An eighth straight increase means students will have to hit their pocketbooks before they can hit the textbooks.
By ANITA KUMAR
Published June 20, 2003
[Times photo: Ken Helle]
Amanda Miller, 21, is a graduate student at the University of South Florida and is trying to earn a master's degree in education.
TAMPA - Amanda Miller paid for her first year of graduate school at the University of South Florida by dipping into savings and babysitting several nights a week.
But this fall, she'll also need to take out a loan.
USF is raising her tuition by 15.5 percent, or about $550 annually. This is the eighth consecutive year the school has raised its most basic fee.
"I know that tuition increases every year," said Miller, 21, who is trying to earn a master's degree in education. "But I don't know how anyone will be able to pay for school without a loan next year."
The USF board of trustees approved a full range of tuition increases Thursday - 8.5 percent for in-state undergraduate students, and 15.5 percent for out-of-state, graduate and medical students.
"It's a substantial increase, but it is lower than most other states in the country," USF president Judy Genshaft said. "It's still a huge bargain."
The board unanimously approved the increases after a brief discussion via conference call. Only the student member of the board raised concerns about the magnitude.
"I know we have to be fiscally conservative," said Omar Khan, USF's student body president and a board member. "But I really do feel that this is a steep increase."
In the end, though, he too voted for the increase.
The new tuition rates don't include the hundreds of dollars students pay each year in fees for designated services such as athletics. No new fees are being implemented this year, though the financial aid fee went up by a few pennies.
Other public universities across Florida also are increasing tuition by a state-mandated 8.5 percent for in-state undergraduate students, and opting for about a 15 percent raise for graduate and out-of-state students.
And there is no end in sight.
Florida students are likely to see increases in tuition and fees for the next several years as the state struggles with budget shortfalls and escalating enrollment. State officials note that Florida students still pay less than 25 percent of their education costs, and the state continues to have one of the lowest tuition rates in the nation.
"If they have a good reason, they need to tell us why because it's tough all around," said Angela Acosta, a Bradenton mother whose 17-year-old daughter, Jessica, will be a freshman at USF in the fall.
USF officials say they have no choice.
Last month, the Legislature approved a budget that provided $40-million less next year for Florida's 11 public universities, and no money for 22,000 new students.
That comes on top of a $167.5-million university system cut this year, and a total of $450-million in reductions over the past 12 years. After factoring in inflation, the amount of state money allocated for each university student has dropped 15 percent in the past four years.
USF's share of the cut is $7-million, and the school also will not receive $12-million for 1,200 students who were unfunded last year and another 1,800 students expected next year. The tuition increase is expected to bring in about $7-million.
That leaves USF $12-million short.
"It's a $12-million problem in reality with the way we want to grow the university," USF board chairman Dick Beard said.
USF officials will decide how to offset the shortfall in the next month. They are considering layoffs, consolidating computer programs and hiring private companies for services.
Other Florida schools are talking about instituting enrollment caps and offering fewer degrees.
FSU already has frozen freshman class admissions and expects to lay off dozens of nonteaching employees. Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers has suspended faculty searches and cut travel.
The USF board also approved spending $6.7-million toward matching private gifts that the school has received for construction, scholarships, faculty and research programs.
The state owes Florida's universities millions of dollars for hundreds of donations. The USF money will pay for 21 projects dating back to 1998.
