Florida legislature about to chop budgets for education, other services, Miami Herald

January 3, 2009
By Steve Bousquet

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida legislators will start the new year in familiar fashion: by cutting aid to schools and other programs, borrowing money, skimming cash surpluses and hiking traffic and court fees to patch a $2.3 billion hole in a leaky state budget.

The special session that begins Monday will bring the third major round of cuts in 10 months and is the result of a prolonged nosedive in tax revenues caused by the recession-wracked real estate and credit markets.

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University of Florida tuition increases are justified, Florida Times Union

January 2, 2009
Letter to the editor, from Kevin F. Reilly, Jr.

For years, University of Florida students have had the privilege of receiving a world-class education for one of the lowest tuitions in the nation. In fact, of 75 flagship universities around the country, UF consistently ranks 75th in tuition. While it's undeniable that UF offers an education that is as valuable as it is affordable, tuition increases are necessary. Our goal of being ranked as one of the top public universities in the world is simply not possible with tuition at bargain basement levels.

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Helping hire ed, Florida Today

December 7, 2008

Space Coast parents of students hoping to attend state universities with the help of Bright Futures scholarships should pay close attention to a tuition hike proposal that could soon hit them where it hurts.

The proposal — which comes from Gov. Charlie Crist — does this:

Allows the 11 public universities to raise differential tuition 15 percent a year starting next fall until Florida rates reach the national average, now $6,585. Average tuition at a Florida university this year is $3,800.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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UF ranks No. 2 in best value for public schools, Independent Florida Alligator

By Thomas Steward
November 3, 2008

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine ranked UF No. 2 for the fourth consecutive year in this year’s rankings of the 100 best values in public colleges and universities.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was ranked first, capping an eight–year run at the top of the list.

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Florida education official speaks on tuition battle, Independent Florida Alligator

By Chelsea Keenan
October 23, 2008

The tug–of–war for tuition–setting power between the state Legislature and the Board of Governors has no end in sight, according to a former higher education official who spoke at UF on Wednesday.

Robin Gibson, UF alumnus and former chairman of the Florida Board of Regents, spoke about issues of tuition, capped enrollment and Bright Futures to about 35 people at Pugh Hall.

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Trustees discuss soliciting more alumni donations, Independent Florida Alligator

By Jacquelyn Weiner
September 8, 2008

With future budget cuts looming for UF and the state alike, members of UF’s Board of Trustees were urged by a representative from the governor’s office Friday to set an example by donating money to the university.

The board’s quarterly meeting ended with a discussion of how to bring in more money to UF’s strained budget and a few announcements.

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University admissions will get even tougher, Tampa Tribune

By Adam Emerson
September 6, 2008

TAMPA - Florida's public universities raised admission standards higher than ever last year, and area high school guidance counselors learned Friday that the bar for entry will go even higher.
Admissions officers warned 600 guidance counselors assembled at the University of South Florida that budget cuts would further erode recruitment efforts and increase competition for a limited number of freshmen seats.

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Revised Higher Education Act seeks to make costs for college more transparent, The Boston Globe

By John F. Wasik
August 26, 2008

Better tools to help you find the best college values are coming, but you will have to supply the mental muscle.

A revised version of the Higher Education Act became law Aug. 14. While it will make colleges more accountable for tuition and fee increases, it will do little to lower the cost.

Among an array of changes, the law will streamline financial-aid forms, attack corruption in the student-loan business, and make college costs more transparent.

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