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 will be classified as Florida residents or non-Florida residents for tuition assessment purposes. The criteria for determining residency status are detailed in the Florida Statutes and the Administrative Rules of the State Board of Education. Detailed information for residence classification is available in the Admissions and Records Office. The Affidavit of Residency, included on the Application for Admission, is required of all new students and returning students with an absence of 12 months or more.

A student’s residency classification is determined at the time of admission. A non-resident may request reclassification after establishing residency in Florida as determined by law; any residency classification changes will be in effect for the next term. To change to resident status, the student must submit supporting documentation of residency prior to the first day of class.

The law allows a United States citizen or permanent resident alien to be classified as a Florida resident if the student, or dependent student’s parent or legal guardian, has been a legal resident of the State of Florida for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the first class day for the term in which classification as a Florida resident for tuition purposes is desired. Living in Florida, attending school in Florida, or property ownership in Florida does not, in and of itself, establish residency for tuition purposes. A list of complete guidelines concerning Florida Residency for Tuition Purposes is available at www.floridashines.org.

A dependent student is any student who is eligible to be claimed as a dependent for Internal Revenue purposes. Therefore, any student who is under the age of 24 will be considered a dependent student, and the dependent student’s status will be based on the residence status of a parent or legal guardian. A parent or legal guardian must complete the Affidavit of Residency on the Admission Application.

The Affidavit of Residency for the independent student must be completed by the student and submitted with the appropriate documentation.

Any student who is under the age of 24 and can document independent status by presenting evidence that he/she is not claimed as a dependent by another person and is filing his/her own income taxes with an annual income that indicates the ability to be self-supporting may be considered as an independent student.

Florida Statutes allow some applicants who have not met the 12 month residence requirement to be classified as Florida residents for tuition purposes. These exceptions are listed below:

1a. Active duty service-members of the United States not stationed in Florida but whose legal state of residence certificate (DD FORM 2058) is Florida (spouse and dependent children included).

1b. Chipola College shall waive out of state fees for an honorably discharged Veteran of the US Armed Forces, the US Reserved Forces or the National Guard who physically resides in the state of
Florida while enrolled in this institution. Tuition and fees charged to Veterans who qualify for the out-of-state fee waiver under this section may not exceed the tuition and fees charged to a resident student. The waiver is applicable for 110% of the required credit hours of the degree or certificate program for which the student is enrolled.

2. Full-time instructional and administrative personnel employed by the state public school system, community college system, or university system (spouse and dependent children included).

3. Latin American and Caribbean full-time students on federal or state scholarships.

4. Full-time employees of state agencies or political subdivisions of the state when the student fees are paid by the agency or subdivision for the purpose of job-related law enforcement or corrections training.

5. Qualified beneficiaries under the Florida Pre-Paid Postsecondary Expense Program as provided in Florida Statute 240.551(7)(a).

6. A student who intends to make Florida his/her permanent home and is married to an individual who meets the requirements for classification as a resident for tuition purposes.

When claiming Florida residency by virtue of one of these exceptional categories, documentation must be submitted to substantiate eligibility.

Any Admission Application or residency statement submitted by or on behalf of the student that contains false, fraudulent or incomplete statements may result in denial of admission or dismissal.

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.