The board governing Florida's universities voted Thursday to remove sociology as a general education offering at the state's public universities, leaving it available as an elective course.
The decision, while not on the agenda for the meeting at University of West Florida, comes after state rulemakers and faculty tugged back and forth over what a sociology curriculum will look like.
The motion eliminates 1000- and 2000-level sociology courses from the general education list for the 2026-2027 school year, meaning the courses no longer contribute to general education graduation requirements.
State lawmakers in recent years attacked certain concepts, putting in law that it is illegal to "distort significant historical events or include curriculum that teaches identity politics" in general education courses. Chief among the classes of lawmakers' concerns were sociology, which commonly teaches about race, gender, and sexuality.
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State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues took issue with the approach of the American Sociological Association, saying its "mission goes beyond understanding society, and now extends to its transformation. Sociology as a discipline is now social and political advocacy dressed in the regalia of the academy."
The University of North Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida A&M University, and University of South Florida asked the chancellor to remove Intro to Sociology from their respective general education lists.
Rodrigues one-upped that and moved for all institutions to remove sociology as a general education offering.
The courses are still available as electives. However, as professors have argued before, removal from general education reduces enrollment, giving more stable ground for a university to discontinue courses, majors, or departments.
"The path to preserve academic freedom and preserve compliance with Florida statutes is clear. Remove Sociology 1000 and 2000 courses from all general education classifications. Leave these courses as electives, free to compete in the marketplace of ideas, and leave them as the majors and the minors for the students who choose to study them," Rodrigues said.
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The faculty member of the board of governors, Kimberly Dunn, an accounting professor from Florida Atlantic University, did not agree with her colleagues.
"In light of these good-faith efforts and the many programs prepared to implement this work in compliance with state law, removal may be premature and broader than necessary," Dunn said.
"Maintaining sociology on the general education list preserves discipline, evidence-based inquiry into critically important aspects of the human experience," Dunn said.
Background
The state recently developed, through a workgroup, its own sociology curriculum that complies with state law.
Inside Higher Ed reported that the state produced a "heavily edited version of an open-source sociology textbook." The formulation of the curriculum was controversial, including Kamoutsas' removal of a professor from the workgroup, the Miami Herald reported.
Professors from around the state took issue with that textbook, saying it omits core concepts of the discipline and is "sanitized."
"I've listened carefully," Rodrigues said of faculty members who have disagreed with sociology changes. He then read off comments from professors complaining the state curriculum infringes on the profession and represents "a really impoverished version of our discipline."
"Today's ASA norms are a clear rejection of the wisdom of sociology's founders. These challenges do appear isolated to sociology. My staff and I have not seen any of these issues in other disciplines like history or political science. The media has framed a false choice before the board today — that you either violate academic freedom and comply with state statute or you can violate state statute and comply with academic freedom," Rodrigues said.
Former Education Commissioner and now University of West Florida President Manny Diaz Jr. said in 2023, "Sociology has been hijacked by left-wing activists."
Reducing credit hours?
In another graduation-related discussion, board members began preliminary discussions about programs that require 90 credit hours to graduate as opposed to 120.
With a goal of shortening time to completion, reducing student costs, and supporting faster workforce entry, governors and university presidents talked pros and cons of reducing credit hours for certain programs.
Florida is considering following the lead of other states pursuing similar ideas, including Arizona, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, and Utah.
In an anticipated timeline presented to the board, university system administrators said students could enroll in the programs as soon as Fall 2027, but program formulation must first begin.
Currently, bachelor's degrees require at least 120 credit hours, unless approved by the board.
"These degrees are really great ways to respond to industry changes but the program learning outcomes must be designed in partnership with the industries so that the students have the chance for employment opportunities," Florida Gulf Coast University President Aysegul Timur said.
The University of Florida will not institute the program, interim President Donald Landry said. FSU President Richard McCullough said his school is "not really pursuing this."
Florida International University President Jeanette Nuñez said her school would explore the possibility.
USF President Moez Limayem wondered how lower credit hours would affect students seeking entry to graduate school.
FAMU President Marva Johnson suggested 90 credit hours could be useful for nontraditional students, such as ones exiting the military.
Levine said such a change "translates into more throughput and being able to get more students from our state into our universities," noting rising applications to Florida's institutions and the Florida House's attempt this session to increase the proportion of Florida students as opposed to out-of-staters.
"I would encourage you to consider this as part of a solution to a much larger problem of access for our Florida students," Levine said.
Governor Carson Good said he worries about "deteriorating the brand" of Florida's schools. "Employers talk," he said.
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