Academic Enhancement Program would help UF improve undergrad education
November 14, 2006
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A proposed new program for University of Florida undergraduate students would enable the university to enhance the undergraduate educational experience by hiring 200 additional faculty members and 100 academic advisers.
The Academic Enhancement Program, which would require approval from the Florida Board of Governors and the Florida Legislature, would allow UF to reduce the student to faculty ratio, increase course offerings and provide undergraduate students the counseling they need to stay on track for graduation. Indirect benefits include increased support for UF research and development, which would enhance UF’s role in promoting Florida’s economic development.
The program would be funded with a $500 per semester increase that would be applied to all undergraduate students who enroll at UF for the first time in fall 2007. Currently enrolled students would not be charged the additional amount. Resources would be made available to students on need-based financial aid so they do not incur additional costs as a result of the Academic Enhancement Program.
Phased in over a four-year period, the program would generate approximately $36 million annually, narrowing a significant gap between the amount UF and other institutions in the state and the nation charge in tuition and fees.
“The University of Florida is the highest ranked university in the state, yet, with one exception, charges the lowest tuition and fees,” said UF President Bernie Machen. “Our tuition is also considerably less than every other major public university nationally. This greatly impedes our ongoing efforts to reduce our high student-to-faculty ratio and take other steps necessary to make UF a leading national public university.”
“The bottom line is, we will use the program to enrich the educational experience of the students who are paying it,” he added. “In addition, the region and the state stand to gain considerably from a more competitive, more vibrant University of Florida.”
UF currently charges the lowest tuition and fees of all but one state university in Florida – New College of Florida in Sarasota. It also ranked last in USA Today’s 2006 survey of tuition at 75 public flagship universities nationwide. The university has the lowest tuition of any of the 60 U.S. member institutions in the Association of American Universities, of which UF is the only Florida member. Finally, UF has the lowest tuition of any of the top 15 public universities ranked by U.S. News & World Report (UF is ranked 13th).
The result is that UF falls far short in its teaching and research resources, as indicated in the U.S. News August 2006 “America’s Best Colleges” annual edition:
- UF’s student faculty ratio is 21-1, compared to 15-1 at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and 14-1 at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
- At UF, just 39 percent of classes have 19 or fewer students. At UC-Berkeley, UM-Ann Arbor and UNC-Chapel Hill, the percentage of classes with 19 or fewer students is 59, 43 and 50, respectively. UF also has considerably more classes with 50 or more students than those universities.
- UF is No. 123 among public and private universities in the faculty resource ranking, which combines several factors related to educational quality, including faculty salaries, class sizes and student-faculty ratios.
When combined with other measures UF is pursuing such as boosting the endowment, the Academic Enhancement Program would help reduce these disparities with the nation’s best public universities, Machen said. “It’s one ingredient in our campaign to make sure that Florida, which will soon be the third largest state in the nation, has a top-ranked research university,” he said.
UF has advocated giving universities more control over setting their own tuition, and the need to raise tuition, for several years. The Legislature in 2004 gave the university the authority to set tuition for graduate, professional and out-of-state students beginning in the 2005 academic year. UF officials see the program as the logical next step in this process and look forward to working with the Legislature on the new program.
The Academic Enhancement Program would not be covered by the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship program. It would also not be covered under the Florida Prepaid College Plan, which does not cover all fees currently. That said, UF officials view the program as a solid investment for students. Nearly 95 percent of all in-state UF undergraduates receive Bright Futures scholarships. Bright Futures scholarships pay for either 100 percent or 75 percent of eligible students’ tuition and fees.
“If the benefits of the Academic Enhancement Program didn’t far outweigh the costs, we would never pursue it,” Machen said. “We think the program will provide our students a better, more memorable undergraduate experience, not to mention a more valuable degree.”
UF is the state’s largest university, with approximately 50,000 students. UF and its affiliates have approximately 35,000 employees and a statewide economic impact exceeding $4 billion annually.
(Reposted from Nov. 7 release.)