Scholarship program in legislators' looking glass, Pensacola News Journal

By Stepehn D. Price
November 27, 2008

The popular Bright Futures Scholarship Program could face legislative scrutiny next spring in the midst of a third straight year of state budget cuts.

Lawmakers have been slow to change Bright Futures, even defeating a bill earlier this year that would have increased Bright Futures grants to science, math and technology students, while decreasing awards to other fields

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Officials say tuition hikes may not cover budget cuts, Independent Florida Alligator

By Thomas Steward
November 25, 2008

In response to Florida’s bleak budget forecast released by state economists Friday, UF Chief Financial Officer Matt Fajack said tuition increases would probably not cover state cuts to UF’s 2009–2010 budget.

Economists projected about $1.4 billion less in revenues in 2008–2009 than projected in August, bringing the state’s total budget deficit to about $2 billion

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Cheaper not better: Universities need tuition-raising authority, Tallahassee Democrat

November 23, 2008

Florida has to do something. It can no longer continue to charge the lowest tuition and required fees among the nation's public universities and be able to brag about the quality of education our young people are receiving.

It is regrettable — as are so many other instances where the unreality of getting something for nothing rears its ugly head — but Gov. Charlie Crist's unexpected call Thursday to allow universities to raise their tuition is essential.

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Next Critis: Higher Education, Huffington Post

By Howard Schweber
November 24, 2008

The financial firms were first, now it's the automakers. We hear estimates of anywhere from 1 million to 3 million jobs at stake, and other industries are lined up to make their own claims about their importance to the long-term health of the economy. President-elect Obama has responded forcefully, unveiling a plan to put up to 2.5 million workers on the federal payroll by January of 2011, putting them to work on infrastructure and energy-related projects. These are terrific steps - the appointment of Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary is another - but in the course of these discussion it's time we focused on yet a different danger that is involved in this general economic crisis. I am referring to the danger to America's system and tradition of higher education.

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Crist's bold tuition plan will enhance education, Tampa Tribune

November 24, 2008

Gov. Charlie Crist was just a few months into his new administration when the subject of Florida's universities elicited two strong responses from him: Crist thought it was ludicrous that Florida students were having a hard time getting into public universities, and he was soundly against raising tuition.

But the governor promised two things as he started his new administration. First, he was going to take a hard look at the status and future of higher education in Florida. And second, he was going to listen to what people had to say about tuition.

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Newcomers face old challenges, Naples Daily News

By Michael Peltier
November 23, 2008

Get ready to pay a little more for some things and expect a little less from others. That could be the catch phrase for the state Capitol last week as two new lawmakers were sworn in to new jobs.

Naples Republicans Tom Grady and Garrett Richter hadn’t had time to unpack before the talk of Tallahassee turned to possible budget cuts, fee increases, higher tuition and a looming $2.1 billion debt that needs to be paid by the end of June.

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State universities' leader gives own view on health of system, Miami Herald

By Nirvi Shah
November 23, 2008

Mark Rosenberg has led the Florida university system since 2005, a time marked by budget cuts, turf wars and tuition hikes -- including a bump of 15 percent that Gov. Charlie Crist proposed this past week.

The 59-year-old father of two college-age students (yes, they attend state schools) is stepping down as chancellor in February to return to Florida International University, where he previously served as provost, vice president and acting president.

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Presidents of Colleges Give Back Some Pay, NY Times

By Tamar Lewin
November 22, 2008

In the week since The Chronicle of Higher Education published its annual survey of university presidents’ pay — a week in which the nation’s economic troubles worsened — several of the highest-paid presidents said that they would give back part of their pay or forgo their raises.

Pat Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, said he had never heard of such a wave of givebacks.

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Economic crisis squeezing colleges, universities, McClachy Newspapers

By Tony Pugh
November 19, 2008

Shrinking endowments, state funding reductions and families struggling to pay tuition are forcing many colleges and universities to cut staff and spending or to delay construction and development plans.

From well-heeled Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Dartmouth to large public institutions such as the California State University system, many schools are facing difficult financial decisions stemming from the nation's economic standstill.

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State economists to anounce $2 billion budget deficit, Orlando Sentinel

By Aaron Deslatte
November 21, 2008

SANTA ROSA BEACH - It was a surreal setting for talks about taking a meat cleaver to Big Government.

About 10 miles east of Destin, the 500-acre WaterColor resort is an alcove of picturesque cottages, hidden across the road from the sandy white beaches of Northwest Florida but just a short bike ride from a Starbucks.

But more than 70 Florida House Republicans and their families came here to hash over how -- in the midst of a recession and after a national electoral defeat -- they could re-package their philosophy of cutting taxes and shrinking government. The state party picked up the tab.

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Medicaid growth may bust budget, Palm Beach Post

By Phil Galewitz
November 19, 2008


The state's slumping economy is causing a surge in demand for government health insurance programs for the poor, most notably the Medicaid program that insures 2.3 million Floridians.

Nearly 100,000 more people have enrolled in Medicaid than health officials expected this year, as more residents lost jobs - and private health insurance - and started applying for government aid.

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Machen remains state's highest paid public president, Independent Florida Alligator

By Thomas Stewart
November 18, 2008

UF’s President Bernie Machen remains Florida’s highest paid public university president, but his national standing has slipped.

Machen’s total compensation of $731,811 in 2007–2008 made him the eighth most compensated president among public universities in the U.S. with at least 10,000 students, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education report released Monday.

He ranked No. 6 in last year’s report.

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New Florida legislature leaders face budget challenges, Miami Herald

By Mary Ellen Klas and Marc Caputo
November 18, 2008

Acknowledging the state's challenging fiscal crisis, Florida legislators voted in two new Republican leaders for the next two-year term on Tuesday.

Florida's first Cuban-American House speaker, Marco Rubio of Miami, handed over the reins of the Florida House to his successor, Destin businessman Ray Sansom. Sansom has been the chamber's budget chief for the past two years.

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Crist to announce plans to raise tuition statewide, St. Petersburg Times

By Jennifer Liberto and Steve Bousquet
November 20, 2008

Bowing to the pleas of Florida's cash-starved state universities, Gov. Charlie Crist will announce a plan today to allow all 11 schools to raise tuition up to 15 percent a year.

Crist will reverse his stated opposition to higher tuition by asking the Legislature to extend the same 15 percent tuition hike that five of the largest universities, including the University of South Florida and Florida International University in Miami, could charge this year.

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State Board deserves say in presidents' evaluations, Tampa Bay Tribune

November 20, 2008

Today the Florida Board of Governors will consider a proposal to involve itself in the annual evaluations of university presidents.

It's not a popular suggestion among some presidents or local university boards of trustees, but it's needed if Florida intends to build a cohesive, well-coordinated state university system that makes the most of available resources.

University presidents are among the most important cogs in the wheel of higher education, but the current system allows them only to be evaluated by their local boards, a process that often doesn't consider how a president's leadership fits into the overall Florida higher education system.

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Fitch Rates State University System Revs "AA," Stable Outlook, Market Watch

November 18, 2008

Fitch Ratings assigns an 'AA' rating to the approximately $60,000,000 of state of Florida, Board of Governors university system improvement revenue bonds (revenue bonds), series 2008A. The 2008A bonds are scheduled to sell competitively or via negotiation on or after the week of Nov. 17, 2008. Fitch also affirms the 'AA' rating on the State University System's (the system) $204.2 million of outstanding parity revenue bonds as follows:

--Florida Board of Education (formerly Florida State Board of Regents) university system improvement revenue bonds series 1997A, 1998, 2001;

--State of Florida (Florida Education System) university system improvement revenue and revenue refunding bonds series 2003A, 2005A, 2006A.

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Universities to revist limits on freshmen, Palm Beach Post

By Kimberly Miller
November 11, 2008


There may be more space in freshman classrooms next fall as university leaders debate this week whether to lift a cap on enrollment that was approved in response to last year's state budget cuts.

In September, State University Chancellor Mark Rosenberg said he wanted to maintain the freeze on freshman admissions because he foresaw at least one more year of budget cuts.

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