Florida’s public colleges and universities forge our future
Florida is in the midst of noteworthy and meaningful changes. Following our recent elections, we have new public officials who emphasized many important issues while on the campaign trail last year, from the environment to education to jobs. Such issues are important not just to our state, but to Central Florida. Fortunately, our region has lately enjoyed positive economic indicators. Much of this is due to those last two issues. Through the efforts being made in our colleges and universities, both at individual institutions and systemwide, we are focused on providing students with a solid, local training ground for jobs throughout our private sector.
This column is inspired by a friend who has championed the opportunities provided to children and young adults through our public educational system. He mentioned to me a while ago the affordability of Florida’s post-secondary educational institutions. I took note and compared the cost of our public colleges and universities to those around the nation. What I found bodes well for our ability to rise as a region and as a state. There should be no hindrance to Florida becoming a world leader not just in education but in matching the needs of growing businesses and our regional economy.
Florida has 12 public universities. We have 28 public colleges — formerly referred to as our “community colleges” — which offer the required basic first two years of a bachelor’s degree. They also offer a selection of bachelor’s degrees and industryspecific associate degrees and certificate programs vital to the local workforce. Some of these include training in applied health sciences, transportation and logistics, graphics technology, and aviation mechanics — to name a few.
The post-secondary educational market in the United States is not one of limited choices—namely, between vocational training and traditional college degrees. To call education after high school a choice between manual labor and an office job is simplistic at best and detrimental at worst. The full spectrum of today’s jobs is rich and diverse. Our students simply need guidance to assure that a full picture of career futures is presented to them in a timely manner, so they can begin to take required classes, then work their way through their chosen college or university experience.
Florida has made great strides towards not only wisely locating colleges geographically, but in expanding online offerings. We must continue to focus on assuring that college here is not prohibitively expensive or otherwise out of reach for our children, no matter their location or background.
We have flagship research universities and open-door access state colleges. And we have the internet to disseminate information about them to as many students as possible. In this modern era, a full and clear picture of our colleges and their emphases should not be a mystery. Our students, many of whom will soon represent the strength and professionalism of Florida’s workforce, deserve to be informed in a timely manner about the myriad of available career paths, the financial assistance for which they qualify, and the time and monetary investment they will make.
Compared to other states, Florida enjoys noticeable advantages: good weather, no state income tax, traversable highways and roads, and a strong economy. Add to this college diversity and affordability, and the state should be poised to lead the nation in both high employment and, importantly, job and life satisfaction. So, where do we rank in affordability?
According to the College Board, the not-for-profit organization that administers the SAT, the average net tuition-and-fee price for 2018-19 at public four-year institutions is $10,230 nationally, but only $6,360 for in-state students at Florida institutions. For 2018-19, the flagship universities in Florida did not raise their in-state tuition rates. Moreover, a quick survey of our state colleges—the twenty-eight open-door access schools we currently have—shows that annual in-state tuition and fees vary from around $2,800 (Miami Dade College) to $2,500 (Valencia College and Eastern Florida State College).
Whether it is information about Florida’s Bright Futures program, tax deductions for student loan interest, filing a timely FAFSA form, the differences between federal loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) and private loans and scholarships and grants, or the benefits of in-state tuition rates, technology can work to our advantage in getting vital knowledge to those who need and can benefit from it. We should expect good results for Florida as affordable and accessible higher education translates into economic certainty. With our leaders’ commitment to our public colleges and universities, we all need only to get the word out.