<p>Students must sacrifice, Machen says</p>
<p>IN STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY ADDRESS, UF PRESIDENT STRESSED THE NEED TO CHALLENGE STUDENTS</p>
<p>Students need to get behind UF's efforts to increase tuition, President Bernie Machen said in his State of the University address Thursday.</p>
<p>"It's all for the students," he said of tuition increases during the Faculty Senate meeting.</p>
<p>Increased tuition would go toward hiring more faculty members and academic counselors and creating more need-based financial aid, he said.</p>
<p>Student Body President John Boyles, one of the few students who attended the address, said he is waiting on the results of a student survey to decide where he stands on tuition hikes.</p>
<p>Machen also said he wants students to take at least 15 credits per semester so they will graduate in four years or less. Graduation rate is a factor considered by U.S. News & World Report in its yearly ranking of the nation's best universities.</p>
<p>Faculty members should also look into whether or not undergraduate courses are rigorous enough, Machen said.</p>
<p>"Are we challenging [the students]?" Machen asked. "Some say no."</p>
<p>UF's admissions office predicts this Fall's freshmen class will have about 6,700 students, Machen said. With about 500 fewer students than last year, the class size is more manageable for UF.</p>
<p>After a dip in black student enrollment last year, this year's numbers are up between 9 and 13 percent thanks to Machen's Florida Opportunity Scholars program. The scholarship was launched last year and is geared toward first-generation college students.</p>
<p>"That one-year turnaround is encouraging - if we can sustain and add to it in future years," Machen said.</p>
<p>Outside the classroom, local merchants are supporting to UF's campaign against underage and binge drinking, he said.</p>
<p>While there is no way to measure if his campaign is affecting student drinking, he said in an interview after his speech there have been fewer alcohol-related student deaths since last year.</p>
<p>Machen also touched on UF's more recent accomplishments, including a health-care package called the GatorGradCare Health Plan, which will provide free coverage to some graduate students.</p>
<p>"Hopefully, it will make being a graduate student at UF a more satisfying experience," Machen said.</p>
<p>Machen also commended faculty members for crossing the half-billion mark in research dollars. The $518 million was raised during the past year through several new research endeavors, he said.</p>
<p>The recently announced partnership between UF and the Burnham Institute, a California-based research center set to build another facility in Orlando, will also offer new opportunities for UF researchers and graduate students.</p>
<p>"[The Burnham Institute] approached the University of Florida about collaboration because of our own reputation and record of performance," he said.</p>
<p>Machen also addressed the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' multimillion-dollar debt, which he said has been paid off. UF administrators are now working with CLAS officials to address the new budget, he said.</p>
<p>He also had positive news about the university's endowment, which he said has increased by 70 percent in three years to reach an estimated $966 million.</p>
<p>After the address, the Faculty Senate approved the revised Strategic Work Plan, which outlines the university's plans to place UF among the nation's top universities.</p>
<p>The newly approved version of the plan sets more definite benchmarks for UF's goals and includes more faculty input, said Faculty Senate chair Danaya Wright.</p>
<p>Even though people pay attention to U.S. News & World Report's rankings of the country's top institutions, Machen said the work plan should be UF's focus.</p>
<p>"The goals of that document provide the path to true academic excellence," he said. </p>