Gabrielle Russon
The trustees overseeing the University of Central Florida (UCF) voted to approve a 10% fee hike for out-of-state students for the upcoming semester, starting in less than a month. UCF expects to make $7.6 million in revenue from the increase.
At the same Thursday meeting, the board also decided to ask for a recurring $50 million during next year’s Legislative Session. The board plans to submit its funding request to the Florida Board of Governors.
Increasing the Out-of-State Student Fee and Non-resident Financial Aid Fee by 10% equals a 7% tuition raise for undergraduate and graduate students or about 5% for medical students, which only applies to students who aren’t Florida residents.
Currently, the raise will impact about 4,000 out-of-state students when it takes effect in the upcoming Fall 2025 semester, which starts on Aug. 18.
School officials said the fee increase is needed because of rising costs, as UCF wants to hire more faculty and improve student services.
The last time UCF raised fees was in the Fall of 2012.
“We’re hitting students with an increase a month before they start that they didn’t expect to pay,” Board member Jeff Condello said. “What are we doing to help that situation?”
UCF President Alexander Cartwright vowed to follow up with the students to make sure they knew how to reach out to financial aid for help.
“We’ll make sure that there’s communication that says, ‘Here’s who you contact here, here’s how you get help from the university,’” Cartwright said.
If the students decide to drop out of school because of the rising costs, they lose their $200 non-refundable deposit, officials said.
Meanwhile, the school is planning to ask for $50 million in recurring funds — about $30 million for hiring new faculty and staff as well as $20 million for infrastructure, including IT and lab facilities, Cartwright said
UCF wants its engineering department ranked in the Top 25 engineering programs, like the University of Florida, to propel it into a “premier engineering and technology university,” the school said.
“UCF currently receives the lowest per FTE state funding among the six largest (State University System) research Institute universities, despite enrolling approximately 70,000 students annually,” Cartwright said as the school hopes to hire 150 faculty in “high-demand disciplines” along with 30 support staff.
Earlier this week, UCF announced it has launched an artificial intelligence institute.
