The Florida Senate

¹240.6045  Limited access competitive grant program.--

(1)  There is established a limited access competitive grant program which shall be administered by the Department of Education. The purpose of the program is to provide enrollment opportunities for qualified applicants in selected limited access programs or equivalent academic tracks.

(2)  The Postsecondary Education Planning Commission shall annually identify for the State Board of Education selected high priority employment fields that are designated programs that require a baccalaureate degree and for which one or more state universities have insufficient capacity to serve all qualified applicants.

(3)  Program applicants must be Florida residents, either community college graduates or state university students, who are qualified for admission to a selected independent college or university program directly related to a high priority employment field identified by the State Board of Education.

(4)  A limited access competitive grant may be awarded which equals 50 percent of the cost to the state per academic year of funding an undergraduate student in public postsecondary education if the recipient chooses to enroll in a comparable program provided by an eligible independent college or university in Florida. Eligible independent institutions shall be designated by the Department of Education and shall be selected from among institutions accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Priority shall be given to state residents who graduate from a Florida high school or community college.

(5)  The admissions and graduation requirements of the receiving independent college or university shall apply to the grant recipient.

(6)  The State Board of Education shall adopt any rules necessary for the implementation of this grant program.

(7)  The Postsecondary Education Planning Commission, in consultation with the Board of Regents, the State Board of Community Colleges, the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, and the State Board of Education, shall recommend to the Legislature an accountability process for the limited access competitive grant program. The process shall make use of existing information submitted by the respective system in conjunction with the establishment of the program. The process shall demonstrate an emphasis on assessment of the benefits and cost-effectiveness of the limited access competitive grant program in providing state residents with uninterrupted access to their major field of study leading to the successful completion of a baccalaureate degree in the shortest time possible. The Legislature shall provide oversight of this accountability process.

History.--s. 17, ch. 95-243; s. 28, ch. 95-392; s. 15, ch. 97-169; s. 31, ch. 97-246; 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.