The UF Board of Trustees approved an amended block tuition proposal at a Dec. 10 meeting, with the measure being delayed until fall of 2012.
The board voted to approve the proposal 9-1.
Student Body President Ashton Charles cast the sole opposing vote.
Charles explained her opposition to the implementation of block tuition in fall 2011 to the board.
She cited the policy’s potential impact on student finances, out-of-class activities and working students.
“We don’t know the number of hours that students work off-campus,” Charles said.
“We really owe it to the students to take more time to look at this.”
UF President Bernie Machen emphasized that the concept of block tuition is not an original one.
“This is not a new idea that hasn’t been tried on other places,” Machen said.
Trustee Carlos Alfonso acknowledged the students’ concerns but maintained that he didn’t yet see enough evidence to strike down the proposal.
“I want to be convinced,” he said, speaking to about 30 students who attended the meeting and opposed the proposal.
The proposal needs to clear only one more hurdle — the Board of Governors — before the university could institute it.
Under the policy, the university would charge tuition for full-time students at a flat rate set at the cost of 15 credits.
Full-time students would pay that flat rate regardless of the number of credits taken.
