Crist Wants University Tuition Increase Ceiling Raised To 15%

Gov. Charlie Crist backed off on his long-held desire to keep college tuition lower for Florida families today by endorsing a plan allowing the state's 11 public universities to raise costs by up to 15 percent each year.

The increase requires the Legislature's approval.

Though many schools, including the University of South Florida, have increased their prices by that amount, the governor's announcement today would extend that authority throughout a university system many say is in desperate need of revenue.

Students and their families would have to pay for much of the increase. The popular Bright Futures scholarship, which rewards students for good grades and test scores, won't cover the higher costs.

Part of the cost would be Florida losing its long-held distinction of providing the nation's least expensive public higher education. That's a small price to pay to maintain the schools, university leaders say.

"This deals with the most fundamental problem we have, which is a chronic shortage of adequate funding," said Bill Edmonds, spokesman for the university system.

The injection of cash wouldn't be felt for years. Tuition and fees at USF, for instance, total about $3,900 this year. The national average is about $6,600. Because the national average goes up every year, Edmonds said, the governor's plan would get the state's universities to the national average in about eight years.

Any money would come as a relief to universities forced to cut millions from their budgets in a souring economy. USF alone has cut $50 million to cover a shortfall of state aid, and it doesn't expect to stop there.

Lawmakers have kept tuition low for years, and the university system fought back in 2007 by joining a lawsuit designed to wrest away the Legislature's tuition-setting power.

The governor did not address the lawsuit in his announcement, and Edmonds could not say what will happen to it.