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2003 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 23-9.6:1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 23-9.6:1. Duties of Council generally.
In addition to such other duties as may be prescribed elsewhere, the State Council of Higher Education shall have the duty, responsibility and authority:
1. To prepare plans under which the several state-supported institutions of higher education of Virginia shall constitute a coordinating system. In developing such plans, the Council shall consider the future needs for higher education in Virginia at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels, as well as the mission, programs, facilities and location of each of the existing institutions of higher education, and such other matters as the Council deems appropriate. The Council shall revise such plans at least once every four years and shall submit such recommendations as are necessary for the implementation of the plan to the Governor and the General Assembly.
2. To review and approve or disapprove any proposed change in the statement of
mission of any presently existing public institution of higher education and to
define the mission of all public institutions of higher education created after
the effective date of this provision. The Council shall, within the time
prescribed in subdivision 1, make a report to the Governor and the General
Assembly with respect to its actions hereunder. No such actions shall become
effective until thirty 30 days after adjournment of the session of the General
Assembly next following the filing of such a report. Nothing contained in this provision shall be
construed to authorize the Council to modify any mission statement adopted by
the General Assembly, nor to empower the Council to affect, either directly or
indirectly, the selection of faculty or the standards and criteria for
admission of any public institution, whether related to academic standards,
residence or other criteria; it being the intention of this section that
faculty selection and student admission policies shall remain a function of the
individual institutions.
3. To study any proposed escalation of any public institution to a degree-granting level higher than that level to which it is presently restricted and to submit a report and recommendation to the Governor and the General Assembly relating to the proposal. The study shall include the need for and benefits or detriments to be derived from the escalation. No such institution shall implement any such proposed escalation until the Council's report and recommendation have been submitted to the General Assembly and the General Assembly approves the institution's proposal.
4. To review and approve or disapprove all enrollment projections proposed by each public institution of higher education. The Council's projections shall be in numerical terms by level of enrollment and shall be used for budgetary and fiscal planning purposes only. The student admissions policies for the institutions and their specific programs shall remain the sole responsibility of the individual boards of visitors.
5. To review and approve or disapprove all new academic programs which any public institution of higher education proposes. As used herein, "academic programs" include both undergraduate and graduate programs.
6. To review and require the discontinuance of any undergraduate or graduate
academic program which that is presently offered by any public
institution of higher education when the Council determines that such academic
program is (i) nonproductive in terms of the number of degrees granted, the
number of students served by the program, the program's effectiveness, and
budgetary considerations, or (ii) supported by state funds and is unnecessarily
duplicative of academic programs offered at other public institutions of higher
education in the Commonwealth. As used herein, "academic programs" includes
both undergraduate and graduate programs. The Council shall make a report to
the Governor and the General Assembly with respect to the discontinuance of any
such academic program. No such discontinuance shall become effective until
thirty 30 days after the adjournment of the session of the General Assembly
next following the filing of such report.
7. To review and approve or disapprove the creation and establishment of any
department, school, college, branch, division or extension of any public
institution of higher education which that such institution proposes to create
and establish. This duty and responsibility shall be applicable to the proposed
creation and establishment of departments, schools, colleges, branches,
divisions and extensions, whether located on or off the main campus of the
institution in question. If any organizational change is determined by the
Council to be proposed solely for the purpose of internal management and the
institution's curricular offerings remain constant, the Council shall approve
the proposed change. Nothing in this provision shall be construed to authorize
the Council to disapprove the creation and establishment of any department,
school, college, branch, division or extension of any institution which that
has been created and established by the General Assembly.
8. To review the proposed closure of any academic program in a high demand or critical shortage area, as defined by the Council, by any public institution of higher education and assist in the development of an orderly closure plan, when needed.
9. To develop a uniform, comprehensive data information system designed to gather all information necessary to the performance of the Council's duties. The system shall include information on admissions, enrollments, self-identified students with documented disabilities, personnel, programs, financing, space inventory, facilities and such other areas as the Council deems appropriate.
9 10. To develop in cooperation with institutions of higher education
guidelines for the assessment of student achievement. An institution shall use an
approved program which that complies with the guidelines of the Council
and is consistent with the institution's mission and educational objectives in the development
of such assessment. The Council shall report the institutions' assessments of student
achievement in the biennial revisions to the state's master plan for higher
education.
10 11. To develop in cooperation with the appropriate state financial and
accounting officials and to establish uniform standards and systems of accounting, record keeping and
statistical reporting for the public institutions of higher education.
11 12. To review biennially and approve or disapprove all changes in the
inventory of educational and general space which that any public institution of
higher education may propose, and to make a report to the Governor and the General Assembly with
respect thereto. No such change shall be made until thirty 30 days after the
adjournment of the session of the General Assembly next following the filing of such report.
12 13. To visit and study the operations of each of the public institutions of
higher education at such times as the Council shall deem appropriate and to conduct such other
studies in the field of higher education as the Council deems appropriate or as may be requested by
the Governor or the General Assembly.
13 14. To provide advisory services to private, accredited and nonprofit
institutions of higher education, whose primary purpose is to provide collegiate or graduate
education and not to provide religious training or theological education, on
academic, administrative, financial and space utilization matters. The Council
may also review and advise on joint activities, including contracts for
services between such public and private institutions of higher education or
between such private institutions and any agency of the Commonwealth or
political subdivision thereof.
14 15. To adopt such rules and regulations as the Council believes necessary to
implement all of the Council's duties and responsibilities as set forth in this Code. The various
public institutions of higher education shall comply with such rules and
regulations.
15 16. To issue guidelines consistent with the provisions of the federal Family
Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g requiring public
institutions of higher education to release a student's academic and
disciplinary record to a student's parent.
16 17. To develop and revise, as it deems necessary, in consultation with the
Coordinator of Emergency Management, a model institutional crisis and emergency
management plan for the purpose of assisting public and private two-year and
four-year institutions of higher education in establishing, operating, and
maintaining emergency services and disaster preparedness activities.
17 18. To require that each institution of higher education formed, chartered,
or established in the Commonwealth after July 1, 1980, shall ensure the preservation of student
transcripts in the event of institutional closure or revocation of approval to operate in the
Commonwealth of Virginia. An institution may provide for the preservation of
student transcripts by binding agreement with another institution of higher
education with which it is not corporately connected or in such other way as
the Council may authorize by regulation. In the event an institution closes, or
has its approval to operate in the Commonwealth revoked, the Council, through
its Director, may take such action as is necessary to secure and preserve the
student transcripts until such time as an appropriate institution accepts all
or some of the transcripts. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to
interfere with the right of a student to his own transcripts; nor shall this
section authorize disclosure of student records except as may otherwise be
authorized by law.
In carrying out its duties and responsibilities, the Council, insofar as practicable, shall preserve the individuality, traditions and sense of responsibility of the respective institutions. The Council, insofar as practicable, shall seek the assistance and advice of the respective institutions in fulfilling all of its duties and responsibilities.