A group of Florida State University students and administrators Monday urged the Florida Legislature to approve a bill which would offer in-state tuition to veterans attending public colleges in the state.
Public schools usually make much more on out-of-state students than on their in-state brethren. That’s true at Florida State, where out-of-state credits cost about $500 more per hour. That mean students may be charged an additional $60,000 for a four-year degree. But it’s a cost FSU President Eric Barron says his institution is willing to swallow for veterans…
“I believe this is essential and we’re not looking for that added revenue in this particular case,” Barron says.
FSU student Andrew Sloan built bombs and missiles during Middle East tours in the Air Force. He says he was led to believe the GI Bill would grant him in-state tuition. He came to FSU in 2011, but not at the cost he thought.
“August of that same year I went to enroll in classes. I learned that my benefits no longer provided an in-state tuition option for me,” Sloan says.
Sloan was forced to take out more than $10,000 in loans to pay his bills. South Pasadena Republican Representative Kathleen Peters says she hopes her bill will help future students avoid such loans. The bill has failed twice before.
