<p>TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday he would allow a controversial bill to pass into law that creates a tiered-tuition hike for incoming undergraduates at Florida's flagship public universities.</p>
<p>The bill allows an extra 40 percent tuition hike for incoming students at Florida State University and the University of Florida, and a 30 percent fee increase at the University of South Florida.</p>
<p>The $20 million-plus in extra revenues the three schools would each collect through 2010 would allow them to address overcrowding in bachelor's degree programs, they said.</p>
<p>UF & FSU are the two flagship universities with the cheapest tuition in the nation. Believe it or not: it only cost 3k a year for in-state tuition in at both of these institutions (whereas OOS has to pay almost 20k a year). In my honest opinion this is long overdue.</p>
<p>In-state tuition is a super deal, and many students receive additional merit aid and end up paying even less. Low tuition isn't necessarily bad if it helps meet the state's objective of educating a large number of local students and keeping qualified Florida students in-state.</p>
<p>Does this necessarily mean increase in rankings?
This has been done in many states but it hasnt necessarily skyrocketed the rankings of the schools. look at Michigan State, Indiana, and Purdue. They recieve an immense amount of funding from the government and they have consistently been increasing tuition. they have not even reached the top 50.</p>
<p>I dont see FSU as a flagship institution. I know it recieves lots of enrollment on a yearly basis however it has slowly begun to drift into the third tier schools of America. Every year it seems that UCF and USF are rapidly catching up to FSU. </p>
<p>UF is def the flagship institution of FLorida. it recieves the most amount of students while still having a high ranking.</p>
<p>What's this, an increase in tuition should mean that a college has or will improve its quality? Sorry, I don't buy it. More rankings mania and nonsense.</p>
<p>Also, Ssobick, I don't see how you and Jimmis agree because I think his point is that decisions made simply for popular approval do not necessarily accomplish legitimate goals.</p>
<p>University of Florida has long been, in my opinion, one of the best deals of higher education. With extremely low tuition and tons of merit aid offers available from the FL government, I think that UF can certainly afford to raise its tuition and make the school even better than it already is.</p>
<p>LW--show me a college that does not think more money would help improve quality and I'd better be looking at Harvard. Most schools could use more $$$ very effectively--especially underfunded large state schools.</p>
<p>cynic here, but what makes y'all think that the state won't reduce its future outlays to the higher cost schools? It'll happen next time there is a budget crisis, IMO.</p>
<p>More Money obviously helps improve the quality of the education. But does it necessarily increase the rakings substantially.
Again this is not the first time schools raise tuition. other public schools hae been doing it constantly and its not like u have seen their rankings "skyrocket."</p>
<p>I see UF's rankings keep going up. they have always been going up lately. Every year it gets more and more selective, they collect more endowments and their individual programs get better and better.
However FSU has lately been drifting off into the Third Tier. Raising tuition wont necessarilly skyrocket their rank bringing them back to the way they were in the past.</p>
<p>I agree. I feel that rankings will go up. However if they do:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>wont go up immediately. At least not because of the funding. For that funding to make an effect it may take a while. improving quality of programs isnt easy and takes a while.</p></li>
<li><p>will go up gradually. not a skyrocketting ranking. its not like FSU (now raked 110) will in 2010 take a huge jump back to the 50's.
Nor is it likely that UF jumps into the 25's or low 30's.
It may or may not happen. but if it does, wont happen any time soon.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The increase may help, but it depends on overall funding. If they cut one area and expect this increase to make up for it, nothing will happen. Suffice to say university funding in Florida is quite political, unfortunately. If FSU still cuts enrollment of freshmen and increases spending on undergraduate faculty and support staff then it will go up in the US News ranks.</p>
<p>By the way, I have not seen FSU trend downward in any category...</p>
<p>My statement was rather inartfully worded. Also, I was looking at this action from another perspective. For example, the U of Richmond had a DRAMATIC rise in tuition a year or two ago, undertaken solely because the school felt that it's tuition was not at the level of its peers (as was reported). More than a few students and others felt that UR was overestimating its reputation.</p>
<p>LakeWashington...
Maybe Richmond WAS overestimating its reputation. On the third page of "College Search and Selection" someone posted the change in number of applications for various schools for students starting college in 2001 vs 2006.
The University of Richmond managed a 3.5% DECREASE, while most schools were riding the "echo boom".</p>