Students will likely pay about 16 percent more for classes this fall after UF's Board of Trustees approved the increases at Friday's meeting.
The board approved the maximum tuition hike under the state's differential tuition plan, which allows a 15 percent increase each year until each of the state's 11 public universities reaches the national average.
The increase, which the Board of Governors is expected to approve this week, is not covered by the Bright Futures scholarship program.
The board also approved fee increases and the implementation of a new technology fee.
Matt Fajack, UF's chief financial officer, also briefed the trustees on a new budget model that will change the way colleges within UF are funded.
The new model, being implemented as a result of the budget crisis, makes costs more transparent and rewards certain benchmarks.
"It's really based on how productive you are-the number of (student credit hours) you teach, the number of students that are enrolled in your program, the amount of research you do, the ability to be creative and come up with entrepreneurial revenues," Fajack said.
"It is an extremely rational approach," said Trustee Al Warrington, "that I think we as trustees should demand and require."
UF President Bernie Machen, however, said if it wasn't for budget cuts, he'd rather stick with the status quo.
"We are not a business; we are an academic institution," he said. "But it would be naïve of us to sit here and not recognize that we need to pay attention to the way other entities, including businesses, operate."
Trustees also approved a change that will make it easier to lay off staff.
Instead of only being able to consider length of employment and performance evaluations for some staff layoffs, UF will now be able to consider other factors, like skill and education.
Paula Cunningham, an office assistant in agronomy, told trustees she didn't think staff members were properly notified of the proposed change, which, she argued, will erode the job security of "thousands of UF's most dedicated employees."
