UF originally proposed to increase market rate tuition, or a specialized tuition rate used for specific graduate programs, for all students in a Board of Governors meeting Thursday. However, the initial proposal failed. An altered version passed to affect out-of-state students only.
Out-of-state students in Jacksonville and South Florida MBA programs will now pay tuition that is 20% higher than before.
After Sarah deNagy, Vice Chancellor of Finance, initially introduced the proposal affecting all students, the budget and finance committee and other attendees launched into debate that lasted an hour. Governors Kimberly Dunn and Michael Okaty were the only committee members who voted in favor.
Governor Ken Jones then proposed to increase market rate tuition for out-of-state students only. His proposal received six votes in favor with four votes dissenting. Following the committee’s vote, the full Board of Governors voted unanimously to pass the altered proposal.
The state board’s decision comes after the UF Board of Trustees unanimously passed across-the-board tuition increases for the programs at a Tuesday virtual meeting. Joe Glover, UF’s interim provost, cited inflation and competition as the main reasons for tuition increase.
Governor Aubrey Edge expressed discomfort in passing the proposal due to the lack of reports sent to the board regarding UF’s collaboration with the University of North Florida in developing its graduate campus in Jacksonville.
“The Board of Governors was specifically supposed to be included in this process,” Edge said. “I would like to see that going forward before we make decisions.”
In June 2024, UF worked with UNF in a joint task force to further develop its new graduate campus in Jacksonville. Developments for the campus first started in 2023. While plans initially set the Jacksonville campus to be opened in 2025, it is now planning for classes to begin in fall of this year.
Governor Timothy Cerio said there has only been one update made in two years on the Jacksonville campus’s development.
“I don’t know if the task force was formed,” Cerio said. “I don’t know how often it met. I’ve been asking for updates.”
Landry said the goal of low tuition rates is to keep Floridians in Florida for their master’s programs rather than going to out-of-state programs with higher tuition rates.
“The only thing we have is market tuition rate,” Landry said. “We haven’t had an increase in 11 years.”
The Jacksonville campus is funded by a quarter of a billion dollars, Landry said. $150 million comes from the state, $100 million comes from the city and $50 million comes from philanthropists based in Jacksonville.
Board chair Alan Levine said this is the first time in over a decade the board is considering a proposal to increase market rate tuition. Should UF be allowed to raise market rate tuition, other universities may also come forward with proposals of their own, he added.
“It does impact other universities, whom we have consistently said ‘no’ to market-based tuition increases,” Levine said.
UF’s Jacksonville campus has two variations of its weekend MBA program: a one-year track and a two-year track, both of which are part-time.
Current tuition for the one-year track is $49,205 for all students, and it will increase to $59,204 for out-of-state students. Current tuition for the two-year track is $59,808 for all students, and it will increase to $71,807 for out-of-state students. In-state tuition will not increase.
UF’s South Florida campus in Miami currently has a tuition of $66,807 for all students in its MBA program. Only out-of-state tuition will rise to $79,807, while in-state tuition will remain the same.
Contact Leona Masangkay at lmasangkay@alligator.org. Follow them on X @leo_amasangkay.
Leona is a second-year journalism student and the Spring 2025 University Administration reporter. They previously worked as the Santa Fe reporter. In their free time, Leona enjoys going to the gym, watching Marvel movies and traveling the country for music festivals.
