Aim Higher Florida Blog

Courtesy of Kim Wilmath of the Florida Board of Governors:

NEWS

Tampa Bay Times column 12/13/12

http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/college/hooper-state-college-students-have-power-in-education-funding-debate/1265798

Tampa Bay Times

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/state-university-presidents-say-they-wont-hike-tuition-if-legislature-gives-them-118-million

http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/college/florida-university-presidents-want-deal-more-state-funding-in-exchange-for/1264800

Tampa Tribune (AP)

http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/dec/06/memeto3-university-leaders-offer-deal-to-avoid-tui-ar-579658/

State Impact (NPR)

http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2012/12/05/why-florida-universities-wont-ask-for-tuition-hikes-this-year/

Florida Today

http://www.floridatoday.com/viewart/20121205/NEWS01/121205021/Florida-universities-willing-freeze-tuition-more-state-money

San Francisco Chronicle (AP)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Fla-university-leaders-want-to-avoid-tuition-hike-4094098.php

Lakeland Ledger

http://www.theledger.com/article/20121205/POLITICS/121209605/1374?Title=University-Presidents-Ask-for-118-Million-in-Funding-Instead-of-Tuition-Rasies

http://capitolcomments.blogs.theledger.com/10478/florida-university-presidents-ask-for-more-state-funding-in-lieu-of-higher-tuition/

News Chief

http://www.newschief.com/article/20121205/POLITICS/121209605/-1/termsofservice

Orlando Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2012/12/hitt-aim-higher-could-add-13m-to.html?ana=twt%20via

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2012/12/05/university-presidents-no-tuition.html

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

http://politics.heraldtribune.com/2012/12/05/florida-university-presidents-ask-for-more-state-funding-in-lieu-of-higher-tuition/

Sunshine State News

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/university-presidents-will-hold-line-tuition-more-state-monday

The Tallahassee Democrat

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012121205012&nclick_check=1

The Florida Current

http://www.thefloridacurrent.com/article.cfm?id=30558467

The Gainesville Sun

http://chalkboard.blogs.gainesville.com/2012/12/universities-vow-no-tuition-hikes-if-they-get-new-funding/

The Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/05/3128408/fla-university-leaders-want-to.html

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/12/state-university-presidents-say-they-wont-hike-tuition-if-legislature-gives-them-118-million.html

The News-Press

http://www.news-press.com/viewart/20121205/NEWS0104/121205050/State-universities-will-freeze-tuition-more-state-money

The Palm Beach Post

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/florida-universities-campaign-aims-for-higher-stat/nTL8g/

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/florida-universities-would-freeze-tuition-for-a-pr/nTNfc/

News Service of Florida

http://www.flbog.edu/pressroom/newsclips_detail.php?id=24809

Bloomberg Businessweek (AP)

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-12-06/fla-dot-university-leaders-want-to-avoid-tuition-hike

New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/education/florida-may-reduce-tuition-for-select-majors.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

Venice Gondolier-Sun

http://www.venicegondoliersun.com/sunnews/northport/4621897-454/sunnewspapersfla.universitychiefswanttoavoidtuitionhike.csp

WCTV

http://www.wctv.tv/community/headlines/University-Presidents-Gather-at-Capitol–182211041.html

WJXT

http://www.news4jax.com/news/Fla-university-presidents-vow-no-tuition-hikes/-/475880/17667838/-/131bhm0z/-/index.html

WTLV/WJXX

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/rss/article/285768/4/Florida-universities-play-Lets-Make-a-Deal-on-tuition

WTSP-TV

http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/285649/19/Florida-universities-play-Lets-Make-a-Deal-on-tuition

WTVT-TV

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/20270954/2012/12/05/florida-university-leaders-want-to-avoid-tuition-hike

Florida Channel’s Face to Face

http://thefloridachannel.org/programs-coverage/florida-face-to-face/

North Escambia News

http://www.northescambia.com/2012/12/florida-universities-will-freeze-tuition-for-more-state-money

Pensacola News Journal

http://www.pnj.com/article/20121206/NEWS01/312060012/Bense-urges-lawmakers-to-raise-funding?nclick_check=1

WEAR-ABC 3

http://www.weartv.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wear_florida-universities-ask-state-money-not-raise-tuitions-27143.shtml

Herald Tribune

http://politics.heraldtribune.com/2012/12/05/florida-university-presidents-ask-for-more-state-funding-in-lieu-of-higher-tuition/

Knight News (UCF student online newspaper)

http://knightnews.com/2012/12/hitt-whatley-expected-to-fight-budget-cuts-and-tuition-hikes-at-conference/

http://knightnews.com/2012/12/118-million-in-new-state-funding-would-mean-no-tuition-hikes-across-florida/

Central Florida Future (UCF student newspaper)

http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/news/higher-tuition-won-t-be-sought-1.2800861

University Press (FAU student newspaper)

http://upressonline.com/2012/12/fau-tuition-could-stay-the-same-for-the-first-time-in-4-years/

Independent Florida Alligator (UF student newspaper)

http://m.alligator.org/mobile/news/student_government/article_e2ab7ce2-2e19-11e2-85f7-001a4bcf887a.html

FSView (FSU student newspaper)

http://www.fsunews.com/article/20121210/FSVIEW2/121209015/University-leaders-request-funds

Economic Development Blog

http://www.economicdevelopmenthq.com/blog/florida-universities-aim-higher/

Florida Higher Education Spectator blog

http://flhespectator.com/tag/aim-higher-fl/

Land O’ Lakes Patch

http://landolakes.patch.com/articles/usf-president-vows-no-tuition-increase-if-request-met-b122e0aa

EDITORIALS

Tampa Bay Times

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/state-universities-starved-for-investment/1264943

Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-university-tuition-funding-120812-20121207,0,1746243.story

Palm Beach Post

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/opinion/schultz-commentary-scott-is-the-challenge-for-high/nTP6G/?nmredir=true

Gainesville Sun

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20121207/OPINION01/121209753/1076/opinion?Title=Editorial-Taking-aim

St. Augustine Record

http://staugustine.com/opinions/2012-12-07/perspective-presidents-want-lost-funding-back#.UMn1leTAcsI

David Frick writes for Aim Higher. He is an Economics and Computer Science major at the University of Florida. He believes that an education is necessary for success and everyone should be given the opportunity to succeed. For him, the long-term growth and stability of our local communities right up to the nation depend on the education the current generation can be provided with. To this end, he specifically wants Florida to Aim Higher.

To the public, investments in education are deemed of the upmost importance. In nine different polls, the public resisted financial cuts in education. Federal resources, in particular, can help the neediest of children, and the public does not want that aid to end. The public, as a result, supports a strong educational system.

Despite this, American students have generally scored lower on standardized tests than students from other countries. This persistent problem undermines our founding ideals as international achievement gaps and ethnicity/family income gaps widen. To make problems worse, the tough budgetary climate in Congress means that every public investment is under scrutiny and could be cut.

Six major reasons for maintaining or increasing federal expenditure for education especially loans are

• Education increases our global competitiveness
• Investments in education ensure that all students are high achievers
• Revenue put into education has large returns
• Expenditure toward education creates and maintains jobs
• Money put into education leads to savings elsewhere
• Education strengthens our middle class

By David Frick

In the global economy of today, an education is considered necessary to have a decent lifestyle. An education has long been recognized as the key to the American dream. Our history has shown that personal and public investment in college can yield large dividends. Over the course of the past two centuries, the United States has emerged as an industrial and economic giant. The main reason for this transformation was and is the equality of opportunity that investments in education provide for people. By providing a large percentage of the population with an education, society benefits as a whole from the discoveries, inventions, and hard work of those educated people.
However, most of those people might not have been able to afford an education without investments, public and private, that allowed them to excel. Today, increasing costs of higher education as well as federal and state cuts to educational funds have made the problem of learning all the more pronounced. These problems will not simply disappear, and instead require answers that will have a positive impact on people’s lives while providing society a better future. With a struggling economy, many families and students are putting off a higher education that could bring in much needed income. Education increases the long-term prospects of a family for a better life.
The benefits of increased education are many. The drawbacks are few. One benefit is that those educated are more likely to find a job. Another is that providing an education will ensure our global competitiveness in the market economy. From the perspective of history, investment in education produced a prosperous middle class, continued economic growth, and provided opportunity for all Americans, including immigrants. Therefore, the best way of providing society with a better future is focusing on the education of each member of society.

Anyone who supports the education of other people should not see the costs as mere expenditures. These are long-term investments occasioned by a belief in the ability of others and in the human spirit. By providing other people with better educations, they can provide for themselves and for their families. They will be better off for life.

By David Frick

The benefits of education for individuals and society as a whole are innumerable.  From a holistic societal point of view, higher levels of education correspond to lower levels of unemployment and poverty. As a result, these adults typically earn higher incomes, thus decreasing their demand for current social safety net programs, which helps public budgets. Furthermore, they contribute more to taxes. Interestingly, college graduates have lower smoking rates, a better standard of health, and are less likely to be incarcerated than someone without higher education. Also, higher levels of education are linked to higher levels of civil participation such as blood drives, charity, voting, and volunteer work. Even students that drop out of college can expect to earn 17% than high school graduates.

On the other hand, the lack of a higher education can affect generations to come. The children of college graduates display a higher standard of readiness than the children of noncollege graduates. The typical receiver of a bachelor’s degree earns about 73% more over 40-years than the typical high school graduate. All in all, some who does not attend higher learning loses out on a variety of benefits during their lifetime.

The Palm Beach Post reported Monday that Florida had fallen on the California-based Milken Institute’s study on places to grow old.

Although Florida is long known for its tradition of golf and good weather, there are several key areas the state is lacking: relatively higher crime rates, fewer caregivers to assist the elderly, and fewer hospitals with geriatric services.

And yet again, higher education was ranked on the survey as well. Both enrollment in higher education, and the total number of colleges and universities factored into the study.

The acknowledgment by the Milken Institute that higher education has an effect on quality of life furthers our wish for a prioritization of higher education spending by our state legislature. Not only is spending more on our students benefiting them and the future of our state, but it also benefits our state’s seniors, and those who seek to retire with Florida as their home.