USF trustees OK new tuition rates for fall

USF trustees just approved new tuition rates for fall that will cost in-state graduate and undergraduate students more, but will lower the bill for out-of-state graduate students in select programs.

In-state undergrads at the regional campuses will pay 6 percent more, or $82.03 a credit hour. In-state undergrads on the Tampa campus who started in Fall 2007 or later will pay 9 percent more, or $88.99 per credit hour, under the "differential tuition" plan lawmakers approved last year. (That's $105 more per semester for a 15-credit schedule.)

All in-state graduate students will pay $242.04 a credit hour, up from $246.06, or $246.06 more a year.

Those same graduate students enrolled in programs including finance, marketing and nursing will pay an additional 4 percent to cover program costs, for a total of 10 percent.

Florida medical school students will pay 6 percent more, and physical therapy students who call Florida home will pay 4.5 percent more.

Meanwhile, out-of-state grad students in all programs except for medical and physical therapy will pay 10 percent less, allowing USF to more easily lure top students from around the country and the world. Faculty say the lower tuition also means grants covering the studies of those students will stretch further.

Out of state physical therapy students will pay 4.5 percent more come fall.

Graduate tuition and fees for non-Floridians studying here are now among the highest in the nation, more than $20,000 a year. Yet in-state graduate tuition and fees are among the lowest, $6,100 a year.

Also, trustees approved a distance learning fee of $35 for undergrads and $50 for graduate students.