Pressure is mounting at New College at the University of Florida in Sarasota as a controversial new business plan stirs up controversy among conservatives who are as concerned about budget discipline as they are about education reform. Now, the school's new strategy could raise eyebrows even among conservative budget hawks who agree that New College is in desperate need of education reform.
The drama unfolding at the state's schools isn't just about administrative reshuffles, revised curricula or the sky-high salary of new Chancellor Richard Corcoran, although those are involved. It's also about other big-ticket items, the lack of transparency and financial risks schools are asking state leaders to take on. There are signs that lawmakers aren't entirely on board, even as they support DeSantis' comprehensive plan for higher-ed reform.
Once seen as a bastion of progressivism and a liberal arts powerhouse, under Mr. DeSantis' stewardship, the university is transforming into the conservative intellectual stronghold that state Republican leaders hope it will become. But the path is fraught with risks, and the transformation will be costly, forcing hard questions about whether the benefits are worth squeezing for Florida taxpayers.
DeSantis has made his case throughout the 2022 campaign that he will slash the budget for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, calling them ideological balderdash. He has put all of his money at the center of the table, betting on traditional values and practical education, eschewing what he sees as indoctrination and prioritizing strong academic research, especially in STEM and business fields.
NCF's new trustees, handpicked by the governor himself, have dutifully followed his lead since taking office earlier this year, but they have fired the school's previous president and set their sights on a new course: one charted by more private ventures such as Michigan's Hillsdale College, which, unlike New College, is private and therefore not at risk to taxpayers. The new board's moves have caused ripples among NCF's overwhelmingly progressive students and faculty, sparking fierce protests from parts of both camps and negative headlines across the state and the nation.
But in the governor's blatant strategic maneuvering, the university's business plan, submitted in August 2023, is starting to become a talking point among concerned conservatives. While the goals may be laudable, the numbers are grim. The plan aims not just to increase spending per student, but to funnel money into expensive endeavors with no clearly defined return on investment or accountability. So where will this money come from? Much of it from taxpayers. But the plan also counts on more than doubling the university's endowment and endowment, a move that, in its current context, just includes a line item on finding a treasure chest washed up on the school's seaside campus.
Further puzzling conservatives, the new New College is trying to brand itself as a “luxury” educational experience, which sounds a bit too flashy for even the most generous budget-conscious. The plan proposes getting into sports and forming sports ventures such as bass fishing teams. But the details of how much NCF-branded bass boats and fishing shirts will cost remain as unclear as the candid answers on cable TV news shows.
The devil is always in the details, but many of the details appear to be missing, including the reasoning and accountability behind a wide range of proposed spending measures that make NCF, with an enrollment of fewer than 700, the most expensive public higher education institution per student in the state.
When reached for comment, most of the state's Republican Party leaders, whether elected officials or leaders of fiscally conservative groups, declined to provide an official response, and many said they had not seen NCF's business plan until we asked them.
But the Republican Senate President Kathleen Passidomo While she says she hasn't yet seen NCF's latest business plan, she acknowledges that she is aware of the details, or, more accurately, the lack thereof. Clearly, rumors are circulating, even if only as whispers.
“She certainly has concerns and the per-pupil cost to Florida taxpayers is certainly one of those concerns,” a Passidomo spokesman said. Katie Betta on mail Capitolist. “Ultimately, the Senate committees with jurisdiction over these matters will review the plan more closely in the context of the budget process.”
Just a few years ago, Governor DeSantis himself seemed just as concerned about New College's spending habits as Governor Passidomo: When asked about plans to improve New College in 2020, the Governor emphasized to reporters, “… if there's a way to be more efficient, I'm certainly going to look at it.”
But no matter how many “efficiencies” Sen. Passidomo and his Republican senators try to build into the NCF's next budget, the transparency problem remains — and the mechanisms for doing so seem sorely lacking in the NCF's business plan.
For example, Colocan and his allies have floated the idea that if there is excess cash at the end of each fiscal year, the school's new conservative financial managers should be allowed a $4 million “slush fund” to spend on whatever they see fit. Some of the same conservative heavyweights on the NCF board may bristle at the “slush fund” moniker, but no one can say with a straight face that they wouldn't have couched the proposal in the same terms if it had come from NCF's previous liberal leadership.
Moreover, the school's proposed “Freedom Institute,” no doubt conceived to provide the academic focus the school has sorely lacked, would cost, but at what cost? The plan does not disclose.
The plan also makes no mention of how much one of the new proposed graduate programs — a master's in educational leadership — would cost. That sounds nice, but who would pay for it, and how much would it cost?
The 54-page business plan says NCF plans to grow its student population from fewer than 700 to more than 1,200 over the next five years, with 1,000 of those students housed in dormitories. But the school has only 630 beds, 100 of which are in poor condition and unusable. Bringing the current dorm facilities up to standard would cost between $24 million and $30 million, the plan says. So how much more will NCF spend to build more dorms? another 600 beds? I can't tell you that.
On page 71, the school reports operating income of $11 million, operating expenses of $53 million, and a net operating loss of $42 million in 2022. These are not budget numbers that would lead a clear-sighted fiscal conservative to throw more money into the abyss. So why is it that Republicans with a respectable history of fiscal restraint are so eager to jump on the rocks of New College as if lured by the siren of Homer's legend? Odyssey?
As for Homer, the dispute isn't just about savings: The business plan also outlines other vaguely defined academic changes, all part of DeSantis' vision of an efficient classical education model and a larger initiative to introduce required first-year courses at Homer. Odyssey and the second required course is “Data: Explore, Visualize, Communicate.” The business plan states that these two courses will serve as essential foundations for students starting out at New College, and are intended to help students approach their education with curiosity, resilience, and openness to new ideas.
But old ideas remain, like the contract system between students and professors and narrative grades instead of the traditional letter grade system. Yes, you read that right, under the new plan, NCF graduates will not receive letter grades. But don't blame the new conservative leadership for that. It's been the way it's been at New College for years, long before DeSantis took office, and it's long been a popular feature of New College, both among students and, apparently, among the graduate schools to which NCF graduates aspire. DeSantis and his allies see it as a feature that will remain.
Clearly, the university's new conservative administration is not abandoning the entire system, but it is throwing itself wholeheartedly into academic reform without the fiscally conservative prudence usually reserved for such experiments.
The stakes are high indeed. Florida taxpayers are watching, especially those struggling and saving for their children's college funds. They'll want to know the results will align with their tuition dollars. Business plans project increases in student enrollment, athletic performance and academic achievement. But without beds to house them and a clear roadmap for fiscal sustainability and accountability, these projections are a house of cards.
So where does this leave the NCF? Caught in the middle, or as Homer has already told us, between the Scylla of financial extravagance and the Charybdis of educational experimentation. The onus is on the university to prove that this is not just another financial fantasy, but that it can actually bolster foundation assets, attract endowments, and provide an education that is worth every penny.
As the intrigue thickens and details emerge, all eyes will be on the college’s next move. NCF is expected to revise its business plan soon. DeSantis, Colloquen and the school’s conservative trustees are charting a bold course, and the political risks are as high as the price. If they succeed, they will be hailed as heroes, at least within the GOP. If they fail, many Republicans will grumble and wonder why they didn’t save hundreds of millions by closing NCF and make millions more by selling off valuable waterfront campus assets. Blending Republican academic ideals with financial opacity befitting a Democrat, New College’s future teeters between educational restoration and balance sheet blind spots.
Read NCF’s full business plan below or download it here.
New University Business Plan
