Florida Senate - 2009                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 2318
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 575828                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/15/2009           .                                
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       The Committee on Higher Education (Lynn) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 1009.286, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         1009.286 Additional student payment required for hours
    8  exceeding graduation requirements.—
    9         (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage each
   10  undergraduate student who enrolls in a state university to
   11  complete the student’s respective baccalaureate degree program
   12  in the most efficient way possible while providing for access to
   13  additional college coursework. Therefore, the Legislature
   14  intends to enact a policy that provides incentives for efficient
   15  baccalaureate degree completion.
   16         (2) State universities shall require a student to pay an
   17  excess hour surcharge equal to 50 percent of the tuition rate
   18  for each credit hour in excess of 120 percent of the number of
   19  credit hours required to complete the baccalaureate degree
   20  program in which the student is enrolled, in accordance with the
   21  provisions of this section.
   22         (3) The provisions of this section shall become effective
   23  for students who enter a community college or a state university
   24  for the first time in the 2009-2010 academic year and
   25  thereafter.
   26         (4) Except as otherwise provided by law, and for purposes
   27  of this section, the following credit hours shall be included
   28  when calculating the number of hours taken by a student:
   29         (a) All credit hours for courses taken at the state
   30  university from which the student is seeking a baccalaureate
   31  degree, including failed courses, courses that are dropped after
   32  the university’s advertised last day of the drop and add period,
   33  and repeated courses, except for which the student has paid the
   34  full cost of instruction as provided in s. 1009.285.
   35         (b) All credit hours earned at another institution and
   36  accepted for transfer by the state university and applied toward
   37  the student’s baccalaureate degree program.
   38         (5) For purposes of this section, credit hours earned under
   39  the following circumstances are not calculated as hours required
   40  to earn a baccalaureate degree:
   41         (a) College credits earned through an articulated
   42  accelerated mechanism identified in s. 1007.27.
   43         (b) Credit hours earned through internship programs.
   44         (c) Credit hours required for certification,
   45  recertification, or certificate programs.
   46         (d) Credit hours in courses from which a student must
   47  withdraw due to reasons of medical or personal hardship.
   48         (e) Credit hours taken by active-duty military personnel.
   49         (f) Credit hours required to achieve a dual major taken
   50  while pursuing a baccalaureate degree.
   51         (g) Remedial and English as a Second Language credit hours.
   52         (h) Credit hours earned in military science courses
   53  (R.O.T.C.).
   54         (6) Each state university and community college shall
   55  implement a process for notifying students regarding the
   56  provisions of this section. The notice must be provided to a
   57  student upon his or her initial enrollment in the institution
   58  and again upon the student’s having earned the credit hours
   59  required to complete the baccalaureate degree program in which
   60  the student is enrolled. The notice must include a
   61  recommendation that each student who intends to earn credit
   62  hours at the institution in excess of the credit hours required
   63  for the baccalaureate degree program in which the student is
   64  enrolled meet with his or her academic advisor.
   65         (7) For purposes of this section, the term “state
   66  university” includes the institutions identified in s.
   67  1000.21(6) and the term “community college” includes the
   68  institutions identified in s. 1000.21(3).
   69         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.
   70  
   71  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   72         And the title is amended as follows:
   73         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   74  and insert:
   75                        A bill to be entitled                      
   76         An act relating to postsecondary tuition rates;
   77         creating s. 1009.286, F.S.; requiring an additional
   78         payment for credit hours exceeding the requirements
   79         for completing a baccalaureate degree program;
   80         providing exceptions; requiring notice upon a
   81         student’s initial enrollment in a state university or
   82         community college; providing an effective date.