| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to tuition rates at community colleges and |
| 3 | state universities; creating s. 1009.286, F.S.; requiring |
| 4 | students to pay 75 percent more than the in-state tuition |
| 5 | rate for credit hours in excess of a specified number of |
| 6 | credit hours required to complete a degree program; |
| 7 | excluding certain credit hours from calculation as hours |
| 8 | required to earn a degree; providing for notification of |
| 9 | students by a postsecondary institution; providing |
| 10 | applicability; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Section 1009.286, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 15 | to read: |
| 16 | 1009.286 Additional student payment required for hours |
| 17 | exceeding graduation requirements.-- |
| 18 | (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to discourage |
| 19 | undergraduate students in postsecondary education from exceeding |
| 20 | the number of credit hours required to complete the students' |
| 21 | respective degree programs. Accordingly, a student must pay 75 |
| 22 | percent more than the in-state tuition rate for any credit hours |
| 23 | that the student takes in excess of 120 percent of the number of |
| 24 | credit hours required to complete the degree program in which he |
| 25 | or she is enrolled. |
| 26 | (2) A student who is enrolled in a community college must |
| 27 | pay 75 percent more than the in-state tuition rate for credit |
| 28 | hours that the student takes in excess of 120 percent of the |
| 29 | credit hours required to earn an associate degree, except that a |
| 30 | community college student who has earned an associate degree |
| 31 | need not pay the full cost for a maximum of 24 hours taken while |
| 32 | enrolled at a community college that apply to his or her |
| 33 | baccalaureate degree. |
| 34 | (3) An undergraduate student who is enrolled in a state |
| 35 | university must pay 75 percent more than the in-state tuition |
| 36 | rate for credit hours that the student takes in excess of 120 |
| 37 | percent of the credit hours required to complete the degree |
| 38 | program in which he or she is enrolled, regardless of whether |
| 39 | those hours were taken while enrolled at a community college, a |
| 40 | state university, or any private postsecondary institution if |
| 41 | the student received state funds while enrolled at the private |
| 42 | postsecondary institution. |
| 43 | (4) An undergraduate student who is enrolled in a |
| 44 | baccalaureate degree program at a community college must pay 75 |
| 45 | percent more than the in-state tuition rate for credit hours |
| 46 | that the student takes in excess of 120 percent of the number of |
| 47 | credit hours required to complete the degree program in which he |
| 48 | or she is enrolled, regardless of whether those hours were taken |
| 49 | while enrolled at a community college, a state university, or |
| 50 | any private postsecondary institution if the student received |
| 51 | state funds while enrolled at the private postsecondary |
| 52 | institution. |
| 53 | (5) Credit hours earned under the following circumstances |
| 54 | are not calculated as hours required to earn a degree: |
| 55 | (a) College credits earned through an accelerated |
| 56 | mechanism identified in s. 1007.27; |
| 57 | (b) Credit hours earned through internship programs; |
| 58 | (c) Credit hours required for certification, |
| 59 | recertification, or certificate degrees; |
| 60 | (d) Credit hours in courses from which a student must |
| 61 | withdraw due to reasons of medical or personal hardship; |
| 62 | (e) Credit hours taken by active-duty military personnel; |
| 63 | (f) Credit hours required to achieve a dual major |
| 64 | undertaken while pursuing a degree; |
| 65 | (g) Credit hours in remedial courses and English as a |
| 66 | Second Language; and |
| 67 | (h) Credit hours earned in military science courses |
| 68 | (ROTC). |
| 69 | (6) Each postsecondary institution shall implement a |
| 70 | process for notifying students regarding this section. The |
| 71 | notice must be provided upon the student's initial enrollment in |
| 72 | the institution and again upon the student's having earned the |
| 73 | credit hours required to complete the degree program in which he |
| 74 | or she is enrolled. The notice must include a recommendation |
| 75 | that each student who intends to earn credit hours at the |
| 76 | institution beyond those required for his or her enrolled degree |
| 77 | program meet with his or her academic advisor. |
| 78 | (7) This section applies to freshmen enrolled in the fall |
| 79 | semester or term 2007 and all freshmen thereafter. |
| 80 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |