Senate Bill sb1710
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 1710
By Senator Oelrich
14-1403-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to academic fees; amending s.
3 1009.24, F.S.; authorizing the Board of
4 Governors to delegate authority to establish
5 certain fees for academic enhancement to the
6 board of trustees of a university; providing an
7 effective date.
8
9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
10
11 Section 1. Section 1009.24, Florida Statutes, is
12 amended to read:
13 1009.24 State university student fees.--
14 (1) This section applies to students enrolled in
15 college credit programs at state universities.
16 (2) All students shall be charged fees except students
17 who are exempt from fees or students whose fees are waived.
18 (3) Except as otherwise provided by law, undergraduate
19 tuition shall be established annually in the General
20 Appropriations Act. The Board of Governors, or the board's
21 designee, may establish tuition for graduate and professional
22 programs, and out-of-state fees for all programs. The sum of
23 tuition and out-of-state fees assessed to nonresident students
24 must be sufficient to offset the full instructional cost of
25 serving such students. However, adjustments to out-of-state
26 fees or tuition for graduate and professional programs
27 pursuant to this section may not exceed 10 percent in any
28 year. The sum of the activity and service, health, and
29 athletic fees a student is required to pay to register for a
30 course shall not exceed 40 percent of the tuition established
31 in law or in the General Appropriations Act. No university
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 1710
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1 shall be required to lower any fee in effect on the effective
2 date of this act in order to comply with this subsection.
3 Within the 40 percent cap, universities may not increase the
4 aggregate sum of activity and service, health, and athletic
5 fees more than 5 percent per year unless specifically
6 authorized in law or in the General Appropriations Act. A
7 university may increase its athletic fee to defray the costs
8 associated with changing National Collegiate Athletic
9 Association divisions. Any such increase in the athletic fee
10 may exceed both the 40 percent cap and the 5 percent cap
11 imposed by this subsection. Any such increase must be approved
12 by the athletic fee committee in the process outlined in
13 subsection (11) and cannot exceed $2 per credit hour.
14 Notwithstanding the provisions of ss. 1009.534, 1009.535, and
15 1009.536, that portion of any increase in an athletic fee
16 pursuant to this subsection that causes the sum of the
17 activity and service, health, and athletic fees to exceed the
18 40 percent cap or the annual increase in such fees to exceed
19 the 5 percent cap shall not be included in calculating the
20 amount a student receives for a Florida Academic Scholars
21 award, a Florida Medallion Scholars award, or a Florida Gold
22 Seal Vocational Scholars award. This subsection does not
23 prohibit a university from increasing or assessing optional
24 fees related to specific activities if payment of such fees is
25 not required as a part of registration for courses.
26 (4) A university that has a service area that borders
27 another state may implement a plan for a differential
28 out-of-state fee.
29 (5) Students who are enrolled in Programs in Medical
30 Sciences are considered graduate students for the purpose of
31 enrollment and student fees.
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 1710
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1 (6) A university board of trustees is authorized to
2 collect for financial aid purposes an amount not to exceed 5
3 percent of the tuition and out-of-state fee. The revenues from
4 fees are to remain at each campus and replace existing
5 financial aid fees. Such funds shall be disbursed to students
6 as quickly as possible. A minimum of 75 percent of funds from
7 the student financial aid fee for new financial aid awards
8 shall be used to provide financial aid based on absolute need.
9 A student who has received an award prior to July 1, 1984,
10 shall have his or her eligibility assessed on the same
11 criteria that were used at the time of his or her original
12 award. The State Board of Education shall develop criteria for
13 making financial aid awards. Each university shall report
14 annually to the Department of Education on the revenue
15 collected pursuant to this subsection, the amount carried
16 forward, the criteria used to make awards, the amount and
17 number of awards for each criterion, and a delineation of the
18 distribution of such awards. The report shall include an
19 assessment by category of the financial need of every student
20 who receives an award, regardless of the purpose for which the
21 award is received. Awards which are based on financial need
22 shall be distributed in accordance with a nationally
23 recognized system of need analysis approved by the State Board
24 of Education. An award for academic merit shall require a
25 minimum overall grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or
26 the equivalent for both initial receipt of the award and
27 renewal of the award.
28 (7) The Capital Improvement Trust Fund fee is
29 established as $2.44 per credit hour per semester. The
30 building fee is established as $2.32 per credit hour per
31 semester.
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 1710
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1 (8) Each university board of trustees is authorized to
2 establish separate activity and service, health, and athletic
3 fees. When duly established, the fees shall be collected as
4 component parts of tuition and fees and shall be retained by
5 the university and paid into the separate activity and
6 service, health, and athletic funds.
7 (9)(a) Each university board of trustees shall
8 establish a student activity and service fee on the main
9 campus of the university. The university board may also
10 establish a student activity and service fee on any branch
11 campus or center. Any subsequent increase in the activity and
12 service fee must be recommended by an activity and service fee
13 committee, at least one-half of whom are students appointed by
14 the student body president. The remainder of the committee
15 shall be appointed by the university president. A chairperson,
16 appointed jointly by the university president and the student
17 body president, shall vote only in the case of a tie. The
18 recommendations of the committee shall take effect only after
19 approval by the university president, after consultation with
20 the student body president, with final approval by the
21 university board of trustees. An increase in the activity and
22 service fee may occur only once each fiscal year and must be
23 implemented beginning with the fall term. The State Board of
24 Education is responsible for promulgating the rules and
25 timetables necessary to implement this fee.
26 (b) The student activity and service fees shall be
27 expended for lawful purposes to benefit the student body in
28 general. This shall include, but shall not be limited to,
29 student publications and grants to duly recognized student
30 organizations, the membership of which is open to all students
31 at the university without regard to race, sex, or religion.
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1 The fund may not benefit activities for which an admission fee
2 is charged to students, except for
3 student-government-association-sponsored concerts. The
4 allocation and expenditure of the fund shall be determined by
5 the student government association of the university, except
6 that the president of the university may veto any line item or
7 portion thereof within the budget when submitted by the
8 student government association legislative body. The
9 university president shall have 15 school days from the date
10 of presentation of the budget to act on the allocation and
11 expenditure recommendations, which shall be deemed approved if
12 no action is taken within the 15 school days. If any line item
13 or portion thereof within the budget is vetoed, the student
14 government association legislative body shall within 15 school
15 days make new budget recommendations for expenditure of the
16 vetoed portion of the fund. If the university president vetoes
17 any line item or portion thereof within the new budget
18 revisions, the university president may reallocate by line
19 item that vetoed portion to bond obligations guaranteed by
20 activity and service fees. Unexpended funds and undisbursed
21 funds remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall be carried
22 over and remain in the student activity and service fund and
23 be available for allocation and expenditure during the next
24 fiscal year.
25 (10) Each university board of trustees shall establish
26 a student health fee on the main campus of the university. The
27 university board of trustees may also establish a student
28 health fee on any branch campus or center. Any subsequent
29 increase in the health fee must be recommended by a health
30 committee, at least one-half of whom are students appointed by
31 the student body president. The remainder of the committee
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1 shall be appointed by the university president. A chairperson,
2 appointed jointly by the university president and the student
3 body president, shall vote only in the case of a tie. The
4 recommendations of the committee shall take effect only after
5 approval by the university president, after consultation with
6 the student body president, with final approval by the
7 university board of trustees. An increase in the health fee
8 may occur only once each fiscal year and must be implemented
9 beginning with the fall term. The State Board of Education is
10 responsible for promulgating the rules and timetables
11 necessary to implement this fee.
12 (11) Each university board of trustees shall establish
13 a separate athletic fee on the main campus of the university.
14 The university board may also establish a separate athletic
15 fee on any branch campus or center. Any subsequent increase in
16 the athletic fee must be recommended by an athletic fee
17 committee, at least one-half of whom are students appointed by
18 the student body president. The remainder of the committee
19 shall be appointed by the university president. A chairperson,
20 appointed jointly by the university president and the student
21 body president, shall vote only in the case of a tie. The
22 recommendations of the committee shall take effect only after
23 approval by the university president, after consultation with
24 the student body president, with final approval by the
25 university board of trustees. An increase in the athletic fee
26 may occur only once each fiscal year and must be implemented
27 beginning with the fall term. The State Board of Education is
28 responsible for promulgating the rules and timetables
29 necessary to implement this fee.
30 (12) The Board of Governors may delegate to a
31 university board of trustees the authority to establish an
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 1710
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1 academic enhancement fee as required to support an academic
2 enhancement program as approved by the Board of Governors.
3 This fee is not subject to the provisions of s. 1009.53, s.
4 1009.534, s. 1009.535, or s. 1009.536.
5 (13)(12) Each university board of trustees is
6 authorized to establish the following fees:
7 (a) A nonrefundable application fee in an amount not
8 to exceed $30.
9 (b) An orientation fee in an amount not to exceed $35.
10 (c) A fee for security, access, or identification
11 cards. The annual fee for such a card may not exceed $10 per
12 card. The maximum amount charged for a replacement card may
13 not exceed $15.
14 (d) Registration fees for audit and zero-hours
15 registration; a service charge, which may not exceed $15, for
16 the payment of tuition in installments; and a
17 late-registration fee in an amount not less than $50 nor more
18 than $100 to be imposed on students who fail to initiate
19 registration during the regular registration period.
20 (e) A late-payment fee in an amount not less than $50
21 nor more than $100 to be imposed on students who fail to pay
22 or fail to make appropriate arrangements to pay (by means of
23 installment payment, deferment, or third-party billing)
24 tuition by the deadline set by each university. Each
25 university may adopt specific procedures or policies for
26 waiving the late-payment fee for minor underpayments.
27 (f) A fee for miscellaneous health-related charges for
28 services provided at cost by the university health center
29 which are not covered by the health fee set under subsection
30 (10).
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1 (g) Materials and supplies fees to offset the cost of
2 materials or supplies that are consumed in the course of the
3 student's instructional activities, excluding the cost of
4 equipment replacement, repairs, and maintenance.
5 (h) Housing rental rates and miscellaneous housing
6 charges for services provided by the university at the request
7 of the student.
8 (i) A charge representing the reasonable cost of
9 efforts to collect payment of overdue accounts.
10 (j) A service charge on university loans in lieu of
11 interest and administrative handling charges.
12 (k) A fee for off-campus course offerings when the
13 location results in specific, identifiable increased costs to
14 the university.
15 (l) Library fees and fines, including charges for
16 damaged and lost library materials, overdue reserve library
17 books, interlibrary loans, and literature searches.
18 (m) Fees relating to duplicating, photocopying,
19 binding, and microfilming; copyright services; and
20 standardized testing. These fees may be charged only to those
21 who receive the services.
22 (n) Fees and fines relating to the use, late return,
23 and loss and damage of facilities and equipment.
24 (o) A returned-check fee as authorized by s. 832.07(1)
25 for unpaid checks returned to the university.
26 (p) Traffic and parking fines, charges for parking
27 decals, and transportation access fees.
28 (q) An Educational Research Center for Child
29 Development fee for child care and services offered by the
30 center.
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 1710
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1 (r) Fees for transcripts and diploma replacement, not
2 to exceed $10 per item.
3 (14)(13) Each university board of trustees is
4 authorized to establish a nonrefundable admissions deposit for
5 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs in
6 an amount not to exceed $200. The admissions deposit shall be
7 imposed at the time of an applicant's acceptance to the
8 university and shall be applied toward tuition upon
9 enrollment. In the event the applicant does not enroll in the
10 university, the admissions deposit shall be deposited in an
11 auxiliary account of the university and used to expand
12 financial assistance, scholarships, and student academic and
13 career counseling services at the university. A university
14 board of trustees that establishes an admissions deposit
15 pursuant to this subsection must also adopt policies that
16 provide for the waiver of such deposit on the basis of
17 financial hardship.
18 (15)(14) Each university may assess a service charge
19 for the payment of tuition and fees in installments. Such
20 service charge must be approved by the university board of
21 trustees.
22 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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25 SENATE SUMMARY
26 Authorizes the Board of Governors to delegate authority
to establish certain fees to the board of trustees of a
27 university.
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