Since the catalog must be published well in advance of the beginning of each school year, it is not always possible to anticipate fee changes. All fees and policies are subject to change, even after this Catalog has been printed. Call the Chipola College Business Office at 850-718-2204 or visit our website at https://www.chipola.edu/about/administrative-offices/business-office/student-fees for current fee information before registering. 

No registration will be complete until all fees and tuition have been paid in full. Payment deadlines for Early Registration tuition/fees are posted in the College Calendar. Regular Registration tuition/fees are due the day of registration. It is the student’s responsibility to alert the cashier of any scholarship or financial aid awards at time of registration. Students who are scholarship holders will be considered as having paid all fees and tuition, provided the amount of the scholarship covers all charges due. No faculty or staff member of the college, other than the president, has the authority to set aside this regulation.

Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and College Credit Certificate Programs

Workforce Development Certificate Programs

Bachelor's Programs

In addition to the cost per semester hour or clock hour, the following fees apply:

Additional Fees

1. Vocational Preparatory: $30 (Florida Residents) and $60 (Non-Florida Residents) per semester.
2. Special Fees: Special course fees may apply. When required, they are listed in the online schedule of courses. *Chipola College does not assess an online course fee.
3. Processing Fee: $12.00 per semester. The Processing Fee includes application, and ID.
4. Evaluation of noncredit program: $100.00 per occurrence and $25 per course. Fee will be assessed to evaluate a noncredit program of study for transfer to an Associate in Science Degree in Early Childhood Education, Criminal Justice, or Fire fighting. See Registrar for details.
5. Experiential Learning Evaluation fee: (Contact Registrar)
6. International Student Fee: $100.00.
7. Printing Fees: Registered Chipola students will be given a $15.00 printing credit to begin each semester. All student printing is monitored by Paper Cut software. Every time a student prints, the student will be informed of the balance remaining on their print credit. In addition, students will be restricted to 30 pages or less per print request. Print requests of more than 30 pages must be broken into multiple print requests. Printing charges will be assessed as follows:
   • $.05 per single black/white page
   • $.75 per single color page
   • $.05 per printed side of duplexed black/white printing
     $.75 per printed side of duplexed color printing
   • Registered students may purchase additional printing credit in $5.00 increments from the Chipola College Business Office.

Methods of Payment

The college will accept personal checks for payment of tuition, fees, fines and other charges. VISA, Master Card, and Discover are accepted at the Business Office. Tuition payments may also be made online through the college’s website: www.chipola.edu with VISA, Master Card, and Discover.

Students will be charged $25 for any check returned by the bank, if the bank or college is not at fault.

Students who issue a bad check will have ten days to redeem the check. If the check is not redeemed within this time, students may be withdrawn from classes. Legal action will also be taken.

Textbooks and Supplies

The cost per school year depends upon the program of study. For most academic students the average cost should not exceed $400 per semester. For Workforce Development students the costs vary with the program, depending upon whether or not specialized clothing and tools are required. Except for programs requiring specialized clothing, uniforms, etc. the average cost for textbooks and supplies should not exceed $800 per school year.

Summary of Costs

Student costs shown in this catalog, including those estimated, are the minimum amounts necessary and are not to be construed as the total expenditure of a student attending Chipola College.

For the day student who resides in the college district, the minimum estimated expenses, exclusive of room and board, transportation, and personal expenses, range from $2,335 to $3,550 per school year of two semesters. This does not include any allowances for clothing or incidental expenses.

Residents planning to rent in Marianna should add $5,818 to $6,188 to the amounts estimated above for a total estimated expense of $8,153 to $9,738 per school year (or two semesters) for fees, room and board, textbooks and supplies. This does not include expenditures for clothing, transportation or incidental expenses.

Non-Florida residents should add out-of-state tuition to the estimates shown.

State Employee Fee Waiver Information

As a qualified state employee, Chipola College can help you enhance your job skills and work toward a college degree at the same time. As an added benefit, you may be eligible for a tuition fee waiver for up to six semester credit hours of college credit on a space available basis.

All full-time permanent employees of a state agency, as certified by your Human Resources Department, are eligible. (Eligibility is also subject to verification of employment by the State of Florida Comptroller’s Office.)

Because the College receives no tuition for waived courses, waivers are only available for those courses that have not been filled by fee-paying students or those utilizing scholarships or grants. Therefore, the dates of registration are limited. Initial registration for each term must be on an approved state waiver registration date, usually the first day of late registration. In addition, some courses, by their nature, do not qualify for the waiver. These include online, directed individualized study, independent study, non-college credit (such as workforce development clock-hour and continuing education programs/courses), and limited access or selective admission programs such as baccalaureate, nursing, fire science technology, EMT, and other AS degree programs.

A waiver will be allowed for a maximum of six college credit hours per semester at the current, approved fee rate ($102 per credit hour) State employees are responsible for paying processing fees, testing fees, lab fees, and any other special fees. Chipola College accepts only the official Chipola College - State Employee Tuition Waiver Form.

Check the college website at https://www.chipola.edu/about/administrative-offices/business-office/state-employee-tuition-waiver/ for guidelines and additional information.

Homeless Youth Tuition Waiver

Pursuant to section 1009.25, Florida Statutes (F.S.), and Rule 6A-10.087, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), each Florida College System institution’s board of trustees, each district school board with a career center, and each board of directors for a charter technical career center, must exempt students experiencing homelessness from the payment of tuition and fees, including lab fees.

For the purpose of the tuition and fees, a student experiencing homelessness is defined as an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including an individual who would meet this definition but for their residence in college dormitory housing.

Examples include:

• Individuals who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;
• Individuals who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
• Individuals who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;
• Migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of 42 U.S.C. Sections 11431-11435; and
• Individuals who would otherwise meet this definition but for their residence is in college dormitory housing.”

Chipola has designated a Foster Care and Homelessness Liaison to assist and provide support for students who have been identified as a homeless child or youth under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and students who have been in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCF). The liaison will assist students in completing the admissions process and serve as an advocate for students’, meeting the above guidelines, during their academic journey at Chipola College. For more information contact, Ashley Harvey at harveya@chipola.edu or call 850-718-2487

Homelessness Verification Form FSH-1

Florida Residency Requirements

Chipola College students are classified as residents or non-residents for tuition purposes in accordance with Section 1009.21, Florida Statutes, and Rule 6A-10.044 of the Florida Administrative Code. Students bear the burden of providing clear and convincing documentation to justify residency classification. Misrepresentation of residency status may result in serious academic and legal penalties.

Qualifying as a Florida Resident for Tuition Purposes

To qualify as a resident for tuition purposes, a student (or, if the student is a dependent child, the student's parent or parents) must:

• Have established legal residence in Florida; and
• Have maintained that legal residence in Florida for at least 12 consecutive months immediately prior to initial enrollment at an institution of higher education.

The student's presence in Florida must be for the purpose of maintaining a bona fide domicile, not merely a temporary residence incidental to enrollment in an institution of higher education.

Required Documentation

Each applicant must submit a residency declaration and provide clear and convincing documentation of legal residency in Florida for a minimum of 12 consecutive months prior to initial enrollment. Documentation must be credible, precise, and compelling.

A minimum of two documents is required, unless the sole document submitted is proof of a Florida homestead exemption, which is deemed conclusive by itself. The submission must include at least one document from Group A and may include documents from Group B.

Group A – Primary Documents (at least one required):

• Florida voter’s registration card
• Florida driver license
• State of Florida identification card
• Florida vehicle registration
• Proof of a permanent home in Florida occupied as a primary residence by the student (or the student’s parent, if the student is a dependent child)
• Proof of a homestead exemption in Florida (conclusive on its own)
• Transcripts from a Florida high school for multiple years, if the Florida high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma was earned within the last 12 months
• Proof of permanent full-time employment in Florida for at least 30 hours per week for a 12-month period

Group B – Supporting Documents (one or more may be used):

• Declaration of domicile in Florida (Note: residency is deemed established 12 months after the date the declaration was sworn before the Clerk of Circuit Court)
• Florida professional or occupational license
• Florida incorporation documents
• Documents evidencing family ties in Florida
• Proof of membership in a Florida-based charitable or professional organization
• Utility bills with proof of 12 consecutive months of payments
• Lease agreement with proof of 12 consecutive months of payments
• Any official state, federal, or court document evidencing legal ties to Florida

The College reserves the right to request additional documentation to confirm residency status, including documentation related to citizenship or immigration status, as applicable.

Qualifications by Exemption

Section 1009.21, Florida Statutes, provides exceptions for specific applicants who do not meet standard requirement for classification as a Florida resident for tuition purposes.  Documentation will be required to support claims. 

The following persons are classified as residents for tuition purposes regardless of the standard 12-month residency requirement:

• Qualified beneficiary under the terms of the Florida Prepaid College Program (s. 1009.98, Florida Statutes.)
• Students who have tuition and fees exempted through the homelessness verification or DCF exemption.
• Married to a person who has maintained legal residence in the state for at least the past 12 consecutive months. Person has established legal residence and intends to make Florida their permanent home.
• Previously enrolled at a Florida state postsecondary institution and classified as a Florida resident for tuition purposes. Person transferred to another Florida state postsecondary institution within 12 months of the previous enrollment.
• Previously enrolled at a Florida state postsecondary institution and classified as a Florida resident for tuition purposes. Person abandoned their Florida domicile less than 12 months ago and is now re-establishing Florida as their legal residence.
• Active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces, their spouses, and their dependent children residing or stationed in Florida at the time of acceptance to a Florida College System institution, and active drilling members of the Florida National Guard.
• Active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their spouses and dependents attending a Florida College System institution within 50 miles of the military establishment where they are stationed, if that military establishment is within a county contiguous to Florida.
• United States citizens living on the Isthmus of Panama who have completed 12 consecutive months of college work at the Florida State University Panama Canal Branch, and their spouses and dependent children.
• Full-time instructional and administrative personnel employed by Florida public schools and institutions of higher education, and their spouses and dependent children.
• Students from Latin America and the Caribbean who receive scholarships from the federal or state government and attend a Florida institution of higher education on a full-time basis.
• Southern Regional Education Board’s Academic Common Market graduate students attending Florida’s state universities.
• Full-time employees of state agencies or political subdivisions of the state when tuition fees are paid by the state agency or political subdivision for job-related law enforcement or corrections training.
• McKnight Doctoral Fellows and Finalists who are United States citizens.
• United States citizens living outside the United States who are teaching at a Department of Defense Dependent School or American International School and who enroll in a graduate-level education program leading to a Florida teaching certificate.
• Active-duty members of the Canadian military residing or stationed in Florida under the North American Air Defense (NORAD) agreement, and their spouses and dependent children, attending a Florida College System institution within 50 miles of the military establishment where they are stationed.
• Active-duty members of a foreign nation’s military serving as liaison officers and residing or stationed in Florida, and their spouses and dependent children, attending a Florida College System institution within 50 miles of the military establishment where the liaison officer is stationed.

Reclassification from Non-Resident to Resident Status

• High School Graduate (Moved to Florida as a High School Student): If a dependent child and their parent move to Florida while the child is a high school student and the child graduates from a Florida high school, the child may become eligible for reclassification when the parent submits evidence of qualifying permanent residency.
• Post–High School Relocation: If a dependent child and their parent move to Florida after the child has already graduated from high school, the child may become eligible for reclassification after the parent establishes legal residence in Florida and maintains that residence for at least 12 consecutive months.
• Marriage to a Legal Resident: A non-resident who marries a legal resident of Florida may apply for reclassification upon submitting evidence of their own legal Florida residency, their marriage to the Florida resident, and the spouse’s legal residence in Florida for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the reclassification application.

• Reclassified students are not entitled to reimbursement of any non-resident tuition or fees properly assessed before reclassification.
• Reclassified students will be assessed the resident tuition and fee rate beginning with the next academic term after reclassification, based on the deadlines established by the College.

Residency Appeals Process

Fraud and Misrepresentation Warning

Alabama and Georgia Tuition Differential

The Florida Legislature allows Chipola College the option of providing Alabama and Georgia residents a different tuition assessment for postsecondary classes. The Alabama and Georgia Tuition Differential will be assessed in addition to the current in-state tuition; that is, the eligible Alabama and Georgia student will pay the current in-state tuition and an additional $1.00 per credit hour.

To be eligible for the Alabama Tuition Differential, the Alabama resident must have maintained legal residence in the State of Alabama for the 12 months immediately preceding the first class day in the term for which differential tuition assessment is requested.

To be eligible for the Georgia Tuition Differential, the Georgia resident must have maintained legal residence in the State of Georgia for the 12 months immediately preceding the first class day in the term for which differential tuition assessment is requested.

The residence status of a dependent student is considered to be that of the parent or legal guardian of the student. A dependent student is any person who is eligible to be claimed by another person for Internal Revenue purposes. If the student requesting the Alabama or Georgia Tuition Differential is under the age of 24, Chipola College will assume that the student is a dependent, and the parent/legal guardian must request the Alabama or Georgia Tuition Differential for the dependent.

An Alabama or Georgia resident who has not met the 12-month residence requirement, but is married to an individual who has otherwise met the requirement may base his/her status on the eligible spouse.

Prospective students interested in the assessment of the Alabama or Georgia Tuition Differential should contact the Admissions and Records Office.

Refund Policy

All refunds are processed through the College Business Office approximately two weeks after the end of the drop/add period. Refunds are issued via check made payable to the student and mailed to the student’s current address on file in the Admission’s Office. Matriculation, tuition and other fees assessed students shall be refunded according to the following criteria.

Credit and Workforce Development Courses Following the College Calendar

A. Students who officially withdraw or drop one or more classes prior to the last published date for registration for any term shall receive a 100 percent refund of matriculation, tuition, lab, activity and financial aid fees.

B. Students who do not officially withdraw or drop one or more classes, or who do so after the last published date for registration for any term shall receive no refund.

Noncredit Courses

A. Students who officially withdraw from class one work day prior to the first class meeting shall receive a 100 percent refund of class related fees.

B. Students who do not officially withdraw, or who do so after the deadline, shall receive no refund.

Federal Financial Aid Refund and Repayment Policy

Chipola College is required to follow a Federal Financial Aid repayment policy for any student who receives the following Federal Financial Aid.

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

The refund policy specifies that you are not entitled to 100% of your federal financial aid until you have completed more than 60% of a semester.

If you receive Federal Financial Aid funds and you withdraw or cease attendance in all courses on or before completing 60% of the term enrolled you may be required to repay all or part of the Title IV aid you receive. This will result in a debt to Chipola, and may result in an additional debt to the Federal Government.

Students who withdraw or cease attendance in all courses on or before completing 60% of the term may have the following payment obligations as mandated by the Federal Government.

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal SEOG 

Chipola will be required to return a portion of the federal funds you received. When this occurs, you will owe this amount to Chipola as unpaid fees. You will be billed for the unpaid fees and your grades and transcripts will be held until all Chipola debts have been paid. Any additional grant money (Federal Pell or FSEOG) you must repay to the Federal Government is considered a federal overpayment. You must either repay the amount in full to Chipola within 45 days of the date you are notified of the overpayment, or make satisfactory arrangements with the United States Department of Education (USDOE) to repay the amount that is owed. If you fail to repay or make satisfactory arrangements to repay a federal grant overpayment, you will lose further eligibility for all federal aid, for attendance at any college. This loss of eligibility will continue until the debt is paid in full, or satisfactory repayment arrangements are made with the USDOE.

If you are having difficulty with any of your courses, you are encouraged to seek advice from your instructor. You may also receive assistance from an academic advisor at Chipola. You are encouraged to make every effort to maintain attendance in your courses and to avoid withdrawing from all of your courses.

Contact the Chipola Financial Aid Office with any questions or to receive an example of a “Return of Title IV” calculation.

The Florida Department of Education will require a refund for all Bright Future Scholarship recipients for the award amount received for courses withdrawn after the end of the drop/add period. Refunds will be made to Chipola College. Bright Future Scholarships will not be awarded for the next term until all withdrawal refunds have been paid to the College.

Fines

Students may not register for new course work, may not graduate, and may not receive transcripts until all records are clear of fees and fines owed the college.