As their state funding dwindles, Florida’s public universities have turned to students to offset that loss, raising tuition by 15 percent for the last two years.
This year may be no exception.
On Tuesday, lawmakers offered a peek at a higher education budget that sets tuition increases of 8 percent for colleges and universities. Lawmakers in the House and Senate are still negotiating a final number, but these tuition increases are likely to gain approval in both chambers, matching increases from the past two years.
If approved, it would mean hundreds of thousands of Florida university students will see substantially higher college bills next year for the fourth year in a row. Community college students would also see their bills increase.
Under current law, Florida’s 11 state universities could increase their tuition an additional 7 percent, so long as the total tuition increase is not more than 15 percent. But budget writers are already assuming that universities will choose to raise their rates by the full 15 percent, as public universities have done for the last two years.
“We’ve seen our state (funding) drop by more than $150 million during the past four years,” said Steve Orlando, a spokesman for the University of Florida. “We need the tuition increases in order to maintain our ability to provide instruction and to maintain the quality of that instruction.”
Florida’s community and state colleges, meanwhile, will see their base tuition rate rise by 8 percent under the latest budget proposal. Colleges are permitted to set their rates at 10 percent below or 15 percent above that rate.
In practical terms, this means a college could set a rate between $61.70 and $78.84 per credit hour for next year, though colleges don’t always go to the max when increasing their tuition amount the way universities have done.
These increases come at the same time that the state wants to cut funding to financial aid programs, such as the popular Bright Futures scholarship, and during a time when federal aid programs are being cut.
Tuition increases are something state universities have pushed for, saying Florida charges a woefully inadequate amount for tuition compared to other states. That is why current state law permits 15 percent annual tuition increases until the state universities reach the national average.
Some state university officials say that doesn’t go far enough. The University of Florida is pushing for a 30 percent tuition increase to “offset potential large budget cuts,” said Orlando.
University system officials say the Legislature and state universities are facing unprecedented challenges. State University System spokeswoman Kelly Layman said the universities have seen a 24 percent drop in funds since 2008, while enrollment has increased. This year’s budget could slash university system funding another 5 percent, assuming universities take the full 15 percent tuition increase.
Total tuition increases won’t be known until June, when the Board of Governors, which oversees Florida’s public universities, meets to set tuition rates.
“The Board of Governors will continue to experience and handle decision-making of these conversations from the perspective of the students,” Layman said.
Other details still to be worked out in the higher education budget: how much to cut Bright Futures scholarships, historically black colleges, grants that go to students attending private universities, and university system salaries.
By Lilly Rockwell
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