(This article was revised to correct the rate of increase in fees for undergraduate students.)
Out-of-state students enrolling at Florida Polytechnic University after this fall will pay higher tuition rates.
Florida Poly’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously at their May 22 meeting to approve an increase of 15% for out-of-state students. The vote came after trustees learned at a previous meeting that Florida Poly was out of compliance with state law on finances involving students who are not Florida residents.
Brad Thiessen, provost and vice president of academic affairs, explained the need for the tuition hikes to trustees during the virtual meeting. A state statute declares that the total amount public universities charge out-of-state students in tuition and fees must cover the full instructional cost of serving them, he said.
In June 2025, the Board of Governors for the State University System determined that Florida Poly was not meeting that requirement. In 2023-2024, the Lakeland school was undercharging out-of-state undergraduate students by 17%, Thiessen said. That figure was based a cost of $701 per credit hour and a charge of $615.
The discrepancy was even higher for out-of-state graduate students: 29%.
Florida Poly was one of three universities deemed out of compliance, along with Florida A&M and New College of Florida.
Since 2023-24, two factors have affected instructional costs, Thiessen said: enrollment growth, which lowers the cost per student, and rising operational expenses, which increase those costs.
Thiessen offered a projection for the 2026-27 school year. Assuming 2,200 students and no increases in expenses, Florida Poly would barely meet statutory requirements by increasing rates a proposed 6.8% for out-of-state undergraduate students and 15.9% for graduate students. That amounts to $34.76 per credit hour for undergrads and $96.72 for grad students.
The administration recommended those increases, which would yield a total “sticker price” jump of $2,736 for undergrads and $4,171 for graduates, Thiessen said. He noted that some students might be able to offset the higher costs through financial aid or waivers.
In the end, trustees opted to increase the fees by 15% for all out-of-state students.
Other schools are raising fees
In June 2025, the Board of Governors gave state universities the option of raising tuition rates by up to 15% in 2025 and 2026. In his presentation, Thiessen shared a chart showing the different approaches that schools have taken.
Five schools, including the University of Florida and the University of South Florida, increased out-of-state fees by 10% for 2025-2026, Thiessen said. Eight schools planned 15% increases for 2026-27.
The issue first arose at the April 30 Florida Poly virtual trustees meeting, when four students spoke about the burdens that the higher fees would cause them. Two asked that current students be exempt from the increases or that the school boost the maximum for scholarships given to out-of-state students.
At that meeting, Trustee Ilya Shapiro noted that Thiessen had mentioned “in passing” that the school was out of compliance on finances for out-of-state students and asked for an explanation from University Counsel Katie Daniel, who was hired in March.
Daniel said she would research the issue and get back to the trustees. Shapiro said he could not vote on tuition increases because he lacked necessary information, and trustees wound up tabling the matter.
At the May 22 meeting, Bryan Brooks, Florida Poly’s vice president of student affairs, enrollment management and strategic communications, emphasized that the increases do not apply to students who enter by fall 2026 and remain continuously enrolled.
“The University intentionally structured the change to avoid impacting current students and those already admitted for Fall 2026, honoring the commitments and plans students and families have already made,” Florida Poly spokesperson Lydia Guzman said in an emailed statement.
Even the maximum jump of 15% would not bring Florida Poly into compliance on rates for out-of-state graduate students, Thiessen said.
“Can we increase that by 15.9%?” he said. “No, the limit we have is 15%. So, no matter what we do, we are going to be out of compliance next year, but we are working toward compliance. We’re doing the best we can with the opportunities we have available.”
A proposed increase of 6.8% for undergrads probably would have brought Florida Poly into compliance, though that was not certain, Thiessen said. It is unclear when trustees might have another opportunity to raise rates, as the Board of Governors had not allowed changes for a decade before last year, he said.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Florida Poly raises fees for non-resident students to meet state rule
Reporting by Gary White, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
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