ICYMI: Daytona Beach News-Journal: Gov. Scott champions an affordable education

Another Viewpoint: Gov. Scott champions an affordable education
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Editorial
February 3, 2017
Compared to other states, Florida already offers a bargain in higher education. Gov. Rick Scott wants to make college even more affordable.
Scott last month unveiled proposals to freeze tuition at state colleges (it’s already frozen at state universities), cap fees at colleges and universities, expand Bright Futures scholarships to cover summer classes and eliminate sales taxes on required textbooks.
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Average in-state tuition at Florida universities runs about $6,000 a year, below the national average of $9,650. When you add the costs of attendance, which include room and board, technology and books, Florida’s total swells to $21,000 annually.
That’s over $80,000 to earn a four-year degree – and only 44 percent of undergraduate students at the state’s universities graduate within four years. Of course, additional years cost additional money. The sooner a student graduates, the cheaper his college bill will be.
Thus would Scott’s proposal to have Bright Futures cover the cost of summer school help students graduate either on time or earlier.
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Scott’s latest plans reflect his ongoing commitment to make college affordability a priority. Last year he signed into law legislation that requires the Board of Governors to come up with ways to promote college affordability, such as making the costs of textbooks and other course materials publicly available to students before they register for a class, so they can factor that information in when they’re selecting courses. It also requires colleges and universities to adopt policies that will make textbooks more affordable. Previously, he has challenged schools to offer $10,000 degrees, and one year vetoed appropriations at colleges that had raised tuition.
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Regardless of the details, what’s most important and encouraging is that Tallahassee is trying to control costs by holding the line on prices and by ensuring that students don’t buy more than they absolutely have to.