There has been plenty of talk that it is difficult for Floridas universities to compete nationally on academic levels because other states are willing to dole out more for their state campuses.
But U.S. News noted officials at Florida State University have been able to do the most with the money they get.
Why should you care? FSU and the rest of Floridas public universities deliver high-quality education at an incredible value, using both tuition and tax dollars wisely, a release from the Board of Governors' office stated on Monday.
Bottom line? The state university system provides a good return on investment.
The U.S. News formula took how much a school spends per student on instruction, research, student services, and related educational expenditures, weighed with financial resources and the schools overall national ranking.
FSU, ranked 97th overall nationally, topped the efficiency list, above Brigham Young University-Provo; Miami University in Oxford, Ohio; University of Alabama; the College of William and Mary; Colorado School of Mines; University of Missouri; Binghamton University-SUNY.
Schools that are featured on this list are doing a good job in managing their financial resources relative to other schools that may have larger state funding, higher tuition, or larger endowments, U.S. News wrote in its report Which Highly Ranked Universities Operate Most Efficiently?
Many of these schools are likely to be more affordable in terms of tuition relative to others in their ranking category, since almost all of them are public universities.
The ranking comes as state university presidents in Florida have offered to trade the prospects of tuition increases for the 2013-2014 school year for an increase of $118 million from the current year in state funding from the Legislature.
Even with the University of Florida at 54 on the overall national rankings and the University of Miami in Coral Gables at 44, no other Florida schools were on the efficiency list, which went 20 deep for national rankings and featured the top five in regional markings.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
