November 16, 200619 yr http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/sou...-home-headlines Board approves UF proposal for $500 a semester fee to hire more faculty Associated Press Posted November 16 2006, 5:00 PM EST PENSACOLA -- The Florida Board of Governors gave its unanimous approval Thursday to a proposed University of Florida program that would impose a $500-per-semester fee on students to hire additional faculty. UF's Board of Trustees will vote on a resolution supporting the Academic Enhancement Program at its December meeting. The next stop for the program will be the Florida Legislature, which is expected to consider it as part of the Board of Governors' legislative package during the Legislature's regular session next spring. The program is funded by the fee, which will be charged to all undergraduates enrolling for the first time during the fall 2007 semester. Phased in over four years, the program would generate approximately $36 million annually. With the money, the school would hire 200 more faculty members and 100 academic advisers. The Academic Enhancement Program would allow the university to reduce the student-to-faculty ratio, increase course section offerings and help undergraduate students stay on track for graduation, University of Florida officials said. UF President Bernie Machen, who is traveling in Asia with U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, participated in the meeting by telephone. Machen said the program would help Florida compete with the best universities nationally and globally. ``The difference between the University of Florida and our national peers is almost uniquely vested in the amount of tuition revenue we generate,'' Machen said. UF currently charges the lowest tuition and fees of all but one state university in Florida _ New College of Florida in Sarasota. The university has the lowest tuition of any of the 60 U.S. member institutions in the Association of American Universities. UF is the only Florida member, university officials said. The program would not be covered by the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship program or the Florida Prepaid College Plan. University of Florida, the state's largest university, has about 50,000 students.
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