No room at the Real Scandal Inn, Palm Beach Post

By Jac Wilder VerSteeg
December 6, 2008


How do you get people to care about higher education? Kill off Santa Claus. Or the Baby Jesus.

Florida Gulf Coast University President Wilson Bradshaw found this out the hard way. On Nov. 20, he decreed that Christmas decorations would not be allowed on any common areas of the Fort Myers campus. No menorahs, either. Employees could decorate their desks, but not outside doors. A greeting card decorating contest was canceled. The "Giving Tree" that collected gifts for needy preschoolers was renamed the "Giving Garden." President Bradshaw said this was the best way "to observe the season in ways that honor and respect all traditions."

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Higher education taking a hit on both ends, WOKV (Jacksonville)

By Jeff Hess
December 4, 2008

The recession is making it hard for parents to find the money to send their kids to college, but it is also taking chunks out of college endowments.

The cost of sending a kid to college is going up. A recent report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education said it could soon be out of reachof most families.

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UNF raises await word on budget, Jacksonville News

By Adam Aasen
December 5, 2008
For months, the union for the University of North Florida's faculty has been working on a new contract with the administration, but its biggest issue - salary increases - is being put on hold amid state budget uncertainties.

Faculty members have been working under the previous three-year contract, which expired in the summer. Under that contract and since 2002, pay has increased, on average, more than at any school in the state.

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Tough times squeeze schools, The Voice (Oviedo and Winter Springs)

By Kristy Vickery
December 5, 2008

As steep budget cuts take a toll on Florida school districts, the cost of a quality education is getting harder to afford.

"We did a $700 million cut this year," said Joie Cadle, Orange County School Board chairwoman. "There's not much more to cut. We are down to the bone marrow."

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Legislature delays special session until '09, Tampa Tribune

By Gary Pinnell
December 5, 2008

The bad economic news just keeps getting worse.

Last year, Florida legislators learned the state would lose about $1 billion in revenue. Before they could act on that news, it turned out the state had actually lost $2 billion.

This month, they're learning that the 2008-09 budget year is another $2.1 billion in the hole.

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Educators to state: Put your money where your mouth is, Miami Herald

By Nirvi Shah
December 5, 2008

When Florida lawmakers say they care about the state's children, the president of the state school superintendents association has a quick reply:

``You lie.''

That kind of bold talk is needed, said association president Joe Joyner, in a state that pays the least in the country for its students' education.

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University of Florida becomes more selective; parents, students left outside looking in, Sun Sentinel

By Scott Travis
December 5, 2008

Many see the University of Florida as a school that has it all: top-notch academics, winning sports teams and great parties, all for a low price.

But as the school's popularity soars, a growing number of well-qualified Florida students are feeling shut out.UF once was a school most good students in the state could attend. But in recent years, even those with high grade-point averages and SAT scores routinely are denied admission. As high school seniors now wait for that letter from Gainesville, many are wondering why it's so hard to get into the state's flagship university.

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Bright Futures: College costs zoom, Jacksonville.com

December 4, 2008

State budget woes could mean some cloudy skies ahead for the state's popular Bright Futures Scholarship Program.

At the least, a $2 billion projected shortfall in the state's budget has put the program in play for a discussion in the Legislature about whether some changes should be made.

That wouldn't be all bad.

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Edison-FGCU partnership to propel higher education in Charlotte County

December 3, 2008


PUNTA GORDA -- Charlotte County residents will have greater access to higher education opportunities thanks to a partnership between Edison State College and Florida Gulf Coast University.

The partnership, which was announced Tuesday morning during a press conference, will expand course offerings at Edison's Charlotte Campus by adding 12 bachelor's degree programs and two master's degree programs within five years.

As Edison's District President Kenneth P. Walker explained, he and FGCU President Wilson G. Bradshaw created the plan in the hopes of improving educational opportunities for the people of Charlotte County, supporting future economic development in the area and saving the money of students and state taxpayers.

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Higher Education scorecard stings Florida, St. Petersburg Times

By Donna Winchester
December 3, 2008

Florida once again has received mediocre scores on a national report card evaluating the state's colleges and universities.

While college enrollment among the state's 18- to 24-year- olds has improved since the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education released its first study in 2000, the group's latest report, which will be released today, ranks Florida near the bottom in college participation.

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For college-bound, new barriers to entry, Wall Street Journal

By Robert Tomsho
December 3, 2008

As public colleges grapple with reductions in state funding, the prospect of reduced access to higher education is looking more likely.

Florida's state universities, squeezed early by the slumping economy's effect on tax revenues, instituted a three-year cap on freshman enrollment last year. The mammoth California State University system -- with 450,000 students -- has announced plans to reduce its head count by up to 10,000 students for the next school year. Absent a boost in state funding, the smaller, more-selective University of California system has warned of a similar reduction. Enrollment limits are also under consideration in Tennessee and Washington.

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Economic report critical of further state budget cuts, WMNF News

December 1, 2008

It’s now official. For nearly a year, the U.S. economy has been in a recession.

That announcement came today from the National Bureau of Economic Research, the agency body charged with making that declaration. It’s the first official recession since 2001. And it follows two negative reports produced today on the economy.

According to the Institution for Supply Management, the manufacturing industry suffered its worst month since 1982. Also, a separate report from the Commerce Department showed that spending on construction projects fell 1.2 percent in October, after staying unchanged in September. Private construction dropped 2 percent with a sharp drop in the residential sector.

Meanwhile, here in Florida, the economic conditions continue to worsen. The state faces a shortfall of more than $2 billion in this year’s budget, and when lawmakers convene for the next official session next spring, that will expand to $6 billion.

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Santa ban reversed at Florida University, Palm Beach Post

By Kimberly Miller
December 1, 2008

Florida Gulf Coast University President Wilson Bradshaw said he was just trying to do the right thing when he asked that no holiday decorations appear in common use areas of the Fort Myers school’s campus.

In a Nov. 20 letter to employees he said people were free to decorate their cubicles and desks, but wanted to respect all holiday traditions by not having public areas draped in Christmas regalia _ or any regalia that is connected to religious holidays celebrated in December.

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Education gets another kick in the teeth, Miami Herald

By Fred Grimm
November 23, 2008

S tudents spilling out of the FAU tower in downtown Fort Lauderdale didn't express much enthusiasm for the governor's tuition hike.

Not if ''that sucks'' means what I think it means.

''They're going to raise our tuition 15 percent. Does that mean the college programs will be improved 15 percent?'' Slavi Gorgoski asked.

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More funding needed for higher education, Sun Sentinel

By Ed. H. Moore
November 29, 2008

"You produce good jobs by having great education."

With these words, Gov. Charlie Crist endorsed a bold package of changes in both public tuition structure and governance.Florida has 28 private, not for profit, colleges and universities and 11 public colleges and universities. They are laboratories for innovation and engines of economic development. None of this is possible without the fuel that fires these activities — proper and adequate funding.

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Colleges prepare for a wave of vets, Palm Beach Post

By Kimberly Miller
November 29, 2008


Daniel O'Neal slides sideways into his seat in classroom TL 104 at Palm Beach Community College: sunglasses hooked in the collar of his Tommy Hilfiger shirt, three-ring binder with the words "Keys to Success" on the spine, and a half-dollar-size spot on the back of his head where more scalp shows than hair.

That's where the roadside bomb got him.

It exploded 10 feet behind the 23-year-old Lake Worth High School graduate as he patrolled in Balad, Iraq, cutting through his helmet and pushing his skull into his brain - like squeezing a pingpong ball until it dents.

O'Neal, an Army specialist who served two tours in Iraq, landed in this drab college classroom one year ahead of a massive new GI Bill that will send another generation of combat veterans to school.

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Gov. Crist's overdue epiphany, The Ledger (Lakeland)

November 29, 2008


Finally, Gov. Charlie Crist has stopped turning a blind eye to the dire financial plight of Florida's public universities.

The governor this month reversed two years of inexplicable and harmful opposition to raising tuition rates at Florida's 11 state universities and unveiled a "reform" proposal that would, among other things, allow the schools to increase tuition as much as 15 percent a year, but no more than 40 percent in a three-year period. Analysts estimate the tuition hikes could generate as much as $1.5 billion in new and badly needed higher-education funding over the next seven years.

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Florida law maker steered exta millions to college he now works for, St. Petersburg Times

By Alex Leary
November 28, 2008

TALLAHASSEE — Last spring, the agency overseeing Florida's colleges made a list of budget requests in what was one of the leanest years in modern history.

Northwest Florida State College was slated to get $1-million for a building project.

Yet when lawmakers signed off on the budget in May, the school had snagged $25.5-million — the single largest project of any college.

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Leaders must deal with state budget Now, Bradenton Herald

November 28, 2008

Florida’s budget hole just keeps getting deeper and deeper yet state leaders are not responding like a crisis is at hand.

Once budget forecasters piled on another $1.4 billion in fewer dollars from taxes and other revenue earlier this month, that put the total hole all the way down to $2.14 billion — and that’s for this fiscal year, not the next one.

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Donors, athletics foot the bill for tutoring, Chicago Tribune

By Ron Grossman
November 28, 2008

Where does the money come from to build and run athletes-only academic facilities?

Many universities find a sports-minded benefactor to underwrite construction costs. His or her name often goes on the tutoring center, in the same way a library or science lab might be named for a donor.

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