Sarah Mueller
A new version of a proposal that would consolidate some of the state’s universities is set to be heard in the House Appropriations Committee Tuesday.
Appropriations Chair Travis Cummings is weighing in on the behind the scenes discussions about merging the universities. The new proposed committee substitute to HB 7087 sponsored by Higher Education Subcommittee Chair Randy Fine has Florida Polytechnic University and New College of Florida merging into the University of Florida.
Cummings says he has not spoken directly with UF officials on their level of interest in acquiring the two independent universities.
“I think they are in the early stages of evaluating the opportunity and we appreciate them being open-minded,” he said.
The original proposal would have consolidated New College into Florida State University and folded Florida Polytechnic University into the University of Florida. Fine says he made the change to consolidate both schools with UF after discussions with UF, FSU and the University of South Florida. Fine would not say if UF has indicated it wants the schools.
Both New College and Florida Poly have been part of USF before. New College, founded as a private school, was brought into Florida’s university system in 1975 as part of USF and remained until becoming independent in 2001. Florida Poly started as a satellite campus for USF before being gaining its independence in 2012.
“UF is closer than FSU to New College,” he said. “Two, UF is the highest ranked and then, third, there would be more cost efficiencies if both go to one then split them up.”
Cummings added that the University of South Florida is also a good fit for both Florida Poly and New College from a geographical standpoint. That follows the musings of Gov. Ron DeSantis who recently wondered why USF wasn’t also being considered to house New College.
Adam Freeman, USF’s director of media relations would not comment on DeSantis’ remarks about USF being more of a natural fit for New College because of its close geographical proximity. He also had little to say about the legislation.
“USF is aware of the bill and we’ll continue to monitor its progress, however at this time it would not be appropriate for us to comment on a bill that does not name or directly impact our university,” he wrote in response to a request for comment.
Cummings said New College is not being targeted because it’s a liberal arts school, but because of its struggles growing its enrollment. He argues it’s very costly to operate compared to other Florida universities. But Florida TaxWatch, which released a statement on the original committee bill, highlighted the fact that any cost savings are currently “indeterminate.”
Senate President Bill Galvano has thrown his support behind a consolidation plan for New College, although he has cautioned that he hasn’t made a final decision yet.
The original version of HB 7087 would have also made the Effective Access To Student Education grant program, or EASE, and Access to Better Learning and Education Grant program, or ABLE, means-tested. The new proposed committee bill removes that language.
Fine says removing the proposed requirement that EASE and ABLE programs become means-tested was a result of discussions with House and Senate members. The language was a non-starter in the Senate.
The new proposed committee bill keeps the changes to Florida’s “Bright Futures” merit-based college scholarships. The measure rolls back the $300 per-student stipend for textbooks to students receiving the top “Academic” scholarship.
It also expands the award for Florida Medallion Scholars. Those recipients could receive a full ride beginning in Fall 2021 if they are enrolled in an associate degree program at a Florida College System institution. As long as they earned their associate degree with at least a 3.5 GPA, students could then transfer the scholarship to a four-year state college. Under the state’s current system, the second-tier “Medallion” award only covers 75% of tuition.
