Veronica Walker
Published: April 28 2004
In-state students starting college 10 years ago paid no more than $60 per credit hour at state institutions.
Five years later, students paid about $80 per credit hour. Start of the 2003-2004 school year, they are paying up to $100 per credit hour at these four major state universities.
Next year at University of West Florida, in-state students could be paying even more-7.5 percent more-and those headed to the other state universities will be paying more too, officials say.
Keith Goldschmidt, executive assistant to the president of UWF, said last week that the Legislature may vote to raise tuition by 7.5 percent for in-state undergraduates. Under the same proposals, graduate students and out of state students would pay a 12.5 percent tuition increase, with an additional 2.5 percent increase at the university’s discretion.
The rising cost of college is not just a concern in Florida. According to an April 14 Washington Post article, tuition at four-year public colleges and universities nationwide rose 35 percent between the 2000-2001 and 2003-2004 school years. At private colleges, the increase was 21 percent, and it was 16 percent at two-year public institutions.
“These same students can look forward to tuition increases for many years to come,” says Doug Williams, financial aid assistant at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University in Tallahassee.
The reason is increased demand for limited state funding. Florida, like most other states, faces increased costs for services such as K-12 education, health care, prisons and law enforcement. As a result, colleges don’t receive enough funding to cover increased costs on campus.
Given the inevitability of tuition increases, all students can do is work for better grades to qualify for scholarships, apply for financial aid and perhaps find additional employment, Williams said.
In an interview with The Associated Press, University of Florida President James Bernard Machen said higher tuition is essential to make his university a “world-class institution.” He added that UF needs more state support and private dollars too.
Machen is aware that students attending state universities in the fall of 2003-2004 faced an 8.5 percent tuition increase. But he said “students need to pay more. The tuition at the University of Florida is too low for the quality of education that is available here.”
“Students couldn’t get this education for 10 times what they are paying if they went to a private school. They are getting an incredible benefit here,” Machen said.
Students at UWF also pay less than students in most other states.
According to Dr. Robert Norris, associate vice president of UWF’s office of planning, Florida ranks 49th in tuition charged among the 50 states.
“Therefore our tuition cost is very low,” he said.
Williams explained that FAMU has no major concerns about financial aid keeping up with tuition increase. “Pell Grants, scholarships, and other government grants and loans are always available to students,” he said.
Tuitions increases are expected for the forseeable future, he added.