UF President Supports Separate Tuition for STEM Students

With state leaders looking to overhaul education, increasing emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math majors, the president of University of Florida, Bernie Machen, said the state could increase tuition for those in the STEM fields.

Machen told members of the House Education Committee Friday morning that the additional money would help cover the additional faculty needed to provide more STEM courses without increasing the costs for students in other fields.

Also, the higher fee could be justified by the anticipated higher career earnings potential for STEM majors, he added.

A STEM degree person should pay more for that than they would, say, an education degree, Machen said. If you look at the return on investment after graduation, you look at the demand for STEM hires, you can make a good case that since that program costs more, you ought to have a (separate) tuition for those programs.

Machen and the president of Florida State University, Eric Barron, were invited to address the committee to discuss proposals backed by Gov. Rick Scott and House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, to overhaul the states colleges and universities.