By: Stephen C. Fehr
Source: Stateline.org
Florida pre-paid college tuition program, like 17 other states could well be in danger. While its $8.8 billion tuition fund is relatively healthy, the state budget has a $6 billion gap that will require deep cuts to Florida’s 11 colleges and universities. Many of Florida’s business, political and education leaders have urged an increase of up to 15 percent in tuition, which is the second lowest in the country. Stanley Tate, founder of Florida’s prepaid tuition program says, the prepaid college tuition program will end, as monthly payments would jump substantially.
The Obama administration has made college affordability a priority, through its Middle Class Task Force. Vice President Joe Biden went to St. Louis on Friday (April 17) to draw attention to the problem. “The challenges of paying for college in America is well understood,” he said. “The growth of college tuition is far outpacing that of family income. No matter what else we do to get our economy moving, it all leads back to education.”
Prepaid tuition plans vary, but most are set up so parents or grandparents pay today’s prices for tuition and fees instead of the higher costs in the year their child goes to a state school. Those discounted costs are paid as a lump sum or over time through monthly payments that are deposited into a state-managed investment fund. When the child is ready to attend a state college, the tuition and fees are paid from the fund.
