Private college and university leaders said Monday they are worried about potential cuts in the state Effective Access to Student Education, or EASE, program, which provides $3,500 annual grants to undergraduates at the private schools.
Under the proposed Florida House budget, which will go before the House on Wednesday, private schools would be required to meet several metrics for their students to qualify for EASE.
The metrics include overall costs of attendance, student retention rates and graduation rates.
David Armstrong, president of St. Thomas University in Miami, said he's concerned the cut will negatively affect Florida's school-to-workforce pipeline.
He told WLRN: "What's gonna happen to those students who've already made the decision and are on track to be successful and stay in the state of Florida?"
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Armstrong and other university leaders with the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida discussed the anticipated challenges for affordability and student readiness in a virtual press conference this week.
Barry University President Mike Allen told WLRN the university would try to bridge the cost gap created, but the impact is sizable.
"It'd create nearly a $4 million gap in our financial aid bottom line," he said. "That's money that goes directly to students to make the opportunity just to study here and learn here possible — and that goes away."
Bob Boyd, president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, said the House proposal could affect more than 21,000 students at half of the state's 30 private schools, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
"The purpose of EASE was to create access for students to go into our institutions, because the public schools can't serve every student in Florida, and they can't produce every degree that Florida needs," Boyd said.
After the House and the Senate pass their proposed budgets this week, negotiations can formally start on a final spending plan for the fiscal year that will start July 1.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
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