About My Courses and Student Account
Panther Central is South Florida State College’ internet-based portal that all students use to manage their courses, check email, receive messages from the College, and perform other tasks.
The web address for Panther Central is panthercentral.southflorida.edu. You can also find the link at the top of the College homepage or any web page on the College Web site.
Your Panther Central username is the full email address issued to you by SFSC: e.g., student@online.southflorida.edu. Your password is your eight-digit date of birth in the form of MMDDYYYY. For example, if your birth date is Jan. 3, 1986, your password will be 01031986. You will be prompted to change your password the first time you login to Panther Central.
Access your student account by selecting the Student tab.
If you need assistance logging into Panther Central, call 863-784-7405 or email SFSCPantherCentralSupport@southflorida.edu.
Brightspace® is the online learning environment that allows you to interact with your course instructors and your classmates beyond the scheduled class time. Two weeks prior to the beginning of each term, you will be able to enter Brightspace®to view the list of courses in which you are registered. You will have access to the courses at 12:01 a.m. on the first day of the new term.
Access Brightspace through the Panther Central home page or by selecting email link in the drop down menu of your Student tab.
If you need assistance, email BrightspaceSupport@southflorida.edu or call 863-784-7016.
To view your grades for the term in which you are currently enrolled, go to Brightspace® and select grades from your course navigation bar.
Your final grades for all of your courses are posted in Panther Central. Go to the Student tab and select Final Grades from the middle column.
Your GPA and academic transcript are posted under the Student tab in Panther Central. Your SFSC GPA will be listed separately from the GPA you earned at other colleges you have previously attended as well as a cumulative GPA of all courses attempted.
Financial Matters
Use the Online Scholarship Manager to find scholarships available through SFSC. If you have questions about these scholarships, contact the Financial Aid Office.
You can also find national and international scholarship opportunities by searching Fastweb.com and at the websites of colleges or universities you plan to attend in the future. Do not pay fees for online services to find scholarships. Reputable scholarship websites never charge a service fee.
A hold may be posted to your student account if you owe money to the College, including fines for illegal parking or overdue library books. Students who are required to complete the First-Year Experience Seminar course but have not done may also find a hold on their account. Holds can block students from registering for classes online or from having their transcripts released to them.
Section 1009.286, Florida Statutes (F.S.) applies specifically to students who are enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs. They may be subject to paying an “Excess Credit Hour Surcharge” if they take more credits than are required to complete the bachelor’s degree. For more information, consult the College Catalog.
Special State Requirements
- Complete your communication competency course with a grade of C or higher
- Complete at least 6 credit hours of college-level mathematics courses with grades of C or higher
You may need to meet additional competency requirements in other courses.
Students pursuing an A.A. degree must satisfy the state’s foreign language requirement. You can do this in any of the following ways:
- Demonstrate that you taken two years of the same foreign language in high school
- Take courses in the same foreign language for two sequential terms at SFSC
- Successfully complete a second level foreign language college course
- Achieve minimum scores on a foreign language proficiency exam through Advanced Placement Credit (AP) or College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
Dropping, Withdrawing, and Grade Forgivenes
During the Drop with Refund period of each term (typically the first week of classes), you are allowed to drop a course with no adverse consequences. You will receive a tuition refund or credit, and there will be no record of you having registered for the course on your transcript. The Drop with Refund period is listed on the academic calendar.
To drop a course, go to Panther Central and select the Student tab. Under the Registration Tools channel, choose Add or Drop Classes, select the class you wish to drop, and press submit.
Once the Drop With Refund period ends, you may withdraw from the course, but the tuition will not be refunded, and a grade of W will be recorded on your transcript. A grade of W does not lower your GPA, but it may affect your ability to transfer to other state colleges or universities. Withdrawing from courses may also impact your eligibility to receive financial aid.
If you earn a D or F in a course the first time you take it, you may be able to use grade forgiveness to improve that grade and your GPA. If you retake the course a second time and earn a C or higher, you can replace the lower grade with the higher grade. Both grades will be posted on your transcript, but the higher passing grade will be used for calculating your GPA. A full explanation of grade forgiveness is in the College Catalog.
Choosing a Degree or Certificate Programs
An A.A. degree, also known as the university parallel program, is for students who intend to pursue a bachelor’s degree at SFSC or another four-year college or university. Students complete their freshman and sophomore years of college at SFSC and then transfer to a baccalaureate program as a junior.
A.A. degree students complete a minimum of 60 credit hours of coursework. Approximately two-thirds of those courses will fulfill general education requirements, while the remaining one-third will be specific to the student’s selected major.
An A.S. degree is a program of study in which students earn college credits while they prepare for employment in technical fields. Like the A.A. degree, the A.S. degree can be transferred to baccalaureate programs at Florida’s state universities and many independent colleges.
A.S. degree students must complete a minimum of 60 credit hours of coursework with approximately 18 of those hours being in general education courses. With an A.S. degree, students gain the flexibility of entering the job market or continuing their education.
College Credit Certificate programs allow students to complete coursework in a particular vocation, such accounting, business, or paramedic studies. Such programs typically take about a year to complete, and the credits earned may be applied to an A.S. degree.
SFSC offers a number of Career Certificate programs that are aimed at preparing students for employment in a vocational field, usually within a year or less. These programs combine classroom instruction with hands-on training in laboratory settings. Classes typically meet between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Sponsored in partnership with Heartland Apprenticeship Committees, SFSC’s Apprenticeship program is available to students in air conditioning, electrical, and electrical lineworker programs. Students enrolled in an apprenticeship program complete 640 hours of classroom training and 8,000 hours of on-the-job training.
Students who wish to enter an apprenticeship program must:
- Apply through the Heartland Apprenticeship Committee before August of each year
- Be working for an employer who is participating in the apprenticeship program
The baccalaureate or bachelor’s degree that typically takes four years to earn and consists of 120 credit hours of study. Students complete general education courses and courses that specifically relate to the degree they are seeking. SFSC offers three bachelor’s degrees:
