Why Valencia College Is NOT Raising Tuition

Valencia College President Sandy Shugart says he's found ways to avoid a tuition hike this year.

Gov. Rick Scott is drawing a line on tuition hikes this year. He wants state universities to find other ways to deal with budget cuts.

At a contentious Board of Governors meeting in June,  many universities asked for the maximum tuition increase. A few got it; most did not.

But some colleges are heeding Scott’s request.

StateImpact Florida’s John O’Connor spoke to Valencia College president Sandy Shugart about why the state’s second-largest college is not raising tuition next year.

Shugart says he doesn’t want to raise tuition too much now because he may need to raise it in the future.

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Instead, the community college plans to raise class sizes and do other belt-tightening.

Shugart said the college is particularly sensitive to the needs of low-income students as the hard economic times continue in Florida.