When Osceola County announced that every graduating senior could earn a certificate or associate degree without paying tuition, students were in shock.
“No one believed it at first,” said Osceola County Commission Chairman Brandon Arrington. Many come from families where no one has gone to college, and many assume a degree costs $100,000.
Three Florida counties now commit local dollars to last-dollar scholarships, which cover the tuition and fees left after other grants and scholarships are applied. For students who assume college is out of reach, they remove the biggest unknown.
FCAN’s Oct. 15 webinar, “Osceola Prosper … and Beyond: Inside the Rise of County-Funded Last Dollar Scholarships,” convened Arrington, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota’s Jamie Smith and FCAN research analyst Dane Shelton to explain how Osceola Prosper, Future Ready Miami-Dade and Suncoast Prosper bring county governments and colleges together to reduce tuition barriers and strengthen local talent pipelines. Shelton closed with considerations for counties weighing similar investments.
Osceola Prosper: Connecting Education with Economic Opportunity
Osceola Prosper shows how a scholarship can fit within a county’s broader economic plan. Arrington said the program launched with about $15 million in federal pandemic relief money. When that money ran out, the commission kept it going with general fund dollars.
Arrington recently accepted the National College Attainment Network’s 2026 Partner of the Year award on behalf of Osceola Prosper. Florida Trend named the program its 2025 Floridian of the Year.
Osceola County’s college-going rate rose from 61st among Florida’s 67 counties in 2010 to third in 2023.
Arrington credits nearly a decade of work with the school district and Valencia College, which the pandemic set back, and Osceola Prosper’s push to regain the lost ground.
Arrington ties the scholarship to the county’s effort to diversify an economy built on tourism and agriculture. That effort includes NeoCity, a county-developed research park focused on microelectronics that has drawn nearly half a billion dollars in federal funding. He said the agencies behind those awards cite the county’s education pipeline as a strength.
“It’s wonderful and altruistic that we’re giving these kids the opportunity, but at the same time, it’s strategic around economic development,” Arrington said.
The program also costs less than expected. Many Osceola students are already eligible for federal aid that covers tuition but don’t know it, Arrington said. The scholarship gives them a reason to apply.
“Nobody has come up to me and thanked me for creating an expressway, just randomly at an event, or widening a road, but I have kids come up to me and thank me for free college,” he said.
Miami-Dade: Pairing Tuition Assistance with Student Support
Future Ready Miami-Dade, a last-dollar scholarship funded by Miami-Dade County and run by Miami Dade College, pairs tuition assistance with support designed to keep students enrolled.
Shelton, who interviewed the program’s leaders, reported that an initial $3 million investment in Future Ready Miami-Dade for the class of 2024 has supported more than 1,000 students, who have earned 215 associate degrees and 133 college credit certificates. While the Future Ready agreement ended in September and has not yet been renewed, Shelton said college leaders plan to seek new philanthropic and public funding.
Miami Dade College designed the program to keep students enrolled once they arrive, with a focus on helping them feel part of campus life. Recipients get help completing the FAFSA, one-on-one academic coaching, child care assistance, emergency aid and mental health counseling. These services address problems that can interrupt a student’s education even when tuition is covered.
Dr. Jaime Anzalotta, Miami Dade College’s vice provost of student affairs and chief enrollment officer, said many Future Ready students fall in the “murky middle.” Their student aid index is too high for federal aid, yet college costs still hold them back, and many don’t feel they belong on campus. The program’s message to them, he said, is that they are seen and supported.
Manatee: Planning for a Growing Workforce
Manatee County’s newly approved Suncoast Prosper program, a partnership with State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF), brings the county-funded last-dollar model to the Tampa Bay region.
The county has committed up to $7.5 million over three years for eligible students pursuing associate degrees and certificates at SCF. The program begins in fall 2027 and covers eligible graduates from the county’s classes of 2027 and 2028.
Smith, associate vice president of communications and government relations at SCF, connects Suncoast Prosper to population growth and workforce demand.
Smith said Manatee County is projected to add 37,000 jobs between 2026 and 2034, while its population grew 17.1% from 2020 to 2025. She pointed to rising demand for health care workers, whom SCF trains in programs including nursing, radiography, dental hygiene and occupational therapy.
“Unless they invent an anti-aging serum,” she said, “we only see the need for health care workers increasing.”
Smith said she first contacted Arrington when SCF wanted to replicate Osceola Prosper. He agreed right away and met with Manatee’s commission chair to walk through the program and its return on investment. Smith then met with each Manatee commissioner individually over the course of 18 months to learn what each needed to know. At commission meetings, she made the case that every dollar invested in education returns $4 to $7, and that more than half of local students who leave college cite money as the reason. Smith called her approach “pleasantly persistent” and consistent.
“What we’re trying to say is students can graduate debt-free,” she said.
What Other Communities Can Learn
Shelton offered four considerations for counties weighing a similar program:
- Start with the end in mind. Decide whether the priority is enrollment, completion, keeping talent local or diversifying the economy, and set the metrics before launch.
- Explain what the scholarship covers. It pays tuition and fees left after other aid. Students still need to plan for books, transportation and housing.
- Prepare the college. Financial aid, advising and instructional capacity need to be in place before enrollment grows.
- Secure multiyear funding. A cohort funded through completion keeps the promise credible to the students coming after it.
For Florida communities considering funding a last-dollar scholarship, all three programs started the same way, with a county that tied the scholarship to its economic goals and a college ready to connect more students to career-advancing credentials.
Show Notes: