Guest Author
South College is my school of choice. I am pursuing a degree in Nursing. Newly chartered in Florida, South College brings to Florida its exceptional performance and placement rates in high wage, high demand, health sciences careers, and has the highest accreditation a public or private college can receive – SACS Level 6.
When I enrolled at South, I discovered that grant funds for which I was qualified were no longer available due to that program’s repeal in 2021. But fortunately, there was one last option available to me, the EASE Grant Program. Thanks to EASE, there is a greater likelihood that students like me will graduate on time and be less encumbered by debt. These grants ensure and extend a student’s — and our state’s — socio-economic success well beyond academics.
But to my dismay, I found there is one word standing in my way: “nonprofit.” I was also surprised to learn that this one word makes EASE an outlier compared with all other grant programs in Florida.
For example, under Florida law, all state-funded financial aid programs allow qualified students to attend any school they choose – public, private, for-profit or nonprofit – except for one: EASE. Instead of being based on the student, EASE eligibility is inconsistently based on the institution a student chooses.
In my case, I can only receive an EASE Grant if I do NOT choose South College. Why? Because even though South College is accredited exactly the same or better than every state university, every Florida College, and every EASE Grant institution, I am deemed ineligible because South College pays taxes, which is another way of saying they are for-profit – unless this legislation passes.
Florida House Bill 6067 by Rep. Randy Fine and Senate Bill 1034 by Sen. Joe Gruters says if I qualify for EASE under the same rules as every EASE Grant student, and the school I’ve chosen to attend is accredited the same or better than every EASE Grant school, every state university and every Florida college, then I can receive an EASE Grant just like everyone else. In other words, because my decision to choose South College had nothing to do with their for-profit or nonprofit status, neither should my grant eligibility.
I could go back to the drawing board of school selection. However, I’m eager to continue my education at South College because it has the highest accreditation possible, with a tradition of student success and job placement that I’ve been looking for.
Given ongoing efforts by our Legislature and Governor to remove barriers and grant greater access for Florida’s K-12 students and their families, it is consistent, necessary, and even more important that we do the same for Florida’s higher education students as well. I hope our Legislature will pass — and our Governor will approve — this critical legislation so that students like me can continue and complete their degrees and get to work without more debt.
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Charlette Easington is a student at South College (Orlando).
