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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVP Scott Bennett presented the proposal for the housing rental increase to the Board of Trustees.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Housing and Residence Life requested a 5% increase in the rental rate for the 2026-27 academic year to cover current and projected maintenance expenses and debt service associated with the new Osprey Ridge Honors Residence Hall, according to the notice<\/a> of this university proposal<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the meeting, Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance Scott Bennett said that these rate hikes are necessary to remain compliant with bond covenants and keep pace with inflation.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of our housing has been built with bonds, so we do have a lot of bond covenant requirements that we have to maintain certain ratios, but we\u2019re getting dangerously close to being in violation of those,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n When Joseph asked, \u201cWhy wasn\u2019t there a steady increase every single year?\u201d Bennett said that the university\u2019s hands were tied by the state.<\/p>\n \u201cQuite frankly, the reason why we didn\u2019t is that we didn\u2019t have the authority to raise housing for 8 years, so that once the state opened the ability, we have been steadily increasing,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cOtherwise, it probably would have been about a 30% increase that first year [on housing].\u201d<\/p>\n Out-of-state tuition jumps 15%<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t <\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVP Scott Bennett presented the proposal to increase out-of-state tuition fees to the Board of Trustees.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Targeting non-resident undergraduate and graduate students, the board approved a 15% fee increase that aligns with Florida Board of Governors regulations requiring out-of-state tuition to cover the full instructional cost of an education.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Florida Board of Governors gave all universities the authority to increase out-of-state fees for two years, maxing out at 15% this year, according to Bennett\u2019s presentation.<\/p>\n The fee adjustment is expected to generate between $1 million and $2 million in additional revenue for the university, according to Bennett\u2019s presentation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve now gone 14 years without touching any tuition in state or out of state,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n Addressing affordability concerns, Bennett said that the university is prepared to support affected students.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do recognize this is an impact on students\u2019 budgets, regardless of how minor we may think it is,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cYou will see when we get to the budget, we are increasing the amount of money we are putting toward financial aid this year to the highest we\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n In Bennett\u2019s budget presentation, it reported that $6.7 million would be allocated in financial aid.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the most we have ever allocated toward financial aid,\u201d said Bennett.<\/p>\n Repeat course surcharge drops<\/p>\n While housing and tuition are seeing upward momentum, one fee is actually shrinking, according to an updated notice<\/a> from UNF.\u00a0<\/p>\n Based on Board of Governors calculations, the penalty fee for repeating a class will decrease from $261.06 to $241.81 for the upcoming academic year.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n![\"OutofStateT1\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/OutofStateT1-1200x676.png\")
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