Florida Senate - 2009 CS for SB 762
By the Committee on Higher Education and Senator Pruitt
589-02130-09 2009762c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to state university tuition and fees;
3 amending s. 216.136, F.S.; requiring the Education
4 Estimating Conference to develop information relating
5 to the national average of tuition and fees; amending
6 s. 1009.01, F.S.; revising the definition of the term
7 “tuition differential”; amending s. 1009.24, F.S.;
8 revising provisions relating to the use of the student
9 financial aid fee; deleting obsolete provisions;
10 revising provisions relating to the establishment of a
11 tuition differential; providing requirements for the
12 assessment and expenditure of a tuition differential;
13 providing requirements for a university board of
14 trustees to submit a proposal to the Board of
15 Governors to implement a tuition differential;
16 requiring the Board of Governors' review and approval
17 of a proposal; requiring the Board of Governors to
18 report specified information annually to the
19 Legislature and the Governor; providing for
20 application; providing an effective date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
25 216.136, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
26 216.136 Consensus estimating conferences; duties and
27 principals.—
28 (4) EDUCATION ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.—
29 (a) The Education Estimating Conference shall develop such
30 official information relating to the state public and private
31 educational system, including forecasts of student enrollments,
32 the national average of tuition and fees at public postsecondary
33 educational institutions, the number of students qualified for
34 state financial aid programs and for the William L. Boyd, IV,
35 Florida Resident Access Grant Program and the appropriation
36 required to fund the full award amounts for each program, fixed
37 capital outlay needs, and Florida Education Finance Program
38 formula needs, as the conference determines is needed for the
39 state planning and budgeting system. The conference's initial
40 projections of enrollments in public schools shall be forwarded
41 by the conference to each school district no later than 2 months
42 prior to the start of the regular session of the Legislature.
43 Each school district may, in writing, request adjustments to the
44 initial projections. Any adjustment request shall be submitted
45 to the conference no later than 1 month prior to the start of
46 the regular session of the Legislature and shall be considered
47 by the principals of the conference. A school district may amend
48 its adjustment request, in writing, during the first 3 weeks of
49 the legislative session, and such amended adjustment request
50 shall be considered by the principals of the conference. For any
51 adjustment so requested, the district shall indicate and
52 explain, using definitions adopted by the conference, the
53 components of anticipated enrollment changes that correspond to
54 continuation of current programs with workload changes; program
55 improvement; program reduction or elimination; initiation of new
56 programs; and any other information that may be needed by the
57 Legislature. For public schools, the conference shall submit its
58 full-time equivalent student consensus estimate to the
59 Legislature no later than 1 month after the start of the regular
60 session of the Legislature. No conference estimate may be
61 changed without the agreement of the full conference.
62 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 1009.01, Florida
63 Statutes, is amended to read:
64 1009.01 Definitions.—The term:
65 (3) “Tuition differential” means the supplemental fee
66 charged to a student for instruction provided by a public
67 university in this state pursuant to s. 1009.24(16).
68 Section 3. Subsections (7) and (16) of section 1009.24,
69 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
70 1009.24 State university student fees.—
71 (7) A university board of trustees is authorized to collect
72 for financial aid purposes an amount not to exceed 5 percent of
73 the tuition and out-of-state fee. The revenues from fees are to
74 remain at each campus and replace existing financial aid fees.
75 Such funds shall be disbursed to students as quickly as
76 possible. A minimum of 75 percent of funds from the student
77 financial aid fee for new financial aid awards shall be used to
78 provide financial aid based on absolute need. A student who has
79 received an award prior to July 1, 1984, shall have his or her
80 eligibility assessed on the same criteria that were used at the
81 time of his or her original award. The Board of Governors shall
82 develop criteria for making financial aid awards. Each
83 university shall report annually to the Board of Governors and
84 the Department of Education on the revenue collected pursuant to
85 this subsection, the amount carried forward, the criteria used
86 to make awards, the amount and number of awards for each
87 criterion, and a delineation of the distribution of such awards.
88 The report shall include an assessment by category of the
89 financial need of every student who receives an award,
90 regardless of the purpose for which the award is received.
91 Awards which are based on financial need shall be distributed in
92 accordance with a nationally recognized system of need analysis
93 approved by the Board of Governors. An award for academic merit
94 shall require a minimum overall grade point average of 3.0 on a
95 4.0 scale or the equivalent for both initial receipt of the
96 award and renewal of the award.
97 (16) Each university board of trustees may establish a
98 tuition differential for undergraduate courses upon receipt of
99 approval from the Board of Governors. The tuition differential
100 shall promote improvements in the quality of undergraduate
101 education and shall provide financial aid to undergraduate
102 students who exhibit financial need.
103 (a) Seventy-percent of the revenues from the tuition
104 differential shall be expended for purposes of undergraduate
105 education. Such expenditures may include, but are not limited
106 to, increasing course offerings, improving graduation rates,
107 increasing the percentage of undergraduate students who are
108 taught by faculty, decreasing student-faculty ratios, providing
109 salary increases for faculty who have a history of excellent
110 teaching in undergraduate courses, improving the efficiency of
111 the delivery of undergraduate education through academic
112 advisement and counseling, and reducing the percentage of
113 students who graduate with excess hours. This expenditure for
114 undergraduate education may not be used to pay the salaries of
115 graduate teaching assistants. The remaining 30 percent of the
116 revenues from the tuition differential, or the equivalent amount
117 of revenue from private sources, shall be expended to provide
118 financial aid to undergraduate students who exhibit financial
119 need to meet the cost of university attendance. This expenditure
120 for need-based financial aid shall not supplant the amount of
121 need-based aid provided to undergraduate students in the
122 preceding fiscal year from financial aid fee revenues, the
123 direct appropriation for financial assistance provided to state
124 universities in the General Appropriations Act, or from private
125 sources.
126 (b) Each tuition differential is subject to the following
127 conditions:
128 1. The tuition differential may be assessed on one or more
129 undergraduate courses or on all undergraduate courses at a state
130 university.
131 2. The tuition differential may vary by course or courses,
132 campus or center location, and by institution.
133 3. The aggregate sum of tuition and the tuition
134 differential charged for a given course or courses may not be
135 increased by more than 15 percent of the total charged for the
136 aggregate sum of these fees in the same course or courses in the
137 preceding fiscal year.
138 4. The aggregate sum of undergraduate tuition and fees per
139 credit hour, including the tuition differential, may not exceed
140 the national average of undergraduate tuition and fees at 4-year
141 degree-granting public postsecondary educational institutions.
142 5. The tuition differential may not be calculated as a part
143 of the scholarship programs established in ss. 1009.53-1009.538.
144 6. Beneficiaries having prepaid tuition contracts pursuant
145 to s. 1009.98(2)(b) which were in effect on July 1, 2007, and
146 which remain in effect, are exempt from the payment of the
147 tuition differential.
148 7. The tuition differential may not be charged to any
149 student who was in attendance at the university before July 1,
150 2007, and who maintains continuous enrollment.
151 8. The tuition differential may be waived by the university
152 for students who meet the eligibility requirements for the
153 Florida public student assistance grant established in s.
154 1009.50.
155 9. Subject to approval by the Board of Governors, the
156 tuition differential authorized pursuant to this subsection may
157 take effect with the 2009 fall term.
158 (c) A university board of trustees may submit a proposal to
159 the Board of Governors to implement a tuition differential for
160 one or more undergraduate courses. At a minimum, the proposal
161 shall:
162 1. Identify the course or courses for which the tuition
163 differential will be assessed.
164 2. Indicate the amount that will be assessed for each
165 tuition differential proposed.
166 3. Indicate the purpose of the tuition differential.
167 4. Indicate how the revenues from the tuition differential
168 will be used.
169 5. Indicate how the university will monitor the success of
170 the tuition differential in achieving the purpose for which the
171 tuition differential is being assessed.
172 (d) The Board of Governors shall review each proposal and
173 advise the university board of trustees of approval of the
174 proposal, the need for additional information or revision to the
175 proposal, or denial of the proposal. The Board of Governors
176 shall establish a process for any university to revise a
177 proposal or appeal a decision of the board.
178 (e) The Board of Governors shall submit a report to the
179 President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
180 Representatives, and the Governor describing the implementation
181 of the provisions of this subsection no later than January 1,
182 2010, and no later than January 1 each year thereafter. The
183 report shall summarize proposals received by the board during
184 the preceding fiscal year and actions taken by the board in
185 response to such proposals. In addition, the report shall
186 provide the following information for each university that has
187 been approved by the board to assess a tuition differential:
188 1. The course or courses for which the tuition differential
189 was assessed and the amount assessed.
190 2. The total revenues generated by the tuition
191 differential.
192 3. With respect to waivers authorized under subparagraph
193 (b)8., the number of students eligible for a waiver, the number
194 of students receiving a waiver, and the value of waivers
195 provided.
196 4. Detailed expenditures of the revenues generated by the
197 tuition differential.
198 5. Changes in retention rates, graduation rates, the
199 percentage of students graduating with more than 110 percent of
200 the hours required for graduation, pass rates on licensure
201 examinations, the number of undergraduate course offerings, the
202 percentage of undergraduate students who are taught by faculty,
203 student-faculty ratios, and the average salaries of faculty who
204 teach undergraduate courses.
205 (f) No state university shall be required to lower any
206 tuition differential that was approved by the Board of Governors
207 and in effect prior to January 1, 2009, in order to comply with
208 the provisions of this subsection. The Board of Governors may
209 establish a uniform maximum undergraduate tuition differential
210 that does not exceed 40 percent of tuition for all universities
211 that meet the criteria for Funding Level 1 under s. 1004.635(3),
212 and may establish a uniform maximum undergraduate tuition
213 differential that does not exceed 30 percent of tuition for all
214 universities that have total research and development
215 expenditures for all fields of at least $100 million per year as
216 reported annually to the National Science Foundation. Once these
217 criteria have been met and the differential established by the
218 Board of Governors, the board of trustees of a qualified
219 university may maintain the differential unless otherwise
220 directed by the Board of Governors. However, the board shall
221 ensure that the maximum tuition differential it establishes for
222 universities meeting the Funding Level 1 criteria is at least 30
223 percent greater than the maximum tuition differential the board
224 establishes for universities that meet the required criteria for
225 research and development expenditures. The tuition differential
226 is subject to the following conditions:
227 (a) The sum of tuition and the tuition differential may not
228 be increased by more than 15 percent of the total charged for
229 these fees in the preceding fiscal year.
230 (b) The tuition differential may not be calculated as a
231 part of the scholarship programs established in ss. 1009.53
232 1009.537.
233 (c) Beneficiaries having prepaid tuition contracts pursuant
234 to s. 1009.98(2)(b) which were in effect on July 1, 2007, and
235 which remain in effect, are exempt from the payment of the
236 tuition differential.
237 (d) The tuition differential may not be charged to any
238 student who was in attendance at the university before July 1,
239 2007, and who maintains continuous enrollment.
240 (e) The tuition differential may be waived by the
241 university for students who meet the eligibility requirements
242 for the Florida public student assistance grant established in
243 s. 1009.50.
244 (f) A university board of trustees that has been authorized
245 by the Board of Governors to establish a tuition differential
246 pursuant to this subsection may establish the tuition
247 differential at a rate lower than the maximum tuition
248 differential established by the board, but may not exceed the
249 maximum tuition differential established by the board.
250 (g) The revenue generated from the tuition differential
251 must be spent solely for improving the quality of direct
252 undergraduate instruction and support services.
253 (h) Information relating to the annual receipt and
254 expenditure of the proceeds from the assessment of the tuition
255 differential shall be reported by the university in accordance
256 with guidelines established by the Board of Governors.
257 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.