| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to state university student fees; creating |
| 3 | s. 1009.245, F.S.; authorizing the establishment of an |
| 4 | academic enhancement fee at the University of Florida to |
| 5 | support the academic enhancement pilot program approved by |
| 6 | the Board of Governors of the State University System; |
| 7 | providing guidelines for the fee; providing exceptions; |
| 8 | providing for use of proceeds; requiring grant aid or |
| 9 | waivers for certain students; providing restrictions with |
| 10 | respect to coverage by certain scholarships; requiring an |
| 11 | annual report; amending s. 1009.98, F.S.; authorizing the |
| 12 | Florida Prepaid College Board to provide advance payment |
| 13 | contracts for the academic enhancement fee; providing |
| 14 | exemption from payment of the fee; providing an effective |
| 15 | date. |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Section 1. Section 1009.245, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 20 | to read: |
| 21 | 1009.245 University of Florida Academic Enhancement Pilot |
| 22 | Program.-- |
| 23 | (1) The University of Florida Board of Trustees is |
| 24 | authorized to establish an academic enhancement fee to support |
| 25 | the academic enhancement pilot program approved by the Board of |
| 26 | Governors to improve the quality of education provided to |
| 27 | undergraduate students at the University of Florida. The fee may |
| 28 | be implemented beginning Fall 2008. |
| 29 | (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section and |
| 30 | notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the |
| 31 | sum of the activity and service, health, and athletic fees |
| 32 | authorized pursuant to s. 1009.24 and the academic enhancement |
| 33 | fee authorized pursuant to this section shall not exceed 40 |
| 34 | percent of the undergraduate tuition established in law or in |
| 35 | the General Appropriations Act. Annual increases in the |
| 36 | aggregate sum of the activity and service, health, athletic, and |
| 37 | academic enhancement fees are not subject to the 5 percent cap |
| 38 | imposed by s. 1009.24. The provisions of this paragraph shall |
| 39 | not apply to new undergraduate students who enter the University |
| 40 | of Florida in Fall 2012 or thereafter. |
| 41 | (b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the |
| 42 | academic enhancement fee may be assessed to any student who |
| 43 | registers for an undergraduate course. |
| 44 | (c) An increase in the academic enhancement fee may occur |
| 45 | only once each fiscal year and must be implemented beginning |
| 46 | with the fall term. |
| 47 | (d) Effective with new undergraduate students entering the |
| 48 | University of Florida in Fall 2012 and thereafter, the academic |
| 49 | enhancement fee may not exceed $500 per semester or $1,000 per |
| 50 | year, whichever is less. |
| 51 | (e) The proceeds from the academic enhancement fee |
| 52 | authorized by this section shall be used to hire additional |
| 53 | tenure-track faculty and academic counselors to serve |
| 54 | undergraduate students, improve the undergraduate student- |
| 55 | faculty ratio, reduce the class size in undergraduate courses, |
| 56 | and offer more high-demand undergraduate courses. |
| 57 | (2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the |
| 58 | University of Florida shall provide grant aid or a waiver from |
| 59 | the academic enhancement fee authorized by this section for: |
| 60 | (a) Any student who demonstrates financial need by |
| 61 | completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid unless |
| 62 | the fee would otherwise be covered by the Florida Bright Futures |
| 63 | Scholarship Program pursuant to the provisions of this section. |
| 64 | A student is not required to receive a Pell Grant to be eligible |
| 65 | for the grant aid or waiver required by this paragraph. |
| 66 | (b) That portion of the academic enhancement fee not |
| 67 | covered by the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program for |
| 68 | any student who receives a Florida Medallion Scholars award or a |
| 69 | Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award if the student |
| 70 | entered the University of Florida prior to Fall 2012 and is the |
| 71 | beneficiary of an advance payment contract issued pursuant to s. |
| 72 | 1009.98 and entered into prior to July 1, 2007. |
| 73 | (c) Any student who is the beneficiary of an advance |
| 74 | payment contract issued pursuant to s. 1009.98 and entered into |
| 75 | prior to July 1, 2007, if the student entered the University of |
| 76 | Florida prior to Fall 2012 and is not eligible to receive an |
| 77 | award from the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program. |
| 78 | (d) Any student who enters the University of Florida in |
| 79 | Fall 2012 or thereafter and is the beneficiary of an advance |
| 80 | payment contract issued pursuant to s. 1009.98 and entered into |
| 81 | prior to July 1, 2007. |
| 82 | (3) Effective with new undergraduate students entering the |
| 83 | University of Florida in Fall 2012 and thereafter, and |
| 84 | notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the |
| 85 | academic enhancement fee authorized by this section is not |
| 86 | covered by the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program |
| 87 | established pursuant to ss. 1009.53-1009.536. |
| 88 | (4) The University of Florida shall report annually by |
| 89 | December 1 to the Board of Governors, the Executive Office of |
| 90 | the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of |
| 91 | the House of Representatives on the revenues collected pursuant |
| 92 | to this section, the number of students paying the fee, the |
| 93 | number of students for whom grant aid was provided or the fee |
| 94 | was waived, the number of new faculty hired from fee revenues, |
| 95 | the number of new academic counselors hired from fee revenues, |
| 96 | improvements in the student-faculty ratio, improvements in |
| 97 | undergraduate class size, increases in the number of |
| 98 | undergraduate course offerings, improvements in retention rates, |
| 99 | and improvements in graduation rates. |
| 100 | Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) and subsection |
| 101 | (7) of section 1009.98, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 102 | 1009.98 Stanley G. Tate Florida Prepaid College Program.-- |
| 103 | (2) PREPAID COLLEGE PLANS.--At a minimum, the board shall |
| 104 | make advance payment contracts available for two independent |
| 105 | plans to be known as the community college plan and the |
| 106 | university plan. The board may also make advance payment |
| 107 | contracts available for a dormitory residence plan. The board |
| 108 | may restrict the number of participants in the community college |
| 109 | plan, university plan, and dormitory residence plan, |
| 110 | respectively. However, any person denied participation solely on |
| 111 | the basis of such restriction shall be granted priority for |
| 112 | participation during the succeeding year. |
| 113 | (b)1. Through the university plan, the advance payment |
| 114 | contract shall provide prepaid registration fees for a specified |
| 115 | number of undergraduate semester credit hours not to exceed the |
| 116 | average number of hours required for the conference of a |
| 117 | baccalaureate degree. Qualified beneficiaries shall bear the |
| 118 | cost of any laboratory fees associated with enrollment in |
| 119 | specific courses. Each qualified beneficiary shall be classified |
| 120 | as a resident for tuition purposes pursuant to s. 1009.21, |
| 121 | regardless of his or her actual legal residence. |
| 122 | 2. Effective July 1, 1998, the board may provide advance |
| 123 | payment contracts for additional fees delineated in s. |
| 124 | 1009.24(8)-(11), for a specified number of undergraduate |
| 125 | semester credit hours not to exceed the average number of hours |
| 126 | required for the conference of a baccalaureate degree, in |
| 127 | conjunction with advance payment contracts for registration |
| 128 | fees. Such contracts shall provide prepaid coverage for the sum |
| 129 | of such fees, to a maximum of 45 percent of the cost of |
| 130 | registration fees. University plan contracts purchased prior to |
| 131 | July 1, 1998, shall be limited to the payment of registration |
| 132 | fees as defined in s. 1009.97. |
| 133 | 3. Effective July 1, 2007, the board may provide advance |
| 134 | payment contracts for the academic enhancement fee authorized in |
| 135 | s. 1009.245, for a specified number of undergraduate semester |
| 136 | credit hours not to exceed the average number of hours required |
| 137 | for the conference of a baccalaureate degree, in conjunction |
| 138 | with advance payment contracts for registration fees. |
| 139 | (7) OBLIGATIONS OF BOARD.-- |
| 140 | (a) The state shall agree to meet the obligations of the |
| 141 | board to qualified beneficiaries if moneys in the fund fail to |
| 142 | offset the obligations of the board. The Legislature shall |
| 143 | appropriate to the Florida Prepaid College Trust Fund the amount |
| 144 | necessary to meet the obligations of the board to qualified |
| 145 | beneficiaries. |
| 146 | (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the |
| 147 | contrary, the Florida Prepaid College Board and the Florida |
| 148 | Prepaid College Trust Fund are exempt from all payment of the |
| 149 | fee assessed pursuant to s. 1009.245 on behalf of all contract |
| 150 | beneficiaries except those with advance payment contracts |
| 151 | provided by the Florida Prepaid College Board for the fee |
| 152 | authorized pursuant to s. 1009.245. |
| 153 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |