Florida Senate - 2009                            (NP)    SR 2722
       
       
       
       By Senator Haridopolos
       
       
       
       
       26-02434A-09                                          20092722__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution acknowledging the 30th Anniversary of the
    3         Florida Resident Access Grant Program.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, Florida’s 28 independent colleges and universities
    6  have long provided educational, cultural, scholarly, and
    7  scientific enrichment to Floridians, and
    8         WHEREAS, independent colleges and universities are an
    9  integral component of the higher education system of the state,
   10  with tens of thousands of residents choosing this form of
   11  education annually, and
   12         WHEREAS, a majority of students enrolled in seven of the 28
   13  independent colleges and universities are minorities, with
   14  minority enrollment systemwide at 43 percent, and
   15         WHEREAS, the Legislature created the Florida Resident
   16  Access Grant Program (FRAG) as a means of equalizing tuition for
   17  Florida residents attending independent institutions full-time,
   18  and
   19         WHEREAS, the FRAG Program has assisted hundreds of
   20  thousands of Floridians in earning college degrees, and
   21         WHEREAS, more than one-half of recipients of a Florida
   22  Resident Access Grant are pursuing degrees in areas of critical
   23  need for the Florida workforce, including nursing and allied
   24  health fields, teacher education, engineering, computer science,
   25  and biomedical professions, and
   26         WHEREAS, the FRAG Program provides access to independent
   27  colleges and universities to tens of thousands of students every
   28  year, nearly one-half of them the first in their families to
   29  attend college and more than one-third coming from families
   30  having annual incomes of less than $60,000, and
   31         WHEREAS, the business community as well as individuals in
   32  this state continue to give generously to the FRAG Program, and
   33         WHEREAS, the stability and significance of the Florida
   34  Resident Access Grant Program is a primary catalyst for the
   35  creation of additional capacity in the state’s independent
   36  colleges and universities, which is a critical component of
   37  expanding opportunity for Florida students, and
   38         WHEREAS, nearly one-third of all baccalaureate and higher
   39  degrees in Florida are awarded by independent colleges and
   40  universities, which demonstrates that they add greatly to the
   41  economic vitality of Florida, and
   42         WHEREAS, a strong and viable independent educational system
   43  reduces the tax burden on Florida’s residents and is vital to
   44  this state’s economic well-being, and
   45         WHEREAS, the Florida Resident Access Grant Program has
   46  demonstrated a high-yield return on investment of state funds,
   47  NOW, THEREFORE,
   48  
   49  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   50  
   51         That the Senate recognizes the 30th Anniversary of the
   52  Florida Resident Access Grant Program and wholeheartedly
   53  commends and supports the independent colleges and universities
   54  of Florida for their significant contribution to all Floridians.