Florida may be taking the first step in significantly altering the way tuition is calculated at public colleges. A task force created by Gov. Rick Scott has come up with a novel idea: charging more tuition to students who are pursuing liberal arts degrees like English and political science than those pursuing science and technology degrees.
The state task force has asked that over the next three years there be no increase in tuition for students getting degrees in the jobs most needed by Florida's economy. Most of those jobs are in the STEM majors: those related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Though, to cover the lost tuition income, students getting degrees with lower job demands would pay more. According to The Sun-Sentinel, those majors could include psychology, political science, anthropology, and the performing arts.
However, as one student who talked to Sentinel points out, students pursuing those degrees also are more likely to make less money than those in STEM majors.
STEM programs also cost more money to administer. They require all those state-of-the-art computer and science things. An English degree just requires a few books and your imagination!
However, before the plan goes into effect, it would have to be approved by the Board of Governors, and details involving things like Bright Futures scholarships and the prepaid tuition program would have to be figured out.
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