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Tuition Break For Grad Students Doesn't Come At Locals' Expense

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 1, 2008

It seemed a slight to Floridians when the University of South Florida trustees recently lowered tuition rates for out-of-state graduate students while increasing tuition for state students.

Moreover, the tuition increases came as USF tightened admissions on the undergraduate level in response to the state budget crisis.

But Florida residents should temper their anger.

Graduate programs have no effect on undergraduate enrollment. So while USF is eager to bring in out-of-state students for masters and doctoral programs, they won't be taking up seats that could go to Floridians.

Furthermore, out-of-state students pay more for their tuition than it costs to provide them an education - so their enrollment can actually help offset lawmakers' devastating budget cuts to the universities.

But like any product, tuition has to be priced right to attract a customer.

USF's out-of-state graduate tuition was overpriced at about $20,000 a year, which put the university at a competitive disadvantage.

USF Provost Ralph Wilcox said out-of-state graduate tuition, even when reduced by 10 percent for most programs as trustees approved, will still be higher than out-of-state graduate tuition at institutions like the University of Alabama at Birmingham or Texas A&M University, which has membership in the prestigious American Association of Universities.

That's the same school that just nabbed one of USF's most prominent researchers, Robin Murphy, whose development of search-and-rescue robots brought much prestige to USF. But she's leaving for a university with better financial resources.

University leaders, though, do need to be sensitive to how these moves play in Florida. There is a natural inclination to question the presence of out-of-state and foreign students on Florida campuses when Floridians themselves are having trouble getting in.

But if USF's Tampa campus is to join the academic elite, it must expand its reach and attract talented students from around the nation and the globe.

Indeed, by attracting a broad range of students with varied life experiences, a university will better prepare its students for the global economy in which they will work.

Another key benefit is that students who come here from elsewhere often decide to stay after completing their studies, contributing greatly to our community.

Mark Rosenberg, chancellor of Florida's university system, says state schools are well below the rule-of-thumb threshold of 10 percent of the student body being comprised of foreign born and out-of-state students. At USF, foreign- born and out-of-state students account for only about 4 percent of the student body - about 1,300 scholars.

While the recent tuition cut makes sense, this is no time for universities to be spending money on ambitious and expensive marketing campaigns to attract more out-of-state undergraduate students who could crowd out Floridians.

The challenge for Florida's universities is to strike the appropriate balance in building their student bodies while remaining mindful that the home-grown scholar should be their top priority.

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