Higher Education

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December 3, 2012

Lawmakers Take Up School Choice And Other Education Priorities In Tallahassee

It’s committee week in Tallahassee. Florida lawmakers are arriving for their first batch of committee meetings since the election. Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford assigned members to committees and subcommittees, including seven panels relating to education. This week is largely about introductions and getting organized. Lawmakers will tackle preliminary work before […]

November 7, 2012

Florida Board Of Governors Hears Recommendations From Higher Education Task Force

The Florida Board of Governors (BOG) is starting two days of meetings at New College of Florida in Sarasota. Among the agenda highlights: recommendations by the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on State Higher Education Reform and an appearance by Gov. Rick Scott. Scott created the task force last May to review and make recommendations […]

June 26, 2012

Explaining Why Few University Board Of Trustees Members Have Higher Education Experience

Editors note: This post was written by WLRN reporter Georgia Howard. Every state university in Florida has a board of trustees that makes all the big financial and academic policy decisions. But most of the trustees don’t have any background in education. That raises a question: Is management experience or a background in higher education […]

June 11, 2012

Florida’s Economy Has A Mixed Outlook For Colleges, Grads

Florida’s economy isn’t back to pre-recession peak levels, but it’s growing. That’s what the Blue Ribbon Task Force on State Higher Education Reform heard Monday as the panel looks for ways to reform the State University System. Panel members want to know what the job market will look like in the coming years and which […]

May 14, 2012

Columnist: Gov. Scott’s Panel Will Sell Out Higher Education

Stephen Goldstein, writing in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, opens up both barrels on Gov. Rick Scott’s plan to overhaul the state’s higher education system. Scott has appointed a panel, but Goldstein says the recommendations are already written: Sell out state universities and turn them into glorified vocational institutions. The real solutions are simple, he writes:

April 30, 2012

Gov. Scott Rejects Added Tuition Hikes For Florida’s Top Universities

After repeatedly saying he was against raising tuition at Florida’s colleges and universities, Gov. Rick Scott on Friday vetoed a bill that would have allowed the state’s top two universities to hike tuition at will. The state already allows public institutions to raise tuition up to 15 percent a year. But Florida State University in […]

April 26, 2012

University of Florida Drops Plan To Restructure Computer Engineering Department

The University of Florida is scrapping a plan to trim and restructure its computer science and engineering department, according to the Gainesville Sun. School president Bernie Machen cited “overwhelming negative response.” A Forbes story about the proposed cuts made waves on social media sites (though the story misstated some of the facts.)

April 20, 2012

Five Ways Gov. Rick Scott Could Make His Florida Polytechnic Decision

Gov. Rick Scott is in a tough position when it comes to signing or vetoing legislation that would create a Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland independent from the University of South Florida system. The decision is due Saturday, but the Lakeland Ledger and others have reported Scott will announce his decision today. The consequences for […]

April 13, 2012

Feedback Loop: Responding To Critics About Professor Pay

Earlier this week we reported on professor salary data compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education. That data showed that a pair of University of South Florida branch campuses pay higher average salaries than the main Tampa campus. The data also showed that the University of Miami reported the highest average professor pay in the […]

April 10, 2012

University of Miami Reports Highest Florida Professor Pay

The University of Miami has the highest-paid professors among Florida’s universities and colleges, according to data complied by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Hurricane instructors are paid an average of $140,800 for the 2011-2012 school year. More interesting is the number two school on the list: The University of South Florida Polytechnic. Professors at the […]