Florida's GOP: No new taxes, cut the budget, Creative Loafing (Tampa)

January 7, 2009
By Wayne Garcia


As you read this, the Florida Legislature is meeting in Tallahassee, ostensibly to plug a $3 billion gap in the state's ailing budget because of losses in sales tax and other collections in this recession.

The real purpose is to continue the Republican-led dismantling of state and local governments in a quest to fulfill the 1990s mantra of "less government, fewer taxes and more personal responsibility." State lawmakers are set to work on the continued gutting of Florida's public infrastructure -- health care and education foremost among them -- through Jan. 12.

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College handed Sansom $122M wish list, The Buzz (St. Pete Times blog)

December 22, 2008

The president of the college where Ray Sansom now works provided him with a "pricey" $122-million funding request over five years with the implicit expectation that Sansom would help "make it a reality."

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Serving the people--and themselves, Herald Tribune

December 21, 2008
By Joe Follick


TALLAHASSEE - In campaign ad attacks this year, state Rep. Keith Fitzgerald was criticized for "double dipping" for holding jobs as a part-time lawmaker and as a professor at state-funded New College in Sarasota. The ads showed an overweight man, not Fitzgerald, slobbering over a bowl of ice cream.

But in an "only in Tallahassee" moment, the man who oversaw the Republican campaign against Fitzgerald and other House Democrats is at the center of his own double-dipping controversy by taking a job at a community college after snagging tens of millions of dollars in funding for his new employer.

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Universities brace for budget cuts, St. Joseph News (Missouri)

December 15, 2008
By Jimmy Myers

A collective “ugh” is resounding in finance offices across higher education institutions as they brace for possible drastic budget cuts.

The previous economic downturn put the hit on state budgets, which in the 2003 fiscal year trickled down to a 10 percent swipe away from Northwest Missouri State University and Missouri Western State University’s operating budgets.

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Legislative pyramid scheme, News Journal

By Mark Lane
December 7, 2008

What is a "leadership institute" and why does Florida higher education demand one in the greater Niceville area of Okaloosa County? That's Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom's $750,000 question.

Rep. Sansom, R-Destin, not only became speaker of the Florida House this month, but he became Northwest Florida State College's vice president of development and planning, earning $110,000 a year.

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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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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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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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Public or private, Florida colleges' tough times getting tougher, Orlando Sentinel

By Luis Zaragoza
November 14, 2008

The past year has been rough for many Florida colleges and universities as the sagging economy put the squeeze on budgets -- and it looks as if the worst is yet to come.

At public universities, more state-mandated cuts are likely before the end of the year. And at private colleges, officials worry students will transfer to less expensive public schools because family finances are being hit by job losses and less access to home-equity and private student loans.

All schools expect financial-aid requests to skyrocket.

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Battle rages on accreditation, college money, Florida Times-Union

By Adam Aasen
November 11, 2008

As colleges are vying for their piece of the shrinking government funding pie, there are people who think some schools shouldn't be grabbing a slice.

The long-time feud is over accreditation, the process to determine if a school meets the standards to offer degrees, and many for-profit schools are being attacked for not going through the exact same process as public schools.

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Pizzas get sliced, bugs snubbed as universities tighten budgets, Bloomberg.com

By Oliver Staley
November 10, 2008

The state of Georgia, pinched by falling tax revenue, is slashing $136 million from the budgets of its public colleges. To save, the schools are cutting jobs, services and even subscriptions to obscure academic journals.

Jill Parrott, 27, a Ph.D. candidate in English at the University of Georgia in Athens, said she may lose access to the Rhetoric Society Quarterly, which costs the school $200 a year.

The library, which is canceling at least 660 journals to save $1.66 million annually, is among hundreds of departments, at 35 schools in the University System of Georgia, that are scrimping. The U.S. economic slowdown means collections of sales and corporate taxes are falling, squeezing state budgets. Like Georgia's, university systems in Nevada, California and New York are among those already facing budget reductions.

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New report says Keiser University has $542 million positive annual economic impact on Florida's economy, Market Watch (WSJ)

October 8. 2008

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct 08, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Keiser University, a regionally-accredited, career-focused institution, has a $542 million positive impact on Florida's economy and helps meet the state's higher education and workforce needs, according to a report released today by a nationally-renowned economic consulting firm. Importantly, the report shows private, tax-paying post-secondary schools are a cost-effective solution for taxpayers and our state's need to develop world class talent.

The report by the Washington Economics Group (WEG), a premier economic and consulting firm headed by former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce, Dr. J. Antonio "Tony" Villamil, provides a comparative analysis study of the costs of instructional programs at community colleges and public universities relative to Keiser University for similar programs. Commissioned by Keiser, the report also concludes that private, career-focused post-secondary educational institutions should be included in Florida's Higher Education Blueprint.

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For Florida community colleges, Who should pay? Inside Higher Educaiton

September 19, 2008

Remember the theory that community college should be supported by states, localities and tuition? In Florida, it’s strictly a theory, as counties don’t provide any financial support. In a move that is dividing community colleges in the state, a proposal on the fall ballot for a constitutional amendment would give counties the authority to levy a local-option sales tax to supplement state funding for their community college.

Currently, Florida community colleges are funded entirely by the state in addition to student tuition and fees. Some support the amendment, which would pave the way for an additional funding source to compensate for a strained state budget. Others, however, worry it will shift the burden of community college funding to local authorities and create inequities among institutions as a result of the disparate economies of Florida’s urban and rural counties. (Many of Florida’s community colleges are known as leaders in the movement to offer four-year degrees and to drop “community” from their names, but these institutions are equally involved and would be equally affected by this shift.)

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Polk residents deserve access to affordable, quality higher education, The News Chief (Winter Haven)

By Dr. Eileen Holden
July 28, 2008

Polk Community College's core mission has always been to provide open access and affordable tuition to students wishing to complete the first two years of a bachelor's degree or to students seeking one- and two-year certificate and degree programs for immediate entry into a high-paying career. This mission will always remain at the heart of what we do.

As we know from this recent legislative session, higher education in Florida is changing. As our universities struggle with budget cuts, insufficient tuition revenue to support critical initiatives and increased pressures associated with Bright Futures and the Florida Pre-Paid program, lawmakers are looking to community colleges to offer cost-effective alternatives.

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Does Florida's Bright Futures program have a bright future itself? Naples Daily News

By Candace Braun
July 26, 2008

f Bright Futures went to high school, the scholarship program definitely wouldn’t be the kid picked last in gym class.

“To say it’s popular is an understatement,” said Frank Brogan, president of Florida Atlantic University and former lieutenant governor, who helped create the Bright Futures program while he was the commissioner of education in the mid-1990s.

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Florida eyes overhaul of state higher education, Times-Union

By Adam Aasen
July 23, 2008

A year from now Florida Community College at Jacksonville might not be a community college.

It might not even have the same name.

During this past legislative session, Florida lawmakers created a new system for higher education in the state. Community colleges will be able to apply to become "state colleges" and offer four-year degrees. Currently only a few community colleges can offer a limited number of bachelor's degrees.

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Greater than the sum of its parts, Inside Higher Education

June 25, 2008

It’s been a bad year for German programs. The University of Southern California is eliminating its department. A graduate program at the University of Florida is alive, but facing an admissions freeze and future scrutiny.

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