Tuition Hikes Have Not Replaced State Cuts, Report Says

Bill Pugliano / Getty News Images

President Barack Obama recently spoke about rising college tuition in Michigan. Obama wants to withhold federal money to school which raise tuition.

Tuition hikes at Florida universities have not made up for state budget cuts since 2007, according to an analysis by the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy.

That’s because budget cuts mean the state is spending roughly the same amount on higher education now as it did in 2002 — and that’s before the proposed cuts in the budget year beginning July 1. The Senate has proposed $400 million in cuts while the House draft spending plan would cut $200 million.

The story is similar at Florida’s 28 state colleges, where total spending per student has declined by 7 percent between 2006 and 2010.

“The effects of disinvestment in higher education extend to the quality of life and economic vitality of Florida in the future,” the report’s authors write. “By scrimping on higher education, Florida moves further away from the most important requirement for job creation — providing a well-educated workforce for current businesses and for those we seek to attract to move to Florida.”

To read the full report, click here.