<p>Due to the state of the economy, UF's academic quality has fallen...</p>
<p>Would tuition increases improve the quality of education by providing more funding for the university?</p>
<p>Would limiting the number of students that can enter the university increase selectivity, thus improving the quality of education by leaving more funding for a smaller amount of students?</p>
<p>Discuss.</p>
<p>A couple of years ago a poster went through a very comprehensive evaluation of the metrics used by US News and compared UF’s results versus those of the public universities ranked above. The conclusion at that time was that UF was only being held out the top-10 publics because of student-faculty ratio. Other metrics supported UF having a top-10 ranking. Given that only a revenue increase will solve that problem, I think it is fair to conclude that UF’s ranking is being compromised by low tuition and state funding issues.</p>
<p>@ufiscool: you claim that “UF’s academic quality has fallen”. What is your basis for making such a claim? Where’s is the actual evidence of this?</p>
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<p>I think he means that the rankings have dropped a lot.</p>
<p>the drop in rankings, whether you think rankings are useful or not, reflect very real changes that the majority of students at UF should be able to appreciate.</p>
<p>among them: the CISE fiasco, multiple departments no longer taking graduate students, fewer and fewer merit scholarships, over-extension of web-based classes, lack of faculty in departments large departments, and inability to higher better faculty, among other things. outside of business (which is by far the most independently wealthy part of the university), UF doesn’t have many truly top tier departments.</p>
<p>UF has been seriously effected by budget cuts over the last few years. it isn’t in the pits by any means, but it is on a downward trend <em>because</em> of budget cuts. the quality of education and opportunity at UF has a direct relationship with the financial resources that are available to it. what that relationship is, exactly, is unclear (if you cut the budget in half would the university be half as bad? no, probably not), but it undenyable.</p>
<p>if your goal is for UF to be the best that it can be, the best option on the table right now is for the university to basically become private. state funding isn’t reliable enough for UF to compete with UCBerk, UMich, and others, especially when tuition is as low as it is.</p>
<p>if you’re goal is for UF to only be a good value, then we’re doing pretty okay. i’m not prepared to sign on with this point of view because i think its short sighted and i don’t really care for the incentives it creates.</p>
<p>“UF doesn’t have many truly top tier departments.”</p>
<p>The College of Journalism and Communications is consistently rated among the top ten in the United States. The engineering programs are top notch as well, and there are no ‘weak’ departments. Rankings are quite political and not exactly the best way to judge a school.</p>
<p>However, I would agree that there are some serious budgeting issues within the university. I believe the statistic was an overall 30% decrease in funding which caused the CISE issues. Not to mention that Rick Scott just vetoed the bill allowing UF and FSU to raise tuition. I’m a student and I obviously don’t want to pay more tuition, but with those kind of budget cuts, things just won’t add up. I would rather pay a thousand more dollars a semester than to see my institution suffer.</p>
<p>My perspective is that of a current faculty member and former department chairman at a Florida SUS university. The good people of Florida, the legislature and governor need to keep in mind that it takes decades to build what amounts to top tier departments and a top tier university. With UF’s admission into the Association of American Universities most would agree UF and many of its’ departments achieved distinction.</p>
<p>On the other hand (And my point), it only takes a few years to destroy what was built. A downward slide toward mediocrity can be very difficult to turn around. I worry for the State’s Flagship at this time.</p>
<p>Just my .02 David</p>
<p>bn12gg - Which departments do you think will suffer the most? My daughter is a junior in high school and really wants to go to UF to major in cellular/molecular biology. I wouldn’t want her to begin going to UF if her degree field is on the chopping block.</p>
<p>Mom-- Biology and Micro (UF has separate departments) should be essentially fine. Operating cutbacks and limited (or none) salary increases for the majority of faculty. Young gun faculty have options. </p>
<p>My opinion is a macro one-- rather than building a premier Institution, we maybe witnessing the beginning of a slide toward mediocrity due to drastic funding cuts.</p>
<p>.02 David</p>
<p>Florida’s schools have had a tough fight to get where they are, which seems to me to be just at a point where some of them have a good foundation to become highly ranked for academics and prestige, but I wonder, with budget issues and some of the decision being made in the state, if they won’t start sliding instead. </p>
<p>Right now Florida schools are inviting to Florida students with good stats for 3 reasons:</p>
<p>Bright Futures scholarships—which seem to be getting phased out,
the Florida Pre-paid tuition plan—which has not been nearly as good a deal in more recent years, making it effectively phased out,
and then in-state tuition. </p>
<p>If the only draw remaining in the next few years is the in-state tuition, I am sure Florida will see more of it’s high stats students head out of state to private schools, etc.</p>
<p>I believe that on a National Scale all public Universities are being affected by budget cuts.</p>
<p>To me the best indicator of a schools quality is in the value of the education that you receive for the money invested. Check out this link:</p>
<p>[Best</a> Values in Public Colleges, 2011-12](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/]Best”>Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger)</p>
<p>If you are going to go to a public University and you live in the state of Florida you would be wise to try to get into UF.</p>
<p>Top ranked schools are often highly ranked because they are selective.</p>
<p>UF could indeed get more selective, by admitting less students. Since relatively speaking, UF’s tuition is very low, accepting less in-state students would probably be of economic benefit to the school. (As opposed to rejecting students who are willing to pay $50,000 a year, like at a private college).</p>
<p>More out of state students could also be accepted. These people pay full freight. Some state schools, like Michigan take 20-30% out of state.</p>
<p>Also, I think that the over-emphasis on football hurts UF’s academic reputation.</p>
<p>Further, more emphasis on the honors program might help. If the honors program were made into a truly elite program, some top in-state students might be more inclined to attend UF.</p>
<p>Also, budget cuts, while necessary, must be made wisely. I think I read that UF was cutting money for their computer science program, because that program takes a lot of money to operate. If so, that would be foolish.</p>
<p>Also, in my view affirmative action (or at least the way UF applies it) hurts UF overall. Everyone is in favor of affirmative action for truly deserving people, but it seems that UF is often interested in diversity just for diversity’s sake, so a person with a grandfather who is hispanic gets admission preference over someone with higher stats, because he is “hispanic”, even though the two candidates may be indistinguisable in appearance, and even though the “hispanic” may have never experienced any hardship in life at all. There was a kid who posted a message on CC saying that he only got a 1500 SAT, and had a mediocre high school record with no ECs, and he was questioning whether he was admitted by mistake. It turns out he had some hispanic ancestry, which was probably the reason he was accepted. Meanwhile, there were kids with a 2000 SAT who were rejected.</p>
<p>My son did not decide to go to UF. If it had the reputation of a Berkeley, a UCLA, or a Virginia, he might have opted for UF. I am sure that some kids in those states even take a pass on Ivy League schools to attend those in-state universities at in-state tuition.</p>
<p>That means I pay private school tuition. So if budget cuts at UF “degrade” UF below UVA or UCLA status, so it “forces” the parent to pay private school tuition, has the taxpaying parent really saved money because of the budget cuts?</p>
<p>Floridadad55 where did your son decide to go to school? and what is his major?</p>
<p>Of the schools you mentioned I dont see how it would be beneficial to spend an extra $100,000 to attend them vs. UF. Unless he has a particular major that they are the top school for?</p>
<p>Gator4Ever-- My daughter is going to a fine LAC in the northeast rather than UF. Her intent is to study biology. Her freshman class has approx 650 academically strong students. She will receive a superb undergraduate education and it will cost more than the ^^ 100K you note above. Moreover, she has a Florida Prepaid we will convert to cash in a couple years. I could not be more thrilled with this decision. I suspect more academically gifted Florida students will be going out of state over the next so many years.</p>
<p>Just my .02 David</p>
<p>bn12 and floridad I am curious if your kids are not going to attend UF why are you even on this forum?</p>
<p>You have every right to be here, but I am curious as to the WHY?</p>
<p>Why?–Just to respond to cheerleaders like you.</p>
<p>That is what I thought.</p>
<p>Trolls, trolls everwhere lol
Don’t mind floridad. I remember him from the thread about the kid he’s referring to. He was hating HARD saying the kid wasn’t “good enough” to be accepted to UF, which it’s really not his place to decide superiority amoung man kind. Not to mention he’s making racist accusations. It’s also kinda weird that the UF forum is so closely monitored by random non-UF parents. Very curious.</p>
<p>For the record, I have responded to the OP. Regardless of whether your S or D has been accepted to UF (mine was but declined) a post may actually have something to add to the OP. Some of us without S’s or D’s attending UF may have insights beyond the cheerleading class of posters. Frankly, if this funding issue does not get turned around at UF within the next few years, UF will be seriously hurt-- I suspect at the undergrad level first. Having one’s head in a hole in the sand generally is not a good posture.</p>
<p>.02 David</p>
<p>Pretty Peridot:</p>
<p>If someone complains that a kid got into University of Florida with a 1500 SAT, and theorizes that it was because of affirmative action, that does not mean he is being “racist”. Saying that affirmative action, as it is being applied today, has gone too far is not being a “racist”. And just because someone posts a message stating what is obvious to most people-----that in general, kids with 1500 SATs don’t deserve admission to UF, when kids with 2000 SATs are rejected -----does not mean that someone is “hating hard”, as you put it. Now, of course, perhaps some kids with 1500 SATs do deserve admission to UF, because they have something else in their accomplishments to offer to the university </p>
<p>In the case you are referring to, however, the kid himself admitted that he had a mediocre record in every respect, and he himself guessed that he had gotten into UF because he was hispanic. As I recall, he actually theorized in his post that his admission had actually been a mistake made by UF. He admitted that he didn’t even have any good ECs. He also noted that his high school classmates who knew him were very surprised, and even angry, that he had earned admission to UF, when they had been rejected, even though they have much better records in every respect. I am in favor of affirmative action in general, but I am not in favor of affirmative action for diversity’s sake alone. </p>
<p>Also, you might consider the fact that you should be careful in life not to call someone you don’t even know a “racist” or a “hater”.</p>