My Word: The Case for Higher STEM Tuition

By Stanley D. Smith | Guest columnist, December 5, 2012, Orlando Sentinel
Our elected officials do not appear to be satisfied with Florida’s current Newsweek rankings of the least-rigorous universities in the country (UCF, No. 1; FSU, No. 2; USF, No. 4; FAU, No. 14; and UF, No. 21). Gov. Rick Scott now wants a $10,000 bachelor’s degree, and the governor’s task force on higher education wants lower tuition for STEM-related (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) degrees, or alternatively, higher tuition for students who major in humanities disciplines to discourage them from entering those fields.

A university education benefits society by preparing students to be more productive in the workplace and in society. Even though technical expertise may be developed in a degree program, even the technical degrees, such as business, require some background in nonbusiness areas because these businesses operate in a local, national and global society.

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The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily the positions of UFF-UF.