TALLAHASSEE - Stating his desire to keep tuition low but acknowledging that universities need more money, Gov. Charlie Crist announced a proposal Thursday that would allow the state's 11 public universities to increase tuition by up to 15 percent a year.
The proposal, which still needs approval from the Legislature, would extend the tuition-raising powers that five universities, including UF, received last year to the remaining six universities in the State University System. Crist said 30 percent of tuition raised would go toward need-based aid for students.
After the announcement, the Board of Governors, the State University System's highest governing body, began its meeting a few blocks away, where members expressed support for Crist's plan and decided to maintain the freshman enrollment cap put in place July 2007.
The Power to Set Tuition
Crist's proposal would give tuition-setting power to each university's Board of Trustees, but the Board of Governors would still have to approve the increases.
The increases would not be covered by Bright Futures and would not affect students with Florida Prepaid plans.
Previously, tuition raises by the Legislature did not affect students with either Bright Futures or Prepaid plans.
Dean Colson, Crist's special adviser on higher education, noted during the announcement that a university could decide to increase tuition for specific programs instead of implementing across-the-board raises.
Mac McGriff, vice chairman of UF's Board of Trustees, said UF's board would probably increase tuition by the full 15 percent.
McGriff said the cost shouldered by each student would be minimal, but the overall benefits to state universities would be considerable.
"We're talking, you got to drink two less, three less Starbucks a week, and you make it up on a weekly basis," McGriff joked.
Bill Edmonds, Board of Governors spokesman, said a full-time student would have to pay about $350 more a year in tuition if a university decided to make the full 15 percent tuition hike.
Edmonds said if all 11 universities raised tuition by 15 percent next year, it would generate $72 million more than if they only raised tuition to match inflation.
That number would soar to $538 million in the 2015-2016 academic year, bringing in about $1.5 billion over the next seven years, according to numbers from the board.
However, just because universities have the option to raise tuition by 15 percent doesn't mean they will. Of the five universities allowed to raise tuition up to 15 percent in 2008-2009, only four did. UCF raised tuition 9 percent.
UF Provost Joe Glover said Crist's proposal would lend more stability to UF's revenue stream. With UF in charge of its tuition hikes, it could begin planning years in advance how it would spend the money.
Sheila McDevitt, Board of Governors chairwoman, said after the meeting that the plan would make tuition more predictable for students.
McDevitt said it was often hard to tell if the Legislature would raise tuition, but if Crist's proposal passes, the board will likely ask universities to submit three-year proposals detailing tuition-hiking plans.
Glover said UF would use the extra money to address its high student-faculty ratio and reduce class sizes.
If UF decides to increase tuition to match the national average, he said it would take about seven or eight years to catch up.
UF charges about $3,800 in tuition and fees, and the national average is between $6,500 and $6,900.
Glover cautioned that Crist's plan was not a cure-all. State funding cuts that UF has already absorbed, combined with cuts expected during the next legislative session, will not be completely covered by tuition increases, he said.
"Next year is going to be, still, a difficult year at the University of Florida and every university in the state," he said.
Bob Graham, former Florida governor and U.S. senator who sued the Legislature to remove its tuition-setting power, said he liked Crist's proposal but worried it would give the Legislature an excuse to cut more funding for the state's universities.
If that happens, Graham said, students and their families would be paying more but wouldn't be getting a better education. He said he wants the plan to include a binding commitment from the Legislature to keep funding at a certain level.
The Freshman Freeze
While universities will be able to charge higher tuition, the board voted to maintain its current hold on freshman enrollment.
The cap, which limits freshman enrollment at state universities to about 38,500 because of a lack of funds, will expire in 2009-2010 as planned. However, the board voted to give its chancellor the authority to lift the cap at a university if the university requests it and meets certain criteria.
McGriff, filling in for UF President Bernie Machen, said after the meeting that UF is fine with the cap because it is shrinking its enrollment. Machen is abroad in Iran.
A decision on the board's role in the selection of university presidents was put off because of unclear language in the regulation.
