December 13, 2010. FAU says stimulus dollars used to keep equivalent of 242 faculty on payroll, Funds from tuition increases come into play after stimulus runs out

By Scott Travis
December 12, 2010

The federal stimulus money was touted as a historic opportunity to improve higher education, create jobs and stop the bleeding from of state cuts.

But possibly its it’sgreatest impact at many Florida colleges and universities was helping to maintain the status quo for two years.

Florida’s colleges and universities received about $600 million in stimulus dollars, as well as millions more in stimulus-funded Pell Grants and workforce grants, to help create and retain jobs. The stimulus program, which started in February 2009, paid for at least 11,000 higher education jobs. But most of those either already existed or went toward new adjunct professors, who only teach or one two classes.But most of those positions already existed and a lot of the money paid the salaries of new adjunct professors, who teach only one or two classes.

The money dries up in June and the state economy has not rebounded enough to offset the loss.

Read more at palmbeachpost.com.