State’s higher education funding hurts local students

New College: $7.5 million awarded in recurring funds, enrollment 861 students.

University of South Florida Manatee: $3.3 million cut in recurring funds — 28 percent of its budget, enrollment 2,079 local students.

State College of Florida: $900,000 cut in recurring funds, enrollment 27,000 local students.

Is there some logic here? I guess I need a degree from New College to see it. Oh, New College hopes to use $5.4 million of this funding to increase its enrollment by 239 students to a whopping 1,100 enrollees. Is this bringing home the bacon or the pork?

This would be good for a laugh if it wasn’t so tragic. At the final concert given by the Manatee High School band, approximately 30 senior students were recognized. Each senior indicated what they intended to do after graduation. Eighty-five percent of the seniors intended to go to SCF for their first two years of continuing education.

Tallahassee is concerned that local colleges like SCF will duplicate baccalaureate degrees given by the major universities. So what! Wake up, this is the 21st century, you can get a degree online. If a student can get their degree locally, reducing the overall cost and their potential debt, what is wrong with that?

You are supposed to be representing the best interests of the people, not protecting a monopoly. The best way to reduce future student debt is to lower the cost of education. If expansion of baccalaureate programs at schools like SCF can create a better bargain for local students, this should be supported, not opposed.

“At SCF you can lower your costs without lowering your standards. SCF's tuition and fees are about 50 percent less than the Florida state universities, not including the added cost of dorms and meal plans.” Source: SCF Web Site.

This story was originally published June 27, 2017 at 1:42 PM with the headline "State’s higher education funding hurts local students."