(1) The First Generation Matching Grant Program is created to enable each state university and Florida College System institution to provide donors with a matching grant incentive for contributions that will create grant-based student financial aid for undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need and whose parents, as defined in s. 1009.21(1), have not earned a baccalaureate degree. In the case of any individual who regularly resided with and received support from only one parent, an individual whose only such parent did not complete a baccalaureate degree would also be eligible. (2) Funds appropriated by the Legislature for the program shall be allocated by the Office of Student Financial Assistance to match private contributions on a dollar-for-dollar basis; however, beginning in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, such funds shall be allocated at a ratio of $2 of state funds to $1 of private contributions. Contributions made to a state university or a Florida College System institution and pledged for the purposes of this section are eligible for state matching funds appropriated for this program and are not eligible for any other state matching grant program. Pledged contributions are not eligible for matching prior to the actual collection of the total funds. The Office of Student Financial Assistance shall reserve a proportionate allocation of the total appropriated funds for each state university and Florida College System institution on the basis of full-time equivalent enrollment. Funds that remain unmatched as of December 1 shall be reallocated to state universities and colleges that have remaining unmatched private contributions for the program on the basis of full-time equivalent enrollment.
(3) Payment of the state matching grant shall be transmitted to the president of each participating institution or his or her representative in advance of the official drop-add deadline as defined by the institution.
(4) Each participating state university and Florida College System institution shall establish an application process, determine student eligibility for initial and renewal awards in conformance with subsection (5), identify the amount awarded to each recipient, and notify recipients of the amount of their awards.
(5) In order to be eligible to receive a grant pursuant to this section, an applicant must:(a) Be a resident for tuition purposes pursuant to s. 1009.21. (b) Be a first-generation college student. For the purposes of this section, a student is considered “first generation” if neither of the student’s parents, as defined in s. 1009.21(1), earned a college degree at the baccalaureate level or higher or, in the case of any individual who regularly resided with and received support from only one parent, if that parent did not earn a baccalaureate degree. (c) Be accepted at a state university or Florida College System institution.
(d) Be enrolled for a minimum of six credit hours per term as a degree-seeking undergraduate student.
(e) Have submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid which is complete and error free prior to disbursement and met the eligibility requirements in s. 1009.50 for demonstrated financial need for the Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program. (f) Meet additional eligibility requirements as established by the institution.
(6) The award amount shall be based on the student’s need assessment after any scholarship or grant aid, including, but not limited to, a Pell Grant or a Bright Futures Scholarship, has been applied. The first priority of funding shall be given to students who demonstrate need by qualifying and receiving federal Pell Grant funds up to the full cost of tuition and fees per term. An award may not exceed the institution’s estimated annual cost of attendance for the student to attend the institution.
(7) Each participating institution shall report to the Office of Student Financial Assistance by the date established by the office the eligible students to whom grant moneys are disbursed each academic term. Each institution shall certify to the Office of Student Financial Assistance the amount of funds disbursed to each student and shall remit to the office any undisbursed advances by June 1 of each year.
(8) No later than July 1, each participating institution shall annually report to the Executive Office of the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Board of Governors the eligibility requirements for recipients, the aggregate demographics of recipients, the retention and graduation rates of recipients, and a delineation of funds awarded to recipients.
(9) This section shall be implemented only as specifically funded.
