The state's university oversight board voted Thursday to defy Florida lawmakers and raise tuition by 5 percent this spring. ...more

September 28, 2007

The Florida Institute for Community Studies left empty-handed from the Hillsborough County budget hearing, despite pleas for funding. ...more

September 26, 2007

The sudden death of University of South Florida student Rachel Futterman from bacterial meningitis has been a wakeup call for students, with hundreds on the campus rushing to get vaccinated. But the tragedy also should be a wakeup call for state officials, who need to strengthen public health safeguards. ...more

September 26, 2007

Six candidates remain in the contest for Pasco's top legal post, as County Attorney Robert Sumner prepares to retire. ...more

September 13, 2007

Thanks for reporting the serious problems facing our state universities, their students and Florida's economy ('U.S. News' Latest Reports Shows State's Universities Are Slipping,' Our Opinion, Aug. 25). In a nutshell, our state universities are overcrowded (Florida has five of the nations 15 largest universities), increasingly under-funded, and as you have noted, slipping in the quality of the education provided to their students who are increasingly packed into excessively large classes with graduate assistants and part-time instructors replacing more qualified professors, a shortage of academic advisers and increased time required for graduation. All of this casts a long shadow on the quality of the education that we provide our students, the economic future of our state, and is deeply disappointing to all of us who have worked over the years to provide our state and its students with a superior state university system and a stronger state economy. ...more

September 12, 2007

The University of South Florida is a big school with big-league ambitions, so it's not surprising that when its leaders sat down to build a strategic plan for the next five years, they crystallized a stretch goal: qualifying for membership in the American Association of Universities, an elite club of the 62 best public and private universities. ...more

September 9, 2007

For years, the University of South Florida's efforts to recruit black students were failing. What resulted was a steady drop in the number of black freshmen at a school that touted its diversity. ...more

September 8, 2007

Several university student leaders on Tuesday told Gov. Charlie Crist they could accept a tuition increase if it's used for such purposes as reducing class sizes and offering more need-based financial aid. The governor remained cool to the idea. ...more

September 5, 2007