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2004 SESSION


CHAPTER 146
An Act to amend and reenact § 23-215 of the Code of Virginia, and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 1 of Title 23 a section numbered 23-9.2:7, relating to distance learning in higher education.
[H 617]
Approved March 16, 2004

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 23-215 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted, and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 1 of Title 23 a section numbered 23-9.2:7 as follows:

§ 23-9.2:7. Distance Learning.

Effective January 1, 2005, each public institution of higher education shall include in its strategic plan information indicating to what extent, if any, it will use distance learning to expand access, improve quality, and minimize the cost of education. For institutions using or planning to use distance learning in the future, such information shall include the degree to which distance learning will be integrated into the curriculum, benchmarks for measuring such integration, and a schedule for the evaluation of such courses.

The State Council shall assist the governing boards in the development of such information.

§ 23-215. Responsibilities of Board and System.

A. The State Board for Community Colleges heretofore established by law is continued. The Board shall be a corporation under the style of "the State Board for Community Colleges." The State Board shall be responsible, through the exercise of the powers and performance of the duties set forth in this chapter, for the establishment, control, and administration of a statewide system of publicly supported comprehensive community colleges which shall be known as the Virginia Community College System.

B. The Virginia Community College System shall be the state agency with primary responsibility for coordinating workforce training at the postsecondary to the associate degree level, exclusive of the career and technical education programs provided through and administered by the public school system. This responsibility shall not preclude other agencies from also providing such services as appropriate, but these activities shall be coordinated with the community colleges.

C. In addition to other responsibilities of the Virginia Community College System, the community colleges shall (i) maximize non-credit noncredit course offerings made available to business and industry at a time and place that meet current and projected workforce needs and minimize the cost of non-credit noncredit offerings to business and industry to the extent feasible, and (ii) deal directly with employers in designing and offering courses to meet real, current, and projected workforce training needs, and (iii) maximize the availability and use of distance learning courses addressing workforce training needs. The Virginia Community College System shall report on actions taken to meet the requirements of this subsection in its annual report to the General Assembly on workforce development activities required by the appropriation act.