Innovation Academy has made space for 838 UF students since its inception — a small group in a school with about 50,000 students.
We broke down the numbers for the expenses and revenue associated with IA and cleared up some misconceptions related to Florida’s Bright Futures scholarship. Here is what we found:
BRIGHT FUTURES
Bernard Mair, associate provost for undergraduate affairs, said the university had to get approval from the Florida Legislature to design a Spring-to-Summer concept and allow IA students to use their Bright Futures scholarship during Summer semesters.
The scholarship doesn’t cover the Summer terms for traditional students or the Fall for IA students.
The Florida Legislature can vote to change that for the Summer semester for traditional students with the $23.5 million proposal in Gov. Rick Scott’s Keep Florida Working budget. However, Mair said he does not know of any plans to cover the Fall semester for IA students.
“We would like for Bright Futures to cover students for any semester,” Mair said.
BUDGET AND COST OF ATTENDANCE
Although all UF students pay the same fees and tuition, UF spokesman Steve Orlando said it is less expensive to be an IA student. Tuition, fees and housing as well as books, food and other personal expenses are projected to cost $18,260 for in-state IA undergraduates as opposed to $20,590 for traditional students for the 2015-16 school year, according to the Student Financial Affairs office.
There is a reduction in housing and food costs because of the shorter Summer semester, Orlando said.
IA’s total operational budget is $94,000, which is largely for student programs, such as “Launch into IA,” “Catalyst” and “Discover IA,” as well as employing students and office expenditures. The Provosts’ office provides $76,000 for IA advisers.
NEW HOUSING: INFINITY HALL
Infinity Hall, an off-campus five-story residence hall, is set to be finished in July. Located at 978 SW Second Ave. across from Innovation Square, it is geared toward IA students and will be the country’s first entrepreneurial academic residential community, according to Alligator archives.
The $24 million building will feature residential living space, team meeting rooms, space for the university’s entrepreneurship programs and a resident maintenance shop. The building will also house “makerspaces,” which include a classroom, 3-D printing lab and workspace for students to develop products.
Rental rates are still to be determined but should be similar to those of Hume Hall, which currently costs $3,574 to $3,783 per person per semester, according to Alligator archives.
Editor’s note: Check back tomorrow for our final installment of the series, which will explore the processes of joining and potentially leaving the program.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 4/16/2015]
Check out the rest of the series at Alligator.org/IA
