FAMU President James H. Ammons joined two other State University System of Florida (SUS) campus leaders in discouraging an across-the-board tuition hike for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. He, along with the presidents of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Florida International University (FIU), says that such a move would make it harder for low-income minorities to obtain STEM degrees."I think the one way that you don't get people into areas where you need them is to charge them more," Ammons told the House Education Committee. "I think what we need to be doing, on the other hand, is to find ways to encourage and support students, especially those from under-represented groups, to go into STEM."
Fewer than 20 percent of SUS students are pursuing majors in STEM fields.
Last week, the presidents of the University of Florida and Florida State University urged lawmakers to consider charging students more for STEM degrees, which are in high demand in today’s job market. STEM programs are typically more expensive than social science or liberals programs.
“A STEM degree person should pay more for that than they would, say, an education degree,” UF President Bernie Machen told the education committee. “If you look at return on investment after graduation, look at the pent-up demand for STEM hires, you can make a good case that since that program costs more you ought to have a (higher) tuition for those programs.”
Ammons, FAU President Mary Jane Saunders, and FIU President Mark Rosenburg all disagree with an across-the-board mandate for higher STEM tuition.
"If anything, tuition should be lower," Saunders said. "If you want to bring people into these programs, you should incentivize them, maybe with more scholarship money."
Ammons said that he supports a tuition bump for certain graduate and professional programs. Students in those schools are college graduates who have an opportunity to get jobs with their baccalaureate degrees and save money before returning to school.
Lawmakers consistently point to Florida’s low tuition as a justification for cutting the SUS budget and requiring students to pay more their education. Even though Florida’s tuition is lower than most other states, the lack of on-campus housing forces students to face a very expensive cost-of-living. The legislature constantly requires universities to expand their enrollments but does not pay for housing construction.