Waivers

The child or spouse of Law Enforcement Officers, Correctional, Correctional Probation Officers, Emergency Medical Technicians, Paramedics, and Firefighters killed in the line of duty are eligible for an education tuition and fees exemption equal to the cost of tuition and associated fees for a total of 120 credit hours.

• The child or spouse may attend on either a full-time or part-time basis. The benefits provided to a child shall continue until the child's 25th birthday. The benefits provided to a spouse must commence within five (5) years after the death occurs, and shall continue until the 10th anniversary of that death.
• Only a student in good standing with the University may receive this benefit.
• A child or spouse receiving this benefit must be enrolled according to the rules and requirements of the University.

Please email cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Special Risk Waiver”.

The child of Deceased Teachers and School Administrators killed or is injured and dies as a result of an unlawful and intentional act are eligible for a tuition and fees exemption equal to the cost of tuition and associated fees for a total of 120 credit hours provided such killing or injury was inflicted by another person and the motivation for the act is related in whole or part to the fact that the individual is a teacher or school administrator, or such act is inflicted while he or she is engaged in the performance of teaching duties or school administration duties while employed by a Florida district school board.

• The child may attend on either a full-time or part-time basis. The benefits provided to a child shall continue until the child's 25th birthday. 
• Only a student in good standing with the University may receive this benefit.
• A child receiving this benefit must be enrolled according to the rules and requirements of the University.

Please email cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Special Risk Waiver”.

This waiver will cover cost of tuition and associated fees for a total of 120 credit hours that the child or spouse of the deceased active duty United States Armed Forces member incurs while obtaining an undergraduate education or a postgraduate education.

• The child or spouse may attend on either a full-time or part-time basis. The benefits provided to a child shall continue until the child's 25th birthday. The benefits provided to a spouse must commence within five (5) years after the death occurs, and shall continue until the 10th anniversary of that death.
• Only a student in good standing with the University may receive this benefit.
• A child or spouse receiving this benefit must be enrolled according to the rules and requirements of the University.

Please email cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Surviving Waiver”.

High School Dual Enrollment is an accelerated program that allows eligible high school students to begin earning college credit through coursework while simultaneously earning credits towards their high school diploma. Known as Dual Enrollment Programs (ACE & Collegiate Academy) is available to local school district, charter schools, and home school secondary students. Students eligible for Acceleration are exempt from payment of tuition and associated fees, including lab fees.

Information on the application process can be found on the ACE Program website.

Students whose adoption from the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) after May 5, 1997, at age 18 in the custody of DCF, custody of a relative or placed in a guardianship are exempt from payment of tuition and associated fees, including lab fees.

This exemption shall remain valid up until the time the student reaches the age of 28.

Students need to submit their most recent DCF eligibility letter to Student Account Services prior to the start of their first semester of enrollment at FGCU. Once validated/approved, the waiver will be applied each semester until the student ages out or graduates.  This information can be submitted in person or via email at cashiers@fgcu.edu. 

This waiver will cover the cost of tuition and associated fees for internship credit hours applicable to an internship in the public-school system under the supervision of the Florida Department of Education certified school psychologist employed by the school system for any graduate student.

Please email cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “School Psychology Training Program Waiver”.

This waiver applies to students who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, or whose primary nighttime residence is a public or private shelter designed to provide temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.  This waiver will cover the cost of tuition and associated fees, including lab fees.

To qualify for this waiver, you must submit the Homeless Fee Exemption Affidavit along with a letter on official letterhead from one of the sources listed below to cashiers@fgcu.edu.

• Your High School or school district homeless liaison, or
• The director of an emergency shelter funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or
• Director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program.

This waiver will cover the cost of undergraduate tuition and associated fees for each recipient of a Purple Heart, or another combat decoration superior in precedence which was awarded for valor. The Waiver covers only tuition and fees and does not include any additional fees that may be charged for specialized programs or by external organizations. This includes, but is not limited to, flight school, study abroad travel and living expenses, and courses taken elsewhere as a transient student.

• Must be enrolled as a full-time, part-time, or summer-school student in an undergraduate program that terminates in a degree or certificate.
• Is currently, and was at the time of the military action that resulted in the awarding of the Purple Heart or other combat decoration superior in precedence, a resident of this state.
• This waiver will be applicable for one hundred and ten percent (110%) of the number of required credit hours of the degree or certificate program for which the student is enrolled.

Please email cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Purple Heart Recipient Waiver”.  A DD-214 form will be required for review.

Full-time state employees are eligible for a waiver of tuition and fees up to six credit hours per semester. Participation is subject to space availability and must register during the State Employee registration period as shown on the Academic Calendar. State employees are any individuals who work in any of the State of Florida agencies. State University and State College employees as well as educators in various counties of the state are not state employees for tuition waiver purposes.

Complete the State Employee Tuition Waiver Form (Form # 23) each semester and email to esc@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “State Employee Waiver”.

This waiver will cover cost of tuition and associated fees for a total of 120 credit hours if the wrongfully incarcerated person meets and maintains the regular admission requirement of the university.

A wrongfully incarcerated person is someone who has had a felony conviction and sentence vacated by a court.

Please email cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Wrongfully Incarcerated Waiver”.

Out-of-state fees will be waived for honorably discharged veterans of the United States Armed and Reserve Forces (Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy) and the National Guard (Army and Air) who physically reside in Florida while enrolled at the University. Persons who are entitled to and uses educational assistance provided by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs also qualify for this waiver if they physically reside in Florida while enrolled at the University in any term beginning after July 1, 2015. Tuition and fees charged to a veteran or person who qualifies for the out-of-state fee waiver may not exceed the tuition and fees charged a resident student enrolled in the same course.

Please email va-sco@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Veteran Non-Resident Waiver”.

Out-of-state fees will be waived for active duty members of the Armed Forces of the United States who are residing or stationed outside of the state. Tuition and fees charged to a student who qualifies for the out-of-state fee waiver may not exceed the tuition and fees charged to a resident student.

Please email va-sco@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Active Duty Non-Resident Waiver”.

This waiver will cover the cost of tuition and fees for any Student enrolled in an employment and training program under the welfare transition program.

Please email cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of "Welfare Transition Program Waiver".

This waiver will cover the cost of out-of-state fees, including the out-of-state financial aid fee, for students. This includes, but is not limited to, students who are undocumented for federal immigration purposes, who meet the following conditions:

• Attended a secondary school in this state for three (3) consecutive years immediately before graduating from a high school in this state;
• Apply for enrollment in an institution of higher education within 24 months after high school graduation; and
• Submit an official Florida high school transcript as evidence of attendance and graduation.

• This waiver will be applicable for one hundred and ten percent (110%) of the number of required credit hours of the degree or certificate program for which the Student is enrolled.
• This waiver is only applicable towards the first bachelor’s degree awarded.
• A Student who is granted an out-of-state fee Waiver under this Regulation is not eligible for state financial aid.

To receive this waiver, view/print document to complete the paper application and return it to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. After the information is verified the form will be sent to Student Account Services for processing. This waiver will appear as a payment for the respective term on your Account Activity screen in the Bill & Payment Center.  Please Note: In order to assure timely posting, applications must be received no later than 30 days prior to the start of term.

This waiver will cover tuition and fees for employees, as defined in section 402.403, Florida Statutes, who are enrolled in an accredited master’s degree in social work or a certificate program, and maintain at least a grade of ‘B’ in all courses.

Eligible employees must have an approved Department of Children and Families, community-based agency, or a subcontractor Waiver form stating that the necessary employment qualifications have been met.  Please email this information to cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Child Protection and Child Welfare Personnel Waiver”.

This waiver will cover the tuition and fees for one (1) online course for eligible veterans, active duty members of the United States Armed Forces, active drilling members of the Florida National Guard, and nontraditional students who enroll in an online baccalaureate degree program at a state university.

A student whose tuition and fees are waived under this program must be a resident for tuition purposes under section 1009.21, Florida Statutes, must not have previously earned a bachelor’s degree, and must be enrolled in an online baccalaureate degree program provided the student meets one (1) of the following eligibility requirements:

• Is a veteran as defined in section 1.01(14), Florida Statutes.
• Is an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces.
• Is an active drilling member of the Florida National Guard; or
• Is a nontraditional Student, defined for the purposes of this program as a student who has been out of high school for at least five (5) years and has not been enrolled in a postsecondary institution in the last five (5) years.

Please email cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Online Free Seat Program Waiver”.

The Programs of Strategic Emphasis Waiver Program was created by the Florida Legislature and takes effect in the Fall 2021 semester. This waiver can also be referred to as the STEM Waiver.  Under this program, resident undergraduate students who are enrolled in eligible programs will receive a tuition waiver for portions of their tuition and fee invoice under certain circumstances. This program is often referred to as the "buy-one-get-one" waiver, meaning that for each course for which a student enrolls they receive another course of equal or lesser value at a discount. For example:

• If an eligible student is enrolled in six credit hours (2 three hours courses) their tuition and fees for the second three credit hours will be reduced.
• If an eligible student is enrolled in seven credit hours (1 three hour and 1 four hour course) their tuition and fees for the three credit hours will be reduced.

To maximize this benefit for students and to ease the administrative burden for schools, the Florida Board of Governors guided schools to apply this waiver as a 50% discount to the applicable fees for all eligible classes, rather than as a buy-one-get-one discount. The biggest difference is that eligible students enrolled in an uneven number of classes (or even enrolled in only one class) receive greater and immediate benefit under the 50% off model. 

In order to qualify for the Programs of Strategic Emphasis Waiver Program, students must meet certain eligibility criteria:

• Students must be Florida residents for tuition purposes (in-state residency).
• Students must have earned at least 60 semester credit hours toward a baccalaureate degree within 2 academic years after initial enrollment at a Florida public post-secondary institution.
  • Initial enrollment is defined as the first registration in a public post-secondary institution after earning a high school diploma.
  • The 60 semester credit hours must be earned/granted at a Florida public post-secondary institution.
  • Dual-enrollment from high school credits earned at a Florida public post-secondary institution count towards the 60 credit requirement as long as the student begins initial enrollment at a Florida public post-secondary institution.
• Students must be enrolled and accepted into one of eight Programs of Strategic Emphasis as adopted by the Board of Governors. This program must be the student's primary major.
• Waiver can only be applied towards a first bachelor’s degree.
• Waiver will not be applied if a student’s tuition and fees are being covered/waived by any other statutory waiver.

The Florida Board of Governors has identified twelve programs of strategic emphasis, they are:

CIP Code	CIP Description
11.0101	Computer & Information Sciences
11.0103	Information Technology
14.0801	Civil Engineering
14.0901	Computer Engineering
14.1001	Electrical & Electronics Engineering
27.0101	Mathematics
40.0801	Physics
52.1201	Management Information Systems
52.0301	Accounting (Effective Fall 2022)
52.0801	Finance (Effective Fall 2022)
13.1001	Special Education & Teaching (Effective Fall 2023)
13.1202	Elementary Education & Teaching (Effective Fall 2023)

Courses may be taken in the fall, spring, or summer terms, but courses which are not required for the degree program will not count for the waiver. In general, courses must be:

• Upper division courses required to complete the academic program, including required electives and required courses offered by other departments, for up to 110% of the number of required credit hours.
  • An upper division course is defined as a 3,000 or 4,000-level course required for the degree using the common course numbering designation.
  • An equivalent course is defined as a 3,000 or 4,000-level course required for the degree using the common course numbering designations.
  • The one hundred and ten percent (110%) will be based on the number of credit hours required at the time that a student is admitted to the major, regardless of whether the number of hours required increases or decreases at a later point in time.

Courses cannot be classified as Non-Fundable or Market Rate.

There is no application for the Programs of Strategic Emphasis Waiver Program. FGCU will identify eligible students based on academic records, major, and enrollment each term and will automatically apply the waiver to student accounts. Typically, this will occur after the add/drop date for the respective term but prior to the mid-point of the term.  If you feel that you meet eligibility requirements, but were not automatically identified for the waiver, then please email Student Account Services at cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Programs of Strategic Emphasis Waiver” to request a manual review. 

In 2021, the Florida Legislature amended Section 1009.26, Florida Statutes, to create the Grandparent Waiver. Out-of-state first-year students admitted for the summer or fall semester whose grandparent(s) currently reside in Florida, may be eligible for a tuition and fee waiver of the out-of-state tuition costs up to one hundred and ten percent (110%) of total degree hours. Eligible recipients will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis as determined by the date the student submitted all necessary documentation. For further information please refer to the FGCU Undergraduate Admissions website. 

For application information please refer to the FGCU Undergraduate Admissions website. 

The University may waive out-of-state tuition fee and out-of-state financial aid fee for up to twenty-five (25) full-time equivalent Students per year enrolled through Florida Linkage Institutes Program.

Please email cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Florida Linkage Institutes Waiver”.

Persons who supervise interns for institutions within the State University System may be given one (1) non-transferable certificate (fee Waiver) for each full academic term during which the person serves as an intern supervisor. This certificate shall provide for Waiver of the base Tuition fee.

• Certificate holders are entitled to a Waiver of tuition for a maximum of six (6) hours credit instruction (including credit through continuing education) during a single term at any state university.
• Certificates shall be valid for three (3) years from date of issuance.
• Eligible recipients of an Intern Participation Certificate may be identified by the University as a person who engages in the direct supervision of at least one (1) University intern for 300 contact hours, which may be accumulated over multiple semesters provided at least 100 contact hours of direct supervision is provided per semester.
• To be eligible for a Certificate, the internship program must be an essential part of the course of instruction and must be required as part of the degree.

The certificate is issued by the respective College.  Once issued the certificate must be submitted to Student Account Services for processing prior to the published payment deadline as noted on the Academic Calendar.   We cannot accept digital copies of the certificate.  The original must be submitted in order for processing to occur.  If in-person processing is not possible the original certificate will need to be mailed to the address listed below by the published last day to mail payment date as noted on the Academic Calendar. 

Mailing Address:

Attention: Student Account Services

Florida Gulf Coast University

10501 FGCU Blvd. S.

Fort Myers, FL 33965

The University may allow full-time University employees to enroll in up to six (6) credit hours of tuition-free courses per term. 

For a full list of the criteria please refer to FGCU Policy 3.002 Tuition Assistance. 

When applying to use the tuition voucher benefit, the following must be completed:

• The employee must complete an Employee Tuition Voucher form.
• The employee must have the form approved and signed by their appropriate supervisor.
• The user(s) must complete admissions and registration requirements.
• The user(s) must register for courses; and
• The user(s) must submit the fully approved original copy of the Employee Tuition Voucher form to Student Account Services by the published Payment Deadline date as noted on the Academic Calendar.
• In the event the six (6) hours are being split between more than one (1) individual, only one (1) form showing all users shall be prepared for submission to Student Account Services.

The University may allow full-time University employees to enroll in up to six (6) credit hours of tuition-free courses per term.  The employee may assign their tuition voucher benefit to a spouse or dependent child for degree-seeking, undergraduate credit courses only.

For a full list of the criteria please refer to FGCU Policy 3.002 Tuition Assistance. 

When applying to use the tuition voucher benefit, the following must be completed:

• The employee must complete an Employee Tuition Voucher form.
• The employee must have the form approved and signed by their appropriate supervisor.
• The user(s) must complete admissions and registration requirements.
• The user(s) must register for courses; and
• The user(s) must submit the fully approved original copy of the Employee Tuition Voucher form to Student Account Services by the published Payment Deadline date as noted on the Academic Calendar.
• In the event the six (6) hours are being split between more than one (1) individual, only one (1) form showing all users shall be prepared for submission to Student Account Services.

The University may waive any or all application, tuition, and associated fees for persons sixty (60) years of age or older who are residents of this state and who enroll to audit courses being offered for college credit. No academic credit shall be awarded for attendance in classes for which fees are waived. This privilege may be granted only on a space-available basis, if such classes are not filled as of the close of registration. The University may limit or deny the privilege for courses which are in programs for which the Board of Governors has established selective admissions criteria. Persons paying full fees and state employees taking courses on a space-available basis shall have priority over those persons whose fees are waived in all cases where classroom spaces are limited.

Please submit the Senior Citizen (60+) Tuition Waiver Form to the Enrollment Services Center for processing. 

Waivers are awarded based on the University’s established international partnership agreements or participation in specific sponsored programs of international education and exchange.

Eligibility for these Waivers will be based on the following criteria:

• Recipient can be defined as a foreign national (a person who is neither a US citizen or permanent resident and holds citizenship of a nation other than the United States) and must be either an international student enrolled at FGCU on a student visa, as defined by US immigration; or an International Scholar sponsored by FGCU on an exchange visitor visa, as defined by US immigration.
• Recipient is sponsored at FGCU under a specific academic or cultural exchange program initiated by a US or foreign government, an agency coordinating one of these programs, under an international grant program, or under written agreement of international academic exchange between FGCU and a foreign institution, and that this sponsorship is in effect through the duration of the student’s or scholar’s academic enrollment.
• Recipient maintains eligibility for participation in the exchange or sponsored program (including maintaining immigration status and good academic standing) in order to receive and maintain the tuition Waiver. This eligibility will be reviewed on a semester basis.
• Recipient is admitted to study at FGCU through submission of required application and support documents.
• Recipient is enrolled in undergraduate studies on a degree or non-degree seeking basis, as full-time or part-time students, pursuant to requirements of the sponsored program in which they participate.

Please contact the Global Engagement Office for additional information.

The University shall provide a discretionary Waiver of the tuition differential fee for STARS Program Students who have been awarded a scholarship from the Stanley Tate Project STARS Scholarship Program. This Waiver is also available to scholars of other STARS Program affiliates, such as Take Stock in Children.

This waiver is automatically applied to all students who have an active scholarship in good standing from the Stanley Tate Project STARS Scholarship Program or from another STARS Program affiliates, such as Take Stock in Children.  For questions regarding eligibility please email cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “STARS Fee Waiver”.

This waiver will cover the cost of the graduate out-of-state tuition fee and the graduate out-of-state financial aid fee for Graduate students enrolled in a fully online graduate program.  To qualify for this waiver, you must not be eligible to be classified as a Florida Resident for tuition purposes.

There is no application for the Fully Online Graduate Program Non-Resident Tuition Waiver. FGCU will identify eligible students based on their level, program and residency status. Typically, you can expect this waiver to be posted within five (5) business days of your tuition & fee assessment.  If you feel that you meet eligibility requirements, but were not automatically identified for the waiver, then please email Student Account Services at cashiers@fgcu.edu with the subject line of “Online Graduate Non-Resident Tuition Waiver” to request a manual review.