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Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:05 AM EST

Board of Trustees to discuss cost cuts, fees at meeting

By KIM WILMATH, Alligator Staff Writer
Budget cuts and extra fees will be the leading issues discussed today and Friday by UF's highest governing body, the Board of Trustees.

UF's Cost Reduction and Efficiency Task Force will update a trustee committee on the university's efforts to trim $34 million from its budget.

Earlier this year, UF hired the Huron Consulting Group to help the task force cut costs and bring in more revenue.


In October, the task force suggested a $10 transcript fee. UF will begin charging the fee February 2008.

Student Body President Ryan Moseley, who is also a UF trustee, said he's OK with the transcript fee but hopes the amount will be negotiable.

Another trustee panel, the Finance and Facilities Committee, will be asked to approve UF's 2007-2008 operating budget, which totals nearly $3 billion.

The budget includes this spring's 5 percent tuition increase, which will bring more than $2,000 during the spring.

The Educational Policy and Strategy Committee will discuss a potential $2-per-credit-hour fee that UF will charge in spring for online classes.

The fee would cover the cost of using the e-Learning system and would not be included in tuition or covered by Bright Futures.

Colleges and departments will also be allowed to charge a Distance Learning fee to cover costs of providing courses away from UF's campus.

Moseley said he thinks some money from a newly approved 5 percent technology fee could be used to cover Distance Learning courses.

The Florida Legislature and Gov. Charlie Crist approved the fee in October.

UF will begin charging it in fall 2009, and it is set to amass about $4 million each year.

"There was a decision to go online, and at that point, students didn't know there would be a fee," Moseley said. "They're retroactively trying to charge it."

Student Government would lobby in spring to add more student input into how the technology fee is used, he added.

In a letter to Machen, Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president for student affairs, recommended that the UF Activity & Service Fee increase by 42 cents per credit hour. That fee funds student organizations, the Reitz Union and Rec Sports.

She wrote that the UF Student Health Fee should increase by 62 cents per credit hour, the Transportation Fee should increase by 62 cents per hour, and the Athletic Fee should stay the same.
 
 


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July 2nd, 2009

Correction

The UF-Georgia football game is held annually at the Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. The contract for the game is between UF and the city of Jacksonville. An article in Tuesday’s paper stated otherwise.
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Timbo wrote on Nov 29, 2007 8:04 PM:

" Higher tuition, larger transcript fee, credit hour fee increases, distance learning fees, higher technology fees, and more Activity and Service Fees. Merry Christmas everyone!! "

who? wrote on Nov 29, 2007 8:27 PM:

" Maybe one should become successful before going to UF. Maybe loans could be payed off in time to buy a casket. "

WTF wrote on Nov 30, 2007 12:23 AM:

" A committee of the University of Florida trustees approved $285,000 in performance bonuses for Bernie Machen Thursday, keeping the UF president among the highest paid leaders in the world of public education. For what? A drop in the rankings, CLAS going bankrupt, less financial aid for graduate students and poor and working class students, horrible class sizes, 2000 to 1 adviser ratios. Seems like everyone is cutting back except for Machen. I guess he doesn't believe in leadership by example. "

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