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Schools

Want to be a Gator? Save up

By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published November 17, 2006

PENSACOLA - Florida college students might pay more than they had planned next fall, following two votes Thursday by the board that oversees the state's public universities.

And students at the University of Florida could be hit doubly hard.

First, the Board of Governors approved a pilot program that would add a $500-per-semester charge to the $3,300 in annual tuition and fees that UF undergraduates already pay.

Then the board okayed a new technology fee that would cost all Florida undergraduates up to $10 per credit hour. The revenue it would generate - estimated at about $7-million - is aimed at expanding wireless access and bandwidth capabilities at the state's 11 universities.

Both proposals need approval by the Legislature, which is expected to consider them during its regular session next spring.

Board Chairwoman Carolyn Roberts, who supports both the technology fee and UF's "Academic Enhancement Program," views the initiatives as an opportunity for students to become more involved in their education.

"Parents will have to ask themselves, 'Is it better to pay for a while now, while I have a student in school, or is it better for the taxpayers as a whole to pay?' And if this becomes a financial hardship, then it's our responsibility to help with financial aid," Roberts said.

Board members found the technology fee the more problematic of the two proposals. Academic programs Chairman John Dasburg called it "offensive" and said he hoped the board would reject it.

"I think you should expect the technology you need is being provided," Dasburg said. "If it is not, we have the responsibility to go to the Legislature and say, 'This must be funded.'"

University of West Florida president John Cavanaugh agreed that "in an ideal world," a university would not need to charge a technology fee. But year after year, Cavanaugh said, the Legislature "has never stepped up."

"Something has to be done one way or the other, or our students simply will not be served," he said.

In recent years, the fees charged by Florida universities have gone up almost as much as tuition. Systemwide, tuition has gone up 32 percent since 2001. That compares to a 28 percent increase for fees, from an average of $29.64 per credit hour to $37.97.

Some universities charge even more than that. The University of South Florida, for example, charges undergraduates in Tampa $20 per semester for the activities center, as well as a $10-per-semester athletic fee and a $7-per-semester activity and service fee.

If the Legislature approves both fees, UF students could be paying as much as $4,600 a year, including tuition.

Speaking Thursday on behalf of his Academic Enhancement Program via conference call from China, UF president Bernie Machen said the fee would generate $36-million in annual revenue. That would pay for the 200 additional faculty members and 100 academic advisers he says are necessary to catapult his school into the top 10 in the nation.

"Foreign universities are working hard to copy our university, and they are making progress," said Machen, who is traveling in Asia with U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings.

Machen has said UF's tuition is too low for the school ever to become great. He says he has no doubt that UF would still have plenty of applicants even if tuition were higher.

But repeated efforts to persuade the Legislature to raise tuition significantly have failed. So he began looking for another way to meet his school's needs.

The proposal the board approved Thursday would affect only incoming UF students and transfer students. It would not be covered by the Bright Futures merit scholarship program or the Florida Prepaid College Plan, but Machen said students who qualify for federal need-based financial aid would not be charged the fee.

Speaking before the vote, Florida Atlantic University president Frank Brogan said he supports UF's efforts, but he expressed concern that such a program could have "unintended negative consequences."

Some schools might not be able to assess such a large fee because their students couldn't afford it, Brogan said. He worries that could create a system of "haves and have-nots."

Board of Governors spokesman Bill Edmonds said he doubts that would happen. But Edmonds said he can foresee a day when universities charge different tuition rates.

If that were to happen in Florida, such a system wouldn't be without precedent. The top 15 universities in the country have different fee rates than their in-state peers, UF Board of Trustees president Manny Fernandez said.

"I think this is the perfect way to introduce a new tuition policy in Florida," Fernandez said.

[Last modified November 17, 2006, 05:22:57]