Senate Bill 2072

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2072

    By Senator Kirkpatrick





    5-1425-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to education; amending s.

  3         240.209, F.S.; providing guidelines on

  4         implementing differential tuition in the State

  5         University System; providing an effective date.

  6

  7  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  8

  9         Section 1.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (3) of section

10  240.209, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to

11  read:

12         240.209  Board of Regents; powers and duties.--

13         (3)  The board shall:

14         (e)  Establish student fees.

15         1.  By no later than December 1 of each year, the board

16  shall raise the systemwide standard for resident undergraduate

17  matriculation and financial aid fees for the subsequent fall

18  term, up to but no more than 25 percent of the prior year's

19  cost of undergraduate programs. In implementing this

20  paragraph, fees charged for graduate, medical, veterinary, and

21  dental programs may be increased by the Board of Regents in

22  the same percentage as the increase in fees for resident

23  undergraduates. However, in the absence of legislative action

24  to the contrary in an appropriations act, the board may not

25  approve annual fee increases for resident students in excess

26  of 10 percent. The sum of nonresident student matriculation

27  and tuition fees must be sufficient to defray the full cost of

28  undergraduate education. Graduate, medical, veterinary, and

29  dental fees charged to nonresidents may be increased by the

30  board in the same percentage as the increase in fees for

31  nonresident undergraduates. However, in implementing this

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2072
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  1  policy and in the absence of legislative action to the

  2  contrary in an appropriations act, annual fee increases for

  3  nonresident students may not exceed 25 percent. In the absence

  4  of legislative action to the contrary in the General

  5  Appropriations Act, the fees shall go into effect for the

  6  following fall term.

  7         2.  When the appropriations act requires a new fee

  8  schedule, the board shall establish a systemwide standard fee

  9  schedule required to produce the total fee revenue established

10  in the appropriations act based on the product of the assigned

11  enrollment and the fee schedule. The board may approve the

12  expenditure of any fee revenues resulting from the product of

13  the fee schedule adopted pursuant to this section and the

14  assigned enrollment.

15         3.  Upon provision of authority in a General

16  Appropriations Act to spend revenue raised pursuant to this

17  section, the board shall approve a university request to

18  implement a differential matriculation and out-of-state

19  tuition fee schedule which is calculated to generate revenue

20  which varies no more than 10 percent from the standard fee

21  revenues authorized through an appropriations act. In

22  implementing an alternative fee schedule, the increase in cost

23  to a student taking 15 hours in one term shall be limited to 5

24  percent. Matriculation and out-of-state tuition fee revenues

25  generated as a result of this provision shall not exceed the

26  amount authorized through an appropriations act, and shall be

27  expended in accordance with the approved State University

28  System Strategic Plan. are to be expended for implementing a

29  plan for achieving accountability goals adopted pursuant to s.

30  240.214 and for implementing a Board of Regents-approved plan

31  to contain student costs by reducing the time necessary for

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2072
    5-1425-99




  1  graduation without reducing the quality of instruction. The

  2  plans shall be recommended by a universitywide committee, at

  3  least one-half of whom are students appointed by the student

  4  body president. A chairperson, appointed jointly by the

  5  university president and the student body president, shall

  6  vote only in the case of a tie.

  7         4.  The board is authorized to collect for financial

  8  aid purposes an amount not to exceed 5 percent of the student

  9  tuition and matriculation fee per credit hour. The revenues

10  from fees are to remain at each campus and replace existing

11  financial aid fees. Such funds shall be disbursed to students

12  as quickly as possible. The board shall specify specific

13  limits on the percent of the fees collected in a fiscal year

14  which may be carried forward unexpended to the following

15  fiscal year. A minimum of 50 percent of funds from the student

16  financial aid fee shall be used to provide financial aid based

17  on absolute need. A student who has received an award prior to

18  July 1, 1984, shall have his or her eligibility assessed on

19  the same criteria that was used at the time of his or her

20  original award.

21         5.  The board may recommend to the Legislature an

22  appropriate systemwide standard matriculation and tuition fee

23  schedule.

24         6.  The Education and General Student and Other Fees

25  Trust Fund is hereby created, to be administered by the

26  Department of Education.  Funds shall be credited to the trust

27  fund from student fee collections and other miscellaneous fees

28  and receipts. The purpose of the trust fund is to support the

29  instruction and research missions of the State University

30  System. Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.301, and

31  pursuant to s. 216.351, any balance in the trust fund at the

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    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2072
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  1  end of any fiscal year shall remain in the trust fund and

  2  shall be available for carrying out the purposes of the trust

  3  fund.

  4         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

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  7                          SENATE SUMMARY

  8    Provides guidelines on implementing differential tuition
      in the State University System.
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