Tuition hike is necessary evil

Since its creation just over a month ago, the Facebook group "Save UCF" has already acquired more than 8,000 members.

One can only hope that every individual in a group comprising 16 percent of UCF's student population has already petitioned their representatives "to vote against any budget cuts in funding to UCF," as the sample letter written by Christina Trexler requests.

While it is still unclear how much UCF's budget will be cut, the Senate has already passed a budget plan that will result in $22 million less being allocated to UCF. The university should start earning an extra $10 million to $12 million annually, however, as a result of a bill recently signed by Gov. Charlie Crist.

The catch is that the millions won't be provided by invisible state funds. It will come from a 15 percent tuition increase that will take effect this fall.

This may not be the solution everyone had in mind when they posted videos on Youtube or sent e-mails to House Representatives like Geraldine Thompson and Eric Eisnaugle, but it is the only way to make sure the quality of education at UCF is maintained.

A 15 percent increase might sound like a lot, but in reality it amounts to about $185 for an in-state student taking 15 credit-hours.

At a time when 25 academic programs and more than 500 faculty and staff positions could be cut, students should be thankful that an extra $400 or $500 a year is all it may take to save their major or ensure that there will be enough seats available in their classes to graduate on time. 

Let's not forget that UCF already has the highest student-faculty ratio in the state, 29.9:1, according to the Princeton Review.

If the university doesn't start making up for the potential $100 million it will have lost in the last two years, this ratio, along with the negative image it reflects, is likely to increase.
Critics who think that the tuition hike is going to cause more students to forego the college option or prefer an out-of-state school should consider how much of a bargain state universities in Florida are and will continue to be.

Six of the 10 cheapest public universities in the country are found in Florida. UCF comes in ninth place with its average full-time undergraduate tuition amounting to $3,947 annually, while the national average is about $6,000, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

FSU, UF, FAU, FIU and USF are ranked even higher than UCF.  And UF, FSU and USF already implemented the "tuition differential" hike last fall.

The funds generated from the fee must be used "for the purpose of improving undergraduate instruction and support services," according to the bill, PCS/SB 1768.
Unfortunately Bright Futures will most likely not cover the additional fees incurred by the tuition differential, but the fact that the Lottery-funded program is continuing to provide money at all is nothing short of miraculous.

State studies have consistently indicated that there is not enough Lottery revenue to support the program anymore. Yet rather than making the scholarships more difficult to attain, legislators have only made miniscule program cuts.

UCF's student body has been put in a very difficult position. They have been asked to make up for funding that the state should be providing, to be part of the solution to a problem they weren't responsible for causing.

They must realize that what may be an unfair sacrifice is absolutely necessary for the quality of their education and the value of their degree.