“Pay more, get less,” can be the outcome of the tuition increase that has taken place.
FAMU students and their parents need to come to grips with an unfortunate fact of life: tuition is going up.
Gov. Jeb Bush and the Legislature slashed $111.5 million in funding for universities and authorized an 8.5 percent tuition increase for Florida residents.
The Legislature also gave universities the leeway to add up to 6.5 percent more for out-of-state and graduate students but Bush insists Florida’s higher education system is “still the best deal in the country.”
Vice President and Provost Larry Robinson, in a June 25 letter to “All FAMU Students,” cited the “mandated” 8.5 percent across-the-board tuition fee increase for university students.
He pointed out “you must act responsibly by paying your tuition and fees on or before the due date in order to keep FAMU operating in a fiscally stable and healthy environment.”
Oh really? Are lawmakers balancing the budget on the back of students? Yes!
On average, tuitions at public colleges are expected to rise nearly 15 percent, as schools struggle to offset state budget cuts, according to the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. Is this becoming a trend?
As the state’s budget continue to have difficulties will we continue to see tuition escalating?
This tuition increase claims that it will generate nearly millions in new money for the school. Oh yeah? What benefits are there for the students?
My expectation is that we will see benefits such as smaller classes, more research opportunities and newly recruited professors.
We should also expect FAMU to move up in the rankings of national educational institutions.
Will the increased funding provided by the tuition increase support a variety of initiatives to preserve academic excellence at FAMU?
I certainly hope so. FAMU has an obligation to prove to students, parents and taxpayers that they are getting their money’s worth, especially when higher education comes at such a high cost.
Now, more than ever, higher education, not higher tuition is the gateway to good jobs. So, what does this mean for prospective students and their parents?
Nothing!
But if it’s any consolation, even after years of increases, Florida universities’ tuition is the lowest in the South and among the lowest in the U.S.
So, despite the frustration of regular tuition increases, a college education is worth the cost because it is believed that a college degree is the entry fee to a middle-class life.
In general, I hold this to be true, as long as we receive a first-class education.
Kaye Dallas, 32, senior public relations student from Miami. She is the Managing Editor of The Famuan. She can be reached at ManagingEditor@hotmail.com