Reforms may cost UCF millions

TALLAHASSEE — A plan moving through the Legislature aimed at increasing standards and boosting the reputations of Florida’s colleges has drawn praise from university officials, but it could also cost schools such as the University of Central Florida millions of dollars in state funding.

Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, is pushing to raise the stature of Florida’s colleges to put them on par with public universities like those in North Carolina and Virginia.

His bill, SB 2, would expand Bright Futures scholarships, hike professors’ pay to recruit elite faculty and increase state funding for select grants and scholarships. But it also toughens graduation rate standards and imposes block tuition, both of which could put a dent in UCF’s funding.

“The objective of it is to give students an opportunity to graduate faster at a lower

price, and there’s nothing wrong with those two things,” said Dan Holsenbeck, UCF vice president of university relations. “The challenge is, how do you structure it?”

Under SB 2, university graduation rates would be judged on four years instead of six years. For fulltime students who first enrolled in the 2009-2010 year, UCF’s six-year graduation rate was 71 percent, but its four-year rate was 51 percent.

Graduation rates are one of several standards used to dole out money as part of the state’s performance funding program. UCF was rated top among the 12 universities and received more than $16 million last year. In addition, the $5 million UCF received this year for qualifying as an “emerging preeminent” school could be affected as well, since the

Graduation rates are one of several standards used to dole out money as part of the state’s performance funding program. UCF was rated top among the 12 universities and received more than $16 million last year.

bill shifts to a four-year graduation rate standard for that program, too.

A shift to block tuition could also put a dent in the money flowing into UCF and other universities because it would allow students to pay a lower flat rate per semester instead of paying tuition by the credit hour.

“Every time a student takes a credit hour without paying for it, the university has to absorb those losses,” Holsenbeck said. “Some of the projections show that could cost us tens of millions in losses.”

He also cautioned that block tuition doesn’t take into account the individual circumstances of students, some of whom must work full time to pay tuition and can’t take the customary 15 hours per semester. UCF is a metro-area school with many older students and commuters who can’t take on a full course load each term, he said.

Negron said he’s aware of such concerns and doesn’t want to burden students struggling to pay for college and take 15 credits per semester, so the bill could see some tweaks before it passes the Senate.

Much of the bill, in fact, is meant to increase funding for scholarships and for low-income students. One provision, for example, increases state funding by $5.3 million for a grant program for firstgeneration college students.

Universities offer “transformational opportunities” to help students climb out of poverty and are also engines of research and development that boost the state’s economy, Negron said.

“I believe education is one of the great tools that allows young people to reach their goals and achieve the American dream,” he said. “Whenever you see sustainable economies and high-paying wages and places where millennials want to move to, you almost always see a strong university presence.”

Bright Futures scholarships would also be expanded under the bill, offering 100 percent tuition for students with a 3.5 grade point average who score 1290 or higher on the

SAT or 29 or higher on the ACT. It also would allow students to use Bright Futures for summer credit hours.

The bill also would set up a fund to help recruit and retain elite professors and faculty. Holsenbeck said UCF would likely use the money to go after electrical engineering teachers, National Academy of Sciences members and professors with grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy — renowned experts who can bring federal money to the school for research projects.

“Anything that gets us resources to attract the best faculty is going to help us attract the best students,” he said.

The amount of money available for the fund, however, has yet to be determined. That could prove to be a sticking point in a tight budget year.

“The money is always the trickiest part in all of this,” said Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, who is sponsoring the bill for Negron.

The bill passed through its final Senate committee and is poised for a floor vote when the legislative session begins in two weeks, but its counterpart measure in the House hasn’t come up for a hearing.

House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, said his chamber will likely begin discussing the bill in the coming weeks. The higher education reforms are a top priority of Negron’s, but Corcoran said he won’t engage in “bad horse trading” by holding up the bill to gain a concession from the Senate.

“If there’s an idea out there that makes Florida better ... we’re going to fight for it as if it were our own,” he said.