PALAZZI Association of International Education (Florence University of the Arts)
Florence, Italy

The University of South Florida (USF) is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' Commission on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate, master's, specialist and doctorate degrees.

Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of the University of South Florida. Normal inquiries about the institution, such as admission requirements, financial aid, educational programs, etc., should be addressed directly to the institution and not to the Commission's Office.

Located in Tampa Florida, USF holds the Carnegie Classification of a Research Very High institution and is one of the largest public universities in the nation, and among the top 50 universities, public or private, for federal research expenditures. The university is one of only four Florida public universities classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in the top tier of research universities. Recently awarded the 2013 Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization, USF places particular emphasis on its international engagements and has built an agreement with the Palazzi Florence Association for International Education (Florence University of the Arts), to serve as its School of Record (SoR).

Florence University of the Arts (FUA) is an internationally recognized institution and leading provider of study abroad programming in Florence. It is an Italian non-profit educational institution certified by the European Union, and is accredited by the Region of Tuscany Ministry of Education.

USF faculty evaluate each course from FUA to determine USF equivalencies. Each course equivalency must be approved by the USF chair of the department and dean of the respective college. The curricula vitae and copies of transcripts or diplomas of Palazzi faculty are reviewed and approved by departmental chairs and college deans for qualification to teach in their academic discipline and/or area of specialization. USF is currently undertaking the process to create USF courtesy appointments for all FUA teaching staff.

USF considers these FUA courses to be, in every respect, the equivalent of a USF course. However, since USF recognizes that students are enrolled in FUA courses, the credit is shown as “transfer” rather than “system/institutional” credit on the USF transcript. The original FUA course is included on the transcript, followed by the USF equivalent. This most accurately represents the connection between the FUA course and the USF equivalent. Students are able to obtain additional official USF transcripts through the Office of the Registrar.

In building this SoR agreement, all levels of the university were consulted and asked to approve the relationship, including but not limited to the Office of Decision Support, Office of the Provost, Office of the Registrar, the USF Undergraduate Counsel, the Academics and University Environment Workgroup reporting to the Board of Trustees, in addition to the individual colleges and departments throughout the University of South Florida System. USF also sent official notification to SACSCOC regarding the SoR relationship between USF and Palazzi/FUA.

In developing the School of Record relationship, USF and Palazzi have closely consulted and followed the Guidelines for School of Record Relationships developed by the Forum on Education Abroad with input from the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Offices.

USF has had a long-standing relationship with Palazzi – in 2006 courses of Apicius, the hospitality and culinary institute of Palazzi, were approved by USF’s Undergraduate Studies in Tampa. Further, over the past 3 years, more than 250 USF students have studied at Palazzi, and more than 25 USF faculty and staff have visited Palazzi. Under the SoR agreement, every two years, a delegation consisting of USF administrative and teaching staff will conduct a site visit to Palazzi, conversely Palazzi staff will visit USF on a biannual basis. In addition, USF Professor and Chair of the Department of History Dr. Fraser Ottanelli, currently serves on the Board of Directors of Palazzi.