University students and their parents could see tuition go up by as much as 15 percent this year if some lawmakers have their way, but Governor Rick Scott has other ideas.

Recent college tuition increases have boosted Florida’s tuition ranking from 48 to 45th lowest in the nation. The state is still 26 hundred dollars a year cheaper than the national average. But that isn’t stopping these college students from saying enough is enough.

Alex Castro is with the Florida Student Association. “Our main issues are tuition hikes and the cuts.”

Despite the student protests, the House budget committee is moving forward with a 15 percent hike; 8 percent statewide and then allowing colleges to levy another seven percent. Sen. Evelyn Lynn, a Rublicap from Ormand Beach, is the House Higher Education Chairman. The Senate has yet to set its budget goals, but it is also heading toward higher tuition. “We have got to do something to help keep that quality up, and that means raising tuition some.”

The tuition hikes moving in the legislature put the House and Senate dead opposite of the Governor’s thinking. “I want the cost of living in the state to be lower than other states, I don’t want it to be higher than other states.”

With the House wanting an 8 percent hike, and the Governor saying zero, the Senate is hoping it comes out somewhere in between.

In the end, lawmakers can pass whatever they want, but it is the Governor who will have the final say on whether tuition goes up or not.