George Mason University (247)

Authority: Title 23, Chapter 9.1, Code of Virginia.

A. This Item includes general and nongeneral fund appropriations to support institutional initiatives that help meet statewide goals as described in the Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act of 2005 (Chapters 933 and 945, 2005 Acts of Assembly). 

B. Out of this appropriation, an amount estimated at $289,614 the first year and $289,614 the second year from the general fund and $124,120 the first year and $124,120 the second year from nongeneral funds are designated for the educational telecommunications project to provide graduate engineering education.  The participating institutions and centers shall jointly submit an annual report and operating plan to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia in support of these funded activities.  For supplemental budget requests, the participating institutions and centers jointly shall submit a report in support of such requests to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for review and recommendation to the Governor and General Assembly.

C. Out of this appropriation, $459,125 the first year and $459,125 the second year from the general fund is designated for the Institute for Conflict Analysis.

D. As Virginia's public colleges and universities approach full funding of the base adequacy guidelines and as the General Assembly strives to fully fund the general fund share of the base adequacy guidelines, these funds are provided with the intent that, in exercising their authority to set tuition and fees, the Board of Visitors shall take into consideration the impact of escalating college costs for Virginia students and families.  In accordance with the cost-sharing goals set forth in § 4-2.01 b. of this act, the Board of Visitors is encouraged to limit increases on tuition and mandatory educational and general fees for in-state, undergraduate students to the extent possible.

E. Out of this appropriation, $50,000 the first year and $50,000 the second year from the general fund is designated to support the Potomac Bay Science Center.

F.1. Out of this appropriation, $1,838,892 each year from the general fund is designated for base operating support.

2. Out of this appropriation, $1,478,839 each year from the general fund is designated to address the projected growth in transfer students and support efforts to improve retention and graduation through the MapWorks project.

3. Out of this appropriation, $100,000 the second year from the general fund is designated to support a partnership between George Mason University and the Center for Excellence in Education to enhance the capabilities of school teachers to teach STEM programs.  The funding will allow for (a) five additional "Bite of Science" programs impacting over 125 teachers and 17,125 students, (b) four Teacher Roundtables impacting over 100 teachers and 13,700 students and (c) a part-time staff dedicated to the enhancement of materials in the Teacher Enrichment Program Clearinghouse, an online compendium of science resources for Virginia teachers.

G.1. Out of this appropriation, $1,174,753 each year from the general fund is designated to achieve the goals of the six-year academic plan submitted by the George Mason University in the fall 2011.  George Mason University shall utilize these funds to implement expansion of distance education offerings and expand facilities and space utilization across the University's distributed campuses.

2. George Mason University shall reallocate $1,605,735 the first year and $2,140,980 the second year from current educational and general program funds either to support the initiatives identified in paragraph G.1. and / or to address programs and strategies that serve to advance the objectives of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011.

3. George Mason University may reallocate up to an additional 1.5 percent  from current educational and general program funds in the second year to address faculty compensation issues, operation and maintenance of new facilities or other institutional initiatives or priorities.

H. The 4-VA, a public-private partnership among George Mason University, James Madison University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and CISCO Systems, Inc., was established to utilize emerging technologies to promote collaboration and resource sharing to increase access, reduce time to graduation and reduce unit cost while maintaining and enhancing quality.  Instructional talent across the four institutions will be leveraged in the delivery of programs in foreign languages, science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is expected that funding will be pooled by the management board as required to support continuing efforts of the 4-VA priorities and projects.