General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2004>Educational Institutions

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Educational Institutions

Passed

P HB64

Faculty representatives to boards of visitors, the State Board for Community Colleges, and local community college boards. Authorizes the boards of visitors of four-year public institutions of higher education, the State Board for Community Colleges, and local community college boards to appoint a nonvoting, advisory faculty representative to their boards. In the case of the State Board for Community Colleges, the representative will be chosen from among persons elected by the Chancellor's Faculty Advisory Committee. Faculty representatives to boards of visitors and local community college boards will be chosen from among those individuals elected by the faculty, faculty senate, or other equivalent group of the institution. The State Board for Community Colleges, local community college boards, and boards of visitors may exclude the faculty representative from discussions of faculty grievances, faculty or staff disciplinary matters, salaries, or other matters, in their discretion.
Patron - Shuler

P HB82

University of Virginia's College at Wise; reduced tuition. Allows the University of Virginia's College at Wise to charge reduced tuition to any person enrolled at the College who lives within a 50-mile radius of the College, is domiciled in, and is entitled to in-state tuition charges in Tennessee institutions, contingent upon reciprocal reduced tuition arrangements being offered by Tennessee to Virginia students. In addition, the College and its partners or associates offering programs jointly at a regional off-campus center may also charge reduced tuition to any Tennessee resident enrolled in such joint programs who lives within a 50-mile radius of the College and is entitled to in-state tuition charges in Tennessee institutions of higher learning if Tennessee has similar reciprocal arrangements for Virginians. Any such respective partners or associates must separately establish and charge tuition rates for their independent classes or programs at such regional centers. This provision grants authority similar to that already granted to the University of Virginia's College at Wise students residing in Kentucky.
Patron - Kilgore

P HB478

University of Virginia Medical Center; procurement exemptions. Extends the procurement exemptions granted to the University of Virginia Medical Center to information technology and telecommunications projects and exempts the Medical Center from the oversight of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA). The exemptions set out in this bill existed under prior law as in effect before transferring information technology and telecommunications procurement authority to VITA (successor to the Department for Information Technology). These exemptions were preserved as delegated authority in enactment clause 2 in Chapter 579 of the 2002 Acts of Assembly and clauses 15 and 16 of Chapters 981 and 1021 of the 2003 Acts of Assembly. The bill renders these exemptions permanent in the new law. The bill also adds a cross reference to the Virginia Public Procurement Act stating the exemption and updates other cross references.
Patron - Nixon

P HB547

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; policies and strategies to develop human capital. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to develop policies and strategies to eliminate the barriers between the Commonwealth's institutions of higher education and industry and enhance the development of human capital in the Commonwealth. These policies and strategies shall include a review of (i) offering incentives for industry to partner with universities in the practical training of undergraduate and graduate students; (ii) providing opportunities and incentives for corporate scientists and engineers to have adjunct appointments at universities to train and collaborate with faculty and students; (iii) assisting universities in acquiring funding to build or buy facilities where academic labs and corporate entities can work together; (iv) providing opportunities and assistance for academic researchers to take one- to two- year sabbaticals in a corporate setting or national lab and bring that experience back to the institution; (v) increasing the two-year leave of absence for science and engineering faculty to generate more industrial-sponsored research; (vi) allowing industry to fully fund faculty salaries and allow the faculty to work in industry while remaining a university employee, with proper safeguards in place; and (vii) allowing faculty to be part-time university employees and part-time industry employees, also with proper safeguards in place.
Patron - May

P HB617

Distance learning. Requires, effective January 1, 2005, that each public institution of higher education include information in its strategic plan 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 of Higher Education must assist the governing boards in the development of such information. In addition, community colleges are required to maximize the availability and use of distance learning courses addressing workforce training needs.
Patron - Carrico

P HB637

Regulation of private, for-profit schools. Eliminates division of regulatory responsibility between the State Council of Higher Education (SCHEV) and the Board of Education for privately owned, for-profit career training schools by granting SCHEV regulatory authority for private institutions of higher education operating in Virginia and postsecondary schools (which may or may not offer degree programs). The Board of Education will only license and regulate schools for students with disabilities; it will no longer review nondegree credit, certificate, and diploma programs offered by postsecondary schools offering diplomas or certificates. The bill offers definitions of noncollege degree schools (those offering academic-vocational programs and those limited to vocational (nondegree) programs). School definitions are distinguished by "degree," "nondegree," "college degree," and "noncollege degree" offerings. The bill also directs SCHEV to appoint the Career College Advisory Board, comprised of college and university representatives and other members, to assist in "academic and administrative matters related to private proprietary institutions of higher education and academic-vocational noncollege degree schools." The bill also provides that private institutions shall not be required to obtain another authorization from the Council to operate in Virginia if (i) they were formed, chartered or established in the Commonwealth, or chartered by an Act of Congress; (ii) have maintained a main or branch campus continuously in the Commonwealth for at least 10 calendar years under their current ownership; (iii) were continuously approved or authorized to confer or grant academic or professional degrees by the Council, by the Board of Education or by an act of the General Assembly during those 10 years; and (iv) are fully accredited by an accrediting agency that is recognized by, and has met the criteria for Title IV eligibility of the United States Department of Education. If authorization to confer or grant academic or professional degrees is revoked, the institution must seek reauthorization and must do so annually until it meets this criteria. Other changes in the bill provide that (a) only institutions of higher education and academic-vocational noncollege degree schools may offer degree programs; (b) academic-vocational and vocational noncollege degree schools are subject to various contractual, name, and other requirements that were previously limited only to private institutions of higher education (typically, four-year private institutions and other private entities using "college" in their names); and (c) SCHEV will maintain a list of postsecondary schools it has certified or licensed for operation in Virginia. SCHEV certification is required to operate as a postsecondary school (private institutions of higher education and academic-vocational or vocational noncollege degree schools); SCHEV approval is required for degree granting and use of the words "college" or "university" (institutions of higher education and academic-vocational noncollege degree schools).
Patron - Tata

P HB642

The Miller School of Albemarle. Reduces the appointments to be made by the Governor and the Judge of the Circuit Court of Albemarle County to the Board of Trustees of The Miller School of Albemarle from five to two members, and allows the Board to consist of as many as 23 trustees. The Board, which already appoints five members of the currently 15-member Board, will appoint all remaining members, i.e., 19 members. The number of consecutive terms is reduced from three to two. Persons serving as of July 1, 2004, may complete their respective terms. The Miller School was created in 1874 by the General Assembly to "give effect to a compromise of the litigation in respect to the construction and effect of the will of Samuel Miller...." This educational institution was formerly known as the Miller Manual Labor School. Located outside Charlottesville, the Miller School is not a public school, but is an independent coeducational institution, enrolling about 165 boarding and day students in grades six through 12.
Patron - Abbitt

P HB710

Unfunded scholarships. Eliminates the restriction on the number of unfunded graduate and undergraduate scholarships public institutions of higher education may award to resident and nonresident students. The total value of all such scholarships, however, remains unchanged.
Patron - Nutter

P HB712

Policies for required reinstatement of certain military students. Directs the State Council of Higher Education (SCHEV) to include in its guidelines for tuition relief, refunds, and reinstatement for military students who withdrew from enrollment in a public institution of higher education due to service in a "defense crisis" provisions addressing (i) procedures for the required reenrollment of students whose call to active duty military service precluded their completion of a semester or equivalent term and (ii) policies providing for the required reenrollment of such military students. The current SCHEV guidelines direct the institutions to "detail the circumstances under which a student shall be allowed to re-enroll" and state that "[g]enerally, a student who is called to active duty or is mobilized should be assured a reasonable opportunity to re-enroll ... without having to re-apply for admission if the student returns to the same institution within one year ...."
Patron - Oder

P HB932

Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. Increases the membership of the governing board of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research from nine to 15 by adding six citizen representatives, two each appointed by the Governor, the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, and the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Created by the 2002 Session, the Institute is located in Danville and was founded by Averett University, Danville Community College, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The Institute is authorized to enter into and administer agreements with institutions of higher education to deliver traditional and electronic education and is to diversify the region's economy by providing a site for the development of technology and a trained workforce and expanding access to higher education in Southside Virginia.
Patron - Marshall, D.W.

P HB933

Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. Adds the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research to the list of those entities characterized as "educational institutions" and "governmental instrumentalities for the dissemination of education." Created by the 2002 Session, the Institute is located in Danville and was founded by Averett University, Danville Community College, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The Institute is to diversify the region's economy by providing a site for the development of technology and a trained workforce and expanding access to higher education in Southside Virginia. Current law designates as "educational institutions" the Commonwealth's four-year public colleges and universities, the Virginia Community College System, the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center, the Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, the Eastern Virginia Medical School, and the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center. This classification as an educational institution will enable the Institute to issue bonds with the approval of its governing board and the Governor (§§ 23-15 and 23-19), acquire property (§ 23-16), be eligible for its bonds to be purchased by the Virginia College Building Authority (§§ 23-30.24, 23-30.25, 23-30.27, and 23-30.28), establish a campus police department (§ 23-232), and authorize such campus police to purchase their service handguns (§ 23-232). This designation will not empower the Institute to establish unfunded scholarships (§ 23-31), nor will it place the Institute under the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the coordinating council for two- and four-year public colleges and universities. In addition, the designation does not require the Institute to submit an annual report to SCHEV regarding financial statements (§ 23-1.01). The term "educational institution" appears in a variety of contexts throughout the Code. The term, for purposes of § 23-14, does not necessarily include all entities described as "institutions of higher education" or "institutions of higher learning" elsewhere in the Code. "Educational institution" is used broadly in Code provisions addressing matters such as employment, prohibited contracts, and certain field permits. "Educational institutions" may also sell real estate (§ 13.1-901); establish educational television stations (§ 15.2-966); have students excluded from certain toll payments (§ 22.1-187); and have governing board members reimbursed for travel expenses (§ 23-3). Public "educational institutions" receiving state funds may not discriminate against persons with disabilities (§ 51.5-43). Not referenced in § 23-14, nor subject to SCHEV as a coordinating council, are these designated "educational institutions": the Miller School of Albemarle, the Board of Regents of Gunston Hall, the Frontier Culture Museum, the Science Museum of Virginia, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, and The Library of Virginia. The term has also been used in reference to private correspondence schools (§ 22.1-319). Designation as an "institution of higher education" has been applied to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, (which is not designated as an "educational institution") as well as the Science Museum of Virginia, and specifically makes these entities eligible to receive property and funds from localities (§ 23-3.1) and to maintain their state appropriations, despite any increases in endowment funds (§ 23-9.2).
Patron - Marshall, D.W.

P HB989

Higher education; transfer of course credit. Directs the State Council of Higher Education (SCHEV), in cooperation with the governing boards of the public two- and four-year institutions of higher education, to develop a State Transfer Module that designates those general education courses offered within various associate degree programs at the public two-year institutions that are transferable for credit or admission with standing as a junior (third year) to the public four-year institutions. The bill also directs SCHEV to (i) facilitate the development of dual admissions and articulation agreements between the public and private two- and four-year institutions; and (ii) develop and make available to the public information identifying all general education courses offered at public two-year institutions and designating those that are accepted for purposes of transfer for course credit. Any articulation agreements will be subject to admissions requirements of the four-year institutions.
Patron - Hugo

P HB1029

University of Mary Washington. Changes the name of Mary Washington College to the University of Mary Washington. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is not charged with responsibility for review and approval of a name change for a public institution of higher education; however, SCHEV is required, pursuant to § 23-9.6:1, 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 review and approve any proposed modifications in institutional missions. The Board of Visitors of Mary Washington College (MWC) approved the name change unanimously on November 22, 2003. This past year, the Carnegie Foundation, which certifies on a national basis the classification of all institutions of higher learning, reclassified MWC as a university, rather than a baccalaureate liberal arts college, based upon the number of graduate degrees awarded. This bill is identical to SB 464.
Patron - Cole

P HB1296

James Madison University. Facilitates James Madison University's ability to begin construction needed as a result of fire damage. On November 16, 2003, James Madison University's "medical arts" building burned, thereby rendering the building uninhabitable. The bill authorizes James Madison University to proceed immediately with the construction necessary to rebuild this structure by exempting James Madison University, for only this capital project, from the public procurement process and the Art and Architectural Review Board's evaluation. The bill also authorizes the Secretary of Finance to provide James Madison University with anticipation loans to begin the construction, with the loans being reimbursed from the insurance proceeds and other funds.
Patron - Putney

P HB1313

Virginia Institute of Marine Science; library named. Designates the library at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) the William Jennings Hargis, Jr. Library. Dr. Hargis received the Virginia Life Achievement in Science award in 2003, and is the former VIMS director. Pursuant to § 23-49.1:1, VIMS is subject to the supervision, management and control of the board of visitors of the College of William and Mary.
Patron - Morgan

P HJ122

Campus safety. Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission to study campus safety at public and private institutions of higher education in Virginia. The Commission shall examine (i) current Virginia policies, procedures, and programs used to promote safety at institutions of higher education; (ii) the nature of criminal offenses at Virginia's public and private institutions of higher education; (iii) the use of best practices or models for campus safety nationally; and (iv) the need to develop statewide procedures to ensure the dissemination of information pertaining to best practices for campus safety.
Patron - Hamilton

P SB153

Roanoke Higher Education Authority; Board of Trustees. Revises the Board of Trustees for the Roanoke Higher Education Authority to delete the Executive Director of the Fifth District Employment and Training Consortium and to add the president or his designee of Virginia Intermont College.
Patron - Edwards

P SB173

Regulation of certain private and out-of-state institutions of higher education. Revises the definition of "institution of higher education" as set forth in the law regulating private and out-of-state colleges, universities, etc., to provide an explicit exception for any public institution of higher education established in statute as an authority and declared a governmental instrumentality pursuant to § 23-14. Present law provides an exception for all state-supported institutions of higher education that are listed in § 23-9.5. However, Eastern Virginia Medical School is covered by the law by virtue of the fact that it is not so listed as a "state-supported institution of higher education" (although EVMS does receive some state funds). Thus, this public institution is currently inadvertently captured under the reporting, etc. requirements of the law relating to private and out-of-state entities.
Patron - Stolle

P SB230

Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program and Fund. Creates the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program for the purpose of assisting students who were enrolled in the public schools of Virginia between 1954 and 1964, in jurisdictions in which such public schools were closed to avoid desegregation, in obtaining a high school diploma, the General Education Development certificate, career or technical education or training, or an undergraduate degree from a public institution of higher education in Virginia. The State Council of Higher Education shall administer the Program. The Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Awards Committee, established in the legislative branch of state government, is composed of legislators and nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Joint Rules Committee and the Governor and is authorized to award the scholarships and govern the Program. The Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program Fund, a special nonreverting fund, is established on the books of the Comptroller to receive appropriations, gifts, grants, donations, and bequests for the Program. The bill also establishes student eligibility for such scholarships and stipulates that scholarships may be used only for payment of tuition charges. In addition, the bill provides that (i) the Program does not establish any legally enforceable right or entitlement on the part of any person or any right or entitlement to participation in the program; and (ii) scholarships must be awarded to the extent funds are made available or as directed by the appropriation act. This bill also allows individuals entitled to an income tax refund to contribute a portion, at least $1, or all of the refund to the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Fund for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2004. The Fund provides support by means of grants to persons who were enrolled in the public schools of Virginia between 1954 and 1964, in jurisdictions in which such public schools were closed to avoid desegregation, in obtaining a high school diploma, the General Education Development certificate, career or technical education or training, or an undergraduate degree from a public institution of higher education in Virginia. The State Council of Higher Education shall administer the Program. The second enactment clause provides that educational terms used in the act shall be construed as defined in Titles 22.1, 23, and 40.1. The third enactment clause requires the Tax Commissioner to include a description of the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program in the instructions for the annual Virginia income tax return package. The fourth enactment clause expresses the General Assembly's acknowledgement of the irreparable harm suffered by African-American and Caucasian students due to the school closings. This bill is supported by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission. The provisions of the bill expire July 1, 2008.
Patron - Lambert

P SB244

Faculty representatives to boards of visitors, the State Board for Community Colleges, and local community college boards. Faculty representatives to boards of visitors, the State Board for Community Colleges, and local community college boards. Authorizes the boards of visitors of four-year public institutions of higher education, the State Board for Community Colleges, and local community college boards to appoint one or more nonvoting, advisory faculty representatives to their boards. In the case of the State Board for Community Colleges, any representatives must be appointed from persons elected by the Chancellor's Faculty Advisory Committee. Faculty representatives to boards of visitors and local community college boards must be appointed from individuals elected by the faculty, faculty senate, or other equivalent group of the institution. Any representatives will serve terms of not less than one 12-month period, which is coterminous with the institution's fiscal year, or for terms mutually agreed to by the State Board for Community Colleges and the Chancellor's Faculty Advisory Committee, or the local community college board or the board of visitors, as the case may be, and the institution's faculty senate or other equivalent group. The State Board for Community Colleges, local community college boards, and boards of visitors may exclude faculty representatives from discussions of faculty grievances, faculty or staff disciplinary matters, or salaries.
Patron - Edwards

P SB283

University of Virginia's College at Wise; reduced tuition. Allows the University of Virginia's College at Wise to charge reduced tuition to any person enrolled at the College who lives within a 50-mile radius of the College, is domiciled in, and is entitled to in-state tuition charges in Tennessee institutions if Tennessee has similar reciprocity provisions for Virginians. In addition, the College and its partners or associates offering programs jointly at a regional off-campus center may also charge reduced tuition to any Tennessee resident enrolled in such joint programs who lives within a 50-mile radius of the College and is entitled to in-state tuition charges in Tennessee institutions of higher learning if Tennessee has similar reciprocity provisions for Virginians. Any such respective partners or associates shall establish and charge separately tuition rates for their independent classes or programs at such regional centers. This provision grants authority similar to that already granted to College at Wise students residing in Kentucky. This bill is identical to HB 82.
Patron - Wampler

P SB338

State Council of Higher Education. Directs the State Council of Higher Education to facilitate the development of dual admissions and articulation agreements between two- and four-year public and private institutions of higher education in Virginia and requires the Council to develop estimates of the number of degrees to be awarded by each institution and include those estimates in its reports of enrollment projections. The dual admissions and articulation agreements would be subject to the admissions requirements of the four-year institutions. Articulation agreements are agreements between two-year and four-year institutions of higher education or between K-12 schools and two-year institutions of higher education that detail the transferability of courses and credits between two-year and four-year institutions of higher education or between high schools and two-year institutions of higher education.
Patron - Edwards

P SB397

College of William and Mary; board of visitors. Increases to four the three-person limit on the number of non-Virginia residents who may be appointed to the board of visitors of the College of William and Mary.
Patron - Norment

P SB464

P SB570

Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. Increases the membership of the governing board of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research from nine to 15 by adding six citizen members. The initial citizen appointments will be for various terms of one and two years in order to stagger the members' terms. This bill is identical to HB 932.
Patron - Reynolds

P SB583

Virginia College Building Authority. Clarifies that boards of visitors of public institutions of higher education must designate as Virginia College Building Authority (VCBA) projects those projects to be financed by VCBA bonds secured by a pledge of any one or more of the revenue sources cited in subdivisions (1) through (4) of subsection (d) of § 23-19 (such as project rentals and fees or increased rentals and fees for existing facilities; new rentals and fees for existing facilities; student building fees and other student fees; and other general and nongeneral fund appropriations to the institution). The bill is designed to eliminate the need for institutional designation of projects financed under the VCBA 21st Century Program. A second enactment clause "validates, ratifies, approves, and confirms" all VCBA bonds issued previously to purchase educational institution bonds pursuant to § 23-30.27, to acquire equipment pursuant to § 23-30.27.1, or to pay for all or any portion of the cost of one or more projects or portion or portions thereof.
Patron - Saslaw

P SB653

College of William and Mary; easements. Provides for certain drainage and temporary construction easements related to the proposed right-of-way and easement dedication by The College of William and Mary for widening of the intersection of Monticello Avenue and Ironbound Road.
Patron - Norment

Failed

F HB36

Approval of certain institutions of higher education. Provides that nonpublic institutions of higher education that have been approved by the State Council of Higher Education (SCHEV) to operate in Virginia and confer degrees at a specific level before July 1, 2004, are not required to obtain subsequent SCHEV approval unless the approval was revoked or the institution desires to confer degrees at a level other than that previously approved. Technical amendments track the language in current subdivision A 4 to clarify that subsequent approval is necessary for new degree levels as well as new degree programs. The current "grandfather clause" extends this benefit to private institutions for which SCHEV had approved specific degree levels before July 1, 1980. Since that date, several nonpublic institutions, such as Shenandoah University, Hampton University, Sweet Briar College, and Hollins University, have been granted SCHEV approval to confer advanced degrees. These institutions, and others, have been required by law and SCHEV regulations to seek annual certification and approval. Emergency regulations issued by SCHEV in July 2003 impose fees for this annual certification; the annual fees are $2,500 and $6,000 for accredited and nonaccredited private institutions, respectively (Schedule A, 8 VAC 40-31-30 et seq.). The emergency regulations state that, in considering an institution's application for certification, SCHEV cannot "take into account either duplication of effort by public and private institutions in Virginia or need within the Commonwealth for the course for degree credit, program of study, or degree program for which certification is sought" (8 VAC 40-31-190).
Patron - Sherwood

F HB156

Higher education; admission of illegal aliens prohibited. Provides that public institutions of higher education may not knowingly accept for enrollment any illegal alien, and directs each institution, upon discovering an enrollment of an illegal alien, to provide for the prompt dismissal of any such person from the institution. In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that undocumented alien children are ensured access to public education in grades K through 12; the Court found that the denial of public school enrollment violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This case was limited to public school enrollment and did not address postsecondary education. (Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982)). In September, 2003, a lawsuit was filed in filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, on behalf of anonymous high school students and recent high school graduates, challenging the denial of college admission to undocumented alien students by the College of William and Mary, George Mason University, James Madison University, Northern Virginia Community College, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Tech. (Chronicle of Higher Education, September 12, 2003).
Patron - Reid

F HB517

Admissions policies of public institutions of higher education. Requires the board of visitors of each public institution of higher education to establish admissions policies that prohibit preferential consideration regarding the admission of an applicant on the basis of his relationship by birth or marriage to an alumnus. Beginning on July 1, 2004, each institution of higher education must report annually the number and percentage of first-time entering freshmen, disaggregated by gender, race, ethnicity, age, and familial relationship to alumni of the institution, to the State Council of Higher Education, which must transmit the findings to the Governor and the General Assembly annually, beginning on December 1, 2004.
Patron - Jones, D.C.

F HB574

In-state tuition for spouses and dependents of certain military personnel. Eliminates various residency, income tax, and employment requirements governing eligibility for in-state tuition for spouses and dependents of military personnel residing in Virginia pursuant to military orders and claiming residency in another state, and extends in-state tuition eligibility only to the child or spouse of active duty, enlisted, nonofficer military personnel in certain instances. Children and spouses of other military personnel would no longer be able to establish in-state tuition eligibility by meeting the various residency, income tax, and other requirements. If the nonresident student is the child of an active, enlisted, nonofficer member of the armed forces, the nonmilitary parent must be a registered voter in Virginia, and the child must have been claimed as a dependent by the member of the armed forces for income tax purposes. If the student is the spouse of an active, enlisted, nonofficer member of the armed forces, then the student must be a registered Virginia voter. The period of eligibility for in-state tuition shall not exceed the period of residency required by military orders. These students would be counted as in-state students for admissions, enrollment, and tuition and fee revenue policy purposes. Children and spouses of all military personnel--regardless of status--may also establish domicile in the same manner as any other student. Under current law, spouses and dependents of military personnel--regardless of active duty or officer status--must meet various residency, income tax, and employment requirements to be eligible for in-state tuition; military personnel are not currently granted in-state tuition.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB806

Ratios of in-state and out-of-state students; tuition adjustments. Requires the governing body of a four-year public institution of higher education to maintain a ratio of the in-state and out-of-state student population in each incoming freshman class that is not more than 25 percent out-of-state undergraduate students, or the percentage determined for the incoming freshman class in 2000, whichever is greater, beginning with the incoming freshman class in 2005. Out-of-state students on athletic scholarships are not included in calculations of out-of-state enrollments. Institutions that adhere to these ratio requirements can then increase tuition and fee charges as they deem necessary and appropriate; any increases may be reviewed by the State Council of Higher Education (SCHEV). The General Assembly will determine annually any increases of tuition and fees for institutions that do not adhere to the ratio requirements. The increase cannot exceed five percent annually. Pursuant to various provisions in Title 23, individual boards of visitors are typically empowered to "fix, in their discretion, the rates charged...for tuition and fees and other necessary charges." The 2003 Appropriation Act (Item 136 E (3)) directs boards of visitors to "(a) make every effort to achieve potential cost savings as opposed to tuition increases and (b) not increase the current proportion of nonresident undergraduate students if the institution's nonresident undergraduate enrollment exceeds 25 percent." Two-year institutions and VMI, Norfolk State, and Virginia State are exempt from this second requirement. In addition, the 2003 budget authorized institutions to increase tuition by no more than five percent (Item 136 E (1)(b)). In setting increases, institutions are to consider, among other things, the consumer price index; in-state tuition charges of peer institutions; the "maximization of other revenues by setting tuition rates for out-of-state students, graduate students and first professional students at market rate or higher without adversely affecting the access of in-state students"; and "the impact of a tuition increase on the composition of the institution's applicant pool" (Item 136 E (2)). According to SCHEV, the percentage of out-of-state students in fall 2001 headcount enrollment (not just the incoming freshman class) at all four-year public institutions was 21.9 percent. Out-of-state students comprised 4.2 percent of fall 2001 headcount enrollment at Christopher Newport University; 37.7 percent at the College of William and Mary; 13.8 percent at George Mason University; 29.1 percent at JMU; 4.4 percent at Longwood University; 25.9 percent at Mary Washington College; 28.6 percent at Norfolk State University; 17 percent at ODU; 12.1 percent at Radford University; 33.6 percent at UVa; 5.9 percent at the UVa's College at Wise; 6.7 percent at VCU; 49.4 percent at VMI; 31.7 percent at Virginia State University; and 30.7 percent at Virginia Tech.
Patron - Petersen

F HB838

In-state tuition for certain alien students. Provides eligibility for in-state tuition, but not classification as a Virginia resident, upon a showing of clear and convincing evidence that such individual (i) resided in the Commonwealth for five or more years; (ii) received a high school diploma or a general educational development certificate from a public or private high school in the Commonwealth; (iii) registers as an entering student in a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth not earlier than the 2004-2005 academic year; (iv) submits evidence that he, or in the case of a dependent student at least one parent or person standing in loco parentis, has paid Virginia income taxes for at least one year prior to the date of enrollment; and (v) files an affidavit with the enrolling public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth stating that the individual will file an application to become a permanent resident within 90 days of the date such individual becomes eligible to do so. The bill addresses "individuals" rather than a specific class of immigrant or alien students, as the federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. § 1623 (a)) provides that an alien "who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible for ... any post-secondary benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit...without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident." This bill is similar to legislation enacted in Texas, New York, California, and Utah. Section 23-7.4 is cross-referenced throughout the Code of Virginia for purposes of defining "domicile," "domiciliary status," "bona fide resident," and other similar terms. The grant of eligibility for in-state tuition provided by this bill does not confer domicile on the alien student; the only other provision referencing students who are granted in-state tuition under this section is § 23-7.4:2, which permits a community college to charge in-state tuition to "[a]ny student from a foreign country who is enrolled in a foreign exchange program approved by the state institution during the same period that an exchange student from the same state institution, who is entitled to in-state tuition pursuant to § 23-7.4, is attending the foreign institution." A special subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and a special subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Education and Health met three times in 2003 to examine the issues raised by bill addressing in-state tuition for undocumented alien students.
Patron - Ebbin

F HB846

Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program and Fund. Creates the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program and Fund for the purpose of assisting students who were enrolled in the public schools of Virginia between 1954 and 1964, in jurisdictions in which the public schools were closed to avoid desegregation, in obtaining a high school diploma, the General Education Development certificate, career or technical education or training, or an undergraduate degree from a public institution of higher education in Virginia. The bill also establishes student eligibility for the scholarships and stipulates that scholarships may be used only for payment of tuition charges. In addition, the bill provides that (i) the Program does not establish any legally enforceable right or entitlement on the part of any person or any right or entitlement to participation in the program; and (ii) requires that scholarships be awarded to the extent funds are made available to the Program. The Program is funded solely with nonstate funds, i.e. gifts, grants, donations, bequests, and other nonstate funds. The Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program Fund, a special nonreverting fund, is established on the books of the Comptroller as the repository for such funds. The Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Awards Committee, established in the legislative branch of state government and composed of legislators and nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Joint Rules Committee and the Governor, will govern the Program and make awards to eligible students. The State Council of Higher Education is requested to provide assistance to the Committee. The second enactment clause provides that educational terms used in the act shall be construed as defined in Titles 22.1, 23, and 40.1. The third enactment clause provides that the act will expire on July 1, 2008. This bill is supported by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission as a part of its responsibilities for leading and coordinating the Commonwealth's commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.

Patron - Baskerville

F HB1000

Mason Enterprise Center of George Mason University; duties. Transfers all duties and responsibilities of the Innovative Technology Authority and its nonstock corporation, the Center for Innovative Technology, to the Mason Enterprise Center of George Mason University, including responsibility for the Advanced Communications Access Fund and the Commonwealth Technology Research Fund. The bill also repeals Article 3 (§ 2.2-2218 et seq.) of Chapter 22 of Title 2.2, thereby dissolving the Authority.
Patron - Hugo

F HB1082

Eligibility for in-state or reduced tuition. Allows students who have lived outside the Commonwealth for not more than five years due to the out-of-state relocation of a parent, who was a resident of the Commonwealth before leaving, to comply with a temporary job transfer or to care for an elderly, disabled, or infirm parent to become eligible for in-state tuition charges upon the nonresident parents (i) claiming them as dependents, (ii) returning as residents of the Commonwealth, (iii) accepting employment full time inside Virginia immediately prior to the date of the alleged entitlement, and (iv) paying Virginia income taxes on all taxable income earned in this Commonwealth while a former resident. The parents must also pay Virginia income taxes on all taxable income for the tax year prior to the date of college enrollment. Such students will continue to be eligible for in-state tuition charges as long as they or their qualifying parent is employed full time in Virginia, paying Virginia income taxes on all taxable income earned in Virginia, and the student is claimed as a dependent for Virginia and federal income tax purposes.
Patron - Parrish

F HB1218

Consideration of domicile when awarding certain benefits. Provides that the public policy of the Commonwealth shall be that the public institutions of higher education shall not treat any student or applicant differently, on the basis of his status as a Virginia resident or domicile, in determining whether he receives any grant, scholarship, employment, housing or other benefit offered to students generally. This provision also prohibits the public institutions of higher education in Virginia from utilizing any criteria or methods of administration that have the effect of awarding such benefits solely to out-of-state students or applicants when determining the recipients of any grant, scholarship, employment, housing or other benefit. This section is not to be construed as prohibiting any special privileges that may be extended to, or otherwise favorable treatment of, a student or applicant by virtue of his status as a Virginia resident or domicile.
Patron - Landes

F HB1228

Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia. Clarifies that the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia is deemed an educational institution and reduces the membership of the Board of Trustees from 25 to 13 members. The bill also simplifies the language pertaining to the compensation of legislative and nonlegislative members, removes provisions allowing discretionary membership, and provides several technical amendments to conform the current statute to the Joint Rules Committee's legislative guidelines for collegial bodies. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Rules Committee.
Patron - Wardrup

F HB1242

Higher education; competitive sealed bidding. Requires the boards of visitors of any public institution of higher education providing cafeteria services or sales of food, beverages, sundries, and related services as an auxiliary enterprise within state-owned facilities or properties used as cafeteria, classroom, dormitory, student union, or student lounge areas to procure and provide such services through the competitive sealed bidding requirements set forth in the Virginia Public Procurement Act.
Patron - Griffith

F HB1374

Admissions policies. Requires the board of visitors or other governing body of each public institution of higher education in Virginia to establish admissions policies that prohibit discrimination on the basis of the geographical region of the Commonwealth where the applicant resides.
Patron - Hugo

F HB1414

Morning-after pill; public institutions of higher education prohibited from making such available. Prohibits any public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth from making available the morning-after pill in its delivery of health care services to students.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HJ158

Affirming the Supreme Court decision in Grutter v. Bollinger. Affirms the Supreme Court's decision in the recent landmark case, Grutter v. Bollinger, in which the Court upheld the constitutionality of the University of Michigan Law School's admissions policy designed to promote diversity in higher education by ensuring the inclusion of racial and ethnic minority students historically underrepresented in the law school. The law school's admissions policy considers race as one of many factors in the context of an individualized consideration of all applicants. This resolution calls upon Virginia's policy makers and educators to affirm the Supreme Court's decision by encouraging public institutions of higher education to shape or revise their college admissions policies to comply with the Court's decision. This resolution is a recommendation of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission's Steering Committee on the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.
Patron - Baskerville

F SB219

F SB229

F SB430

Ratio of in-state and out-of-state students. Requires the governing bodies of public four-year institutions of higher education, beginning with the incoming freshman class of fall 2005, to maintain a ratio of the in-state and out-of-state student population in each incoming freshman class that is not less than 75 percent in-state students. Out-of-state students receiving full or partial athletic scholarships are not included in the calculation of out-of-state enrollments. Institutions whose out-of-state enrollments within the incoming freshman class of fall 2004 exceeded 25 percent shall reduce such out-of-state enrollments by at least two percentage points annually to reach such required ratio. The bill does not apply to Virginia Military Institute, Norfolk State University, and Virginia State University. According to the State Council of Higher Education (SCHEV) the percentage of out-of-state students in fall 2001 headcount enrollment (not just the incoming freshman class) at all four-year public institutions was 21.9 percent. Out-of-state students comprised 4.2 percent of fall 2001 headcount enrollment at Christopher Newport University; 37.7 percent at the College of William and Mary; 13.8 percent at George Mason University; 29.1 percent at James Madison University; 4.4 percent at Longwood University; 25.9 percent at Mary Washington College; 28.6 percent at Norfolk State University; 17 percent at Old Dominion University; 12.1 percent at Radford University; 33.6 percent at the University of Virginia; 5.9 percent at the University of Virginia's College at Wise; 49.4 percent at Virginia Military Institute; 31.7 percent at Virginia State University; and 30.7 percent at Virginia Tech.
Patron - Wagner

Carried Over

C HB65

Guidelines for increased tuition. Directs the State Council of Higher Education to establish guidelines, in consultation with the institutions of higher education, for the implementation of increased tuition rates for in-state, full-time undergraduate students who exceed by more than two semesters, or equivalent terms or quarters, of full-time enrollment the number of semesters, terms, or quarters of full-time enrollment necessary to complete a four- or five-year degree program.
Patron - Shuler

C HB726

Designation of student fees. Directs the State Council of Higher Education to develop guidelines for procedures for the designation by students of that portion of mandatory student fees not applied to educational or auxiliary programs, athletic teams and programs, student health services, or student activities, for donation to approved, tax-exempt charitable and civic organizations. Such procedures shall provide for the automatic application of such fee portion to men's and women's athletic programs, including intercollegiate and intramural activities, in the event the student fails to designate an approved recipient. The State Council shall develop and maintain a list of charitable or civic organizations approved for such designated fees. The relevant boards of visitors shall implement procedures consistent with such guidelines for students to designate that portion of any student fees not applied to educational or auxiliary programs, athletic teams and programs, student health services, or student activities, for donation to approved, tax-exempt charitable and civic organizations. Pursuant to the 2003 Appropriation Act, the "determination of proper tuition, fees and charges shall be made by the Board of Visitors ..." (§ 4-2.01 (b)(2)(b)). Institutions were permitted to increase mandatory undergraduate fees for "purposes other than Educational and General Programs" by no more than five percent; however, this restriction did not apply to fee increases related directly to capital projects and student health services. (§ 4-2.01 (b)(5)). In addition, each institution is to "communicate its tuition and fee charges, as approved by its board of visitors, to the Secretary of Education, the State Council of Higher Education, and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by May 15 of each fiscal year (Item 136 E 6).
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

C HB1009

Virginia Educational Ventures Consortium. Creates the Virginia Educational Ventures Consortium to facilitate the development of innovative and cost-effective distance learning instructional initiatives that address underserved constituencies. Comprised of participating public and private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth, the Consortium is to (i) establish and administer agreements with public and private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth and other entities to conduct studies examining the need for distance learning initiatives and to develop and execute, on a continuing basis, strategies to address such distance learning needs of underserved constituencies in the Commonwealth and (ii) enter into contracts for distance learning program development. The gubernatorial-appointed 13-member Board of Trustees is comprised of eight members to be nominated by the participating institutions, five of whom shall represent participating members of the Consortium and three citizen members, all of whom shall have expertise in information technology systems or instructional systems design and delivery; the Director of the State Council of Higher Education, the Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System, the Secretary of Technology, and the Secretary of Education, as ex officio members with full voting privileges; and one non-voting representative of the Office of the Attorney General. This bill expires on July 1, 2009.
Patron - Rust

C HB1359

Commonwealth Chartered Universities and Colleges. Authorizes the creation of Commonwealth Chartered Universities and Colleges, comprised of public institutions of higher education that will, among other things, (i) exist as political subdivisions of the Commonwealth and not as state agencies; (ii) be able to participate in the Commonwealth's risk management system, and continue participation in the Virginia Retirement System; (iii) continue to have bond-issuing authority as do other public institutions of higher education or state agency, but shall not be required to obtain legislative or other approval for bond issuance; (iv) have authority to own and operate "projects," such as research programs and research, training, teaching, dormitory and classroom facilities; (v) employ campus police; (vi) continue its preexisting licenses and permits after any conversion to chartered institution status; (vii) have the power of eminent domain; (viii) remain subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Conflicts of Interest Act; (ix) no longer be subject to the Virginia Procurement, Virginia Personnel Act, or state grievance procedures, but will adopt its own procurement, personnel, and grievance procedures; (x) continue to participate in the Virginia College Building Authority, the Educational Facilities Authority, various college and university scholarship provisions, student loan funds, and college savings plans; (xi) not be subject to local law or regulation unless specified by the General Assembly; (xii) maintain its funds, including general fund appropriations, with its treasurer for deposit in banks or trust companies; (xiii) be exempt from any state legislative or executive branch rules, regulations, and guidelines pertaining to submission, review, approval or implementation of capital projects, with the exception capital projects funded in whole or in part by a general fund appropriation, which remain subject to certain preappropriation approvals; (xiv) determine tuition and fees and its budget, and control the expenditures of all moneys generated or received by the institution, including tuition, fees and other nongeneral fund revenue sources; however, all state general funds remain fully subject to the appropriations process; and (xv) be exempt from the assessment and payment of all state and local taxes. As a political subdivision, rather than a state agency, a chartered institution is not subject to (a) Department of General Services review of property acquisitions (§ 2.2-1149); (b) state surplus property requirements; (c) state agency budget estimates (§ 2.2-1504); (d) requirements for environmental impact statements for the Department of Environmental Quality (§10.1-1188); (e) Virginia Information Technologies Agency provisions (§ 2.2-2005 et seq.); (f) approval provisions of the Information Technology Investment Board (§ 2.2-2457 et seq.); (g) Division of Purchases and Supply procurement requirements (§ 2.2-1110); and (h) Division of Engineering and Buildings review of leases (§ 2.2-1136) and property acquisitions (§ 2.2-1149). Although the bill provides that chartered institutions continue to be "public institutions of higher education" and "educational institutions," it also provides that these institutions are not "subject to local law or regulation except as the General Assembly may explicitly authorize." Therefore, sections referencing public institutions of higher education have been amended to designate the inclusion of these institutions as appropriate. The institutions are not subject to higher education requirements regarding (1) student visa reporting (§ 23-2.2); (2) state property registry (§ 23-4); and (3) the provision of copies of certain reports regarding campus crime (§ 23-9.1:1). This bill is identical to SB 638.
Patron - Callahan

C HJ109

Boards of Visitors of Virginia's public institutions of higher education; construction projects. Encourages the Boards of Visitors at Virginia's public institutions of higher education, in cooperation with the Department of General Services, to recognize and incorporate those portions of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System into state and local practices for the design and procurement of construction projects which have a reasonable pay back.
Patron - Van Yahres

C SB638

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