Point #1 (No more Bright Futures) is inaccurate. He’s talking about raising tuition (which he can’t do, the state legislature has to do it, more below), not eliminating Bright Future Scholarships.
Point #2 ("Nuke departments like WVU) is inaccurate. WVU eliminated Programs. Sasse is talking about consolidating administrative unites (academic departments). It’s an administrative change, and has nothing to do with eliminating programs, majors, etc.
Point #3 (more online classes) is accurate and I have a problem with it.
First on point #1, I think Sasse is going down a path UF tried years ago to get special “permission” to raise tuition. That’s how the state (and us) got stuck with the disaster called the “Tuition Differential”. Raising tuition conflicts with the promise of Bright Futures, but more importantly with the “Florida pre-paid tuition” program. By asking to raise tuition, he’s asking the state to fund more $ into Bright Futures and into to the Pre-paid program (which should be self-funding) or to anger a LOT of voters. I don’t think the legislature is going to go down that path again.
He should continue to do what the past presidents have been very successful at doing, asking for supplemental funding from the state (hence UF’s rise in the rating, and its ability to greatly add to faculty and facilities.
Point #2 is about consolidating departments. That reduces administrative headcount/overhead, but you do have a lot of folks at UF (administrative) who will complain. Remember when UF tried to consolidate its Engineering and Liberal Arts Computer Science programs? It will be a repeat of that drama.
Point #3…what can I say. I think he’s way off base. UF doesn’t compete against “technology” companies. What UF offers is an opportunity to join a community. There is great value for students, in being able to meet (and live with) other students in person, as well as the professors. There is also great value in the faculty being together. There is an important role for online only programs (much lower cost and much greater access) for a subset of students, but for most, in person is far better. Not every class at UF is a large (100+) student lecture.
We’ve seen the impact first hand with COVID (forcing all of the classes online). It really felt like a lost period of time at UF (for my kids). I’m all for improving the technology, but you can’t lose focus on what UF “IS”, and what it isn’t is an online degree mill.