Cost and Fee Information

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

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 developmental courses are assessed by developmental credits equivalent in time to degree credits. Audit students pay the same fees as credit students.

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

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 developmental course more than two times shall pay fees at 100% of the full cost of instruction. (For purposes of this assessment, the Florida Legislature considers 100% 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 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 1009.265 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 the registration form and submit, along with the original State Employee Tuition Waiver Program Participation form (provided by the employer), to the Office of the Registrar. The Office of the Registrar will verify the student’s employment status, and Cashiering 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 Lifelong Learning and Workforce 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 annually by the District Board of Trustees.

Library, Parking and Other Fiscal Obligations

Future registrations for classes may be blocked for unpaid financial obligations.

Special Programs

Special programs of varying duration may be offered, as 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 arrange their own living accommodations.

Method of Fee Payment

SCF offers a variety of payment options (online, in person, or by mail), including payment plans. Visit the SCF website for details, SCF.edu/StudentServices/Tuition/PaymentOptions.asp.

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 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 that 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 means (i.e., email, mail, text or call) at the discretion of the College and may have 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), may not receive their grades, may not have a transcript released, and may not receive any diplomas or certificates to which he or she may otherwise be entitled until such debt is settled with the College. Failure to pay will result in the account being forwarded to a collection agency. The student will then be responsible for the debt to SCF plus collection costs and his or her credit rating will likely be adversely affected.
5. Per Florida Statute Section 1009.27 Deferral of fees, any veteran or other eligible student who receives benefits under chapter 30, chapter 31, chapter 33, chapter 35 of Title 38 or chapter 1606 of Title 10, U.S.C. is entitled to one deferment each academic term and an additional deferment each time there is a delay in the receipt of benefits. Veteran Administration benefits under chapter 30, 35 and 1606 are paid directly to the eligible student. Students receiving benefits under these chapters are responsible for payment of tuition and fees to the College before the expiration of the deferment. Students receiving benefits under chapter 33, Post 9/11 who are eligible for less than 100% benefits and military members using Federal Tuition Assistance are responsible for paying any outstanding balance not covered by their benefit prior to the expiration of the deferment.
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 will occur:

1. If classes have not started, the student will be purged from 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 No. 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 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 and may prevent issuance of a diploma or certificate to which the student may otherwise be entitled or the release of transcripts to the student or a third-party on the student’s behalf..

The College may defer tuition and fees for students receiving financial aid from a federal or state assistance program when the aid is delayed in being transmitted to the student through circumstances beyond the student’s control. The failure to make timely application for the aid is an insufficient reason to receive a deferral of fees.

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 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 and the cashiering and/or accounting department, the matter shall be forwarded to the collection agency that has been selected by the Vice President, Chief Finance Officer, 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, Chief Financial Officer, 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: Application fees, credit card convenience fee, duplicate diploma fees, ID card replacement fees, insurance fees, late fees, reinstatement fees, returned check fees, testing fees, transcript fees and access 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 on to MySCF, drops the class and submits the changes online.

The basis for refunds of refundable fees: Refunds of 100% (less nonrefundable fees) will be made until 11:59 p.m. on the last day of registration (end of the posted add/drop period). SCF has partnered with BankMobile, to process refund disbursements to students. Refunds are processed after the posted add/drop date of the term and sent via the selected refund preference with BankMobile. 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 accelerated or short-term 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. Applications 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 Financial Aid Office at SCF Bradenton and SCF Venice and must be submitted no later than the last day of the following semester for which the student is requesting a refund.

Fee Waiver: A fee waiver may be awarded to repeat a class or classes that a student was forced to withdraw from after the add/drop period due ONLY to extreme circumstances outside of the student’s control. To request a fee waiver, a refund application, including appropriate hospital admission and discharge documentation if applicable, or other documentation must be submitted to the College Refund Committee through the Financial Aid office at SCF Bradenton or Venice and must be submitted no later than the last day of the following semester for which the student is requesting a waiver.

BankMobile (Financial Aid and Tuition Refund Disbursement)

SCF partners with BankMobile to process refund disbursements to our students. Financial aid and tuition refunds are disbursed to SCF students via their selected refund preference with BankMobile. For more information about BankMobile, visit this link: BankMobileDisbursements.com/RefundChoices.