ORLANDO — Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday outlined a plan to increase public universities’ four-year graduation rates.
Scott plans to lobby the state Legislature to fund merit-based Bright Futures scholarships for summer courses. He’ll also push universities to drop fees associated with online courses, which he said cost up to $100 per credit hour at some schools.
During a “degrees to jobs” summit in Orlando, the governor also asked university leaders to counsel incoming freshmen about the costs of staying in college longer than four years, ensure students are able to get credit for college courses they took during high school and help them get credit for internships.
“When I finish [as governor], I want people to say, ‘I have to live in Florida. They’ve got the best jobs in the country,’” Scott said during an afternoon keynote address at the event, held at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando. “’I have to live in Florida, because I know that my child … or my grandchild, if they live in Florida, they are going to have a great K-12 education, they can afford higher education, … and they’re going to get the best jobs.’”
