Legislature undermines student rights
The Legislature calls the block tuition for state universities a boon for college education. With block tuition, students will be forced to pay for fifteen credits even if they are taking nine or twelve. However, what they are really doing is something much more sinister, much more demoralizing. They fail to realize that every student deserves an education regardless of family income, outside responsibilities, and the like.
As a recent graduate of Florida Atlantic University, allow me to expose the myths of the block tuition. According to the legislature, the block tuition will force more students to graduate in four years, thus allowing more students room to enroll. The majority of students at FAU are non-traditional. Many of us work between 40 and 60 hours a week simply trying to make ends meet. In other words, this new requirement will deny otherwise perfectly capable people the opportunity of a higher education. Forcing students to attend school full time will also deny us the right to work, the right to raise our families, and the ability to pay bills such as rent and electric. Or should we all just collect unemployment and welfare, something that would cost taxpayers even more money?
While Jeb Bush proclaims himself as the education governor, he simultaneously slashes university budgets, thus making it even more difficult for students and universities to attain their goals. With budget cuts to education (13.8 million to FAU alone), fewer classes can be offered, thus students are forced to put off graduation for yet another year. With fewer courses (thanks to Jeb and his appointees), enrollment declined. The undue financial burden of block tuition will decrease enrollment even more, not increase it as the legislature proposes.
If the tuition block isn’t bad enough, they now want to charge out-of-state tuition rates for non-degree seeking students-including teachers in need of re-certification. People like myself, who have lived, worked, and gone to school in Broward County for over twenty years, will be denied the right of Florida resident tuition. A course that would normally cost approximately $300.00 will now cost $1500.00!! This can possibly cause many teachers to lose their certifications and their jobs, and increase the unemployment rate.
Jeb and his appointees have done everything they can to ruin the education system in Florida. We need to take education out of the hands of the lying politicians and into the hands of the educators-the experts who care about education.
Sharon Rinkiewicz, FAU alumnus
