New College of Florida

New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded in 1960 as a private institution known as New College. In 1975, it merged with University of South Florida as a separate "upper division campus" within the public university. In 2001 became an autonomous college, the eleventh independent school of the State University System of Florida as the honors college for the state system. Upon achieving independence, the school adopted its current name: New College of Florida. In 2023, the school began its transformation into a "beacon of conservative values." As an honors college, the college is distinguished by its unusual "contract system", in which students are given written evaluations instead of grades and agree to semester-long contracts in which a certain number of classes must be passed. For example, in a "three out of five" contract, a student who failed two classes would face no penalty, although one who failed three classes would risk losing all credits for the entire semester. The system was devised to encourage academic experimentation and foster curiosity about disparate topics outside one's usual course of study. New College students are required to complete an undergraduate thesis project and baccalaureate exam, during which the student presents and defends their project to a committee of professors. New College has been cited as having the highest percentage of students receiving a Fulbright scholarship of any college or university in the United States. New College has the smallest student population in the State University System of Florida with 659 students (2021). History New College was founded in 1960 as a private college for academically talented students. Financial assistance was provided by the United Church of Christ. George F. Baughman served as the first president from 1961 to 1965.