The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Rules
BILL: CS/CS/SB 494
INTRODUCER: Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security Committee; Education
Postsecondary Committee; and Senator Avila and others
SUBJECT: Graduate Program Admissions
DATE: January 23, 2024
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Jahnke Bouck HE Fav/CS
2. Ingram Proctor MS Fav/CS
3. Jahnke Twogood RC Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/SB 494 requires an institution of higher education to waive the Graduate Record
Examination (GRE) and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) for servicemembers
and for persons who served in the United States Armed Forces, the Florida National Guard, or
the United States Reserve Forces and were discharged or released under any condition other than
dishonorable.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
II. Present Situation:
Graduate Record Examination
The GRE is the world’s most widely used admissions test for graduate and professional schools.
1
The GRE General Test and GRE Subject Tests are taken by individuals applying to graduate,
business, and law programs. For more than 70 years, GRE scores have been used by admissions
and fellowship panels at thousands of graduate programs around the world to supplement an
applicant’s undergraduate grades and other qualifications for graduate study.
2
1
ETS, GRE, https://www.ets.org/gre.html (last visited Jan. 11, 2024).
2
ETS, GRE Information Bulletin (2023), available at https://www.ets.org/pdfs/gre/gre-info-bulletin.pdf, at 4.
REVISED: BILL: CS/CS/SB 494 Page 2
The GRE General Test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and
analytical writing skills. The test closely aligns with the types of skills that are required for
success in today’s demanding graduate programs, including business and law.
3
The GRE Subject Tests measure achievement in specific subject areas and assume undergraduate
majors or extensive background in those disciplines. These tests are available in Mathematics,
Physics, and Psychology.
4
Graduate Management Admission Test
The Graduate Management Admission Council was established in 1953 to solve a common
problem schools faced: the need for a standardized exam to accurately assess a candidate's ability
to perform in the rigors of a graduate management degree program. After thorough research and
development, the GMAT exam was created by business schools for business schools. It was
specifically designed to assist with the business school admissions process.
5
The GMAT is the
most widely used exam for admission to graduate business and management programs.
6
The GMAT exam is designed to test skills that are highly important to business and management
programs. It assesses analytical writing and problem-solving abilities, along with the data
sufficiency, logic, and critical reasoning skills that are vital to real-world business and
management success. Additionally, the GMAT exam assesses Integrated Reasoning, a section
designed to measure a test taker’s ability to evaluate information presented in new formats and
from multiple sources—skills necessary for management students to succeed in a technologically
advanced and data-rich world.
7
Graduate Program Admissions
The State University System (SUS) offers opportunities for graduate study in over 1,000
academic programs.
8
The Board of Governors has established that it is the responsibility of the
universities and university boards of trustees to establish their own standards for graduate school
admission.
9
Admission decisions for graduate programs are typically made at the program or
department level, in concert with the admission criteria adopted by each university. These
criteria are typically published on the university admissions office website.
10
3
ETS, GRE Information Bulletin (2023), available at https://www.ets.org/pdfs/gre/gre-info-bulletin.pdf, at 4.
4
Id.
5
MBA.com, GMAT Exam, GMAT History, https://www.mba.com/exams/gmat-exam/about/gmat-history (last visited Jan.
11, 2024).
6
MBA.com, Exams, GMAT Exams, https://www.mba.com/exams/gmat-exam (last visited Jan. 11, 2024).
7
Graduate Management Admission Council, About the GMAT Exam, https://www.gmac.com/gmat-other-assessments/about-
the-gmat-exam (last visited Jan. 11, 2024).
8
State University System, Graduate & Professional Admissions, https://www.flbog.edu/universities/admissions-
transfers/graduate-professional-admissions/ (last visited Jan. 11, 2024).
9
Board of Governors Regulation 6.001 and 6.003.
10
State University System, Graduate & Professional Admissions, https://www.flbog.edu/universities/admissions-
transfers/graduate-professional-admissions/ (last visited Jan. 11, 2024). BILL: CS/CS/SB 494 Page 3
GRE and GMAT Waivers
As a response to the COVID pandemic, many SUS institutions temporarily waived GRE
requirements for the majority of graduate program admission criteria. This temporary waiver is
still in effect for many of the SUS institutions. For example, Florida Atlantic University will
waive the GRE and GMAT scores for all applicants seeking entry to graduate programs up to
and including the entry term of Spring 2024.
11
Florida State University is extending the
temporary waiver through Fall 2026 for most Master’s and Specialist’s programs.
12
Additionally, some graduate programs offer GRE/GMAT waivers for applicants who meet
specified criteria. Applicants for the Master of Science in Management program at the University
of South Florida (USF) can request a GRE/GMAT waiver if the applicant has 3 years of
professional or managerial experience or has earned a bachelor’s degree from USF, a Florida
preeminent institution, or an AAU school, and has a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.
13
GRE and GMAT Waivers for Military Applicants
In addition to the temporary GRE waivers still available for all applicants, many universities
nationwide provide GMAT waivers for military applicants. The universities with GMAT waivers
for military applicants recognize that military service provides veterans with real-world
leadership and decision-making experience. These real-world experiences often serve as a more
reliable indicator of success in a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program compared
to solely relying on GMAT scores.
14
Universities with MBA programs that waive GMAT
requirements include:
15
University of Arizona
Ohio State University
Western Michigan
Xavier
North Carolina State University
Purdue
University of Miami
Syracuse University
Waivers exempting military applicants from GRE requirements for graduate program admissions
are not as prevalent as GMAT waivers. However, some graduate programs like the Harris School
of Public Policy at the University of Chicago provide waivers for applicants who have completed
five years of active duty national military service.
16
Similarly, the School of Computing and
11
Florida Atlantic University, Graduate College, Prospective Graduate Students,
https://www.fau.edu/graduate/admissions/prospective-graduate-students/ (last visited Jan. 11, 2024).
12
Florida State University, Master’s Degree Programs, https://gradschool.fsu.edu/academics-research/degree-
programs/masters-degree-programs (last visited Jan. 11, 2024).
13
University of South Florida, Graduate, Master of Science in Management, https://www.usf.edu/business/graduate/ms-
management/application-process.aspx (last visited Jan. 11, 2024).
14
Veterans.com, GMAT Waivers, https://veteran.com/gmat-waivers/ (last visited Jan. 11, 2024).
15
Id.
16
University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy, GRE Requirements and Waivers,
https://harris.uchicago.edu/admissions/blog/gre-requirements-and-waivers (last visited Jan. 11, 2024). BILL: CS/CS/SB 494 Page 4
Information Science at the University of Maine offers a GRE waiver for military members and
veterans with five or more years of military experience.
17
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
CS/CS/SB 494 creates s. 1004.032, F.S., which requires an institution of higher education to
waive the GRE and the GMAT for servicemembers who apply for admission to a graduate
program that requires the examination. The bill also requires an institution of higher education to
waive the GRE and the GMAT for persons who served in the United States Armed Forces, the
Florida National Guard, or the United States Reserve Forces and were discharged or released
under any condition other than dishonorable and who apply to a graduate program that requires
such examination.
The bill provides definitions, to include:
A “graduate program” as an advanced academic degree program in a specialized field of
study, including, but not limited to, a master’s or doctoral degree program, which degree is
pursued after one has obtained a bachelor’s degree.
An “institution of higher education” as a state university.
18
A “servicemember” as any person serving as a member of the United States Armed Forces
on active duty or state active duty and all members of the Florida National Guard and United
States Reserve Forces.
19
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
17
University of Maine, GRE Waiver Request (2019), available at https://online.umaine.edu/wp-
content/uploads/sites/72/2019/11/GREWaiverRequestInSCIS.pdf.
18
Section 1000.21(8), F.S., provides a list of all state universities.
19
Section 250.01, F.S. BILL: CS/CS/SB 494 Page 5
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None identified.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
None.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill creates section 1004.32 of the Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Substantial Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS/CS by Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security on
January 16, 2024:
The committee substitute expands the GRE and GMAT waivers to include graduate
program applicants who served in the United States Armed Forces, the Florida National
Guard, or the United States Reserve Forces and who were discharged or released under
any condition other than dishonorable.
CS by Education Postsecondary on January 9, 2024:
The committee substitute removes reference to a Florida College System institution from
the definition of “institution of higher education.”
BILL: CS/CS/SB 494 Page 6
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.