Crist signs bill allowing higher tuition at UCF, FIU

Gov. Charlie Crist just signed into law HB 745, which will allow UCF and FIU to start charging the extra tuition, dubbed a "differential", that USF, FSU and UF are about to start charging this fall.

The law changes the requirements a university must meet to charge the 30 to 40 percent differential, so that basically a college would just have to have $100 million or more in research activity year. UCF meets that threshhold and would be able to charge 30 percent above the base tuition for in-state undergrads, and FIU will meet it as well.

The extra revenues are supposed to go toward hiring more and better faculty. Though with cuts in state funding, the money will just allow these universities to feel a little less pain than the others...