New College Wants to Offer ‘Big Data’ Graduate Course

New College of Florida has long championed the unusual learning environment it provides for its undergraduates. At the four-year liberal arts honors college in the north corridor of Sarasota, students forego traditional grades for individualized curriculums they design with their professors several times throughout their undergraduate career. A new amendment Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, added to a Senate bill on Wednesday could allow New College to expand that curriculum by giving the college the freedom to offer its first-ever post-graduate course. It’s a mission change that was approved by the college’s Board of Trustees earlier this year, and could mean a master’s degree program in Big Data if the school decides to pursue it.