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Cutting Private College Money Will Worsen State School Logjam

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 22, 2008

Given how deeply he cares about student access to higher education, it's surprising that Gov. Charlie Crist would advocate cutting the one grant that helps thousands of Florida students attend private in-state colleges.

The governor wants to save more than $47 million by eliminating the Florida Resident Access Grant, a $3,000 subsidy that would be given to incoming Florida freshmen at private, non-profit Florida colleges. He would make an exception only for those enrolling at three historically black schools - Florida Memorial University, Bethune-Cookman University and Edward Waters College.

With the cash crunch facing Florida, every government expenditure deserves re-examination, no question. But eliminating the resident-access grant for private colleges is short-sighted. It costs taxpayers about $14,000 a year to educate a student in a public university, so it doesn't take an economics major to see that the $3,000 access grant is a good deal.

Besides, Florida's universities don't have room to absorb the 15,000 affected students. Because of funding shortfalls, several state schools, including the University of South Florida, plan to admit a smaller freshman class this fall, a decision sure to have ripple effects at private universities and community colleges.

To preserve its aspirations for higher education, Florida should keep as many state students at these private colleges as possible.

No matter the stereotypes, Florida's private-college students reflect the face of America.

Half of those receiving this grant are the first in their families to go to college. Nearly half are minority students. One third qualify for federal Pell Grants because they come from low-income families. More than one-quarter are over the age of 25 and are working on college degrees while working a job and raising families.

Florida's private colleges have done a commendable job, through endowments and scholarship programs, to ensure promising students gain access to higher education, no matter their family's finances.

A study by the Florida Council of 100, a top business group, found that for every $1 million spent on the resident-access grant, the state gets a return of 155 bachelor's degrees. That same $1 million spent in the state university system nets just 19 degrees.

As the governor advances his budget, the question shouldn't be whether there's money to fund the access grant for new students. It's whether Florida can afford the consequences of cutting a ticket to people's futures.

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