Senate Bill sb2236c2

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    Florida Senate - 2005                    CS for CS for SB 2236

    By the Committees on Education Appropriations; Education; and
    Senators Constantine and Campbell




    602-2355-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to tuition rates at state

  3         colleges and universities; amending s. 1009.24,

  4         F.S.; providing that the Legislature has the

  5         responsibility to establish tuition and fees;

  6         providing that tuition and fees for certain

  7         state university resident students are

  8         established within the General Appropriations

  9         Act or law; requiring each board of trustees to

10         set university tuition and fees under certain

11         circumstances; providing that such tuition and

12         fees may not exceed tuition and fees for

13         corresponding programs at certain public

14         institutions; requiring each university to

15         allocate a certain percentage amount raised by

16         tuition increases to financial aid for

17         students; providing that tuition and fees for

18         certain students are not subject to a cap;

19         creating s. 1009.286, F.S.; requiring students

20         to pay 75 percent of the actual cost per credit

21         hour for credit hours in excess of a specified

22         number for community-college credits and for

23         overall credits applied to a baccalaureate

24         degree; excluding certain credit hours from

25         calculation as hours required to earn a

26         baccalaureate degree; providing for

27         notification of students by a postsecondary

28         institution; providing applicability; providing

29         an effective date.

30  

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

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    Florida Senate - 2005                    CS for CS for SB 2236
    602-2355-05




 1         Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 1009.24, Florida

 2  Statutes, is amended to read:

 3         1009.24  State university student fees.--

 4         (3)(a)  The Legislature has the responsibility to

 5  establish tuition and fees.

 6         (b)  Undergraduate tuition and fees for state

 7  university resident students are established within proviso in

 8  the General Appropriations Act or law.

 9         (c)  Except as otherwise provided by law, each board of

10  trustees shall set university tuition and fees for graduate,

11  graduate professional, and nonresident students. Tuition and

12  fees for graduate, graduate professional, and nonresident

13  students may not exceed the average full-time tuition and fees

14  for corresponding programs at public institutions that are

15  members of the Association of American Universities.  The

16  annual percentage increase in tuition and fees established by

17  each board of trustees pursuant to this paragraph for students

18  enrolled prior to the fall of 2005 shall not exceed the annual

19  percentage increase approved by the legislature for resident

20  undergraduate students.  At least 20 percent of the amount

21  raised by tuition increases imposed pursuant to this paragraph

22  shall be allocated by each university to need-based financial

23  aid for students.

24         (d)  Within proviso in the General Appropriations Act

25  and law, each board of trustees shall set university tuition

26  and fees. The sum of the activity and service, health, and

27  athletic fees a student is required to pay to register for a

28  course shall not exceed 40 percent of the tuition established

29  in law or in the General Appropriations Act. The tuition and

30  fees established in paragraph (c) for graduate, graduate

31  professional, or nonresident students are not subject to the

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    Florida Senate - 2005                    CS for CS for SB 2236
    602-2355-05




 1  40 percent cap. A No university is not shall be required to

 2  lower any fee in effect on the effective date of this act in

 3  order to comply with this subsection. Within the 40 percent

 4  cap, universities may not increase the aggregate sum of

 5  activity and service, health, and athletic fees more than 5

 6  percent per year unless specifically authorized in law or in

 7  the General Appropriations Act. A university may increase its

 8  athletic fee to defray the costs associated with changing

 9  National Collegiate Athletic Association divisions. Any such

10  increase in the athletic fee may exceed both the 40 percent

11  cap and the 5 percent cap imposed by this subsection. Any such

12  increase must be approved by the athletic fee committee in the

13  process outlined in subsection (11) and cannot exceed $2 per

14  credit hour. Notwithstanding the provisions of ss. 1009.534,

15  1009.535, and 1009.536, that portion of any increase in an

16  athletic fee pursuant to this subsection that causes the sum

17  of the activity and service, health, and athletic fees to

18  exceed the 40 percent cap or the annual increase in such fees

19  to exceed the 5 percent cap shall not be included in

20  calculating the amount a student receives for a Florida

21  Academic Scholars award, a Florida Medallion Scholars award,

22  or a Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award. This

23  subsection does not prohibit a university from increasing or

24  assessing optional fees related to specific activities if

25  payment of such fees is not required as a part of registration

26  for courses.

27         Section 2.  Section 1009.286, Florida Statutes, is

28  created to read:

29         1009.286  Additional student payment required for hours

30  exceeding graduation requirements.--

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                    CS for CS for SB 2236
    602-2355-05




 1         (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature to discourage

 2  undergraduate students in postsecondary education from

 3  exceeding the number of credit hours required to complete the

 4  students' respective degree programs. Accordingly, a student

 5  must pay 75 percent over the in-state tuition rate for any

 6  credit hours that the student takes in excess of 120 percent

 7  of the number of credit hours required to complete the degree

 8  program in which he or she is enrolled.

 9         (2)  A student who is enrolled in a community college

10  must pay 75 percent over the in-state tuition rate for credit

11  hours that the student takes in excess of 120 percent of the

12  credit hours required to earn an associate degree, except that

13  a community college student who has earned the associate

14  degree need not pay the full cost for a maximum of 24 hours

15  taken while enrolled at a community college which apply to his

16  or her baccalaureate degree.

17         (3)  An undergraduate student who is enrolled in a

18  university that is part of the state university system must

19  pay 75 percent over the in-state tuition rate for credit hours

20  that the student takes in excess of 120 percent of the credit

21  hours required to complete the degree program in which he or

22  she is enrolled, regardless of whether those hours were taken

23  while enrolled at a community college, a state university, or

24  any private postsecondary institution if the student received

25  state funds while enrolled at the private postsecondary

26  institution.

27         (4)  An undergraduate student who is enrolled in a

28  baccalaureate degree program at a community college must pay

29  75 percent over the in-state tuition rate for credit hours

30  that the student takes in excess of 120 percent of the number

31  of credit hours required to complete the degree program in

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    Florida Senate - 2005                    CS for CS for SB 2236
    602-2355-05




 1  which he or she is enrolled, regardless of whether those hours

 2  were taken while enrolled at a community college, a state

 3  university, or any private postsecondary institution if the

 4  student received state funds while enrolled at the private

 5  postsecondary institution.

 6         (5)  Credit hours earned under the following

 7  circumstances are not calculated as hours required to earn a

 8  degree:

 9         (a)  College credits earned through an accelerated

10  mechanism identified in s. 1007.27;

11         (b)  Credit hours earned through internship programs;

12         (c)  Credit hours required for certification,

13  recertification, or certificate degrees;

14         (d)  Credit hours in courses from which a student must

15  withdraw due to reasons of medical or personal hardship;

16         (e)  Credit hours taken by active-duty military

17  personnel;

18         (f)  Credit hours required to achieve a dual major

19  undertaken while pursuing a degree; and

20         (g)  Remedial and English as a Second Language credit

21  hours.

22         (6)  Each postsecondary institution shall implement a

23  process for notifying students regarding this section.  The

24  notice must be provided upon the student's initial enrollment

25  in the institution and again upon the student's having earned

26  the credit hours required to complete the degree program in

27  which he or she is enrolled.  The notice must include a

28  recommendation that each student who intends to earn credit

29  hours at the institution beyond those required for his or her

30  enrolled degree program meet with his or her academic advisor.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                    CS for CS for SB 2236
    602-2355-05




 1         Section 3.  Section 1009.286, Florida Statutes, as

 2  created by this act, applies to freshmen enrolled in the fall

 3  of 2005 and all freshmen thereafter.

 4         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

 5  

 6          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 7                     CS for Senate Bill 2236

 8                                 

 9  The committee substitute for CS/SB 2236 deletes the tuition
    rebate program previously proposed in the bill, and provides
10  that each postsecondary institution notify a student upon
    enrollment, as well as nearing degree completion, of the
11  bill's excess hours policy.

12  The committee substitute also addresses the setting of tuition
    and fees within the state university system.  It states that
13  the Legislature has the responsibility to establish tuition
    and fees.  Undergraduate tuition and fees are to be
14  established in proviso within the General Appropriations Act
    or law. Each university's Board of Trustees may set tuition
15  and fees for graduate, graduate professional, and nonresident
    students, unless otherwise provided by law.
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