Latest news with #ICUF
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House proposes tighter restrictions on private higher-education vouchers
University of Miami campus, via UM Nearly 22,000 private college and university students, including Floridians attending the University of Miami, will go without a longtime state scholarship if the House of Representatives has its way. Some of Florida's private colleges and universities are raising concerns about the House's proposed budget, which would restrict the state's Effective Access to Student Education award, also known as EASE, which provides $3,500 to Florida students attending private institutions. The House budget proposal, which at $113 billion is $4.4 billion less than the Senate's, calls for schools to meet benchmarks related to graduation and affordability set by the state to be eligible to receive EASE money. The Senate budget does not propose metric requirements. Bob Boyd, president of Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, called the metrics 'arbitrary.' The University of Miami, University of Tampa, and Bethune-Cookman University are among the 15 schools that would be ineligible to receive EASE money if the language is included in the final budget. ICUF estimates about 22,000 students would lose EASE funding. The EASE grant, established in 1979, is similar to the recently expanded K-12 voucher program in that taxpayer money is used to pay for private school tuition. The House budget would provide $135.9 billion for the program in the coming fiscal year, in line with current year funding of $134.8 billion. Mike Allen, president of Barry University in Miami Shores, said the proposal 'doesn't track' with the Legislature's 'priorities around school choice that have been made very, very clear.' Republican Rep. Demi Busatta, chair of the House Higher Education Budget subcommittee, said she is 'always open to having a discussion' when asked whether she was open to a glide path to implement the metrics. 'I think the most important thing is that the money per student is the same. It has not decreased. We have not changed it,' Busatta said, adding that change would not affect students' eligibility for Bright Futures scholarships. She said she has had 'many meetings' with ICUF and its institutions including UM, and other stakeholders. 'There's institutions out there that have a 14- or 15% graduation rate. We want to make sure that students aren't going, getting into debt when they are not having the best opportunity to be set up for success at that institution.' ICUF data show some of its member institutions have four-year graduation rates as low as Busatta suggested, including Webber International University, Barry University, and Bethune-Cookman University. Republican Rep. Mike Caruso, vice chair of the subcommittee, told the Phoenix he is against the private institution restrictions in the House budget proposal as well as the $5 billion cut to the overall budget. 'I think it's a trickle down from the proposed budget cut of $5 billion from leadership that's working its way down through the different silos and things are going to suffer as a result,' Caruso said Tuesday. Caruso said the 'big hand of the state puts their foot down on just about everything.' 'These private universities serve a purpose, a tremendous role in the way that we have education, and the EASE program helps to facilitate it. I don't like these restrictions, we put our hand into everything and we continue to do that,' Caruso said. According to ICUF, its institutions produce 28% of nursing degrees and 25% of teaching degrees in the state. 'The ripple effect can occur in many directions and in many ways, but certainly one will be that this will really limit our ability, particularly here in South Florida, to provide basic services that people need to live here, and I think that would really affect folks,' Allen said, adding that several of the private schools train nurses, a field the state has focused on bolstering amid a shortage. Hospitals are 'in a panic about the inability to find enough nurses to staff their hospitals,' Allen said. 'When it comes to the EASE grants, they are essential for thousands of our Florida students,' Caruso said, adding that the language 'may be cracking down on the universities, but what we're really hurting is the students themselves, and those students are the future nurses, the future technicians, the future of our state.' The House proposal would require schools to have graduation rates of at least 54%, retention rates of at least 67%, and affordability rates of $6,183, among other measurements. Private institution presidents told reporters Monday that factors unique to each university could unfairly exempt students, including how the state calculates accessibility and how it considers graduation rates and course drops when students transfer. Rep. Gallop Franklin, Democratic ranking member on the House Higher Education Budget subcommittee, told the Phoenix implementing changes to EASE should be more 'methodical.' Franklin said the proposal would affect 22,000 students instantly and result in immediate costs spikes on students. Franklin suggested grandfathering people in and having conversations with institutions to minimize disruption, or to offer less than $3,500 for the coming year if there are budgetary concerns. Franklin said he is not sure that the government should 'be in the space of saying, 'Hey, we're only going to allow you to take your voucher to certain schools.'' Tightening EASE disbursements is part of House Speaker Daniel Perez's budget, which is lower than the current year's budget, and comes amid talk of cutting the sales tax by 0.75%. Boyd complained the state is using 'arbitrary metrics with arbitrary percentages to implement a budget cut — that's the way I look at it.' David Armstrong, president of St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, said supporting private schools helps keep students in Florida. 'The fact that the Florida state schools are ranked Number One in the country is fantastic for all of us as the citizens of the state, but who has picked up the role as the access schools?' Armstrong said. 'In our state, it's the community college system and the smaller private institutions that are enrollment-driven. Now that works out fine, because that's a part of our mission, serving those who are underserved.' Lawmakers will debate the budget Wednesday before heading into negotiations with the Senate. 'I think most of our institutions will survive. It's the impact on the students. Because this is a voucher program. This is not a grant to the institution. This is a direct dollar, per dollar, to that student to go to school and use for their education,' said Art Keiser, chancellor of Keiser University in Fort Lauderdale. AdventHealth University Ave Maria University Barry University Bethune-Cookman University Edward Waters University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Florida Memorial University Keiser University Lynn University Saint Leo University St. Thomas University University of Miami University of Tampa Warner University Webber International University SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers, don't take away college choice from Florida students
Florida has long been a national leader in expanding educational choice, especially at the K-12 level, where policymakers have championed the right of families to select schools that best meet their children's needs. However, when it comes to higher education, that same commitment to choice is under threat. Florida House leadership has proposed steep cuts to the Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) grant — a modest but vital source of support that helps more than 40,000 Florida students who attend one of 30 private, nonprofit, colleges or universities in Florida that best fit their needs. The EASE grant is not a luxury — it is a vital access grant that levels the playing field for university students — recent high school graduates to adult learners and first-generation college students — who have selected a private university because of their small class sizes, flexible learning environments, and mission-driven faculty. If House leadership gets their way, students attending 15 of the 30 Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF) would lose this $3,500 grant. This includes students from some of Florida's top private universities including the University of Miami, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Keiser University. It also includes students from Catholic Institutions like Barry University and St. Thomas University; and HBCUs like Florida Memorial University, Edward Waters College, and Bethune-Cookman University. This is not just bad news for Florida's college students, but it's a major step backward for workforce development and economic growth in Florida. Students from Florida's private colleges are essential to Florida's economy. They become nurses, teachers, engineers, cybersecurity specialists, and public servants. They stay in Florida, build careers, raise families, and contribute to their communities. Cutting the EASE grant not only harms students, it risks slowing the talent pipeline that powers our state's future — a potentially disastrous outcome given Florida's continued growth. Most ICUF schools are smaller and offer more personalized experiences for students. Rarely, if ever, will you find an ICUF institution with classes full of hundreds of students. For adult learners, disadvantage population, and veterans, ICUF schools serve a critical benefit to help them achieve their educational and career goals. At Keiser University, 68 percent of students have previously attended a state university or college only to find the the institution was unable to support their unique needs. Florida's independent colleges and universities are some of the state's most efficient engines of workforce development. For every $1 million in state support, ICUF institutions graduate 277 bachelor's degree recipients. In contrast, the State University System produces just 17 graduates per $1 million. And while private institutions don't receive state subsidies to freeze tuition, they still offer quality education at a lower total cost to students and taxpayers than many public institutions. Educational choice should not end at high school graduation. If Florida is truly committed to empowering students through access to quality higher educational opportunities and strengthening its workforce, it must protect the EASE grant. I urge our legislators to reconsider these proposed cuts. And I encourage all Floridians — especially families, business leaders, and alumni who've benefited from these institutions — to contact their representatives and speak up in support of access, opportunity, and choice. Arthur Keiser is the chancellor of Keiser University. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lawmakers, help Florida college student with EASE grants | Opinion
Miami Herald
27-03-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
When Florida legislators help fund private universities, it pays off for the state
It is budget season in Tallahassee — time for Florida legislators, now in session, to remember that the state makes money when it spends on private higher education, not just on public schools. State legislative funding supports critical research programs and infrastructure upgrades at private universities. Florida's financial help is crucial. I know. I am president of one of South Florida's private universities, St. Thomas in Miami Gardens. A state legislative penny spent offsetting tuition for those majoring in jobs Florida needs most, such as nursing, is imperative for a prepared workforce. One financial lifeline for private colleges such as St. Thomas is the Effective Access to Student Education, better known as the EASE grant program, for students attending private, nonprofit colleges and universities. In the 2022 academic year alone, each state dollar spent on the program generated $3.83 or a 283% return, a group of Tampa economists recently found. EASE offers a modest $1,750-per-semester tuition grant per student, but it helps fund college degrees that vault members of Florida's lowest-income families into the middle class. State investments to improve private colleges help the whole state and even the State University System, which can neither serve every Floridian who wants to attend college nor produce enough graduates in critical fields such as science, technology and engineering. Today, 30 nonprofit schools in Florida, including St. Thomas, comprise the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida or ICUF. Together, ICUF and the SUS served 510,420 undergraduate and graduate students in Florida in 2022. ICUF institutions educated nearly one in three Florida college students while addressing critical statewide labor issues such as the Sunshine State's nursing shortage. Nursing was the second most popular major at ICUF's 30 institutions in 2022, behind only business administration. According to the Florida Hospital Association, Florida must hire 11,500 more registered nurses and 5,600 more licensed practical nurses. The FHA estimates those nurse deficits will grow to 37,400 (a 12% shortage) for RNs and 21,700 LPNs (a 30% shortage) by federal government expects the national nursing supply to fall by 6% for RNs (207,980) and 36% for LPNs (302,440). Exacerbating the shortage, research shows that 100,000 RNs left the field from 2020 to 2021 – the steepest decline in 40 years. Legislative appropriations made directly to individual private Florida universities are another critical financial lifeline. Take just one example in South Florida's economy. In 2019, the Florida Legislature provided St. Thomas University with $1 million to support operational enhancements to the university's nursing program. STU now projects it will serve 2,000 nursing students by spring 2026, up from a mere 13 students in 2017, and STU's overall enrollment has rocketed to 7,660 students, a 78% increase from 4,302 students seven years. More students translate to more money for Florida. With that in mind, the university just announced plans to build a state-of-the-art, 99,000-square-foot nursing and STEM building, while requesting $3.5 million from Florida's Legislature to jump-start the project. STU estimates the total capital outlay for our new nursing school building could potentially be worth at least 16 times the university's requested state investment. Private colleges produce tax-paying workers who commonly earn more than public college graduates in the long term and often stay in Florida. In 2022, for example, ICUF colleges created 321,624 jobs in Florida. Back in South Florida, a new Florida TaxWatch study of St. Thomas University found its 2023 class will generate 7,519 Florida jobs and $419.6 million in lifetime earnings while paying $80 million in taxes. St. Thomas is just one university, but its presence directly leads to 1,000 local jobs and $56.4 million in personal income annually. From small class sizes to flexible scheduling and faith-based values, private colleges offer benefits that state schools cannot always match. Florida lawmakers should continue to fund private universities because each state legislative penny spent leads to many more dollars earned to help Florida's future. David A. Armstrong is president of St. Thomas University, vice chairman of the board of ICUF and a nationally recognized expert speaker on higher education law, trends and Title IX.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
HCA Florida Capital Hospital announces new chair, vice chair of Board of Trustees
HCA Florida Capital Hospital announced in March the appointment of Edwin H. Moore, Ph.D., as chair of its board of trustees and Niraj Pandit, MD, as vice chair. 'We are honored to have Ed Moore and Niraj Pandit lead our board of trustees,' said Tavarres Jefferson, chief operations officer at HCA Florida Capital Hospital. 'Their deep commitment to public service, leadership experience and dedication to the community will be invaluable in advancing our hospital's commitment to the care and improvement of human life.' Moore has served on HCA Florida Capital Hospital's board of trustees since 2019. He is the former president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, a Tallahassee-based association of 31 private, not for profit colleges and universities. Moore retired as President Emeritus in 2019 after a 16-year career with ICUF. He also served as the executive director of the Higher Education Facilities Finance Authority in Florida and as chief executive officer of the Florida Independent College Fund, a non-profit organization. Pandit has also served on the HCA Florida Capital Hospital Board of Trustees since 2019 and is a board-certified interventional cardiologist with HCA Florida Healthcare. He earned his medical degree and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine from the Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hospital. He went on to complete his cardiology fellowship at Cooper University Hospital in New Jersey. Dr. Pandit is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases and interventional cardiology. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: HCA Florida Capital Hospital announces new chair, vice chair
