USF slated for $186M in House budget

The University of South Florida (USF) stands to claim nearly $186 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year budget under the House proposed budget. That’s a nearly 50% cut from last year’s first proposed House budget, which had USF slated to receive $324 million.

But it’s in line with the overall budget dropping significantly from last year’s approved budget even after vetoes, by about $1 billion.

The USF funding, if approved, would cover everything from student financial aid and capital projects to workforce training and research.

The top funding item under the USF umbrella would go to the Florida Medical Center, at $97 million, about $20 million less than what was proposed last year.

The proposed House budget includes a couple of $25 million line items, including for the USF College of AI, Cybersecurity and Computing facility and to establish the Florida Center for Cybersecurity. Another $10 million is proposed for the USF Florida Center for Cybersecurity.

The House proposed budget also includes $6.2 million for PIPELINE funds (Prepping Institutions, Programs, Employers, and Learners through Incentives for Nursing Education) to reward performance and excellence within state university nursing education programs. Only the University of Central Florida had a higher proposed award for the program, at $7.2 million.

USF’s Florida Institute for Parkinson’s Disease is slated to receive $6 million under the House proposed budget, while the school’s Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and Innovation is in line for $5.5 million.

The proposed budget also includes $5 million in recurring funds for the Florida Center for Nursing at USF, underscoring the Florida Legislature’s efforts to shore up projected nursing shortages now and into the future.

USF’s Florida Mental Health Institute could receive $1.7 million, under the House plan, while USF as a whole would receive $1.45 million for multi-disciplinary educational services, the same amount contemplated for the University of Florida, Florida State University, the University of Miami, Keiser University and the UF Health Science Center at Jacksonville.

Several USF programs and needs came in under the $1 million, with four areas pitched to receive funds as part of children’s medical services specialty contracts, including $225,000 for the USF Comprehensive Children’s Kidney Failure Center; $223,000 for USF HIV/AIDS-related contracts; $153,000 for USF behavioral health; and $152,000 for disease management.

Also coming in under the $1 million mark, $801,000 is planned for student financial assistance; $393,000 for the USF’s Tampa Referral Center; and $250,000 for an occupational safety grant match.

Those items do not take into account the $425.7 million contemplated in the House budget from the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund from tuition and fees.

It also does not include funds potentially lost through a controversial plan to transfer the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College of Florida. If proposed legislation (PCB HEB 26-01) passes, $19.2 million would be transferred from the General Revenue Fund and $3.3 million from the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund from USF to New College of Florida.

The Senate has not yet released its proposed budget. Senate budget chief Ed Hooper said earlier Thursday that the upper chamber budget would not be released until next week, citing a desire to align with the House’s release.