TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Back in February, Florida DOGE began its task of auditing state universities and colleges, looking for unnecessary spending, programs, staff, or other inefficiencies, and now the report is in.
"Our universities are doing some really good things in terms of how they are handling finances, but there's always going to be room for improvements," Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
While the recent audits into Florida universities and colleges highlight having the lowest tuition in the nation and the most affordable degrees, the report says budgeting is something that can and should improve.
"We can do better, and we should do better," said Ben Watkins, Director of the Florida Division of Bond Finance.
This week at the Florida Board of Governors meeting, Ben Watkins, who is leading this charge, compared success measures between the state's public universities.
It recognized the University of Central Florida as being the most efficient in the state, while New College of Florida in Sarasota ranked the least efficient in the system, costing nearly half a million dollars to produce one student's degree, while UCF sits at $46,000.
8 On Your Side reached out to New College of Florida for a response on the findings, and Vice President of Communications Jamie Miller shared, "Thursday's report reflects the failed enrollment of previous administrations. Thanks to Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature making a bold move to appoint new leadership with clear goals, the impact of New College's revitalization is already visible with enrollment surpassing 900 students for the first time in history. As enrollment growth continues to skyrocket, cost-per-student and cost-per-graduate metrics will be one of the lowest of all liberal arts schools in the country.”
Following this week's DOGE presentation, members of the Board of Governors agreed that there's always room for improvement.
"It's not the state, it's taxpayer dollars. And so, we have a duty to actually make sure that's spent wisely and the outcomes warrant the investment," said Eric Silagy, Member, Board of Governors.
So, what's next? It's now up to university presidents to consider the recommendations and speak directly with the DOGE team.