Fee breaks could generate revenue

Note: This is the third and final story in our special series: "Investing in a Higher Graduation Rate."

Last year, FAMU President James Ammons praised Gov. Charlie Crist's opposition to tuition hikes.

In an interview with the St. Petersburg Times, he stated: “At Florida A&M, we've got 78 percent of our students who are on need-based financial aid. That means that they're coming from families with limited resources. … I really applaud him (Crist) for the stance that he's taken on tuition from the context of students at Florida A&M."

While addressing the previous year’s 13 percent tuition increase, Ammons emphasized how much the hikes hurt FAMU’s student body. “This is going to cause some problems for our students,” Ammons told the Tallahassee Democrat in 2008. “We’re talking about a 13 percent increase in tuition at a time when many of these students’ parents are worried about whether they are going to have a job.”

This year, Ammons changed his position. After losing almost $19 million since 2007 and facing up to $15 million in cuts next year, FAMU is in dire need of new revenue. Now, the president is backing Crist’s differential tuition plan. The proposal will permit every state university to increase tuition by up to 15 percent beyond the rates set in the annual appropriations bill. The differential will not be covered by Florida’s popular Bright Futures Scholarship.

Still, Ammons has acknowledged that he has concerns about whether students can actually afford higher tuition.

The concern is justified. Most of FAMU’s students come from low-income families. When tuition and fees rise, they usually enroll in fewer courses. That trend puts FAMU’s state enrollment appropriations in danger since the legislature funds students based on credit hours rather than the total headcount. Students also graduate with nearly $30,000 in debt.

Even with the recently-approved Pell Grant increase and American Opportunity Tax Credit, it’s highly likely that FAMU students will use it cover soaring expenses outside of class rather than buying more credit hours. In 2007, it cost $14,160 for in-state students to attend FAMU and $26,101 for out-of-state students. But, the average financial aid award was $10,478. The stimulus funds will likely go to fill that gap.

Fee waivers could bring in cash

One idea that has yet to be discussed by FAMU’s Board of Trustees is the possibility of using fee breaks to generate new revenue. Last year, Florida State University’s Board of Trustees approved a 50 percent reduction in fees for certain out-of-state students. That lowered the cost of full-time (30 credit hour) enrollment from $18,000 to $12,000 for those students.

FSU expects to bring in $2.4 million in new revenue as a result of the fee break. The fee break will help FSU enroll a larger number of out-of-state students and help its current out-of-state students buy more credit hours.

The most recent data from the State University System shows that FAMU granted the second-lowest amount of fee waivers in 2005-2006. Only New College of Florida, a school with less than 1,000 students, gave fewer fee waivers than FAMU.

Few waivers are another idea that should be placed on table as FAMU seeks increase its budget and graduation rate.

Tuition price hurting FAMU students

Leave “ranking game” rhetoric out discussion on FAMU’s grad rate