The Florida Senate

1009.24  State university student fees.--

(1)  This section applies to students enrolled in college credit programs at state universities.

(2)  All students shall be charged fees except students who are exempt from fees or students whose fees are waived.

(3)  All moneys from tuition and fees shall be deposited pursuant to s. 1011.42

(4)(a)  Effective January 1, 2008, the resident undergraduate tuition for lower-level and upper-level coursework shall be $77.39 per credit hour.

(b)  Beginning with the 2008-2009 fiscal year and each year thereafter, the resident undergraduate tuition per credit hour shall increase at the beginning of each fall semester at a rate equal to inflation, unless otherwise provided in the General Appropriations Act. The Office of Economic and Demographic Research shall report the rate of inflation to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Governor, and the Board of Governors each year prior to March 1. For purposes of this paragraph, the rate of inflation shall be defined as the rate of the 12-month percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average, All Items, or successor reports as reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, or its successor for December of the previous year. In the event the percentage change is negative, the resident undergraduate tuition shall remain at the same level as the prior fiscal year.

(c)  The Board of Governors, or the board's designee, may establish tuition for graduate and professional programs, and out-of-state fees for all programs. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the sum of tuition and out-of-state fees assessed to nonresident students must be sufficient to offset the full instructional cost of serving such students. However, adjustments to out-of-state fees or tuition for graduate programs and professional programs may not exceed 15 percent in any year.

(d)  The sum of the activity and service, health, and athletic fees a student is required to pay to register for a course shall not exceed 40 percent of the tuition established in law or in the General Appropriations Act. No university shall be required to lower any fee in effect on the effective date of this act in order to comply with this subsection. Within the 40 percent cap, universities may not increase the aggregate sum of activity and service, health, and athletic fees more than 5 percent per year unless specifically authorized in law or in the General Appropriations Act. A university may increase its athletic fee to defray the costs associated with changing National Collegiate Athletic Association divisions. Any such increase in the athletic fee may exceed both the 40 percent cap and the 5 percent cap imposed by this subsection. Any such increase must be approved by the athletic fee committee in the process outlined in subsection (12) and cannot exceed $2 per credit hour. Notwithstanding the provisions of ss. 1009.534, 1009.535, and 1009.536, that portion of any increase in an athletic fee pursuant to this subsection that causes the sum of the activity and service, health, and athletic fees to exceed the 40 percent cap or the annual increase in such fees to exceed the 5 percent cap shall not be included in calculating the amount a student receives for a Florida Academic Scholars award, a Florida Medallion Scholars award, or a Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award.

(e)  This subsection does not prohibit a university from increasing or assessing optional fees related to specific activities if payment of such fees is not required as a part of registration for courses.

(5)  A university may implement a differential out-of-state fee for the following:

(a)  A student from another state that borders the service area of the university.

(b)  A graduate student who has been determined to be a nonresident for tuition purposes pursuant to s. 1009.21 and has a .25 full-time equivalent appointment or greater as a graduate assistant, graduate research assistant, graduate teaching assistant, graduate research associate, or graduate teaching associate.

(c)  A graduate student who has been determined to be a nonresident for tuition purposes pursuant to s. 1009.21 and is receiving a full fellowship.

(6)  Students who are enrolled in Programs in Medical Sciences are considered graduate students for the purpose of enrollment and student fees.

(7)  A university board of trustees is authorized to collect for financial aid purposes an amount not to exceed 5 percent of the tuition and out-of-state fee. The revenues from fees are to remain at each campus and replace existing financial aid fees. Such funds shall be disbursed to students as quickly as possible. A minimum of 75 percent of funds from the student financial aid fee shall be used to provide financial aid based on absolute need. The Board of Governors shall develop criteria for making financial aid awards. Each university shall report annually to the Board of Governors and the Department of Education on the revenue collected pursuant to this subsection, the amount carried forward, the criteria used to make awards, the amount and number of awards for each criterion, and a delineation of the distribution of such awards. The report shall include an assessment by category of the financial need of every student who receives an award, regardless of the purpose for which the award is received. Awards which are based on financial need shall be distributed in accordance with a nationally recognized system of need analysis approved by the Board of Governors. An award for academic merit shall require a minimum overall grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or the equivalent for both initial receipt of the award and renewal of the award.

(8)  The Capital Improvement Trust Fund fee is established as $2.44 per credit hour per semester. The building fee is established as $2.32 per credit hour per semester.

(9)  Each university board of trustees is authorized to establish separate activity and service, health, and athletic fees. When duly established, the fees shall be collected as component parts of tuition and fees and shall be retained by the university and paid into the separate activity and service, health, and athletic funds. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a university may transfer revenues derived from the fees authorized pursuant to this subsection to a university direct-support organization of the university to be used only for the purpose of paying and securing debt on projects approved pursuant to s. 1010.62 and pursuant to a written agreement approved by the Board of Governors. The amount transferred may not exceed the amount authorized for annual debt service pursuant to s. 1010.62

(10)(a)  Each university board of trustees shall establish a student activity and service fee on the main campus of the university. The university board may also establish a student activity and service fee on any branch campus or center. Any subsequent increase in the activity and service fee must be recommended by an activity and service fee committee, at least one-half of whom are students appointed by the student body president. The remainder of the committee shall be appointed by the university president. A chairperson, appointed jointly by the university president and the student body president, shall vote only in the case of a tie. The recommendations of the committee shall take effect only after approval by the university president, after consultation with the student body president, with final approval by the university board of trustees. An increase in the activity and service fee may occur only once each fiscal year and must be implemented beginning with the fall term. The Board of Governors is responsible for adopting the rules and timetables necessary to implement this fee.

(b)  The student activity and service fees shall be expended for lawful purposes to benefit the student body in general. This shall include, but shall not be limited to, student publications and grants to duly recognized student organizations, the membership of which is open to all students at the university without regard to race, sex, or religion. The fund may not benefit activities for which an admission fee is charged to students, except for student-government-association-sponsored concerts. The allocation and expenditure of the fund shall be determined by the student government association of the university, except that the president of the university may veto any line item or portion thereof within the budget when submitted by the student government association legislative body. The university president shall have 15 school days from the date of presentation of the budget to act on the allocation and expenditure recommendations, which shall be deemed approved if no action is taken within the 15 school days. If any line item or portion thereof within the budget is vetoed, the student government association legislative body shall within 15 school days make new budget recommendations for expenditure of the vetoed portion of the fund. If the university president vetoes any line item or portion thereof within the new budget revisions, the university president may reallocate by line item that vetoed portion to bond obligations guaranteed by activity and service fees. Unexpended funds and undisbursed funds remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall be carried over and remain in the student activity and service fund and be available for allocation and expenditure during the next fiscal year.

(11)  Each university board of trustees shall establish a student health fee on the main campus of the university. The university board of trustees may also establish a student health fee on any branch campus or center. Any subsequent increase in the health fee must be recommended by a health committee, at least one-half of whom are students appointed by the student body president. The remainder of the committee shall be appointed by the university president. A chairperson, appointed jointly by the university president and the student body president, shall vote only in the case of a tie. The recommendations of the committee shall take effect only after approval by the university president, after consultation with the student body president, with final approval by the university board of trustees. An increase in the health fee may occur only once each fiscal year and must be implemented beginning with the fall term. The Board of Governors is responsible for adopting the rules and timetables necessary to implement this fee.

(12)  Each university board of trustees shall establish a separate athletic fee on the main campus of the university. The university board may also establish a separate athletic fee on any branch campus or center. Any subsequent increase in the athletic fee must be recommended by an athletic fee committee, at least one-half of whom are students appointed by the student body president. The remainder of the committee shall be appointed by the university president. A chairperson, appointed jointly by the university president and the student body president, shall vote only in the case of a tie. The recommendations of the committee shall take effect only after approval by the university president, after consultation with the student body president, with final approval by the university board of trustees. An increase in the athletic fee may occur only once each fiscal year and must be implemented beginning with the fall term. The Board of Governors is responsible for adopting the rules and timetables necessary to implement this fee.

(13)  Each university board of trustees is authorized to establish the following fees:

(a)  A nonrefundable application fee in an amount not to exceed $30.

(b)  An orientation fee in an amount not to exceed $35.

(c)  A fee for security, access, or identification cards. The annual fee for such a card may not exceed $10 per card. The maximum amount charged for a replacement card may not exceed $15.

(d)  Registration fees for audit and zero-hours registration; a service charge, which may not exceed $15, for the payment of tuition in installments; and a late-registration fee in an amount not less than $50 nor more than $100 to be imposed on students who fail to initiate registration during the regular registration period.

(e)  A late-payment fee in an amount not less than $50 nor more than $100 to be imposed on students who fail to pay or fail to make appropriate arrangements to pay (by means of installment payment, deferment, or third-party billing) tuition by the deadline set by each university. Each university may adopt specific procedures or policies for waiving the late-payment fee for minor underpayments.

(f)  A fee for miscellaneous health-related charges for services provided at cost by the university health center which are not covered by the health fee set under subsection (11).

(g)  Materials and supplies fees to offset the cost of materials or supplies that are consumed in the course of the student's instructional activities, excluding the cost of equipment replacement, repairs, and maintenance.

(h)  Housing rental rates and miscellaneous housing charges for services provided by the university at the request of the student.

(i)  A charge representing the reasonable cost of efforts to collect payment of overdue accounts.

(j)  A service charge on university loans in lieu of interest and administrative handling charges.

(k)  A fee for off-campus course offerings when the location results in specific, identifiable increased costs to the university.

(l)  Library fees and fines, including charges for damaged and lost library materials, overdue reserve library books, interlibrary loans, and literature searches.

(m)  Fees relating to duplicating, photocopying, binding, and microfilming; copyright services; and standardized testing. These fees may be charged only to those who receive the services.

(n)  Fees and fines relating to the use, late return, and loss and damage of facilities and equipment.

(o)  A returned-check fee as authorized by s. 832.07(1) for unpaid checks returned to the university.

(p)  Traffic and parking fines, charges for parking decals, and transportation access fees.

(q)  An Educational Research Center for Child Development fee for child care and services offered by the center.

(r)  Fees for transcripts and diploma replacement, not to exceed $10 per item.

(s)  A technology fee of up to 5 percent of the tuition per credit hour, beginning with the fall term of the 2009-2010 academic year. The revenue from this fee shall be used to enhance instructional technology resources for students and faculty. The technology fee shall not be included in any award under the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.

(14)  Each university board of trustees is authorized to establish a nonrefundable admissions deposit for undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs in an amount not to exceed $200. The admissions deposit shall be imposed at the time of an applicant's acceptance to the university and shall be applied toward tuition upon enrollment. In the event the applicant does not enroll in the university, the admissions deposit shall be deposited in an auxiliary account of the university and used to expand financial assistance, scholarships, and student academic and career counseling services at the university. A university board of trustees that establishes an admissions deposit pursuant to this subsection must also adopt policies that provide for the waiver of such deposit on the basis of financial hardship.

(15)  Each university may assess a service charge for the payment of tuition and fees in installments. Such service charge must be approved by the university board of trustees.

(16)  Each university board of trustees may establish a tuition differential for undergraduate courses upon receipt of approval from the Board of Governors. The tuition differential shall promote improvements in the quality of undergraduate education and shall provide financial aid to undergraduate students who exhibit financial need.

(a)  Seventy percent of the revenues from the tuition differential shall be expended for purposes of undergraduate education. Such expenditures may include, but are not limited to, increasing course offerings, improving graduation rates, increasing the percentage of undergraduate students who are taught by faculty, decreasing student-faculty ratios, providing salary increases for faculty who have a history of excellent teaching in undergraduate courses, improving the efficiency of the delivery of undergraduate education through academic advisement and counseling, and reducing the percentage of students who graduate with excess hours. This expenditure for undergraduate education may not be used to pay the salaries of graduate teaching assistants. The remaining 30 percent of the revenues from the tuition differential, or the equivalent amount of revenue from private sources, shall be expended to provide financial aid to undergraduate students who exhibit financial need to meet the cost of university attendance. This expenditure for need-based financial aid shall not supplant the amount of need-based aid provided to undergraduate students in the preceding fiscal year from financial aid fee revenues, the direct appropriation for financial assistance provided to state universities in the General Appropriations Act, or from private sources.

(b)  Each tuition differential is subject to the following conditions:

1.  The tuition differential may be assessed on one or more undergraduate courses or on all undergraduate courses at a state university.

2.  The tuition differential may vary by course or courses, campus or center location, and by institution. Each university board of trustees shall strive to maintain and increase enrollment in degree programs related to math, science, high technology, and other state or regional high-need fields when establishing tuition differentials by course.

3.  For each state university that has total research and development expenditures for all fields of at least $100 million per year as reported annually to the National Science Foundation, the aggregate sum of tuition and the tuition differential may not be increased by more than 15 percent of the total charged for the aggregate sum of these fees in the preceding fiscal year. For each state university that has total research and development expenditures for all fields of less than $100 million per year as reported annually to the National Science Foundation, the aggregate sum of tuition and the tuition differential may not be increased by more than 15 percent of the total charged for the aggregate sum of these fees in the preceding fiscal year.

4.  The aggregate sum of undergraduate tuition and fees per credit hour, including the tuition differential, may not exceed the national average of undergraduate tuition and fees at 4-year degree-granting public postsecondary educational institutions.

5.  The tuition differential may not be calculated as a part of the scholarship programs established in ss. 1009.53-1009.538.

6.  Beneficiaries having prepaid tuition contracts pursuant to s. 1009.98(2)(b) which were in effect on July 1, 2007, and which remain in effect, are exempt from the payment of the tuition differential.

7.  The tuition differential may not be charged to any student who was in attendance at the university before July 1, 2007, and who maintains continuous enrollment.

8.  The tuition differential may be waived by the university for students who meet the eligibility requirements for the Florida public student assistance grant established in s. 1009.50

9.  Subject to approval by the Board of Governors, the tuition differential authorized pursuant to this subsection may take effect with the 2009 fall term.

(c)  A university board of trustees may submit a proposal to the Board of Governors to implement a tuition differential for one or more undergraduate courses. At a minimum, the proposal shall:

1.  Identify the course or courses for which the tuition differential will be assessed.

2.  Indicate the amount that will be assessed for each tuition differential proposed.

3.  Indicate the purpose of the tuition differential.

4.  Indicate how the revenues from the tuition differential will be used.

5.  Indicate how the university will monitor the success of the tuition differential in achieving the purpose for which the tuition differential is being assessed.

(d)  The Board of Governors shall review each proposal and advise the university board of trustees of approval of the proposal, the need for additional information or revision to the proposal, or denial of the proposal. The Board of Governors shall establish a process for any university to revise a proposal or appeal a decision of the board.

(e)  The Board of Governors shall submit a report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Governor describing the implementation of the provisions of this subsection no later than January 1, 2010, and no later than January 1 each year thereafter. The report shall summarize proposals received by the board during the preceding fiscal year and actions taken by the board in response to such proposals. In addition, the report shall provide the following information for each university that has been approved by the board to assess a tuition differential:

1.  The course or courses for which the tuition differential was assessed and the amount assessed.

2.  The total revenues generated by the tuition differential.

3.  With respect to waivers authorized under subparagraph (b)8., the number of students eligible for a waiver, the number of students receiving a waiver, and the value of waivers provided.

4.  Detailed expenditures of the revenues generated by the tuition differential.

5.  Changes in retention rates, graduation rates, the percentage of students graduating with more than 110 percent of the hours required for graduation, pass rates on licensure examinations, the number of undergraduate course offerings, the percentage of undergraduate students who are taught by faculty, student-faculty ratios, and the average salaries of faculty who teach undergraduate courses.

(f)  No state university shall be required to lower any tuition differential that was approved by the Board of Governors and in effect prior to January 1, 2009, in order to comply with the provisions of this subsection.

(17)(a)  A state university may assess a student who enrolls in a course listed in the Florida Higher Education Distance Learning Catalog, established pursuant to s. 1004.09, a per-credit-hour distance learning course fee. For purposes of assessing this fee, a distance learning course is a course in which at least 80 percent of the direct instruction of the course is delivered using some form of technology when the student and instructor are separated by time or space, or both.

(b)  The amount of the distance learning course fee may not exceed the additional costs of the services provided which are attributable to the development and delivery of the distance learning course. If the distance learning course fee is assessed by a state university, the institution may not assess duplicative fees to cover the additional costs.

(c)  The link for the catalog must be prominently displayed within the advising and distance learning sections of the institution's website, using a graphic and description provided by the Florida Distance Learning Consortium, informing students of the catalog.

(18)  A state university may not charge any fee except as specifically authorized by law.

History.--s. 403, ch. 2002-387; s. 3, ch. 2003-392; s. 1, ch. 2004-352; s. 49, ch. 2006-74; s. 133, ch. 2007-217; s. 2, ch. 2007-225; s. 5, ch. 2007-329; s. 189, ch. 2008-4; s. 4, ch. 2008-148; s. 1, ch. 2008-193; s. 9, ch. 2009-60; s. 3, ch. 2009-92; s. 3, ch. 2009-98.