Florida Senate Panel OKs Tuition Increase Bill

Florida's 11 public universities would have the power to raise tuition rates, now among the nation's lowest, up to 15 percent a year until they reach the national average under a bill that cleared its first legislative hurdle Wednesday.

The Senate Higher Education Committee unanimously approved the bill, also backed by Gov. Charlie Crist, business leaders and university officials, even though a new public opinion poll shows overwhelming opposition to the measure.

Supporters say tuition increases are needed to keep Florida's universities from losing top faculty to other states, maintain and improve the quality they need to attract high-tech industry and provide educational opportunities for potential students now being turned away.

"We've been getting by on the cheap so many years it's become a mind-set," said committee chairman Steve Oelrich, R-Cross Creek. He said students from other states come to Florida because out-of-state tuition here is lower than in-state tuition back home.

In-state undergraduate base tuition, as set by the Legislature, now is $2,461 for a full 30-credit year. If the bill becomes law it could more than double by 2013 to between $6,323 and $6,743 depending on the school, according to a Senate staff report.

A poll by Connecticut's Qunnipiac University released Wednesday showed that 78 percent of 1,001 Floridians surveyed opposed the tuition bill. Only 19 percent supported it. The poll taken Feb. 11-16 has a 3.1 percentage point plus or minus margin of error.

University of North Florida President John Delaney, also temporarily heading the State University System until a new chancellor is hired, praised lawmakers for an "act of statesmanship."

"It'd be popular to just say 'No, hell, no,'" Delaney said after the vote. "It's really, really an act of bravery for the governor and this Legislature to support it."

Trustees for five of the state's largest universities already can raise tuition above the base level by up to 15 percent annually, but they are capped at 30 percent or 40 percent overall depending on the school.

It would take only two or three years to reach that limit. The bill (SB 762) will replace that cap with the national average for all the schools. Delaney said it probably would take a school six of seven years to reach the new limit - longer if the annual increase is less than 15 percent.

Another new provision applying to all universities would require that 30 percent of the differential tuition go for need-based scholarships. The committee, though, amended that clause to allow schools to substitute private donations for all or part of the need-based requirement, freeing those tuition dollars for other purposes.

The panel approved another amendment to prevent schools from using existing private donations already earmarked for need-based scholarships to supplant the tuition dollars.

It was added after Sean Pittman, lobbyist for the Florida State University Student Government Association, said he was worried the private donation provision would thwart lawmakers' intent to create more need-based scholarships.

The differential tuition would not be covered by the state's popular Bright Futures scholarships. They pay up to 100 percent of base tuition for students with high marks on entrance tests and in high school and college classes.

The five schools that already have differential tuition authority are the University of Florida, Florida State University, the University of South Florida, the University of Central Florida and Florida International University. Central Florida increased its tuition 9 percent for the current school year. The others raised their rates the full 15 percent.

The bill will go before two more Senate committees. A similar House bill (HB 403) has not yet gotten a committee hearing.