HB 5201 Summary: Postsecondary Education Funding

• Audit Reporting Requirements: Requires the Auditor General to notify the Legislative Auditing Committee when state universities or Florida College System institutions fail to take corrective action on audit recommendations from previous reports, with authority for the committee to require written explanations or testimony.

• Florida Virtual Campus Establishment: Creates a statewide Florida Virtual Campus to manage library automation systems, distance learning course catalogs, online admissions applications, and computer-assisted student advising systems for all public postsecondary institutions.

• Degree Completion Pilot Project: Establishes a pilot program at University of West Florida, University of South Florida, Florida State College at Jacksonville, and St. Petersburg College to help adult learners complete degrees aligned with high-wage, high-skill workforce needs.

• Scholarship and Fee Modifications: Adjusts Florida Bright Futures Scholarship eligibility timelines, reduces capital improvement fees for Florida College System institutions from 20% to 10% of tuition, and modifies matching fund requirements for Jose Marti and Mary McLeod Bethune scholarship programs.

• Administrative Compensation Limits and Governance: Limits severance pay in institutional contracts to one year's salary, requires consortia and cooperative purchasing agreements to achieve 5% cost savings, and restricts university fund transfers exceeding $1 million without Board of Governors approval.