JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In this episode of This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition, host Kent Justice interviews Tim Cost, president of Jacksonville University (JU), about recent financial concerns and the university’s strategic direction.
Cost, entering his 13th year as president, addresses the missed bond covenant compliance, explaining that while JU has never missed a bond payment, it did not meet a specific debt coverage ratio for the first time.
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He reassures listeners that JU is not in financial trouble and is confident the university will end the current fiscal year with a surplus.
Cost discusses JU’s strategic focus on aligning with regional opportunities in healthcare, business, and technology. This includes partnerships with organizations like Baptist Health and the Mayo Clinic, and the addition of programs in speech-language pathology and occupational therapy. He highlights JU’s efforts to expand graduate-level education and maintain tuition increases below 4% annually.
The conversation also touches on broader challenges in higher education, such as demographic shifts and increased competition for students. Cost emphasizes JU’s role as a local private university, partnering with other institutions and attracting students from across the country and the world. He outlines JU’s strategic planning for 2026-2030, focusing on potential new fields of study and leveraging technology.