Cost and Fee Information

Fees are current at time of Catalog publication. Any changes in fees and fee updates will be posted on the website, scf.edu/Tuition.

State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) fees are governed by the Florida Legislature and the SCF District Board of Trustees. Fees are subject to change without notice whenever conditions dictate. Course fees are due and payable by the deadline published on the SCF website.

Fees for college preparatory courses are assessed by college preparatory credits equivalent in time to degree credits. Audit students pay the same fees as credit students.

Continuing workforce education fees vary course by course but the applicable tuition/out-of-state fees will comply with Section 1011.80, Florida Statutes, that provide that the amount of fees assessed and collected must be equal to at least 50 percent of the total expenditures of the program. These course fees are approved individually at regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meetings.

Fee Assessment for Third Attempt

The Florida Legislature passed House Bill 1545, effective July 1, 1997, and amended effective July 1, 1999. This bill requires that students enrolled in the same undergraduate college credit course or college preparatory course more than two times shall pay fees at 100 percent of the full cost of instruction. (For purposes of this assessment, the Florida Legislature considers 100 percent of the full cost of instruction to be equal to the non-Florida resident fee, which is not subsidized by state monies.)

In order to administer this requirement, colleges in Florida began “counting” student attempts beginning with the Fall 1997 term, regardless of the number of previous attempts.

If a student is forced to withdraw because of documented extenuating circumstances, documented disability or documented financial hardship, a student may apply for a one-time exception for each class, according to policy set by the SCF Board of Trustees. The procedure forms to request an exception to the assessment of the full cost of instruction are available in the advising center on each campus.

The appeal form process (waiver of third attempt fees) must be completely processed by the posted deadline for the term to which it applies. After that date, no waiver of fees will be granted for any reason.

Some performance-based and fine arts courses are exempt from the third-attempt policy. More information is available by contacting the department chair.

Additional Fees

State Employee Fee Waiver

Pursuant to Section 1009.26 of the Florida Statutes, students may request permission to register for up to six credit hours without payment of tuition if they qualify as state employees under the guidelines.

These students are responsible for paying regular admission application fees (if applicable), completing all admissions requirements, placement testing, submission of transcripts, and proving completion of all prerequisite courses. Students must pay any applicable special fees. State employees must register between the end of the first day and the last day of the add/drop period for classes on a space available basis only. Tuition waivers are for a maximum of six credit hours each term, are for college credit or vocational credit only and cannot be audited. The waiver is not applicable to noncredit (continuing education) courses.

State employees must complete and submit an SCF State Employee Tuition Waiver Approval Form and an original Intent to Apply form from their designated agency to the educational records office. The educational records office will verify the student’s employment status and will waive applicable fees provided all documentation is complete. The employment verifications will become a part of the student’s permanent academic records file.

Classroom Teacher Tuition Waiver

Pursuant to Section 1009.26 of the Florida Statutes, students may request permission to register for up to six credit hours without payment of tuition and fees if they qualify as a public classroom teacher under the state guidelines. These students are responsible for paying regular admission application fees (if applicable), completing all admissions requirements, placement testing, submission of transcripts, and proving completion of all prerequisite courses. Students must pay any applicable special fees. Florida public classroom teachers must register between the end of the first day and the last day of the add/drop period for classes on a space available basis only. Tuition waivers are for a maximum of six credit hours each term, are for college credit and must be courses related to special education, mathematics or science. The waiver cannot be used for courses scheduled during the school district’s regular school day. The waiver is not applicable to noncredit (continuing education) courses.

Florida public school classroom teachers must complete and submit an SCF classroom teacher tuition waiver approval form and submit a letter of verification on school district letterhead that signifies full-time teaching status.

Noncredit Course Fees Through the Center for Corporate and Community Development

Fees for continuing workforce education and other noncredit courses, e.g., for recreation and leisure, are designed to cover, at a minimum, the expense of conducting the course, and they vary from course to course. These course fees are approved individually each month at regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meetings.

Library, Parking and Other Fiscal Obligations

No student transcripts will be issued unless library, parking, lab and all College fiscal obligations are met. All borrowed materials must be returned before the student’s academic record will be released. Future registrations for classes also may be blocked.

Special Programs

Special programs of varying duration may be offered appropriate to the needs of the community. Fees will be detailed in program brochures and in all cases will be in addition to those incurred as a student enrolled in regular degree courses listed in the Catalog.

Personal Expenses

Room, board and transportation expenses are not included in student course costs. Students wishing to live in the vicinity must contract for their own living accommodations.

Method of Fee Payment

Student fees may be paid online by check, American Express, MasterCard, VISA (debit or credit) or in person at the fee payment office on either campus.

Payment and Financial Obligations

Students at SCF should know and understand their responsibilities regarding the payment of financial obligations.

The following is a summary of the student’s basic financial responsibilities:

1. A student is ultimately responsible for the payment of his/her tuition, fees, books and any other expenses incurred while attending SCF, irrespective of any financial assistance provided by parents, relatives or others.
2. If a student is permitted to register based on eligible, authorized financial aid, the first funds of that financial aid disbursed to students will be used to pay any and all charges on the student’s account. These charges may include, but are not limited to tuition, fees, books, fines and prior term balances. No refunds will be issued until all such charges are paid in full, regardless of other financial aid which may later be available to pay those charges.
3. A student may incur expenses such as tuition, fees, books and other costs that are paid by a third party agreement (e.g., Department of Vocational Rehabilitation). Those expenses must be authorized by the third party in advance of the student enrolling at SCF. If a student incurs charges not authorized by the third party, those expenses will be the responsibility of the student.
4. A student who owes money to the College will be notified of the indebtedness by one or more various means; i.e., e-mail, mail, text, or robocall, at the discretion of the College and will have his/her academic and financial records placed in a hold status until the amount due is paid in full. If a student’s record is placed on hold, the student will not be permitted to register for future classes (credit or noncredit), will not receive his/her grades, will not have his/her transcript released, and will not receive any diplomas or certificates to which he/she may otherwise be entitled until such debt is settled with the College. Failure to settle the debt during the term in which the student is currently enrolled will result in an administrative withdrawal for that term prior to a grade (or certificate of completion) being issued.
5. A veteran, who is eligible for VA education benefits under provisions within the Florida statutes, will be granted a 60-day deferment for tuition and fees. A VA student is entitled to deferment only ONCE during an academic year. Since certain VA benefits are paid directly to the student, the student is responsible for payment of this deferment to the College.
6. A student is responsible for adhering to the College’s requirement for the acceptance of personal checks and the returned check policy.

If a check is returned by the College’s bank for nonpayment, the following actions will occur:

1. If classes have not started, the student will be purged from his/her classes.
2. The student’s file will be placed on hold status.

If a student has had one personal check returned to the College by the bank due to nonpayment (NSF, account closed, etc.), any subsequent payments to the College for tuition and fees, books and other expenses must be made by cash, cashier’s check, money order or credit card.

Any unpaid check that has not been redeemed by the student is classified as a delinquent financial obligation and will be handled as described in #4 above. NSF checks will be sent to the College’s collection agency and/or attorney for collection. Should it be necessary to collect a student obligation through a collection agency or an attorney, the debtor will be responsible for paying all costs of collecting the obligation, including those of the collection agency and reasonable attorney fees whether collected by suit or otherwise.

All financial obligations owed to the College are to be paid when due. A delinquent student account is sufficient cause to prevent future registration for classes at the College, issuance of a diploma or certificate to which the student may otherwise be entitled, the release of transcripts to the student or a third party on the student’s behalf and the release of grades for current course work.

Deferments will be granted up to 60 days (30 days for Summer term) from the first day of classes, but not beyond 10 days before the end of the term to which the fees apply for those students who have applied for, and been deemed eligible for financial aid or as otherwise permitted by law. Deferments must be paid with the proceeds of the financial aid for which the deferment was granted at the time it is received. ALL deferments must be paid on or before the 60_^th day (30_^th day for Summer term) from the first day of classes in the term issued. The student is responsible for the payment of the deferment and will be subject to restrictions and collection practices associated with delinquent student accounts.

If a third party is paying for a student’s tuition and fees through direct payment to the College, the student should take a letter of authorization signed by the third party to the financial aid office. The College will not accept a letter of authorization that is contingent upon the student achieving a passing grade or completing the course. The third-party agreement must be approved by the president of the College prior to its use as a payment method.

The College will attempt to collect delinquent obligations for a reasonable period of time to allow students the opportunity to settle those debts. After every avenue of collection has been pursued by the department involved, the business office and/or accounting department, the matter shall be forwarded to the collection agency which has been selected by the vice president of business and administrative services and approved by the Board of Trustees to assist the College in the collection of past due accounts. Should the collection efforts be unsuccessful, the vice president of business and administrative services may contact the College attorney for the purpose of undertaking legal action in those instances where further action would be of economic benefit to the College.

Refund Policy

Nonrefundable fees may be viewed in the Cost and Fee Information section under Additional Fees.

Refunds during posted add/drop period: Course and special fees associated with the course are refundable when a student drops a course before the end of registration for the term (end of the posted add/drop period). A drop with a refund is completed when a student logs onto SCFconnect, drops the class and submits the changes online. Refunds are posted approximately 10 days following the close of registration.

SCF has partnered with Higher One, a financial services company, to process refund disbursements to students. Upon initial Web registration in a course a OneCard is mailed to each student at the mailing address listed on the student’s official educational record. Students MUST activate their OneCard in order to receive a refund. During activation, students will choose their refund method.

• One Account – Debit MasterCard with a free checking account
• ACH transfer to an existing bank account

A fee will be assessed if the OneCard is sent to the address listed on the student’s official educational record and it is incorrect, or if the card is mailed to the address listed on the student’s official educational record and is destroyed or discarded, and the student requires a new card. Nonrefundable replacement fees for active and inactive OneCards may be viewed in the Cost and Fee information section under Additional Fees. Replacement cards can be ordered through the fee payment office at SCF Bradenton or SCF Venice.

The basis for refunds of refundable fees is as follows:

Refunds of 100 percent (less nonrefundable fees) will be made until 11:59 p.m. on the last day of registration (end of the posted add/drop period). If the fees were paid by a financial aid fund, the refund will be returned to the financial aid program that initially paid the fees. Students who register for short-term/late-start classes will follow the same procedures but may have separate add/drop refund deadlines.

Refunds during the withdrawal period: Students who withdraw from a course based upon a documented College error after the close of registration (end of posted add/drop period) may petition the College Refund Committee for a refund of fees. No other requests for refunds will be permitted. A documented College error is one wherein the student can definitively show that an error on the part of SCF resulted in the student’s course withdrawal. Petitions that contain documented proof will be considered by the refund committee based on these guidelines and the decision will be final. Applications are available in the office of the vice president of educational and student services at SCF Bradenton and in the office of the provost at SCF Venice.