Florida Prepaid College Plans are not dealing with the deficits that other state prepaid plans are facing, according to a recent New York Times article.
Tom Wallace, the executive director of the Florida Prepaid College Board, said in an e-mail that the plan's trust fund has managed to hold its own despite the turbulent stock market.
Wallace said he credited the plan's stability to its conservative investment strategy. The plan chooses to invest most of its money in fixed-income securities, which allow funds to safely weather changing markets and the passage of time.
Susan James, the director of external affairs for the Florida Prepaid College Board, said the plan allows parents to pay the cost of tuition, fees and dorm housing at the time they buy the plan, rather than at the time their children attend college.
She said more than 1.4 million Florida Prepaid plans have been purchased by families since 1988.
Rebecca Weiss, a sophomore journalism major, said she has the Florida Prepaid College Plan and also receives a full Bright Futures scholarship.
As Bright Futures faces changes, the secure state of the Florida Prepaid College Plan is reassuring, Weiss said.
"Honestly, college students need as much help as we can get money-wise," Weiss said.
According to University Financial Services, 9,302 UF students used Florida Prepaid plans in Fall 2008, and about $12.5 million was disbursed to UF students by Florida Prepaid.
