The Board of Trustees approved a proposal to increase tuition fees for non-resident students, a decision that worries many.
Photo courtesy of USF
By Jasmin Parrado
For the first time in 13 years, the University of South Florida Board of Trustees approved a proposal to increase tuition for out-of-state students during a meeting on July 31.
This change, which entails a 10% increase in fees, follows the Florida Board of Governors’ decision in June, which permitted public universities to increase in-state tuition beginning in fall 2025. The decision also allows a 15% increase of tuition by fall of 2026.
USF is among six other public postsecondary institutions across the state that have also approved the increase, including the University of Central Florida, Florida State University, Florida International University and the University of Florida.
“Revenue generated from the fee increase will support the quality of our academic programs and student services by covering increasing costs of instruction and operations to support our academic mission,” USF stated in a July 3 press release.
Bella Carlson, a senior attending USF St. Petersburg from Illinois, believes the decision to direct costs towards out-of-state students is unfair, especially for those who committed to USF based on the university’s competitive tuition costs.
Previously, USF’s undergraduate out-of-state fee stood at $346.50 per semester credit hour, and graduate per-credit-hour tuition was $424.52. Despite the approved hike, USF maintains the lowest tuition rates and fees per credit hour for non-resident undergraduate and graduate studies in the state.
“A lot of our students are coming here with no family, no friends, no roots here and obviously no in-state support,” Carlson said.
When instated, the new non-resident fee for undergraduate students will be $381.50 per semester credit hour, an increase of $34.65. Meanwhile, graduate students will see a $42.45 per-credit-hour increase.
Photo Courtesy of USF Newsroom
Carlson feels that more clemency is ultimately given to in-state students when it comes to finances, as opposed to out-of-state students who may have to anticipate future increases in tuition costs.
“If you did this once, are you willing to do it again? What other things will this translate to?” Carlson said.
Amelia Blackwell, an out-of-state student from Missouri and a junior interdisciplinary social sciences major at USF St. Petersburg, doesn’t believe the change is the worst it could be.
“Originally, I was a bit upset about the increase since the university just got approved for more financial services from the state,” Blackwell said. “I expected more than double! So, in the end, I understand and hope they don’t make it a habit every fiscal year to increase it by 10%.”
For Jenna Moseng, a Minnesota senior in health sciences at USF St. Petersburg, the board’s proposal and subsequent approval were not expected. However, changes such as this are common in the landscape of non-resident education, she told The Crow’s Nest.
“When I decided to attend an out-of-state university, I understood that I was taking on a certain level of risk and uncertainty about my future,” Moseng said.
Non-resident students in the United States pursuing public four-year degrees face an average tuition of $28,297, a significantly higher amount compared to the in-state average of $9,750.
Moseng feels that in light of other changes to academic policies at the federal level, the change is relatively mild – but not unimportant – and that actions such as this tuition hike can be “misguided” and harmful to the students that the university should be supporting.
“Before turning to tuition hikes, the state and university system should take a serious look at reallocating existing funds to ease the burden on students rather than increasing it.”
