Dive Brief:
- Rising tuition at Florida state universities is likely to be an issue in the governor’s race, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports
- Gov. Rick Scott likens tuition increases to tax hikes, and he blames his likely opponent, former Gov. Charlie Crist, for allowing tuition to increase by nearly 50% while he was in office.
- Scott, meanwhile, vetoed a 3% tuition hike last year and is now supporting legislation to end automatic tuition increases. But tuition increased 8% in his first year in office, 2011, and has risen more than 24% since.
Dive Insight:
Tuition in the state has climbed more than 113% since the fall of 2003, but in-state students have the seventh-lowest rates in the country as of 2013, according to The College Board. Critics say Florida can’t expect to create a top-tier university system while ranking last in the country in per-student funding from tuition and state coffers, which was 30% below the national average in 2012.
