling at the Gainesville community college, including alumni with two-year degrees who would also like a four-year degree not offered at UF.
