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.

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.