Educational Institutions Passed HB227 Medical College of Virginia Hospitals Authority. Requires any employee of the Authority hired on or after July 1, 1998, to participate in the Authority's retirement plan. Employees hired before July 1, 1998, will continue to have the option of participating in either the VRS or the Authority's retirement plan. Employees who elected to remain in the VRS will have the option to switch to the Authority's plan in an open enrollment period in April 2001. The retirement plan contribution for employees hired on or after July 1, 1998, will be set by the Authority; for employees hired before that date, the rate will be the lesser of the VRS rate or eight percent. The Authority is authorized to provide group life insurance to its employees in lieu of the insurance provided by the VRS. The Authority will pay the cost of the retiree health care credit for retired employees who were employed prior to July 1, 1998. Patron - Hall HB466 Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center. Adds the president of Emory & Henry College to the Board of Trustees of the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center and authorizes the Board to enter into agreements with Emory & Henry College for the provision of (i) graduate degree instructional programs in education and (ii) upper-level undergraduate instructional programs. Both types of programs will be provided at the Center. Patron - Johnson HB468 Virginia Community College System; reduced tuition for certain students. Repeals the July 1, 1998, sunset to allow the governing board of the Virginia Community College System to continue to charge reduced tuition to any person enrolled in one of the System's institutions who lives within a 30-mile radius of a Virginia institution, and is domiciled and entitled to in-state tuition charges in the institutions of higher learning, in any state contiguous to Virginia that has similar reciprocal provisions for persons domiciled in Virginia. This measure is identical to SB 288. Patron - Johnson HB518 Eligibility for student financial assistance. Modifies the current requirements for eligibility for student assistance and the Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) Program to require registration for selective service pursuant to federal law. Current law makes students who have been convicted of failure to register ineligible for such assistance. Patron - Armstrong HB589 Virginia Higher Education Tuition Trust Fund. Permits beneficiaries of a contract to apply the benefits under a prepaid tuition contract toward tuition costs at such eligible educational institutions, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, as determined by the Board of the Virginia Higher Education Tuition Trust Fund in its sole discretion. Patron - Johnson HB638 State Education Assistance Authority, the Virginia Student Assistance Authorities, and the Virginia Education Loan Authority. Abolishes the Virginia Student Assistance Authorities; deletes references to the State Education Assistance Authority, the Virginia Student Assistance Authorities, and the Virginia Education Loan Authority; and makes other technical changes related to abolishing the Virginia Student Assistance Authorities as a result of privatizing these functions. This bill is similar, but not identical to SB 341. Patron - Tata HB678 Investment of University of Virginia endowment funds; exemption of such investments from the Virginia Public Procurement Act. Exempts the selection of services for the management and investment of endowment funds of the University of Virginia from the Virginia Public Procurement Act. This bill also requires the board of visitors to direct the University's endowment investments in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act and provides the board with immunity from personal liability for losses arising from these endowment fund investments. This bill is identical to SB 606. Patron - Diamonstein HB703 Resource site for student employment and internship opportunities. Requires the Virginia Information Providers Network Authority to establish and maintain an Internet-based resource site to assist students and employers in exchanging information about internship and employment opportunities. Patron - May HB726 Waivers of tuition for certain students. Reduces from ten to five the number of years of Virginia residency required of a veteran who was killed, disabled, a prisoner of war, or missing in action in armed conflict, or of the surviving spouse of such veteran, for the child of such veteran to be eligible for free tuition and fees at a state institution of higher education. In addition, the residency requirements addressing surviving spouses are altered to allow such spouse to have been a Virginia resident for either five years before marriage or for five years prior to the child's application for college admission; current law requires that both of these conditions be met. Patron - Croshaw HB827 Roanoke Higher Education Authority; membership. Increases the membership of the Roanoke Higher Education Authority from 17 to 21 by adding the College of Health Sciences, Ferrum College, Hollins College, and Roanoke College. These institutions join the other participating institutions--Averett College, Bluefield College, Mary Baldwin College, Old Dominion University, Radford University, University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Virginia Western Community College--in providing staff support for the functions of the Roanoke Higher Education Center. The board of the Authority is also empowered to enter into agreements with local school boards and other entities to provide such programs as it deems necessary and appropriate to carry out Authority purposes. This bill is identical to SB 346. Patron - Woodrum HB849 Workforce training at community colleges. Modifies the definition of "comprehensive community college" to include the provision of noncredit training and retraining courses and programs of varying lengths to meet the needs of business and industry in the Commonwealth and designates the Virginia Community College System as the state agency with primary responsibility for coordinating workforce training at the postsecondary to the associate degree level, excluding vocational and technical education provided through the public schools. The Community College System's responsibility for coordinating workforce training will not preclude other agencies from also providing such services as appropriate; however, these activities will be coordinated with the community colleges. This measure is a recommendation of the HJR 622 Joint Subcommittee to Study Noncredit Education for Workforce Training in Virginia. The bill is identical to SB 384. Patron - Diamonstein HB851 Statewide Workforce Training Council. Establishes the 25-member Statewide Workforce Training Council to assist the Commonwealth in meeting workforce training needs. Its membership includes various state officials involved in education, technology, and business, and 18 citizens representing business, industry, and proprietary schools. The Council is to (i) identify current and emerging workforce needs of the business community, (ii) assess potential markets for increasing the number of workers available to business and industry, (iii) forecast and identify training requirements for the new workforce, (iv) create strategies that will match trained workers with available jobs, and (v) certify courses and programs of training as appropriate and responding to the needs of business and industry in the Commonwealth. This measure is a recommendation of the HJR 622 Joint Subcommittee to Study Noncredit Education for Workforce Training in the Commonwealth. Patron - Diamonstein HB917 Virginia Undergraduate and Vocational Incentive Scholarship Program. Establishes the Virginia Undergraduate and Vocational Incentive Scholarship Program, to be administered by the State Council of Higher Education. Similar to the Community College Incentive Scholarship Program (§ 23-220.2 et seq.), these scholarships are available to eligible full-time students attending certain four-year institutions of higher education in Virginia. Students must also have completed at least one year of study, have a B average or better, and be enrolled in designated programs that address Virginia's workforce training needs. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership is to advise the Council, upon request, regarding those programs that address these workforce development needs. Patron - Diamonstein SB267 Virginia Higher Education Tuition Trust Fund. Permits beneficiaries of a contract to apply the benefits under a prepaid tuition contract toward tuition costs at such eligible educational institutions, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, as determined by the Board of the Virginia Higher Education Tuition Trust Fund in its sole discretion. This bill is identical to HB 589. Patron - Lambert SB288 Virginia Community College System; reduced tuition for certain students. Repeals the July 1, 1998, sunset to allow the governing board of the Virginia Community College System to continue to charge reduced tuition to any person enrolled in one of the System's institutions who lives within a 30-mile radius of a Virginia institution, and is domiciled and entitled to in-state tuition charges in the institutions of higher learning, in any state contiguous to Virginia that has similar reciprocal provisions for persons domiciled in Virginia. This measure is identical to HB 468. Patron - Wampler SB341 State Education Assistance Authority, the Virginia Student Assistance Authorities, and the Virginia Education Loan Authority. Abolishes the Virginia Student Assistance Authorities; deletes references to the State Education Assistance Authority, the Virginia Student Assistance Authorities, and the Virginia Education Loan Authority; and makes other technical changes related to abolishing the Virginia Student Assistance Authorities as a result of privatizing these functions. This bill is nearly identical to HB 638, but changes the percentatges in § 15.2-5002. Patron - Martin SB346 Roanoke Higher Education Authority; membership. Increases the membership of the Roanoke Higher Education Authority from 17 to 21 by adding the College of Health Sciences, Ferrum College, Hollins College, and Roanoke College. These institutions join the other participating institutions--Averett College, Bluefield College, Mary Baldwin College, Old Dominion University, Radford University, University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Virginia Western Community College--in providing staff support for the functions of the Roanoke Higher Education Center. The board of the Authority is also empowered to enter into agreements with local school boards and other entities to provide such programs as it deems necessary and appropriate to carry out Authority purposes. This bill is identical to HB 827. Patron - Edwards SB382 Educational institutions. Designates the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation as an institution of higher education and moves its enabling legislation from Title 9 to Title 23. The bill also requires future appointments made by the Governor to the Board of Trustees be confirmed by the General Assembly as is required for appointments in the executive branch. The bill clarifies that it does not require the reappointment of the present Board members until their current terms expire. Patron - Holland SB383 Statewide Workforce Training Council. Establishes the 24-member Statewide Workforce Training Council to assist the Commonwealth in meeting workforce training needs. Its membership includes various state officials involved in education, technology, and business, and 17 citizens representing business, industry, and proprietary and secondary public schools. The Council is to (i) identify current and emerging workforce needs of the business community, (ii) assess potential markets for increasing the number of workers available to business and industry, (iii) forecast and identify training requirements for the new workforce, (iv) create strategies that will match trained workers with available jobs, and (v) certify courses and programs of training as appropriate in response to the needs of business and industry in the Commonwealth. The bill provides for the Virginia Community College System to provide staff support and to serve as the fiscal agent for the Council. This measure is a recommendation of the HJR 622 Joint Subcommittee to Study Noncredit Education for Workforce Training in the Commonwealth. Patron - Hawkins SB384 Workforce training at community colleges. Modifies the definition of "comprehensive community college" to include the provision of noncredit training and retraining courses and programs of varying lengths to meet the needs of business and industry in the Commonwealth and designates the Virginia Community College System as the state agency with primary responsibility for workforce training at or below the associate degree level, exclusive of the vocational and technical education programs provided through and administered by the public school system. The Community College System's responsibility will not preclude other agencies from also providing such services as appropriate, but these activities must be coordinated by the community colleges. This measure is a recommendation of the HJR 622 Joint Subcommittee to Study Noncredit Education for Workforce Training in Virginia. This bill is identical to HB 849. Patron - Hawkins SB606 Investment of University of Virginia endowment funds; exemption of such investments from the Virginia Public Procurement Act. Exempts the selection of services for the management and investment of endowment funds of the University of Virginia from the Virginia Public Procurement Act and requires the board of visitors, shielded from personal liability, to direct the University's endowment in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act. This measure is identical to HB 678. Patron - Hawkins SB651 Roanoke Higher Education Center Authority. Empowers the Roanoke Higher Education Center Authority to accept, administer, and account for any state grant to a nonstate entity which may be provided in the name of the Roanoke Higher Education Center or in the name of the Roanoke Higher Education Center Authority. The bill also provides that any real estate and tangible personal property held or acquired by the Board shall be exempt from any prohibition of the use of noncash assistance as matching funds. Patron - Edwards SB680 Rules governing student conduct and programs to promote compliance with laws relating to alcoholic beverages. Requires the governing bodies of institutions of higher education to establish rules and regulations for the rescinding or restriction of financial aid, within the discretionary authority provided to the institution by federal or state law and regulations, and the suspension of students who fail or refuse to abide by the rules and regulations for the conduct of students. This bill also requires the governing bodies of institutions of higher education to establish programs, in cooperation with the State Council of Higher Education and the Office of the Attorney General, to promote compliance among students with the Commonwealth's laws relating to the use of alcoholic beverages. Patron - Hanger SB699 Economic and Employment Program for Disadvantaged Persons. Creates a grant program to improve the employability of and provide assistance to disadvantaged persons through education and skill training. This is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee Studying the Status and Needs of African-American Males in Virginia. Patron - Maxwell Failed HB1006 Bachelor degree requirements. Clarifies the power of boards of visitors of Virginia's public institutions of higher education to confer degrees and set graduation requirements, and requires these boards to include in the requirements for a bachelor's degree the satisfactory completion of at least three credit hours in computer science or proficiency. Patron - Albo HB1308 Virginia Technology Training Act. Establishes the Virginia Technology Training Act, comprised of the Virginia Technology Training Certificate Program, an initiative consisting of certificate programs approved by the State Board for Community Colleges that (i) do not otherwise lead to an associate degree and (ii) provide instruction in information technology and other diversified technical curricula designed to meet specific, identified workforce needs in Virginia. Assisting the Board is the 15-member Virginia Technology Training Council, comprised of legislators, citizens, and executive branch officials, which recommends technology training programs offered by community colleges, proprietary schools, and other entities for inclusion in the Program. Regional Workforce Centers in each planning district assist the Council in this endeavor. A request for proposals process is also outlined, whereby the Council identifies technology training demand and programmatic needs. The Technology Training Student Loan Program and Revolving Fund, administered by the Small Business Financing Authority, is created to guarantee loans for students enrolled in approved certificate programs. Certificate programs offered by community colleges may be included in state funding for community colleges. Patron - Rust HB1329 Virginia Military Institute. Changes the name of Virginia Military Institute to Virginia Military Academy, effective July 1, 2000. Patron - Marshall SB602 Equal Educational Opportunity and Diversity Incentive Grants Program. Creates the Equal Educational Opportunity and Diversity Incentive Grants Program, in accordance with the provisions in the appropriations act for funding of the program, to facilitate and promote exemplary programs designed to increase the representation of under-represented populations at all levels of higher education, increase the academic achievement of minority and low-income students, promote the dissemination of best practices among public schools and institutions of higher education to increase opportunities for higher education among under-represented populations, and promote the development of mechanisms to address themes discussed at the Commission's statewide conference on access, diversity and the law in Virginia. The Commission on Access and Diversity in Higher Education in Virginia shall establish criteria for awarding grants to eligible projects and shall administer the program. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Access and Diversity in Higher Education in Virginia, formerly the Commission on the Impact of Certain Federal Court Decisions on the Commonwealth's Institutions of Higher Education. Patron - Couric Carried Over HB385 In-state tuition for spouses and dependents of 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. If the nonresident student is the child of an active 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 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. Under current law, spouses and dependents of military personnel 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 HB492 Bachelor degree requirements. Clarifies the power of boards of visitors of Virginia's public institutions of higher education to confer degrees and set graduation requirements, and requires these boards to include in the requirements for a bachelor's degree the satisfactory completion of at least three credit hours in United States history. Patron - Weatherholtz HB1033 Guidelines for minimum classroom hours for full-time professors. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to develop guidelines for establishing minimum classroom hours for full-time faculty at state-controlled colleges and universities, including the Virginia Community College System. The guidelines are to include provisions for limiting the application of grant funds and other moneys to any minimum classroom hour requirements. The guidelines are not subject to the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (APA); technical amendments clarify that various SCHEV guidelines are not subject to the APA. Under current law, authority to employ faculty and to "generally direct" other administrative affairs rests with the individual governing boards of the public colleges and universities. Patron - Wagner HB1037 Guidelines for tuition charges. Requires the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to develop guidelines for tuition charges for courses offered at state-controlled colleges and universities, including the Virginia Community College System, that reflect the qualifications of the instructional personnel employed to teach the courses. The guidelines are not subject to the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (APA). Technical amendments clarify that various SCHEV guidelines are not subject to the APA. The governing boards of the public colleges and universities are currently authorized by their specific statutes to fix tuition, fees, and other charges. This measure is designed to address the reduction of tuition charges for courses that are taught by instructors other than professors. Patron - Wagner HB1192 Revocation of in-state tuition for alcohol and drug offenses. Provides for the revocation of in-state tuition for students convicted of offenses involving alcohol, controlled substances, or marijuana. Upon disposition of a proceeding in a circuit or district court in which a person who has been identified by the attorney for the Commonwealth as a student enrolled in a public institution of higher education in Virginia is convicted of these offenses, the clerk of the relevant court is to provide written notice of the disposition to the governing board of the public institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled at the time of the disposition or, if he is not then enrolled in such institution, the institution in which he was enrolled at the time of the offense. Upon receipt of such report, the relevant governing board is to revoke the in-state tuition status of such student for a period not to exceed one year pursuant to regulations to be promulgated by the State Council of Higher Education. Such regulations are to include provisions addressing the duration of such revocation; the effect of graduation or failure to re-enroll on such revocation; terms of payment or reimbursement for tuition costs; and subsequent dissemination of such reports. Patron - O'Brien HB1226 Requirement for consent to drop courses; certain tuition refunds. Requires, at any time after the payment of tuition and fees for a relevant semester, public institutions of higher education to obtain written consent from the person who paid a full-time student's tuition and fees prior to allowing such student to drop a course or courses for which the student is registered. Any public institution of higher education which allows any full-time student, regardless of age, who is dependent on another for financial support, to drop a course for which the student is registered, after the payment of tuition and fees for such student for the relevant semester, without first obtaining the required consent, must refund, on a pro rata basis according to the ratio of the total number of hours for which such student is registered and the total number of hours of the dropped course or courses, the amount of tuition represented by the dropped course to the person who paid the student's tuition and fees. The State Council of Higher Education will develop forms and procedures for obtaining the required consent. Patron - Tate HB1231 Virginia College Tuition Grant Program and Fund. Establishes the Virginia College Tuition Grant Program and Fund, to be administered by the State Council of Higher Education. Grants are available to the parents or guardians of resident students enrolled in degree-granting, public four-year institutions of higher education in Virginia. The students must be enrolled on a full-time basis, be claimed as dependents on the parent's personal income tax forms, and have maintained at least a 2.65 out of a possible 4.0 grade average. Parents may apply for these grants following the completion by the student of a regular academic year. Grants will be $400 per year per student. Council regulations, developed in consultation with the Department of Taxation, will prescribe taxable and academic years, application procedures, and requirements for the submission of relevant personal income tax information. Parents will be able to deduct, from the federal adjusted taxable income in the calculation of the Virginia taxable income, the amount of the grant. The bill contains a technical amendment. Patron - Tate < PREVIOUS | CONTENTS | NEXT >