Prepaid college plan price jumps

Parents who enroll their children in the state's prepaid college tuition plan, Florida Prepaid College Plans, will have to pay more if they choose an optional plan that covers the cost of new mandatory fees at state universities.

Parents have four plans available to lock in their children's future college tuition costs at state universities, either by paying a lump-sum fee or enrolling in a payment plan.

The open registration period to receive current prepaid prices ends Jan. 31.

The Florida Legislature in 2007 enacted a "tuition differential fee," which is a supplemental college fee that allows Florida state universities to raise revenue to improve the quality of undergraduate instruction and to increase the availability of financial aid.

In response, Florida Prepaid College began to offer a plan that covered that fee.

Now all 11 universities in Florida can charge the differential fee, which affected the prepaid fee plan, a Florida Prepaid spokeswoman said. In its most recent session, the Legislature raised the cap for the fee, which also affected the prepay fee.

Plans purchased as of Jan. 31, 2007 are exempt from the tuition differential fee. The tuition differential fee also may be waived by the university for students who meet the eligibility standards of the Florida public student assistance grant.

Ron Besikirski enrolled his 4-year-old niece in a prepaid tuition plan last year.

The Tampa resident considered changing her enrollment to include the Differential Fee Plan, but said he was shocked that the one-time payment cost increased from about $4,300 to more than $18,000 in seven months.

"I didn't know that the legislators would do something like that to the people of Florida - over a 450 percent increase in this one plan where the other three plans there is a miniscule increase," Besikirski said.

"That seems awfully unfair for the children who are Florida's future."

For a newborn, the 55-month installment plan (including the differential plan) for tuition at a four-year state university costs $377.50 per month.

It's still a good value basically for the same reason it has been for the last 21 years because you can guarantee that your child will have a college education, the Florida Prepaid spokeswoman said.

College tuition in Florida is increasing on average about 6 percent each year and is expected to increase to the national average by 2017, she said. If you look at it that way, prepaying is a great choice.

One out of 10 Florida children from newborns to high school students has a Florida Prepaid College Plan.

When a child is ready for college, the Florida Prepaid College Plan covers the actual cost at any Florida public university or community college. If the student decides to attend a private college, out-of-state college or technical school, the value of the plan may be transferred to any eligible institution.

Families can sign up online for a Florida Prepaid College Plan at www.myfloridaprepaid.com or call 1-800-552-GRAD (4723) to request an Enrollment Kit in English or Spanish and speak with a customer service representative.