The Florida Senate

¹240.4986  Health Care Education Quality Enhancement Challenge Grant Program for Community Colleges.--

(1)  There is established the Health Care Education Quality Enhancement Challenge Grant Program for Community Colleges to be administered by the Division of Community Colleges. The program shall provide matching grants for private contributions made to community colleges pursuant to this section. The program shall be used to encourage private support to improve quality of nursing programs and other health care education programs at community colleges in Florida. Such improvement includes increasing student access to, enrollment in, and completion of health care education programs.

(2)  The Legislature shall designate funds for the program. Such funds shall be divided into challenge grants to be administered by the Division of Community Colleges for distribution to community colleges.

(3)  The Legislature shall match each contribution from private sources made to community colleges pursuant to this section with $400 of state funds for each $600 in private contributions. Funds sufficient to provide the match shall be transferred to the community college upon certification that a proportionate amount has been received and deposited by the community college foundation in its own fund.

(4)  For every year in which there is a legislative appropriation to this program, the State Board of Community Colleges shall determine an amount of funds, based on the FTE enrollment in health care education programs, to be reserved to permit each community college an opportunity to match the challenge grant. The balance of the funds shall be available for matching by any community college. Funds which remain unmatched on March 1 of any year shall also be available for matching by any college. The State Board of Community Colleges shall establish the maximum amount which a college may receive from a legislative appropriation in any fiscal year.

(5)  The State Board of Community Colleges may establish priorities for use of these funds. Such use may include:

(a)  Expansion of enrollment.

(b)  Activities which improve retention.

(c)  Implementation of articulation agreements.

(d)  Cooperative programs between colleges, including, but not limited to, offering courses through satellite or video transmission and other linkage programs.

(6)  Each community college shall establish its own fund as a depository for the matching grant funds. The community college foundation shall be responsible for the maintenance, investment, and administration of its fund. Private contributions matched under the Health Care Education Quality Enhancement Challenge Grant Program may not be matched under other state matching programs.

(7)  The board of trustees of each community college, together with the college's foundation representing private contributors' interests, shall be responsible for determining the uses of the proceeds in its fund within the community college's nursing and health care education programs.

(8)  This section shall be implemented only to the extent specifically funded and authorized by law.

History.--s. 5, ch. 89-354; s. 64, ch. 92-136; s. 23, ch. 95-376; s. 3(7), ch. 2000-321.

¹Note.--Repealed January 7, 2003, by s. 3(7), ch. 2000-321, and shall be reviewed by the Legislature prior to that date.