| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to postsecondary education enhancements; |
| 3 | requiring the Office of Program Policy Analysis and |
| 4 | Government Accountability to conduct a study of certain |
| 5 | enrollment forecasting models; requiring a final report; |
| 6 | requiring the Department of Education to conduct a review |
| 7 | of certain courses in the statewide course numbering |
| 8 | system and update the system as appropriate; requiring a |
| 9 | report; requiring nonpublic postsecondary institutions |
| 10 | that participate in statewide course numbering to provide |
| 11 | certain information in their catalogs; requiring the |
| 12 | department's website to include certain information; |
| 13 | requiring the department to review certain examinations |
| 14 | and recommend articulated acceleration mechanisms; |
| 15 | amending s. 1007.33, F.S.; identifying the areas in which |
| 16 | community colleges may propose to deliver baccalaureate |
| 17 | degree programs; removing requirement that proposal be |
| 18 | submitted to the Council for Education Policy Research and |
| 19 | Improvement for review; amending s. 1009.25, F.S.; |
| 20 | revising provisions relating to the number of and |
| 21 | qualifications for community college fee exemptions; |
| 22 | amending s. 1011.83, F.S.; providing a residency |
| 23 | requirement for funding baccalaureate degree programs at |
| 24 | community colleges; providing requirements for funding |
| 25 | nonrecurring and recurring costs associated with such |
| 26 | programs; limiting per-student funding to a specified |
| 27 | percentage of costs associated with state university |
| 28 | baccalaureate degree programs; providing certain reporting |
| 29 | and funding requirements; amending s. 1009.23, F.S.; |
| 30 | providing guidelines and restrictions for setting tuition |
| 31 | and out-of-state fees for community college upper-division |
| 32 | courses; providing an effective date. |
| 33 |
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| 34 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 35 |
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| 36 | Section 1. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and |
| 37 | Government Accountability (OPPAGA) shall conduct a study of the |
| 38 | higher education enrollment forecasting models currently used in |
| 39 | the state. The study must analyze the current models and provide |
| 40 | options for improvements. The review shall specifically examine |
| 41 | ways to include Florida's changing demographics in the |
| 42 | forecasts. During the course of the study OPPAGA shall consult |
| 43 | with staff from the Office of Economic and Demographic Research. |
| 44 | A final report with recommendations shall be submitted to the |
| 45 | President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of |
| 46 | Representatives by February 1, 2008. |
| 47 | Section 2. (1) The Department of Education shall conduct |
| 48 | a comprehensive review of the courses that are listed in the |
| 49 | statewide course numbering system to: |
| 50 | (a) Identify courses that are listed in the system that |
| 51 | have not been taught at an institution for the preceding 5 |
| 52 | years; |
| 53 | (b) Identify courses of nonpublic postsecondary |
| 54 | institutions that may be inappropriately designated as |
| 55 | equivalent for purposes of transfer of credit; and |
| 56 | (c) Update the statewide course numbering system as |
| 57 | appropriate based on these findings. |
| 58 | (2) The Department of Education shall submit a report of |
| 59 | its findings and actions to the President of the Senate and the |
| 60 | Speaker of the House of Representatives by February 1, 2008. |
| 61 | (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or rule to |
| 62 | the contrary, any nonpublic postsecondary institution, as a |
| 63 | condition of initial or continued participation in the statewide |
| 64 | course numbering system, shall identify in all of its catalogs, |
| 65 | printed or electronic, the specific courses offered by the |
| 66 | institution that are included in the statewide course numbering |
| 67 | system. |
| 68 | (4) No later than July 1, 2008, the Department of |
| 69 | Education shall develop and maintain in the department's website |
| 70 | a listing of all courses in the statewide course numbering |
| 71 | system and the institutions that offer each course. The listing |
| 72 | shall be available to the public. Each institution that |
| 73 | participates in the statewide course numbering system shall |
| 74 | include in all of its catalogs, printed or electronic, a |
| 75 | statement advising the reader of the website address and its use |
| 76 | as a resource for information on the transferability of credits |
| 77 | to other Florida institutions. |
| 78 | Section 3. No later than March 1, 2008, the Department of |
| 79 | Education shall review the Excelsior College Examinations (ECE) |
| 80 | and Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support |
| 81 | (DANTES) standardized subject area tests (DSST) and recommend to |
| 82 | the State Board of Education, the Board of Governors, the |
| 83 | President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of |
| 84 | Representatives any examination that should be identified as an |
| 85 | articulated acceleration mechanism under s. 1007.27, Florida |
| 86 | Statutes. The department shall also identify the minimum scores, |
| 87 | maximum credit, and course or courses for which credit is to be |
| 88 | awarded for each examination recommended by the department. |
| 89 | Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 1007.33, Florida |
| 90 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 91 | 1007.33 Site-determined baccalaureate degree access.-- |
| 92 | (3) A community college may develop a proposal to deliver |
| 93 | specified baccalaureate degree programs in the areas of teaching |
| 94 | and nursing and in the areas of math and science for the purpose |
| 95 | of preparing graduates to enter a teaching position and to |
| 96 | deliver bachelor of applied science workforce-related degrees in |
| 97 | high need/high demand majors its district to meet local |
| 98 | workforce needs. The bachelor of applied science degree is a |
| 99 | workforce baccalaureate degree designed primarily for associate |
| 100 | in science degree holders desiring career advancement or |
| 101 | advanced technical training. The proposal must be submitted to |
| 102 | the State Board of Education for approval. The community |
| 103 | college's proposal must include the following information: |
| 104 | (a) Demand for the baccalaureate degree program is |
| 105 | identified by the workforce development board, local businesses |
| 106 | and industry, local chambers of commerce, and potential |
| 107 | students. |
| 108 | (b) Unmet need for graduates of the proposed degree |
| 109 | program is substantiated. |
| 110 | (c) The community college has the facilities and academic |
| 111 | resources to deliver the program. |
| 112 |
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| 113 | The proposal must be submitted to the Council for Education |
| 114 | Policy Research and Improvement for review and comment. Upon |
| 115 | approval of the State Board of Education for the specific degree |
| 116 | program or programs, the community college shall pursue regional |
| 117 | accreditation by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern |
| 118 | Association of Colleges and Schools. Any additional |
| 119 | baccalaureate degree programs the community college wishes to |
| 120 | offer must be approved by the State Board of Education. |
| 121 | Section 5. Subsection (3) of section 1009.25, Florida |
| 122 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 123 | 1009.25 Fee exemptions.-- |
| 124 | (3) At the discretion of the community college board of |
| 125 | trustees, each community college is authorized to grant student |
| 126 | fee exemptions from all fees adopted by the State Board of |
| 127 | Education and the community college board of trustees for up to |
| 128 | 1 percent of the community college's prior year full-time |
| 129 | equivalent students or 40 full-time equivalent students, |
| 130 | whichever is greater, to students whose enrollment addresses |
| 131 | priorities of the community college and to students who have |
| 132 | graduated from a Florida public high school and who attended a |
| 133 | Florida public high school for 3 years at each institution. |
| 134 | Section 6. Section 1011.83, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 135 | to read: |
| 136 | 1011.83 Financial support of community colleges.-- |
| 137 | (1) Each community college that has been approved by the |
| 138 | Department of Education and meets the requirements of law and |
| 139 | rules of the State Board of Education shall participate in the |
| 140 | Community College Program Fund. However, funds to support |
| 141 | workforce education programs conducted by community colleges |
| 142 | shall be provided pursuant to s. 1011.80. |
| 143 | (2) Funding for baccalaureate degree programs approved |
| 144 | pursuant to s. 1007.33 shall be specified in the General |
| 145 | Appropriations Act. A student in a baccalaureate degree program |
| 146 | approved pursuant to s. 1007.33 who is not classified as a |
| 147 | resident for tuition purposes pursuant to s. 1009.21 may not be |
| 148 | included in calculations of full-time equivalent enrollments for |
| 149 | state funding purposes. |
| 150 | (3) Funds specifically appropriated by the Legislature for |
| 151 | baccalaureate degree programs approved pursuant to s. 1007.33 |
| 152 | may be used only for such programs. A community college shall |
| 153 | fund the nonrecurring costs related to the initiation of a new |
| 154 | baccalaureate degree program under s. 1007.33 without new state |
| 155 | appropriations unless special grant funds are appropriated in |
| 156 | the General Appropriations Act. A new baccalaureate degree |
| 157 | program may not accept students without a recurring legislative |
| 158 | appropriation for this purpose. |
| 159 | (4) State policy for funding baccalaureate degree programs |
| 160 | approved pursuant to s. 1007.33 shall be to limit state support |
| 161 | for recurring operating purposes to no more than 85 percent of |
| 162 | the amount of state expenditures for direct instruction per |
| 163 | credit hour in upper-level state university programs. A |
| 164 | community college may temporarily exceed this limit due to |
| 165 | normal enrollment fluctuations or unforeseeable circumstances or |
| 166 | while phasing in new programs. This subsection does not |
| 167 | authorize the Department of Education to withhold legislative |
| 168 | appropriations to any community college. |
| 169 | (5) A community college that grants baccalaureate degrees |
| 170 | shall maintain reporting and funding distinctions between any |
| 171 | baccalaureate degree program approved under s. 1007.33 and any |
| 172 | other baccalaureate degree programs involving traditional |
| 173 | concurrent-use partnerships. |
| 174 | Section 7. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 1009.23, |
| 175 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 176 | 1009.23 Community college student fees.-- |
| 177 | (1) Unless otherwise provided, the provisions of this |
| 178 | section applies apply only to fees charged for college credit |
| 179 | instruction leading to an associate in arts degree, an associate |
| 180 | in applied science degree, or an associate in science degree, or |
| 181 | a baccalaureate degree authorized by the State Board of |
| 182 | Education pursuant to s. 1007.33 and for noncollege credit |
| 183 | college-preparatory courses defined in s. 1004.02. |
| 184 | (2)(a) All students shall be charged fees except students |
| 185 | who are exempt from fees or students whose fees are waived. |
| 186 | (b) Tuition and out-of-state fees for upper-division |
| 187 | courses must reflect the fact that the community college has a |
| 188 | less expensive cost structure than that of a state university. |
| 189 | Therefore, the board of trustees shall establish tuition and |
| 190 | out-of-state fees for upper-division courses in baccalaureate |
| 191 | degree programs approved pursuant to s. 1007.33 consistent with |
| 192 | law and proviso language in the General Appropriations Act. |
| 193 | However, the board of trustees may not vary tuition and out-of- |
| 194 | state fees as provided in subsection (4). Identical fees shall |
| 195 | be required for all community college resident students within a |
| 196 | college who take a specific course, regardless of the program in |
| 197 | which they are enrolled. |
| 198 | Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |