Harrison talks tuition and technology fees

A potential tuition increase and a possible technology fee will be among the issues student body President Frank Harrison will face this semester.

Last semester, Harrison opposed a vote on a statewide tuition increase of seven percent. He argued that the Board of Governors was making a hasty decision by not properly evaluating the needs of students.

The proposal was tabled three times, which is almost unheard of at that level.

“I think that’s been a step forward as far as a working relationship between students and the Board of Governors,” Harrison said.The semester’s first BOG meeting is scheduled to take place on Jan. 24-25 at Florida Atlantic University.

The possible technology fee – which would be included with tuition costs at every state-funded university – could add as much as $10 per credit “I’m not sure what school would possibly (charge $10), because it’s a lot,” Harrison said.

Harrison said the Florida Student Association (FSA) likes the fee’s language. “It’s really a step in the right direction,” Harrison said. “And maybe not everybody is going to get that from this but I’m very happy with that.

“We need to stop investing in mediocrity and start investing in something that’s going to be world-class.”

Harrison said it’s unclear at this point what exactly the fee would pay for. That decision would be up to the USF Board of Trustees.

The fee wouldn’t become a reality until it received approval from the BOG and then the BOT.