Step Up for Students Registration
Saltwater Studies is approved by SUFS as a direct pay vendor for the PEP and FES-UA scholarship programs. This means that Saltwater Studies can submit a reimbursement request directly to SUFS for your child, have the funds debited from your child’s scholarship account and sent directly to Saltwater Studies. This eliminates your need to pre-pay Saltwater Studies for educational activities and then submit a request for reimbursement to SUFS yourself.
If your child is a PEP or FES-UA scholarship recipient and you would like Saltwater Studies to directly bill SUFS for your child’s participation in its programs, please review the following conditions and procedures before completing the below form.
Conditions
Due to the amount of administrative time necessary to coordinate with SUFS to receive reimbursement for an invoice, Saltwater Studies will not submit any invoice for reimbursement that is less than $100.
To submit an invoice directly to SUFS for reimbursement, Saltwater Studies charges an administration fee (per invoice) of $25 or 10% of the total invoice amount, whichever is greater. This cost will be added to the invoice. Here are the associated fees (including administrative fees) for the 2024/2025 school year:
Saltwater Studies Field Day: $150 per event
Florida’s Marine Life Class Series (5-12 years): $300.00 per semester*
Florida’s Marine Animals Field Course (Middle & High School): $577.50 per semester*
If you are registering for a full year program, Saltwater Studies will submit two invoices for reimbursement, one in December and the second in April or May, after the last class of the school year. This is based on current SUFS reimbursement policies.
If the scholarship fund does not have sufficient funds to cover the invoice or SUFS denies the expense for any reason, you agree to cover the cost of the associated course fee and pay Saltwater Studies directly.
Saltwater Studies' cancellation policy applies even though funds are submitted as a reimbursement instead of prepaid. Saltwater Studies' cancellation policy can be viewed here: https://saltwaterstudies.com/terms-policies.
* The early registration discount will be applied for those who register before June 1.
Reimbursement Process
Please note that the process varies based on the system used by the scholarship recipient to submit reimbursement requests.
For Legacy users: This system is used by scholarship recipients awarded prior to the 2023/2024 school year. Saltwater Studies will prepare and invoice and submit a reimbursement request to SUFS directly. You will be notified when the request is submitted and be required to log on to approve the request before it can be processed.
For Education Market Assistant (EMA) users: This system is used by scholarship recipients awarded during the 2023/2024 school year and following years. In addition to completing the following form, you will also need to log on to EMA and request the appropriate Saltwater Studies’ service. This will be done after July 1 during the appropriate scholarship term. Saltwater Studies will provide you with detailed instructions on how to locate the correct event in its list of offerings on EMA. Once you request the appropriate event, you are giving Saltwater Studies approval to submit an associated reimbursement request. Saltwater Studies will then submit an invoice via EMA requesting to be reimbursed by SUFS at the appropriate time.
Registration Form
Registration for Saltwater Studies events is provided on a first-come, first served basis. Upon receipt of this completed form, Saltwater Studies will register your child for the selected events as long as there is space available. Please note that your registration for the event is not complete until you have received a confirmation email from Saltwater Studies indicating that a space has been reserved for your child for the requested event(s).