Educational Institutions

Educational Institutions

P Passed

P HB1672

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV); data collection on students with disabilities. Requires SCHEV, as part of its existing duty to develop a uniform comprehensive data information system on admissions, enrollments, etc., to collect data on self-identified students with documented disabilities. In higher education, students with disabilities are self-identified and are entitled to accommodations according to their disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science.

Patron - Purkey

P HB1940

Christopher Newport University; electronic commerce. Directs Christopher Newport University, from such funds as may be appropriated or received for such purpose, to initiate electronic commerce programs and activities designed to assist business, educational, and local governmental entities in the Commonwealth in adopting and implementing electronic commerce technologies. These programs and activities are to, among other things, (i) assist the development of means by which businesses and local and regional governmental entities may explore and adopt electronic commerce technologies; (ii) disseminate information pertaining to best business practices, legal and policy issues, and other topics related to the effective uses of electronic commerce; (iii) provide mentoring in electronic commerce for businesses; (iv) assist local governments in developing and enhancing the delivery of on-line services to citizens; (v) in conjunction with Virginia school divisions and institutions of higher education, particularly Virginia State University, promote the implementation of a credit-bearing, integrated electronic commerce curriculum; (vi) promote and deliver non-credit courses in electronic commerce, which may include distance learning formats; and (vii) gather and disseminate information regarding industry needs and trends as well as programs addressing electronic commerce education and training in the Commonwealth. In addition, the University is to serve as a resource in electronic commerce issues for local governmental agencies and, as may be appropriate and upon request, may participate in studies of policies, programs, and other matters regarding the effective use of electronic commerce technologies in Virginia.

Patron - Diamonstein

P HB2189

Virginia Undergraduate and Vocational Incentive Scholarship Program. Amends the Virginia Undergraduate and Vocational Incentive Scholarship Program, which was created in 1998 by legislation that included a reenactment clause. By repealing the 1998 Act and introducing the measure anew with additional changes, this bill effectuates the necessary reenactment. Amendments in the 1999 measure: (i) clarify that the scholarships are for students at public and private not-for-profit institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth; (ii) limit scholarships to no more than three academic years; (iii) cap scholarship amounts (a) at full tuition and required fees for recipients attending a four-year public institution of higher education and (b) at average tuition and fees charged at four-year public institutions of higher education for recipients attending a four-year private, not-for-profit institution of higher education; (iv) require students to have completed at least one year of study to be eligible for an initial award; and (v) delay the effective date to the 2000 academic year. The Program is 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 four-year institutions. Students must also 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

P HB2255

Selective Service compliance. Requires compliance with the federal requirement to register for the Selective Service for any person to be eligible for employment with the Commonwealth. Additionally, the bill amends the parallel requirement regarding education loans to include an exemption for people who fail to register because the requirement is inapplicable or is not effective, and it is shown that the failure to register was not knowing and willful. This bill was recommended by the subcommittee established pursuant to 1998 House Joint Resolution 194.

Patron - Armstrong

P HB2274

Senior Citizens Higher Education Act. Modifies the Senior Citizens Higher Education Act to provide that persons having an income not exceeding $10,000 for Virginia, not federal, income tax purposes may be eligible to register and enroll in courses tuition-free, and as a full-time or part-time student for academic credit.

Patron - Watts

P HB2339

Commonwealth Health Research Authority. Converts the Commonwealth Health Research Board to an independent political subdivision of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Health Research Authority will be governed by a board of directors which will have the same members and duties as the existing Commonwealth Health Research Board. The Commonwealth Health Research Board was established in 1997 for the purpose of directing the stock and cash distributed to the Commonwealth pursuant to the conversion of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia from a mutual insurance company to a stock corporation (Trigon Healthcare, Inc.) to provide financial assistance for health research projects.

Patron - Dickinson

P HB2437

Composition of Board of Visitors of Norfolk State University; appointment, terms, etc. Makes technical, up-dating amendments to the statute authorizing the appointment of the Board of Visitors of Norfolk State University, and provides, in a second enactment, for staggered terms for the Board members. Presently, approximately one-half of the members' terms expire every two years, making continuity uncertain.

Patron - Robinson

P HB2482

Postsecondary education; multistate compacts. Exempts educational courses and programs offered pursuant to a multi-state compact, including, but not limited to, the Southern Regional Education Board's Southern Regional Electronic Campus, from the requirement that State Council of Higher Education approval be obtained prior to conferring any degrees, diplomas, or certificates. The measure defines a multi-state compact as an agreement involving two or more states to offer jointly postsecondary educational opportunities, pursuant to policies and procedures set forth by such agreement and approved by the Council. This measure is nearly identical to Senate Bill 1171.

Patron - Tata

P HB2509

State Council of Higher Education; release of student records. Adds to the duties of the State Council of Higher Education the issuance of guidelines, consistent with the provisions of the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), requiring public institutions of higher education to release student academic and disciplinary records to parents.

Patron - Drake

P HB2548

Virginia State University Board of Visitors. Provides for three alumni members of the Board of Visitors for Virginia State University. Currently, the law provides that two members of the eleven-member board may be nonresidents of Virginia. The amendment requires that the alumni members be appointed by the Governor from among nominations of qualified persons submitted by the Virginia State University Alumni Association. This measure also provides for staggered terms.

Patron - Crittenden

P HB2625

Clinch Valley College. Renames Clinch Valley College the University of Virginia's College at Wise. A technical amendment to the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center statute recognizes the institution's administration under a chancellor rather than a president. The institution is a four-year, degree-granting public institution of higher education and, as a division of the University of Virginia, is under the supervision of the rectors and visitors of the University of Virginia. Clinch Valley College was founded in 1954 as a co-educational branch campus of the University of Virginia. There is also another technical amendment.

Patron - Kilgore

P HB2671

In-service technology training for educational personnel. Clarifies that the institutes required to be established by the State Council of Higher Education at public colleges and universities shall provide in-service training in the effective use of educational technology for teachers, administrators and librarians. The bill provides further that no more than four sites shall be established in the Commonwealth.

Patron - O'Brien

P HB2757

Higher education; reduced tuition and fees. Directs the governing bodies of all public institutions of higher education to reduce, by 20 percent, tuition and mandatory educational and general fees in effect on June 30, 1999, for in-state undergraduate students for the year beginning July 1, 1999, and ending June 30, 2000. The Governor is to include in his budget submitted to the General Assembly sufficient funds to reimburse each public institution of higher education for the reduction in tuition and mandatory fees. This bill is identical to SB 1337.

Patron - Callahan

P HB2765

University of Virginia; branch campus in Qatar. Authorizes the board of visitors of the University of Virginia to establish, operate, and govern a UVA branch campus in the State of Qatar. The board is to provide appropriate professional opportunities for Virginia-based faculty to teach or conduct research on the Qatar campus and educational opportunities for Virginia-based students to study or conduct research on the Qatar campus. This measure is identical to SB 1338.

Patron - Callahan

P SB765

Roanoke Higher Education Authority; membership. Increases the membership of the Board of Trustees of the Roanoke Higher Education Authority from 21 to 24 by adding Hampton University, the Executive Director of the Fifth District Employment and Training Consortium, and the Director of TAP This Valley Works. There are also technical amendments to correct institutional names, grammar, and a section reference.

Patron - Edwards

P SB1042

Eligibility for in-state tuition. Provides that dependent students and unemancipated minors who have established eligibility for in-state tuition shall be entitled to this in-state tuition for one year from the date the person through whom the student or minor established domicile and eligibility for in-state tuition abandons his Virginia domicile. Under current law, to become eligible for in-state tuition, a dependent student or unemancipated minor shall establish, by clear and convincing evidence, that, for a period of at least one year prior to the date of the alleged entitlement, the person through whom he claims eligibility was domiciled in Virginia and had abandoned any previous domicile, if such existed. When the parent or other person through whom he claims eligibility moves to another state, the student can lose eligibility.

Patron - Forbes

P SB1171

Postsecondary education; multistate compacts. Exempts educational courses and programs offered pursuant to a multistate compact including, but not limited to, the Southern Regional Education Board's Southern Regional Electronic Campus, from the requirement that State Council of Higher Education approval be obtained prior to conferring any degrees, diplomas, or certificates. The measure defines a multistate compact as an agreement involving two or more states to offer jointly postsecondary educational opportunities, pursuant to policies and procedures set forth by such agreement and approved by the Council. This measure is nearly identical to HB 2482.

Patron - Woods

P SB1210

Clinch Valley College. Renames Clinch Valley College as the University of Virginia's College at Wise. A technical amendment to the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center statute recognizes the institution's administration under a chancellor rather than a president. The institution is a four-year, degree-granting public institution of higher education and, as a division of the University of Virginia, is under the supervision of the rectors and visitors of the University of Virginia. Clinch Valley College was founded in 1954 as a division of the University of Virginia. This measure is identical to HB 2625.

Patron - Wampler

P SB1337

Patron - Chichester

P SB1338

Patron - Woods

F Failed

F 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

F HB2038

Educational costs borne by undergraduates. Directs the governing bodies of the public institutions of higher education, in determining in-state undergraduate tuition and fees, to set rates so that such students will bear no more than 20 percent of educational costs at two-year institutions and no more than 25 percent of educational costs at four-year institutions. "Educational costs" is defined as costs of the educational and general major program areas, as calculated annually by the State Council and as provided in the appropriation act. From July 1, 1999, until June 30, 2002, tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students shall not be increased.

Patron - Diamonstein

F HB2399

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.

Patron - Tate

F HB2422

Virginia Displaced Workers and Professionals Financial Assistance Program and Fund. Creates the Virginia Displaced Workers and Professionals Financial Assistance Program and Fund to provide financial assistance to students enrolled in or accepted for admission to a public institution of higher education in Virginia. Such students must have been displaced from their employment due to the elimination of jobs, corporate merger or take-over, downsizing, or such other economic reason, and must have enrolled in college for retraining, to begin work on a second career, or to earn a baccalaureate, graduate, or first-time professional degree. Students must maintain a grade point average of 2.0 in each year in which they receive awards, demonstrate financial need, and showcontinued progress towards the degree or program completion, among other things. The State Council is directed to administer the program and to promulgate regulations for its implementation. A nonreverting fund is also established by this bill for the awarding of grants to qualified students.

Patron - Robinson

F HB2588

State-funded student aid; minimum grade point average. Provides that for eligibility for any state-funded scholarship, grant, loan, or student financial aid program established in Title 23 and administered by the State Council of Higher Education or the governing bodies of any of the public institutions of higher education, with the exception of the Tuition Assistance Grant Program (TAG), a student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on a scale of 4.0 or its equivalent at the end of the second academic year, or sixty credit hours or its equivalent, or to have academic standing consistent with graduation requirements. In addition, students must complete their programs within a maximum time frame of 150 percent of the published program length. The institutions are to establish procedures to set aside these requirements for mitigating circumstances. This provision is designed to capture various student aid initiatives funded by state dollars, such as the unfunded scholarships administered by the public institutions; the Virginia Graduate and Undergraduate Assistance Program; various health and other professional scholarships; the Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program (VGAP), which already requires a 2.0 average; the Virginia Scholars Program; grants awarded under the College Scholarship Assistance Act; and the Virginia Work-Study Program.

Patron - Wilkins

F HB2694

Advantage Virginia Incentive Program (AVIP) created. Creates AVIP, to be administered by the Statewide Workforce Advisory Council, to provide scholarships to students attending two- and four-year public institutions of higher education in Virginia who become employed in "occupational areas of high demand in the Commonwealth," as such areas are designated by the Council. Eligible students can receive scholarships of up to $2,500 per academic year, not to exceed a maximum of $10,000, for tuition, books, and fees. A recipient is required to repay his scholarship by agreeing to become employed in an occupational area of high demand in the Commonwealth within one calendar year after his graduation, and continue thereafter until he has been continuously employed in such area for a period of years equal in number to the years that he has benefited from an AVIP scholarship. Students who fail to maintain eligibility during a scholarship year or refuse to fulfill these terms and conditions are required to repay their AVIP scholarship with interest and any penalties the Council assesses. The bill also establishes the Advantage Virginia Incentive Fund to be a repository for AVIP scholarship funds and creates a state tax credit, not to exceed $100,000, for any individual, estate or trust, partnership, or corporate taxpayer who contributes to the Fund.

Patron - Scott

F SB1001

Endowment funds and unrestricted gifts from private sources to state-supported institutions of higher education. Provides clarity and appropriate statutory construction through several technical amendments, and requires that the executive branch of state government shall not consider or use the endowment funds or unrestricted gifts from private sources of the respective public institutions of higher education in recommending the amount of general fund appropriations to the institutions.

Patron - Edwards

F SB1083

Patron - Chichester

F SB1094

Academic Achievement Scholarship Program. Establishes the Academic Achievement Scholarship Program and Fund. Administered by the State Council of Higher Education (SCHEV), the Program provides one-year, renewable scholarships to eligible Virginia-resident students who (i) are enrolled in and have completed at least one year of study as a full-time undergraduate student in a public and nonprofit private four-year institutions in Virginia and (ii) have met the cumulative grade point average criteria established by SCHEV. No scholarship shall exceed 50 percent of tuition per year at public institutions or, for students attending nonprofit private institutions, an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the highest tuition at a four-year Virginia public institution; amounts are to be calculated to reflect increasing awards for academic excellence based on specified cumulative grade point average levels, beginning with at least 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 or its equivalent.

Patron - Ticer

F SB1177

Names of certain educational institutions. Prohibits any private, degree-granting institution of higher education from using, in Virginia, in its name or title a name or title identical or confusingly similar to one used by Virginia's public two- and four-year colleges and universities, or certain other public educational institutions.

Patron - Reynolds

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F Failed