Stand-up for Our Students (S.O.S.) - How You Can Support Gov. Crist's Plan

State Newspapers Support Gov. Crist's Plan

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State Newspapers Support Gov. Crist's Plan

Gov. Crist's Overdue Epiphany
11/29/2008 © Lakeland Ledger (FL)

Finally, Gov. Charlie Crist has stopped turning a blind eye to the dire financial plight of Florida's public universities.

The governor this month reversed two years of inexplicable and harmful opposition to raising tuition rates at Florida's 11 state universities and unveiled a "reform" proposal that would, among other things, allow the schools to increase tuition as much as 15 percent a year, but no more than 40 percent in a three-year period. Analysts estimate the tuition hikes could generate as much as $1.5 billion in new and badly needed higher-education funding over the next seven years.

The move was hailed by university presidents, the Board of Governors and the state's biggest and most influential business organizations. And it should be cheered and pushed forward. Florida's universities, after all, have been trying to educate growing numbers of students with one of the lowest tuition rates and the highest faculty-student ratios in the country. Florida charges less than $4,000 per year for university tuition at all of its universities. Meanwhile, the average tuition nationally at a four-year public university is $6,585. The disparity is glaring and was compounded last spring when the Legislature slashed higher education funding $150 million in the face of a severe budget shortfall.

The timing of Crist's higher education epiphany, of course, couldn't be worse. It is no secret to any Floridian that we are suffering the worst economy in modern times.

PROFESSORS LEAVING FLORIDA
Nonetheless, Florida universities can't wait. They have already been forced to wait too long. Thousands of qualified students were turned away from our universities over the past year. Professors and other faculty, many having gone without a raise the past two years, are fleeing our state in droves for more lucrative academic environs. And if all that wasn't enough, it has reached the point that it has become difficult to get a four-year degree in Florida in four years because too many required courses are not taught on a year-round basis. The result is students sometimes have to postpone graduation a year or more because there are too few professors and too few course offerings.

However bad the economic times, Crist and the state's business leaders know that if Florida is to come out of the current recession with vigor, the state has to have universities that are equipped to handle the demands of the state's, indeed, the world's, marketplace. The Associated Industries of Florida and the Council of 100 are two of the state's most business-centric organizations, and both are enthusiastically lobbying for the reform proposal because they see the frightful fiscal state of our universities.

FINANCIAL AID FOR NEEDY STUDENTS
Crist's reform proposal goes beyond tuition rates, too. Significantly, the governor is supporting a shift in tuition-setting authority from the Legislature, where it now rests, to the Board of Regents. Settling this question, now the subject of a lawsuit between the two, is overdue and makes sense - not to mention is in keeping with a voter-approved constitutional amendment. The Board of Governors was created by the people to govern our universities. It is time, once and for all, to let them do it.

The proposal also calls for about one-third of the new tuition money to be set aside for financial aid to low-income students. That, too, is overdue and sorely needed.

Yet the Legislature, which must approve Crist's proposal, is the worrisome wild card in this effort to uplift our higher education system. If lawmakers do what they have done so many times in the past, and that is see the higher tuition payments as license to cut its own funding for the State University System, then Crist's and the Board of Governors' plan will be useless. It will be the Lottery all over again - raise new money and cut old. The result: mediocrity.

Crist's plan to reform higher education is a necessary if overdue public policy measure that will benefit our universities on a multitude of levels. That will, in turn, benefit the economic strength of our state. It is hardly a done deal, though. Let's just hope the Legislature recognizes the severity of the higher education funding shortfall and joins the governor, the universities and the business leadership of our state to try to rectify it so our state and our children can be competitive in the 21st century.

Editorial: Local control mustn’t be tied to state funding cuts
11/29/2008 © Naples Daily News (FL)

Gov. Charlie Crist’s proposal for more home rule at state universities seems to make sense — as long as we keep an eye on details.

Crist proposes turning over more power to each school, such as Florida Gulf Coast University, to set tuition, hire presidents and determine enrollment and other growth policy.

With a board of trustees already in place at each of the 11 schools, citizens might be of the opinion that each site already does all of that. But no. There is oversight by a powerful appointed panel known as the Board of Governors.

We believe more local accountability would make each school more reflective of each region and its needs for skilled employees and opportunities for its young people. We also believe it is possible for a local entity to chart its own course while still being able to tap the resources and clout that a statewide system of schools can offer.

A lot of attention, of course, is given to how much it costs to go to college — of special interest these days as more of the work force looks to broaden skills. Crist’s plan envisions giving each university board the flexibility of raising tuition by up to 15 percent a year. We have confidence that the experienced civic and business leaders on each board will do the right thing.

Each board also will want to watch for unintended consequences, with Crist saying Bright Futures scholarships will not keep pace with all of those hikes at the most prestigious and more expensive schools, led by the University of Florida. Minus private endowments for need-based cases, that could lead to an air of elitism that would be out of place in a public university system.

We will be watching, at the same time, to make sure the home-rule options come free of strings, such as a pull-back of base level state funding a la the Florida Lottery. It would not be fair or good for education to have home rule come at such a price.

That would spoil the otherwise overall positive potential for this higher education initiative.

Education benefits from tuition hikes
CENTRAL FLORIDA FUTURE EDITORIAL – 11/26/08
(Student newspaper, University of Central Florida)

Yes it's true - Gov. Charlie Crist, with the full support of Florida public university presidents including UCF President John Hitt, has announced that he plans to allow all Florida public universities to raise tuition up to 15 percent annually.

We already know that this will elicit some backlash from students who complain that school is expensive enough as it is.

We can assure you, college is not a low-cost venture, nor is it meant to be.

A cheap education is a mediocre education, because, in this case, you truly get what you pay for.

UCF's student to faculty ratio is already the worst in the nation at 28.8-to-1, according to collegetoolkit.com, so without a funding increase, UCF won't be able to hire new faculty or start new programs to get that number back under control.

If you don't pay for your own education, then you probably haven't heard this, but Florida has the third-lowest tuition average in the country - Nevada and District of Columbia are lower.

As of 2004, Florida's average tuition rate was $2,633 per year, a pale comparison to most other states, where the average is $5,000 or more, according to libraryspot.com.

On top of the already rock-bottom prices for a college education in Florida, we have this fantastic scholarship program called Bright Futures, an unprecedented initiative by the state to pay for most, if not all, of the in-state college tuition for Florida high school graduates.

Our lucrative lottery system provides an unbelievable opportunity for Florida students to be able to go to college, and perhaps it is the reason that four of Florida's 11 public universities are in the top 25 largest for enrollment.

Under the proposal, Bright Futures won't be changed at all, which might sound like a good thing, but that means it won't cover any possible increase in tuition.

More than anything, we want to see the Bright Futures program have a stable future because without it, many of us would not have been able to afford college, or would have had to resort to student loans.

Let colleges raise tuition — When it comes to higher education, a higher price could help Florida.
PALM BEACH POST EDITORIAL – 11/26/08

Last week, Gov. Crist announced a proposal that would allow trustees at the 11 public universities to raise tuition up to 15 percent a year, starting next fall. It would be the biggest change in higher education since then-Gov. Jeb Bush and the Legislature abolished the Board of Regents in 2001. This change, however, actually would help higher education.

Important as donations and grants are, public universities run on tuition and money from state budgets. During the last two years, the state university system's already inadequate budget has been cut by $270 million. As Board of Governors spokesman Bill Edmonds says dryly, the system's "ambitious goal for next year is no further cuts."

At the same time, Florida's systemwide average tuition of $3,800 a year is the lowest in the country, nearly $3,000 less than the national average. Even in states with higher tuition, universities get more state support. Florida has the lowest tuition and the highest undergraduate student-faculty ratio. Yet just last year, Gov. Crist vetoed a 5 percent tuition increase. So this is a major shift for him, and it would be a major, needed shift for the state.

For a decade after 1997, when the Legislature created the Bright Futures Scholarship Program using lottery money, politicians were afraid to raise tuition. Bright Futures pays 100 percent or 75 percent of tuition and fees, depending on a student's high-school grades and SAT score, and higher tuition could have meant cuts in Bright Futures because there's only so much lottery money. But last year, the Legislature allowed five universities to raise tuition 5 percent per year over the base rate. If the Legislature agrees with the governor, each university could raise it three times as much.

Bright Futures still would apply to the base rate, which can rise with inflation, but not to the "differential" tuition. Similarly, any parent who bought a prepaid tuition plan before July 1, 2007 would pay no more. New plans require a payment plan for the base tuition and any differential. The increase would not apply to community colleges, even those offering four-year degrees.

For universities, this is the best option, since there will be no help from the Legislature. According to the Board of Governors, the tuition increase could raise $72 million systemwide the first year to hire more teachers. A key component of the proposal is that 30 percent of any increase would go into a fund for need-based students at that university. Florida long has been rightly criticized for failing to help lower-income high-school graduates afford a university education. According to the Board of Governors, need-based assistance could total $200 million after six years.

Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, complained that "the people have been squeezed enough." But he offered only the pointless idea of cutting university presidents' pay. Some more affluent parents may not like the changes to Bright Futures. They can consider it an investment in their children's education. Bright Futures is an unjustified entitlement program that has dumbed down higher education.

The governor's proposal should not be the last help for Florida's universities. But it's the only help on the horizon, and it would be a start toward raising the value of a college degree.

Crist gets it
Source: 11/25/2008 © Gainesville Sun (FL)

The recent announcement that the state is experiencing yet another revenue shortfall, this time to the tune of $2.1 billion, brings to mind that old saying: If it weren't for bad news, we'd have no news at all.

Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida lawmakers must feel as though they are in a constant state of crisis management. No matter how they do it, cutting the budget again is going to be devastating for hospitals, schools, social service agencies, the criminal justice system and other agencies.

With all of that on their plates, lawmakers need to take advantage of every opportunity they have to make state agencies more self-supporting and entrepreneurial. And to his credit, Gov. Crist is asking the Legislature to do just that with the State University System.

A healthy, adequately funded university system is vital to Florida's economic vitality. But universities today are overloaded and underfunded. Per-student funding has dropped from nearly $16,000 in 1990 to less than $12,000 today. In the last two years, the universities have seen their state funding cut by nearly $175 million. Moreover, because they have continued to accept more and more students with less and less funding, Florida's universities have the worst student-faculty ratio in America.

Florida also charges the lowest tuition and fees among public universities in America. Lawmakers have for years kept tuitions artificially low while reducing state general revenue funding. Full-time undergraduates here pay about $3,808 a year. The national average is $6,585 a year. The result is inevitably a dilution of quality.

Crist's solution is to give trustees at each university the authority to levy a differential of up to 15 percent above the base tuition rate per year. Bright Futures scholarship dollars could not be used to pay the differential rate, but students with prepaid tuitions would not be impacted. And 30 percent of the differential tuition revenues would go toward need-based financial aid to help keep universities affordable.

It's estimated that differential tuitions could raise an additional $72 million next year, enough to help lower the student-faculty ratio significantly.

Why do we call this proposal entrepreneurial? Because institutions like the University of Florida, which receive far more student applications than they can admit, will be able to take advantage of the full differential without seeing a drop in demand for admission. Meanwhile, smaller universities, say, West Florida, might want to keep tuitions rates lower as an incentive for students who are bargain shopping.

Crist's proposal has the backing of business groups like the Council of 100, the Florida Chamber Foundation and Associated Industries. No surprise there, business gets it that without a quality higher education system, Florida cannot produce a quality workforce.

Gov. Crist gets that, too. We urge the Legislature to adopt his plan to put the state universities on a more self-sustaining path.

Giving higher ed the boost it has needed for so long
OCALA STAR-BANNER EDITORIAL – 11/25/08

Finally, Gov. Charlie Crist has stopped turning a blind eye to the dire financial plight of Florida's public universities.

The governor last week reversed two years of inexplicable and harmful opposition to raising tuition rates at Florida's 11 state universities and unveiled a "reform" proposal that would, among other things, allow the schools to increase tuition as much as 15 percent a year, but no more than 40 percent in a three-year period. Analysts estimate the tuition hikes could generate as much as $1.5 million in new and badly needed higher education funding over the next seven years.

The timing of Crist's higher education epiphany, of course, couldn't be worse. It is no secret to any Floridian that we are suffering the worst economy in modern times.

Nonetheless, Florida universities can't wait. They have already been forced to wait too long. Thousands of qualified students were turned away from our universities over the past year. Professors and other faculty, many having gone without a raise the past two years, are fleeing our state in droves for more lucrative academic environs. And if all that wasn't enough, it has reached the point that it has become difficult to get a four-year degree in Florida in four years because too many required courses are not taught on a year-round basis. The result is students sometimes have to postpone graduation a year or more because there are too few professors and too few course offerings.

Crist's reform proposal goes beyond tuition rates, too. Significantly, the governor is supporting a shift in tuition-setting authority from the Legislature, where it now rests, to the Board of Regents. Settling this question, now the subject of a lawsuit between the two, is overdue and makes sense — not to mention is in keeping with a voter-approved constitutional amendment. The Board of Governors was created by the people to govern our universities. It is time, once and for all, to let them do it.

The proposal also calls for about one-third of the new tuition money to be set aside for financial aid to low-income students. That, too, is overdue and sorely needed.

Yet the Legislature, which must approve Crist's proposal, is the worrisome wild card in this effort to uplift our higher education system. If lawmakers do what they have done so many times in the past, and that is see the higher tuition payments as license to cut its own funding for the State University System, then Crist's and the Board of Governors' plan will be useless. It will be the Lottery all over again — raise new money and cut old. The result: mediocrity.

Opinion: Crist's Bold Tuition Plan Will Enhance Education
Source: 11/24/2008 © Tampa Tribune

Gov. Charlie Crist was just a few months into his new administration when the subject of Florida's universities elicited two strong responses from him: Crist thought it was ludicrous that Florida students were having a hard time getting into public universities, and he was soundly against raising tuition.

But the governor promised two things as he started his new administration. First, he was going to take a hard look at the status and future of higher education in Florida. And second, he was going to listen to what people had to say about tuition.

Crist has kept his promise. The initiative he announced Friday to raise tuition - and thus the quality of higher education in Florida - is an encouraging turn of events.

Crist, the populist, could have stuck to his guns and railed against tuition increases in tough economic times.

He could have adopted the anti-intellectual bent of some in the Legislature who view too much fancy learning as a waste of money.

Or he could have sat idly by as Florida's universities wither on the vine, starved of the resources necessary to provide a high-quality undergraduate education and to retain their best and brightest minds.

That would have put Florida on a path to turning its state universities into sprawling monuments to mediocrity.

Instead, Crist chose to stand on the side of quality and for the future of higher education in Florida. He has spent the past two years learning about what the state university system and its students need, and responded accordingly.

Under Crist's proposal - which will be subject to legislative approval - each of Florida's 11 public universities would be able to raise tuition up to 15 percent above the base undergraduate tuition rate of about $3,400 until Florida's universities reach the national average of about $6,900. The University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of South Florida, which already have state authority to charge higher tuition rates, would have caps on their increases lifted.

The increases will raise $72 million in the first year alone to begin upgrading the quality of undergraduate education.

For most of Florida's university students, the increase is negligible. Bright Futures scholarships - which pay 75 to 100 percent of that base tuition, would continue - and all the scholarship students will have to pay is the difference. Families who purchased Florida prepaid tuition contracts before July 2007 are exempt from the tuition increases.

The threshold for earning a Bright Futures scholarship is so moderate that it virtually guarantees most Florida students who can get into a state university a scholarship; an estimated 40 to 43 percent of Florida's undergraduate student body has a Bright Futures award. Students will have to pay a little more for their education, but state studies have shown most of the students on Bright Futures do not come from homes with financial need.

For needy students, Crist's program sets aside 30 percent of the proceeds from the tuition increases for financial aid. The other 70 percent of the tuition proceeds would be committed to hiring and retaining high-quality faculty and taking other steps to enhance the quality of education.

It is important to keep in mind that university students have advocated for higher tuition rates, rightly acknowledging that some Florida universities are so overcrowded and understaffed that students' paths to graduation are slowed.

Students understand a degree from a substandard university does them no good in this competitive job market.

The bottom line is that the tuition in-state students pay covers only about 25 percent of the cost of providing them an education. Since 1990, declining state appropriations for higher education have chopped Florida's per student funding from nearly $16,000 to a less than $12,000 this year.

The result is a slow starvation of the university system. Florida has one of the highest student-faculty ratios in the United States; enrollment in large classes numbering 100 students or more has grown by 50 percent this decade, and less than 60 percent of students are finishing their degrees in six years.

Florida cannot afford to do nothing while its universities fall further behind the rest of the nation.

Crist is staking out a bold stand for the cause of quality. His plan deserves solid backing from state lawmakers, who now must do their part to reverse the downward trajectory of Florida's higher education system.

Editorial: University lifeline
11/24/2008 © St. Petersburg Times

It's taken some time, but Gov. Charlie Crist is coming around on the importance of higher education to Florida's future. The governor's proposal to give all 11 state universities the power to raise tuition by up to 15 percent a year is a step in the right direction. But it should come with a warning label: The money from the tuition increases cannot be used by legislators to replace general tax dollars.

For families with teens headed to college or already there, the timing for tuition increases is not the best. Costs for everything from property insurance to health care are steep. Retirement accounts, home equity and other investments are dropping. The state unemployment rate has risen to 7 percent, the highest in 15 years. But sometimes it takes a crisis for government to start tackling the tough issues.

Florida never will realize its potential and Floridians will never be competitive for high-wage jobs if the state's university system is allowed to continue to slip. Only the University of Florida ranks among the top 50 universities, and the state ranks near the bottom in the production of bachelor's degrees. The economic crisis and declining tax revenues already have forced more than $130-million in cuts to universities since last year, and faculty members are fleeing to North Carolina and other states with stronger commitments to higher education. As college applications continue to rise, the universities have been forced to reduce staff, freeze or reduce enrollments and increase class sizes. It is not a prescription for success.

Business leaders who form the Council of 100 and other business organizations have called for higher tuition and greater public investment for years. Yet Crist vetoed a modest 5 percent tuition increase just last year. After heavy lobbying from business groups and others, he finally signed a general tuition increase and a premium increase of up to 15 percent for five of the largest universities, including the University of Florida, Florida State and the University of South Florida. As Crist says, his thinking has evolved, and that's good.

Now Crist proposes extending that tuition flexibility to the rest of the state's universities. His plan could raise as much as $1.5-billion over seven years, and it has several important caveats. At least 30 percent of the money from the tuition increases would have to be earmarked for need-based financial aid, an area that badly needs additional funding. Second, the increases would not be covered by Bright Futures Scholarships. Bright Futures has turned into a middle-class entitlement program that costs the state $436-million this year, and it has helped keep tuition artificially low. More than 9 of every 10 in-state freshmen at UF and FSU are on Bright Futures, and legislators are going to have to work up the nerve to rein it in.

Whether Crist can convince legislators to give up their legal fight over who has the authority to set tuition is one issue. Another is the concern raised by former Gov. Bob Graham and others that lawmakers will use the tuition increases as cover to shift general tax dollars elsewhere, just as the lottery wound up supplanting rather than enhancing public education money. That bait-and-switch cannot be allowed to happen again.

Universities cannot be slowly starved to death. Crist's proposal throws them a badly needed lifeline. If lawmakers follow through and embrace its intent, the additional money would help higher education start recovering from years of neglect.

Crist's tuition 'narcotic' may be needed fix
Source: 11/22/2008 © Miami Herald
By MYRIAM MARQUEZ

Charlie Crist, the self-proclaimed ''People's Governor,'' says tacking on $370 to the price of a university education in Florida will open the door ``to endless opportunities for every Floridian.''

Bob Graham, Florida's first ''Education Governor,'' calls this fix a feel-good ''narcotic'' -- one the Legislature will be tempted to abuse to shift more of the state's higher-ed costs to students, freeing up money for other needs.

We've faced this bait and switch before.

Remember the bait-and-switch promises made about the Florida lottery helping public schools? Instead of using the lottery money to ''enhance'' programs, the Legislature cut public-school funding and used the lottery to make up for those cuts.

When the economy improved, the formula never really changed much for public schools, though former Gov. Jeb Bush did nudge more money for enhancements.

FUTURES UNTENDED
Then Bright Futures scholarships became the answer for higher education.

The scholarships are dandy for rewarding college-bound students with good (though hardly stellar) grades, but they have sorely lagged behind true costs.

It's a middle-class entitlement that my family enjoys, but it's not good public policy.

In the past 10 years, as more money went to Bright Futures, the Legislature didn't raise funding to adjust for inflation or much else. No surprise that Florida is near the bottom in a number of quality benchmarks. It ranks 50th in faculty-to-student ratio nationwide and at the bottom in the number of tenured professors per student.

And as pay raises have dried up for faculty, the best and brightest have headed out of state to get their due at top institutions.

So here we are, waiting on a lawsuit that Graham and a group of educators brought to ensure that a voter-approved constitutional amendment to remove politicians from the business of funding higher education finally sticks. Legislators want that authority, even though voters approved the creation of an appointed Board of Governors to make those tough choices based on educational needs, not political whims.

Crist is trying to offer a sensible fix for the state's 11 universities: allow each to raise tuition by up to 15 percent, which would not be covered by Bright Futures but would be honored for those families buying into the prepaid college plan. This would add about $370 next year to the average $3,800 tuition and fees for a full-time in-state student. That's still a great deal considering that the national average is $6,585.

ADDED ACCOUNTABILITY
Most important, Crist would have universities track improvements in several areas, such as graduation and retention rates -- accountability that Bush, the other ''Education Governor,'' also says is needed, along with producing more degrees. (Right now Florida ranks a lousy 47th in the nation in bachelor's degrees per capita, but without more funding universities are having to turn away freshmen.)

Graham is right -- we have to watch out that this fix doesn't turn into another narcotic. But if the Board of Governors gets the authority voters handed it, that shouldn't happen.

Florida has nickel-and-dimed education for two decades. It's time to invest wisely. Money -- without accountability -- certainly doesn't guarantee success, but less money and little accountability surely produces mediocrity.

Opinion: Cheaper, not better: Universities need tuition-raising authority
11/23/2008 © Tallahassee Democrat

Florida has to do something. It can no longer continue to charge the lowest tuition and required fees among the nation's public universities and be able to brag about the quality of education our young people are receiving.

It is regrettable — as are so many other instances where the unreality of getting something for nothing rears its ugly head — but Gov. Charlie Crist's unexpected call Thursday to allow universities to raise their tuition is essential.

Some critics have said that any tuition increase will limit access, and the governor has in the past resisted this move.

But another searing reality is that access has already been limited because institutions such as Florida State University have had to turn students away because they haven't had the dollars to keep up with enrollment demands for more than five years.

Mr. Crist's proposal has to clear the Legislature, which could possibly agree to the plan even though it takes away some of its current authority over tuition. The plan would let the universities propose, and the Board of Governors approve, limited tuition increases over the next seven years — bringing in an estimate $72 million the first year.

Florida universities have the worst faculty-student ration in the nation and also a brain drain in progress. This addition could help with the faculty shortage and thereby the shortage of classes students need — and graduating in a timely manner saves students money. About 30 percent of the tuition differential, however, will go to need-based financial aid.

Bob Graham, Florida's former U.S. senator and governor during the State University System's better days, is among the skeptics who see lawmakers agreeing to only a kind of bait-and-switch — saying "yes" to letting universities increase tuition and then pulling out a share of its own general revenue contribution to higher education. Such shenanigans aren't unheard of.

FSU President T.K. Wetherell said Friday, however, that lawmakers don't have any money to enhance higher education right now in any case. "At some point there will be money and then we'll start lobbying for the (state) dollars," he said, adding that for the time being the tuition increase is the only avenue.

So, short of invoking some sort of reform that would bring in revenue from, for example, a higher tax on cigarettes or taxing some services, lawmakers are going to feel pressure to give universities a little money-raising flexibility.

Many of the smaller institutions likely won't use the option to raise their tuition by much, or will adjust to reflect their particular marketplace. Florida A&M President James Ammons said, however, that he supports Crist's plan to help retain faculty and keep the quality of education from being even more at risk.

For those universities that do raise the tuition, the estimated increase would be no more than a $15 per credit hour for undergraduates — including all those on Bright Futures scholarships who would pay only the differential. Those now on prepaid tuition plans sold prior to July 2007 would see no increase.

And even if the tuition-raising options goes into play, adding maybe 3 percent to the total cost of attendance, Florida will still have the lowest tuition rates in the nation.

Mr. Wetherell said FSU, with regard to access for minorities in particular, will continue its CARE (Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement) program, which recruits, retains, and succeeds in high graduation rates of African-American students who may have been disadvantaged due to economic, educational or cultural circumstances but whose backgrounds demonstrate a strong desire to succeed.

As Mr. Crist put it with undeniable accuracy: "A well-educated work force opens the door to endless opportunities for every Floridian, and for the Sunshine State."

In these enormously difficult times, this is one "user fee" that will have such a tremendous pay off for the user — and the state — that it cannot be considered anything but a solution to a destructive problem that has lingered far too long.

Editorial: Gov. Crist takes new stance on tuition
FORT MYERS NEWS-PRESS EDITORIAL – 11/24/08

Charlie Crist flip-flopped on university tuition, but reality demanded it.

Crist wants to end Florida's flat-rate tuition system. Instead of Florida's 11 public institutions charging the same tuition, each university's board of trustees would have the power to increase tuition to 15 percent above the state's basic rate.

The proposal would shift some of the authority over tuition to the state university Board of Governors, and away from the Legislature, which has jealously guarded its control over university purse strings. The Legislature is to blame for the state's foolishly low tuition rates, the lowest in the country, thousands of dollars below the national average of $6,585 for an in-state undergraduate student at a public university.

There is a big danger in Crist's proposal, highlighted by former Gov. Bob Graham. Graham fears a financially strapped Legislature may simply cut its aid to higher education, which accounts for 33 percent of the university budget, to offset increases in tuition, which pays for only 10 percent. Republican legislative leaders have reportedly agreed not to play that game. We'll see, but the Legislature has been the culprit when it comes to underfunded education in Florida.

Crist is hoping that in today's competitive market for students, Florida universities will balance tuition costs with what it takes to create attractive programs. This is a lot more realistic and creative than the governor's former simple opposition to tuition increases in hard times.

The big universities already get to charge a tuition premium of up to 15 percent over the state base. It's only fair-and necessary-that the others get to do the same.

FGCU, age 11, is developing with amazing speed, but is hampered by low tuition and the state's freshman enrollment cap, which required the university to turn away 500 qualified applicants this year. FGCU wants an exemption from the cap.

Crist would allow state universities to raise tuition by $1.52 billion over the next seven years. "The result will be stronger universities."

Thanks for seeing the light, Charlie.

Governor Charlie Crist proposes tuition hike
SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL EDITORIAL - 11/22/08

It hardly seems like the right time to be asking people to dig deeper into their pockets for more money.

Still, Gov. Charlie Crist is correct in his proposal to let all state universities raise tuition by as much as 15 percent a year.

The increased tuition - Crist vetoed a 5 percent increase for all universities last year, but reversed himself after hearing from university presidents - could put another $72 million into a state university system that has been providing education on the cheap. While 30 percent of the differential tuition revenue would go toward need-based student aid and maybe a reconfiguring of aid, the rest would be used directly on academics - including faculty recruitment and retention, essential to having a top university system.

Most important, a college education at a state school in Florida is still going to be a tremendous bargain, even with a tuition hike.

Full-time undergraduate students at Florida universities pay about $3,800 per year. The national average is $6,585. You do the math. And Florida has the worst faculty-student ratio in the country.

At present, only five Florida schools - the University of Florida, Florida State, Florida International, the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida - can charge the "differential tuititon," which is a rate higher than set by the state. Crist's plan, which needs approval of the Legislature, would allow all state universities to charge that rate.

The Bright Futures scholarship would not cover the amount of the differential tuition - the additional amount at Florida Atlantic University, for example, for Bright Futures students would be about $221. People holding pre-paid contracts that were sold prior to 2007 would not pay the differential.

Yes, there will be some families that will have difficulty with the increase. And yet, a college education in Florida would still be a big bargain.

Universities will have to use the extra money to improve academics, and that needs to be monitored.

In today's world, a first-class university system is a must. The tuition hike is a solid step in that direction.

BOTTOM LINE: Increase warranted, needed.

MIAMI HERALD EDITORIAL – 11/21/08

There is much to like in Gov. Charlie Crist's proposal to give Florida's 11 public universities the power to raise tuition by as much as 15 percent a year -- but the governor's timing could not be worse. Florida is at the epicenter, or close to it, of the country's worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Florida families are suffering under record foreclosures, job losses, bankruptcies, pension and 401k reversals and double-digit increases in the cost of healthcare insurance, windstorm insurance -- you name it.

Wise change of heart
Many Floridians won't understand why he wants to add increased college tuition to the burden. Especially coming from a governor who only last year proudly proclaimed: ''I've been fairly consistent in expressing my displeasure with the notion of higher tuition . . . I still feel that way.'' Well, no longer. Gov. Crist now believes tuition increases can help Florida create a ''world-class higher education'' system, which is key to the state's future economic development.

What changed? For starters, Gov. Crist now understands state educators' persuasive rationale for tuition hikes. Tuition at Florida schools ranks among the lowest in the country. As a result, Florida schools have been forced to make severe enrollment cuts, eliminate academic and degree programs, lay off faculty and staff, neglect infrastructure and live with the highest student/teacher ratio in the country. It hasn't helped that state lawmakers, faced with a $1 billion revenue shortfall, cut more than $150 million from higher-education funding this year.

Considering the schools' great need and Florida's tuition imbalance, increasing students' costs is a step Florida simply has to take to improve education. Gov. Crist's plan would generate enough money after seven years to guarantee that poor students get financial aid. Bright Futures students would have to pay the tuition differential, a small but necessary step in a middle-class entitlement program that lawmakers have been loath to change.

Graduate faster
The big change with Gov. Crist's plan, however, is that it would give clear authority to the state Board of Governors for tuition hikes and put the schools' finances in order. The money would pay for more faculty, smaller class sizes and better academic programs. Over time, the flow of increasing revenues could mean that students will get their degrees in four years instead of the five years that it now takes to graduate.

The plan is a good start to long-overdue reform of higher education in Florida. But it is far from being a done deal. The challenge for Gov. Crist now is to get enough state lawmakers to see what he has seen -- that creating good jobs and a strong economy requires the state to create a quality education system.

Sometimes in politics, a flip-flop is a good thing.

Gov. Charlie Crist has changed his thinking about college tuition, introducing a plan Thursday that would let Florida's 11 state universities raise rates up to 15 percent each year.

Mr. Crist was once a foe of higher tuition, wrongly vetoing a modest 5 percent increase in 2007. His position since, to borrow the governor's own description, has "evolved." He eventually signed an across-the-board tuition increase and started agreeing to give select institutions, including the University of Central Florida, the option of charging a premium of up to 15 percent on top of the state's base tuition rate.

His new plan extends that option to the rest of Florida's universities. Plus, it gives local boards of trustees more say over how universities are run.

The Legislature should welcome this initiative. Yes, it's going to make college more expensive, but tuition in Florida already is dirt-cheap. Not only that, the state bankrolls many students' tuition through the Lottery-funded Bright Futures scholarships.

The increases under Mr. Crist's plan aren't covered by Bright Futures, nor should they be. That would just put the burden of higher tuition on the state treasury, which already is under tremendous strain.

The plan has another tasty incentive. It requires spending 30 percent of the money raised from the tuition premiums on aid to needy students.

The governor's plan might also begin to resolve a nasty lawsuit that pits higher-education advocates and the State University System's Board of Governors against the state Legislature over who should control tuition.

Florida's universities are starved for money. To cope, they've eliminated classes, cut jobs, denied raises to instructors and hacked student admissions. It's no way to run what should be a top-flight university system, which is key to a strong economy.

Mr. Crist's plan would help get universities, and the state's economy, back on firmer footing.

Tuition hikes are tough, but they are necessary
Kevin F. Reilly, Jr., Student Body President at the University of Florida
12/01/08 © Miami Herald — Letters to the Editor

For years, University of Florida students have had the privilege of receiving a world-class education for one of the lowest tuitions in the nation. In fact, of 75 flagship universities around the country, UF consistently ranks 75th in tuition.

While it's undeniable that UF offers an education that is as valuable as it is affordable, tuition increases are necessary and inevitable. Our goal of being ranked as one of the top public universities in the world is simply not possible with tuition at bargain basement levels.

Budget cuts in the last few years have damaged many of UF's programs, and projections from Tallahassee offer a bleak outlook for the foreseeable future. UF administrators have been forced to make difficult choices; cutting enrollment, eliminating academic programs and allowing faculty to flee for greener pastures at other institutions.

It may be a tough pill to swallow, but if we want to be viewed as the undeniable foundation of higher education in Florida, then students and families must embrace tuition increases.

On Thursday, Gov. Charlie Crist announced a plan that would allow Florida's public universities to independently choose to raise their tuition and meet the national average. In order to keep the doors of opportunity open for all Floridians, the plan calls for 30 percent of new revenues to be used for additional need-based aid.

I am supporting the governor's plan, and I implore my fellow Gators to join me. Crist's proposal was developed in cooperation with business leaders from around the state who recognize that Florida's economic future depends upon the ability of our education system to produce competitive graduates for the 21st century. To do so, UF needs the revenue to recruit and retain talented faculty, invest in new technology and fund groundbreaking research.

While students will be asked to shoulder some of this burden, the university will always work to provide opportunities for students from every walk of life. We must recognize this as an investment in both our own future and the future of our beloved university.

More funding needed for higher education
Ed H. Moore, president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida
Sun-Sentinel – 12/1/08 Letters to the Editor

“You produce good jobs by having great education.” With these words, Gov. Charlie Crist endorsed a bold package of changes in both public tuition structure and governance.

Florida has 28 private, not-for-profit, colleges and universities and 11 public colleges and universities. They are laboratories for innovation and engines of economic development. None of this is possible without the fuel that fires these activities proper and adequate funding.

Students who choose private institutions save taxpayers by taking on a large part of the responsibility for acquiring their degrees. State grants, such as FRAG, help make access possible. Almost half of the students receiving FRAG were the first ones in their families to attend college, a key demographic for a secure future. Personal responsibility is enhanced while at the same time government programs stimulate access and aid in the retention of students.

Changes to the tuition levels of our public institutions will function in this same way. Florida cannot compete globally in degree production, faculty attraction and retention, and innovation without necessary resources.

Gov. Crist embraced this need in his bold package of reforms. He should also recognize the vital activities of the 28 members of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, which produce 27 percent of the baccalaureate degrees, 40 percent of the graduate degrees, and 56 percent of the first professional degrees; all for less than 2 percent of the state higher education budget. This productivity should be supported, enhanced and nourished, so student access, retention and graduation, all keys to our future economic well being, can be made possible.

Our state can build brighter possibilities for Florida by working with all institutions to create the strong foundations of funding, through grants, tuition and direct support, that are required as we aim for a brighter future.

A real bright future is made possible by creating strengthened linkages among all sectors of higher education and by expanding the access to success that will be required for the real global economic competition.

Crist: Strengthen Florida's universities
Governor Charlie Crist
Miami Herald – 11/20/08 Letters to the Editor

Access to a world-class higher education is the key to economic opportunity for every Floridian and to our state's future economic development. I am proposing a set of reforms that will strengthen state universities and colleges now and for decades to come.

By establishing clear lines of governance at the institution and the state level -- and by balancing universities' financial needs with access for students and families -- our universities can flourish and continue to provide the higher education that every Floridian deserves.

These institutions also must be able to set tuition at levels that let them maintain the strength and competitiveness of faculty and degree programs. My proposal balances these two ideals.

Under this proposal, the boards of trustees at each university would have the option to establish, with final approval from the Florida Board of Governors, a tuition plan that is higher than the base rate charged to in-state undergraduates. This cannot exceed more than 15 percent each year.

Base tuition would continue to be covered by the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. Tuition changes would not affect families that have purchased contracts through the Florida Prepaid College Plan. To help families with financial needs, 30 percent of the differential tuition would have to go toward need-based aid for students. The remainder would be used for recruitment and retention of faculty, programs that improve graduation and retention rates and other areas identified by each school. The result will be stronger state universities that prepare graduates for the global marketplace.

My proposal also would clarify governance of the universities, by giving individual boards of trustees authority to oversee daily operations and university-level matters including the selection of presidents, budgets and growth planning. The Board of Governors would have authority to approve trustees' tuition requests as well as their requests for curriculum changes, program expansions and long-term strategic plans.

By working together, my administration, the Legislature, the higher-education community and Florida's business community can make our universities stronger than ever, ensuring a competitive environment for today's students and setting the groundwork for a world-class education that will entice the next generation of undergraduates to remain in Florida.