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UF proposes big fee hike

Instead of raising tuition, the university wants to charge students a $500 fee every semester.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published November 9, 2006

GAINESVILLE - After failing more than once to get legislative approval for significant tuition increases, University of Florida president Bernie Machen says he has figured out a way to raise an additional $36-million a year for his school.

Machen wants to charge all incoming undergraduates a $500-per-semester fee, or $1,000 a year, on top of the $3,300 that in-state undergraduates currently pay in annual tuition and fees.

UF would start charging the fee to students, including transfers, who enroll next fall for the first time. Those students, and the ones that follow, would pay the fee every semester during their undergraduate years.

Machen would use the new revenue to hire 200 additional faculty members and 100 academic advisers. He is not proposing the fee be covered by the Bright Futures merit scholarship program or the Florida Prepaid College Plan, two popular but costly state programs.

Machen said he designed his proposal to fall outside of those programs because he doesn't want the state to have to subsidize it.

He also stressed during a meeting this week with UF student leaders that he does not plan to charge the fee to students who qualify for federal need-based financial aid.

The state Board of Governors is expected to vote on the proposal at its meeting next week in Pensacola. Chairwoman Carolyn Roberts said she supports the fee - which would increase the annual bill for in-state undergraduates by about 30 percent - as long as there are provisions for financially needy students.

Roberts said she already has talked to the incoming House speaker and Senate president about UF's need for more revenue.

"This will enrich students' education experience and it will make their degree more valuable," Roberts said. "We need all of the things he's saying. I support it, and I hope our board will, too."

Pam Lapimer, whose 17-year-old daughter, Leigh, is considering attending UF after she graduates from Hillsborough High School, said an extra $500 a semester probably would not make much of a difference to their family.

"In the grand scheme of things, it isn't that big of a deal," Lapimer said. "In-state tuition is something of a bargain, so I don't know if it would be a deterrent."

Machen said the new money would allow UF to reduce student-teacher ratios and enhance course offerings. He hopes the improvements will help vault UF into the list of top-10 public universities.

UF already is well-regarded nationally. U.S. News & World Report recently ranked the school 13th among public universities, up from 16th last year. It is the only one of Florida's 11 public universities included in the invitation-only Association of American Universities.

But Machen says his university will never be part of the nation's elite with its current class sizes. The average student-faculty ratio at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor is 15 to 1. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the ratio is 14 to 1.

At UF, Florida's largest university with nearly 50,000 students, the ratio is 21 to 1. Only 39 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students.

"This fee will improve the overall academic program by having more classes, by having smaller classes," Machen said.

In addition to the Board of Governor's approval, UF will need an okay from state lawmakers.

Machen said he thinks he has enough support.

"I think I've successfully made the argument that we really need this, that we're not just some fat cat trying to get more money," he said.

Since arriving at UF three years ago, Machen has struggled to find a way to bring in additional revenue for academic improvements. Past attempts to get legislative approval for sizable tuition increases failed, largely because of Bright Futures and Florida Prepaid.

When tuition goes up, so does the state's obligation under those programs. The state's in-state undergraduate tuition is about half the national average of more than $6,100.

If approved, Machen's experiment will no doubt be closely watched at Florida State University. FSU president T.K. Wetherell recently announced his intention to hire 200 superstar faculty over the next several years - a move that will require more than $100-million, by early estimates.

"I think the Board of Governors is looking at this to see if it has the effect we think it will," Machen said. "To see if it might work for others."

Times staff writer Donna Winchester contributed to this report. Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at svansickler@sptimes.com or 813 226-3403.

[Last modified November 9, 2006, 01:34:06]