The University of Central Florida Board of Trustees followed a trend among other state colleges this past summer by raising out-of-state tuition costs by 10%. The Florida Board of Governors voted to allow state public universities to increase the fees out-of-state students pay, which has opened the door for state colleges to make the decision.
According to Central Florida Public Media, Florida universities will be able to increase costs by 15% as early as next year. Some other schools that followed suit include Florida State University, Florida International University, the University of Florida, and the University of South Florida.
Now, international students are also facing a tuition cost increase of approximately $1,500.
Yes, this may be a significant leap for some. However, I also want to highlight how unfortunate the state’s timing was in all of this. Out-of-state students had less than a month to come up with the extra funds before the fall semester began, since UCF announced the increase so close to the start of classes. The decision was made on July 31, with an Aug. 29 tuition deadline. The school hasn’t raised this number since 2012, and this decision left some members of the board concerned about how students would be able to manage.
UCF Board of Trustees Member Jeff Condello told the Orlando Sentinel about his worry with the timing.
“We’re hitting students with an increase a month before they start that they didn’t expect to pay,” Condello said. “What are we doing to help that situation?”
As a UCF journalism student, I requested an interview with the president’s office with the intent to ask about some of the other potential benefits this price increase could bring, and see what the school is planning with the extra money. Although I didn’t receive confirmation of a scheduled conversation, the office said that even with the increase, “UCF remains one of the most affordable leading public research universities in the nation.”
“This increase allows UCF to maintain the quality of academic and student support services to better reflect the increasing costs of hiring additional faculty, providing instruction, and improving student services at UCF,” the email said.
I understand PR/media training, and I also appreciate keeping a particular brand. But students would respect a school more for its honesty.
According to UCF’s proposed tuition and fees for the fall 2025 semester, the medical out-of-state fees for non-resident students increased by about $2,500, while the graduate out-of-state fees for non-residents jumped by roughly $1,800.
Central Florida Public Media reported that in a July meeting, the board and President Alexander Cartwright admitted there were no plans in place yet to help out-of-state students, except for a number they can call if they need financial assistance. Of course, there are grants and aid students can apply for, but we can all agree on one thing — it’s inconvenient. Cartwright discussed his commitment to both in-state and out-of-state students at a Board of Trustees Zoom meeting.
“I think this is what I’m hearing from the board: we want to keep our students, and we want them to come to this university, and what we will do is we are committed to working with them as closely as possible,” Cartwright said. “You have our commitment that we’re going to do everything and use all the tools we have to make sure that people are able to attend this university if they want to be here.”
Out-of-state students make up about 8% of UCF’s population, which is approximately 3,900 students, according to Central Florida Public Media.
UCF stated that the tuition increase will add $7.6 million to the school’s revenue, enabling it to hire more professors and ultimately reduce its high student-to-faculty ratio. With costs increasing, the future amount of out-of-state presence is unknown, but we can only hope that our cultural exchange will not pay the price, too.