DOGE audit finds UCF most-efficient university in Florida

The University of Central Florida was the state’s most financially efficient university last year, a new state audit found, with the Orlando school spending far less per student and per degree than the 11 others.

“Where do I put my money that I’m getting the best, the most results from the dollars I invest? The answer is UCF,” said Ben Watkins, director of Florida’s Division of Bond Finance, speaking to the Florida Board of Governors on Thursday.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, New College of Florida in Sarasota — which Gov. Ron DeSantis has been overhauling since 2023 — was the most expensive of the state’s 12 state universities. New College, though by far the smallest state university, spent almost twice what the next closest school shelled out per student in state funds.

The Florida State Department of Governmental Efficiency, or DOGE, conducted the audit, which DeSantis ordered in February to combat what he called unnecessary spending and to investigate if state schools were supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The report shared with the board, however, did not include findings on DEI programs at Florida universities.

DeSantis’ DOGE efforts followed those of the Trump administration, which launched the federal DOGE initiative under Elon Musk soon after Trump returned to office in January.

Watkins said the audit overall found that Florida’s universities continued to be an excellent value. But he said the 26-page document also should serve as a blueprint for individual universities to dive deeper into their finances and then to cut waste.

“We can do better and should do better,” he said.

UCF is Florida’s largest public university by enrollment and the third-largest in the U.S. with 69,818 students last academic year.

The university spent $46,548 per degree last year. By comparison, the University of Florida spent $150,729, Florida State University spent $85,796 and the University of South Florida spent $72,252. Per student, UCF spent $12,172, while UF spent $45,765, FSU spent $26,615 and USF spent $21,232.

On average, a Florida university spent $22,217 per student and $78,781 per degree.

“That efficiency reflects the innovation, dedication, and impact of our faculty and staff, who ensure every dollar produces meaningful results for our students and Florida,” UCF President Alexander Cartwright said in a statement before the meeting.

But the audit also found that UCF had the worst student-to-employee ratio, with only nine full time employees per 100 students. UCF’s student-to-faculty ratio also is worse than any other Florida public university and, at 28 to 1, double the national average.

That’s because in the past two decades, UCF’s enrollment has grown by more than 27,000 students, but faculty hiring hasn’t kept up. UCF recently earned “preeminent” status from the state, which should mean increased funding that could allow the university to hire more faculty next year, Cartwright has said.

New College, which has an enrollment smaller than most Central Florida high schools with about 900 students, spent about $83,207 in state dollars per student in 2024, about $37,000 more than UF, the next most expensive per student.

Florida also spent almost half a million dollars per degree produced by New College. At Florida Polytechnic University, the next closest, it spent $154,213 per degree.

New College underwent a makeover in 2023 when DeSantis appointed several prominent conservatives to its board of trustees. The new board installed Richard Corcoran, a former state education commissioner and speaker of the Florida House, as its president, looking to reshape the school into a classical liberal arts college akin to Hillsdale College, a private, Christian college in Michigan.

New College was among the first schools in the United States to remove diversity, equity and inclusion programs and to fire its diversity director, doing so ahead of Florida’s ban on such initiatives.

The state has since funneled millions of dollars into the school. DeSantis continues to support New College, touting the school’s boosted enrollment. He has repeatedly suggested he wants to send his kids there.

But since the takeover, New College’s place in the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings has dropped 60 spots among national liberal arts colleges, from 76th in 2022 to 135th this year. Those rankings are often touted by state leaders, most notably when UF was ranked fifth among national public universities in 2022 and 2023.

In a statement, New College defended the high spending-to-student ratio. James Miller, a college spokesman, blamed the previous school leaders for creating problems that required increased spending. He said the school’s academic metrics would soon improve.

“As enrollment growth continues to skyrocket, cost-per-student and cost-per-graduate metrics will be one of the lowest of all top liberal arts schools in the country,” he wrote.