The head of the board that oversees Florida's state universities on Thursday urged her fellow board members and university leaders to "demonstrate courage" in deciding how to respond to Gov. Charlie Crist's recent veto of a 5 percent tuition increase for in-state undergraduates. The higher tuition would have generated an additional $19-million in revenue statewide. Meanwhile, the state budget Crist approved does not have money for thousands of new students expected to enroll this fall. That has institutions like FSU pondering enrollment freezes and other measures.

"We have been cooperative and patient. Perhaps we've been too patient, too cautious for too long," said Board of Governors chair Carolyn Roberts during the group's meeting in Miami. "We believe now our institutions are at risk. We cannot continue to meet our promises of quality. Today I am calling on the board to raise a flag on quality and access. We cannot sit idly by and debate and wait for political breakthrough."

- Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler, higher education reporter