Florida Prepaid College Plan

2-Year Community College Tuition Plan

Community colleges offer many opportunities, including the chance to earn an associate’s degree or technical degree. The 2-Year Community College Tuition Plan lets you save for this most affordable level of higher education.

Florida’s 28 community colleges and their 61 campus locations are particularly accessible to students throughout the state, including those commuting from home or attending college while employed. A student with an associate’s degree is eligible to enter a state university.* Florida’s community colleges in 2006-07 led the nation in producing more associate degrees, nursing degrees and degrees awarded to African-American and Hispanic students than other community college systems.

The 2-Year Community College Tuition Plan covers the required registration fee (tuition, building, capital improvement and student financial aid fees) at any of the state’s 28 community colleges. You are purchasing 60 community college credit hours, and their value can be transferred if your child enrolls instead at a state university, an out-of-state or private college or select technical college.

Two-Year Community College Tuition Plan benefits include:

• Prices start at $33.17 per month, with the price depending on your child’s age or grade level.
• You have the option of adding a plan now, or later, to cover local fees.
• Your plan is guaranteed financially by the State of Florida^§.
• You choose one of three payment plans (single lump sum, monthly payments over five years or a monthly plan you contribute to until your child is ready for college).
• Earnings are tax-free.
• Many employers offer payroll deduction for the Florida Prepaid College Plan.

* Florida has a statewide articulation agreement which guarantees that a community college Associate in Arts (AA) degree graduate must be admitted into a state university upon graduation provided that the student has met all requirements for the AA degree and maintained a 2.0 cumulative grade point average. However, this does not mean that every AA graduate will be admitted at the state university of his/her choice or into the upper division program of his/her choice. Application for admission to state universities (particularly into specific degree programs) can be a highly competitive process, so student performance in the AA program may be taken into consideration.

** The Florida College Investment Plan is not a prepaid plan. Investments in the plan are not insured or guaranteed, and you could lose all or a portion of your investment. Participation in the plan will be sold only by means of a Disclosure Statement and Participation Agreement. A copy of each will be sent to you upon request; you should read them before investing. Nothing on this Web site should be construed as financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Consult your own advisors before investing.

^§ Financially guaranteed by the State of Florida, pursuant to Sections 1009.98 (7) and (8), Florida Statutes, stating "the state shall agree to meet the obligations of the board to qualified beneficiaries if monies in the fund fail to offset the obligations of the board. The Legislature shall appropriate to the Florida Prepaid College Trust Fund the amount necessary to meet the obligations of the board to qualified beneficiaries. In the event the state determines the prepaid program to be financially infeasible, the state may discontinue the program. Any qualified beneficiary who has been accepted by and is enrolled or is within 5 years of enrollment in an eligible independent college or university or state postsecondary institution shall be entitled to exercise the complete benefits for which he or she has contracted. All other contract holders shall receive a refund of the amount paid, and an additional amount in the nature of interest at a rate that corresponds, at a minimum, to the prevailing interest rates of savings accounts provided by banks and savings and loan associations."