Economy hits Florida independent colleges, affects enrollment

Florida’s independent colleges and universities expect to grow slightly this coming year, even as they work to keep tuition affordable for recession-weary families by limiting tuition hikes and offering more financial aid, according to a recent survey by the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.

The University of Tampa, Rollins College, Palm Beach Atlantic and Bethune-Cookman University, among others, have limited tuition increases this year because of the economy. Most of the schools in the ICUF survey reported that they have boosted financial aid to help keep their schools affordable.

 

"Our students and their families are struggling with this economic downturn,” said Ed Moore, president of ICUF. “Yet they realize the long term economic value of pursuing college degrees and are making tremendous sacrifices in order the either enter school or remain."

ICUF enrollment increases could be somewhat larger than the expected national average of 0.2 percent among independent colleges, Moore said. The University of Tampa, for example, expects enrollment to increase by 12 percent.
 
But the economy is clearly having an impact on college students. Bethune-Cookman reported that the number of students who said they cannot afford to attend the university after they were accepted has doubled. Nearly 40 percent of the independent colleges nationally reported that students have dropped out because of the recession. Some of the ICUF members said they lost students who can no longer afford to attend college and others expect such losses to continue in the fall.