Keiser University Chancellor and CEO, Arthur Keiser, Ph.D., was recently featured as a guest columnist in the Florida Times Union newspaper where he took the opportunity to discuss Florida’s Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) Grant and its importance to college and university students throughout the state.

The EASE grant is a tuition assistance program awarded to Florida students seeking baccalaureate degrees at schools like Keiser University and Florida’s other 29 private, independent, non-profit colleges and universities that are part of ICUF (Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida). The grant was created in 1979 to provide choice and access to students who choose to attend an ICUF school for reasons that include smaller class sized, a faith-based mission, and proximity to their homes.

In 2020-21, more than 41,063 students at the 30 ICUF schools were eligible for the EASE Grant. Currently, a pair of bills in the Florida House of Representatives, HB 5601 and HB 1261, aims to create eligibility standards that would cut $36.4 million from EASE and would result in nearly 13,000 students at 12 ICUF institutions losing $2,841 in tuition assistance.

In the article, Keiser discusses the importance of the EASE Grant to Florida students who currently attend an ICUF institution. He shares information about the high level of accountability ICUF colleges and universities have to their accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the value of the EASE Grant to Florida taxpayers.

“EASE’s return on investment for the state is striking. In Fiscal Year 2021, Florida provided an investment of $2,841 per student through EASE. In return, ICUF schools produced 305 bachelor’s degrees per $1 million invested versus just 45 degrees for public universities.”

To read Keiser’s commentary in its entirety, visit: https://www.jacksonville.com/story/opinion/2021/04/08/guest-column-dont-limit-college-students-access-choose/7125099002/

Here’s what you can do to ensure legislators know how important EASE funding is for our students, Keiser University and the ICUF community.

Sign a Petition:

Click here to enter your name and email. Note: You can click to ensure your name is not displayed on the petition.

Send a Letter:

Click here and follow the process to submit a letter to members of the House and Senate, urging them to Save EASE.