Cost of school rising in the state of Florida

[Belle of the Bull]

i am a little confused at what is being argued in the post above. I already said that the PROFESSOR (she's not just some lady - shes got a PhD and that matters for the purposes of the article) was a little delusional about some things about FSU. She and many other professors do act like the sky is falling but they also romanticize their own professional position. FSU is HARDLY the best Florida has to offer! It has some good programs - but it is no where near the quality of most Big Ten or Big East schools. This woman acts like the state legislature is destroying what once was a world class institution. We all know thats a big lie.  Its a joke that they are ranked higher than us.

maybe i did not make myself clear: look there's "reasonable" tuition - and then there's FL's tuition. At least CA's got a SUS that has a berkley, ucla ucsd and ucsb - ALL top tier universities that compete with the ivies. UF is probably the best we got as far as rankings and reputation are concerned - USF following a close 2nd - but thats not saying much. We can do better. Heck as underfunded as USF is compared to UF - I think we are doing awesome but I wonder what would happen to us if we got funding on par with michican or even UF! a girl can dream right

However- all our problems do not stem from the fact that we don't have enough money - but rather that we are mismanaging funds allocated for FL's SUS.  The answer isnt always spending MORE money. It means not building new universities that the state can't fund. That means not funding branch campuses that eventually will become independent universities. That means NOT spending millions on new med schools and NOT giving 80 million to Miami - a private university - and it sure as hell does not mean giving millions to ANOTHER STATE!!!!! 

It DOES mean investing in our infrastructure and investing in what we have already built! FL wastes so much money when it comes to higher education.  it truly disgusts me.

We shouldnt spend $$$ we don't have-a la california - we have enough financial problems - but there are ways to fund education in the state of florida. For example - a service tax would generate billions. Opening up more areas for gambling would generate billions (but the seminole tribe would fight that tooth and nail as would disney's lobbiests), and of course a sales or luxury tax specifically for higher education would be a good start.  but with the housing crisis and a pending recession - it is unlikely that these things would ever happen. 

Of course - $$$$ isn't everything. Even if FL did dump a ton of money into higher ed - it might not matter!

FL schools also have major problems in curriculum, AND in K-12 education policy. I am a fiscal conservative in all areas but education. I would pay a little bit more if I knew that our schools would benefit - but I would want to know that the money is being spent properly. Do ya'll know how much money is wasted in florida's universities? Answer: a lot.

The sky isn't falling - and we shouldn't spend money we don't have - but FL is way way way way way behind a lot of other states in higher education. Everyone knows that and there are numbers to back it up. now if that is ok with you - and i am not saying it shouldnt be - not everyone values education the same way as my earlier post suggests-  then fine!  But for those of us who know that our universities have the potential to rival the berkleys, michigans and UCLAs - then we must find a way to fund them properly. 

I guess all i am saying is that the sky is not falling BUT we've got some problems. If its mediocrity we want - then we are doing just fine. IF we want to compete with the big boys and help USF become one of the best universities in the country - we've got to fix some things at a lot of levels, not all of which are financial.

[USFMikeB]

However- all our problems do not stem from the fact that we don't have enough money - but rather that we are mismanaging funds allocated for FL's SUS.  The answer isnt always spending MORE money. It means not building new universities that the state can't fund. That means not funding branch campuses that eventually will become independent universities. That means NOT spending millions on new med schools and NOT giving 80 million to Miami - a private university - and it sure as hell does not mean giving millions to ANOTHER STATE!!!!! 

It DOES mean investing in our infrastructure and investing in what we have already built! FL wastes so much money when it comes to higher education.  it truly disgusts me.

Great post Karla.  Unfortunately, the state isn't about to close any of those facilities, and the only recourse in order to increase service levels is to increase tuition.  Hopefully, someone in the government finally gets a clue and stops any further expansion of new programs until the existing programs are fully funded and operating appropriately.  We've got the same problem in Louisiana, compounded by the fact that LSU also oversees the state's Charity health care system...