UF students who receive financial aid through a STEM-specific waiver will no longer see refunds from the program following changes in state legislation effective this Fall.
In August, the university notified students eligible for the Programs of Strategic Emphasis waiver, or POSE, that recent state-level changes will lead to the money being administered as a “last-dollar” option.
Going forward, the waiver will only cover half of the remaining cost after the rest of a student’s financial aid has been applied. If other financial aid sources cover a student’s tuition cost, then the waiver won’t be applied at all.
The waiver originally guaranteed students in specific academic fields — including engineering, finance and math — a full waiver on tuition and fees for upper-level courses that applied to their majors.
Harsh Panchal, a 21-year-old UF mechanical engineering senior, said prior to the Aug. 11 email notification, the waiver had already been applied to his account for the semester and then removed a few days before the announcement.
“Maybe it would have been better if it was never applied in the first place, and they told us about it earlier,” he said.
A university spokesperson redirected a request for comment to the State University System. The system did not respond to an email and phone request for comment in time for publication.
Since 2023, programs including information technology, civil engineering, computer engineering, mathematics, accounting, finance, elementary education and special education are all eligible for POSE. Students are not required to apply — instead, they’re automatically considered for it based on their enrollment.
Alexander Aron, a 21-year-old computer engineering senior, didn’t discover the policy change until the first day of school on Aug. 21. Considering the waiver is only applicable to certain higher-level courses, Aron said that he may have simplified his schedule had he known about the change earlier.
Aron added he feels as though money is being taken from students.
“I mean, you think the money could go to students instead,” he said.
Abbie Barrows, a 21-year-old UF mechanical engineering senior, said a major factor in her switch from biomedical engineering was possible qualification for POSE. While the Bright Futures scholarship covers her tuition, she said she was relying on the POSE money to supplement her rent.
“There was $3,000 I was expecting to get that I was not getting,” Barrows said.
Barrows pointed out the waiver change may affect out-of-state students specifically. She said while in-state students may not feel the impacts of the waiver change because of in-state scholarships like Bright Futures, out-of-state recipients may struggle without the same benefits.
“The point of the program, at least in my mind, was always to incentivize the growth of those careers within the state of Florida,” she said. “They want people to stay in the state of Florida who are in those majors.”
But when you take the aid away from Florida students, Barrows said, “it feels pretty counterintuitive in my mind.”
Contact Maria Arruda at marruda@alligator.org. Follow her on X @mariazalfarruda
