- The 2015-16 Open Enrollment period runs Oct. 15, 2015 through Feb. 29, 2016.
- The 1-Year Florida University Plan is the Florida Prepaid College Board’s newest offering, allowing extended family members and friends to share in a child’s college costs. Plans start at $46 per month.
- The Florida Prepaid Scholarship Program will run now through Nov. 15, and award ten 2-Year Florida College Plans.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The 2015-16 Open Enrollment Period kicks off October 15, with affordable plan prices remaining close to last year’s historic low prices. This year’s Florida Prepaid Scholarship Program will award 10 Floridians a 2-Year Florida College Plan as part of the Board’s commitment to broadening awareness of budget-friendly prepaid plan options available to families.
“The Prepaid Plan prices for this Open Enrollment period continue to give families options for making college savings simple and affordable,” said Board Chairman Duane Ottenstroer.
Open Enrollment is the only time each year when families can purchase one of the Florida Prepaid College Board’s five prepaid tuition plans and prepaid dormitory plans. If your child attends an out-of-state college or private college, the plan will pay the same amount as it would pay at a public college or university in Florida. Every Prepaid Plan is guaranteed by the State of Florida.
This year, families can purchase a 4-Year Florida University Plan for as low as $183 a month, a 2 + 2 Florida Plan for as low as $145 a month or a 4-Year Florida College Plan for less than $115 a month.
The Board also now offers the 1-Year Florida University Plan, which allows families to purchase up to four years at a state university in one-year increments as their budgets afford them. Multiple family members can purchase a 1-Year Florida University Plan for the same beneficiary, effectively sharing in the cost of a university degree. The 1-Year Florida University Plan starts as low as $46 per month and covers 30 university credit hours.
In conjunction with the launch of Open Enrollment, the Florida Prepaid Scholarship Program is awarding ten 2-Year Florida College Plans, provided by the Florida Prepaid College Foundation. The Florida Prepaid Scholarship Program is part of an effort to educate families about our 2-Year Florida College Plans, which start at $53 a month, and the tremendous values to be found in our Florida College System. Florida’s Colleges represent the primary point of access to higher education with 65% of our state’s high school graduates pursuing a postsecondary education beginning at one of 28 Florida Colleges. Currently, 54 percent of junior and senior students at state universities transferred from the Florida College System.
“Our 2- and 4-Year Florida College Plans are a great example of how Florida Prepaid is meeting the diverse needs of families in an evolving higher education landscape,” said Board Executive Director Kevin Thompson. “More and more students are earning their degrees by attending or starting at a state college, and our Prepaid Plans allow families to save for this quality educational path in a way that best fits current budgets. However families save, we encourage them to start now.”
Prepaid Plans are available for purchase during Open Enrollment, which runs Oct. 15, 2015 – Feb. 29, 2016. For more information, visit flprepaidstage.wpengine.com. Families can register and enter daily for the chance to win one of ten 2-Year Florida College Plans from the Florida Prepaid College Board at flprepaidstage.wpengine.com/scholarship.
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About the Florida Prepaid College Board
The Florida Prepaid College Board manages the Stanley G. Tate Florida Prepaid College Program and the Florida 529 Savings Plan. Both are tax-favored 529 college savings plans authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. In 1987 the Florida Prepaid College Program was created by the Florida Legislature and the commitment and dedication of Mr. Stanley G. Tate to provide Florida families with an affordable means to save for their children’s future college education. The first Florida Prepaid College Plans were sold in 1988, and were augmented with the addition of the Florida 529 Savings Plan in 2002. Florida Prepaid is the largest, longest running and most successful prepaid plan in the nation with more than 1.6 million Florida Prepaid College Plans purchased and more than $6.7 billion invested in Prepaid Plans by Florida families. The 529 Savings Plan has more than 45,000 active accounts with a market value of more than $400 million. To see how Florida Prepaid helps families, visit here.
