The University of South Florida trustees voted on Monday to increase fees for out-of-state students — again.
The board’s decision increases fees by a total of 15% on top of a 10% increase last year. That works out to a more than 26% increase over two years for non-resident students.
Undergraduate students who paid $381 per credit hour under the previous fee hike will now pay more than $438 per credit hour. Graduate students who paid $467 will now pay about $537.
The university recommends undergraduate students take 15 credit hours per semester. Under the new increase, that totals more than $12,000 in annual fees for out-of-state undergraduates and over $16,000 in annual fees for out-of-state graduate students.
Last year’s 10% increase in out-of-state student fees is projected to produce a revenue of nearly $50 million this school year from undergraduate and graduate students combined, according to university figures. After the increase, those projections jump to more than $57 million.
Board member David Simmons stressed that raising fees for in-state students was not an option they were given by the Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s university system.
“The opportunity the Board of Governors has given us is very unique,” he said. “It’s really a two-year window to increase non-resident tuition and that’s the opportunity we’ve got.”
Financial aid for undergraduate students will increase by just under $3 per credit hour. For graduate students, it will go up $3.51.
The motion passed unanimously, with two trustees and Chairperson Will Weatherford absent. Student Trustee Sumit Jadhav, an international student from India, abstained from the vote due to “direct conflict.”
Despite the increase, USF Provost Prasant Mohapatra assured the board that student fees will remain the lowest among all schools in the Florida State University System.
“This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity for us to make some adjustments,” Mohapatra said.