10 Florida university presidents say budget cuts would be 'Armageddon' - Tonya Alanez and Aaron Deslatte, Sun Sentinel

Layoffs, furloughs, eliminated programs, closed colleges, limited course offerings, increased class sizes all would result at a time when students will be paying more in tuition and fees, they said. "This is Armageddon for the state university system," said Modesto "Mitch" Maidique, president of Florida International University in Miami, who predicted state universities would have to lay off about 30 percent of their employees -- about 15,000 people -- under the most dire budget scenario.