Plans are also under way for new engineering facilities that will allow the College of Engineering to expand its programs. Valencia Community College, in conjunction with USF and UCF, has implemented a program to train technicians. That program has been developed as a model for other community colleges. Companies said that would help them compete nationally and internationally, and it would help them recruit qualified employees. Florida's microelectronics industry has a 17 percent annual attrition rate.
Few resources are available to smaller companies.
That signals a greater need for a unified effort to provide assistance. It's an exciting opportunity for the university and the I-4 region as a whole. The survey was conducted between October 1997 and February 1998 by Streeter and Guy Hagen, research coordinator for USF's Office of Economic Development. Additional surveys are under way to assess the needs of the information technology and medical industries. Established in 1956, USF was the first public university created in the 20 th century and is now among the 13 largest in the nation with a student body of more than 34,000.