USF St. Petersburg's Crow's Nest student newspaper reported today that, due to budget cuts, the university is closing its College of Education across all of its campuses, adding that USF provost Ralph Wilcox announced the news of the college's closure to faculty and administrators on Wednesday morning, many of whom were unaware of what was coming, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. USF's education program was once the fifth-largest in the country; however, enrollment has dropped in recent years.

Students who are currently enrolled in the College of Education as undergraduates will reportedly be able to finish their degrees there, according to The Crow's Nest. But eventually the university will only serve graduate students in a graduate program that falls under the umbrella of a different college.

According to USF Tampa's student newspaper, The Oracle, in August the university's board of trustees approved a reduction plan to cut 8.5 percent, or $36.7 million, in state funding for the 2020-21 fiscal year; however, the news of the college's closure comes on the heels of a $30,000 donation to create a new program at the Florida Center for Partnerships in Arts-Integrated Teaching (PAInT), which is based at USF's Sarasota-Manatee campus. The future of that program is unclear.