Florida Board of Governors

06/29/2012

PRESS RELEASE: Board of Governors' Tuition Appeals Committee votes 'no' on changing Florida Gulf Coast University's tuition differential

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—June 29, 2012

BOARD OF GOVERNORS’ TUITION APPEALS COMMITTEE VOTES ‘NO’ ON CHANGING FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY’S TUITION DIFFERENTIAL

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—The Tuition Appeals Committee of the Florida Board of Governors today voted 6-0 to deny Florida Gulf Coast University’s appeal for reconsideration on the “tuition differential” decision last week. FGCU pursued its option to appeal – provided in state law – and sought to change the Board of Governors’ vote last week for a 12 percent increase, instead of the 14 percent increase recommended and brought forward by FGCU’s Board of Trustees.

FGCU was the only university to appeal of the 11 universities whose “tuition differential” increases were approved.

There was not a “base tuition increase” set this year by the Legislature for undergraduate-level tuition, leaving universities to seek the full 15 percent cap allowed in state law by bringing “tuition differential” proposals to the Board of Governors of the State University System. The Legislature’s FY 2012-13 budget, signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott, included an assumption for a 15 percent undergraduate tuition increase across the System.

“I appreciate the efforts and commitment of the FGCU Board of Trustees, but the package of information submitted for the appeal did not bring forward new information that was not already discussed during our three-day meeting last week,” said Board Chair Dean Colson, who sits on the Tuition Appeals Committee along with the six chairs of the Board’s standing committees.

“The ‘tuition differential’ discussions at the Board meeting took place following two days of dialogue regarding the universities’ work plans, performance metrics, fiscal information, student financial aid and strategic priorities,” he said.

Colson said he was pleased with his fellow Board members’ engagement over three total days. For the first two days, the members were probing and candid in their questions and comments with all universities during presentations and a vote on each university’s work plan. On the third and final day, he said votes were taken from individual perspectives in order to reach majority consensus regarding tuition differential for each university. He also noted that specific issues in the FGCU appeal package were featured in the PowerPoint presentation slides during the Budget & Finance Committee for each university. There was an institution-by-institution presentation of each “tuition differential” request on the morning of June 21, before the afternoon votes of the full Board.

Chair Colson also noted the April meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee, where the work plan template was finalized after months of consultation with the universities in its development.

Chair Dick Beard (Facilities Committee) moved a motion to deny the appeal.
Chair Norm Tripp (Academic & Student Affairs Committee) seconded the motion.
Vice Chair Mori Hosseini (Chair, Trustee Nominating & Development Committee) – yes.
Chair Ava Parker (Audit & Compliance Committee) – yes.
Chair Tico Perez (Budget & Finance Committee) – yes.
Board Chair and Tuition Appeals Committee Chair Colson – yes.
Chair John Rood (Strategic Planning Committee) joined the meeting after some of the discussion and elected not to vote.

Additional reference information is below. The right to appeal “tuition differential” is in state law, and the timeline process is outlined in Board of Governors Regulation 7.001.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—June 25, 2012

BOARD OF GOVERNORS WILL SCHEDULE TUITION APPEALS COMMITTEE MEETING FOR FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY AS REQUESTED

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Florida Gulf Coast University is utilizing its option and right to ask the Florida Board of Governors to reconsider its decision last week on “tuition differential” for FGCU. The Board voted to approve a 12 percent increase, instead of the 14 percent increase recommended and brought forward by FGCU’s Board of Trustees this year.

The tuition differential appeals process is detailed at the end of the Tuition and Fees fact sheet located here.  

In fulfilling its constitutional and statutory obligations, the Florida Board of Governors last week evaluated all 11 requests and recommendations brought from each state university’s Board of Trustees for tuition differential increases, which affect undergraduate students.

The “Actions Taken” recap – with the votes from Thursday’s meeting – is posted at www.flbog.edu/pressroom.

Once a Tuition Appeals Committee meeting is scheduled, it will be noticed as usual on the home page in the meetings box of public notices.

Facts about the State University System of Florida and the Florida Board of Governors
The State University System of Florida is governed by a 17-member Board of Governors, a constitutional body and led by appointed public servants. The System has 12 universities and a total enrollment of nearly 330,000 students, making it the second-largest public university system in the nation in terms of enrollment (some states have more than one university system). The Florida Constitution (Article IX, Section 7) was amended by the state's voters in 2002 to establish a statewide system of governance for all Florida public universities. As a result, the Florida Board of Governors was created in 2003 to oversee the State University System of Florida. Responsibilities include defining the distinctive mission of each institution and ensuring the well-planned coordination and operation of the System. The Board’s 17 members include 14 appointed by the Governor, with three serving by virtue of their designations (a faculty member, a Florida Student Association student representative, and the Florida Commissioner of Education). The Board of Governors appoints a Chancellor who serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the State University System. For more, including the Board’s Annual Accountability Report that reflects important measurements for the System, see www.flbog.edu. The Board of Governors also released its 2025 Strategic Plan for the System in November 2011, also available from the home page of the web site.

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