Authority: § 23.1-200, § 23.1-203, § 23.1-1107, § 23.1-629.
A. 1. It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide general fund support to contract at a level equivalent to the Tuition Assistance Grant undergraduate award with Mary Baldwin University for Virginia women resident students to participate in the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership at Mary Baldwin University.
2. The amounts included in this Item are $307,899 the first year and $307,899 the second year from the general fund for the programmatic administration of this program.
3. General fund appropriations provided under this contract include financial incentive for the participating students at Mary Baldwin University in the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership Program. Students receiving this financial incentive will not be eligible for Tuition Assistance Grants.
4. By September 1 of each year, Mary Baldwin University shall report to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees, the Director, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, and the Director, Department of Planning and Budget, on the number of students participating in the Virginia Women's Leadership Program, the number of in-state and out-of-state students receiving awards, the amount of the awards, the number of students graduating, and the number of students receiving commissions in the military.
B. In discharging the responsibilities specified in § 23.1-219, Code of Virginia, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall provide exemptions to individual proprietorships, associations, co-partnerships or corporations which are now or in the future will be using the words "college" or "university" in their training programs solely for their employees or customers, which do not offer degree-granting programs, and whose name includes the word "college" or "university" in a context from which it clearly appears that such entity is not an educational institution.
C. Out of the appropriation for Higher Education Coordination and Review, $8,847,363 the first year and $9,162,363 the second year from the general fund is provided for continuation of the Virtual Library of Virginia. Funding for the Virtual Library of Virginia is provided for the benefit of students and faculty at the Commonwealth's public institutions of higher education and participating nonprofit, independent private colleges and universities. Out of this amount, $421,946 the first year and $436,946 the second year is earmarked to allow the participation of nonprofit, independent private colleges and universities.
D. Out of this appropriation, $950,366 and ten positions the first year and $950,366 and ten positions the second year from nongeneral funds is provided to support higher education coordination and review services, including expenses incurred in the regulation and oversight of the private and out-of-state postsecondary institutions and proprietary schools operating in Virginia. These funds will be generated through fee schedules developed pursuant to § 23.1-224, Code of Virginia. Out of this amount, $190,000 the first year and $190,000 the second year from nongeneral funds is designated to administration of the Student Tuition Guarantee Fund.
E. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in consultation with the House Appropriations Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, the Department of General Services, and the Department of Planning and Budget, shall develop a six-year capital outlay plan for higher education institutions including affiliated entities. As a part of this plan SCHEV shall consider (i) current funding mechanisms for capital projects and improvements at the Commonwealth's institutions of higher education, including general obligation bonds and other viable funding methods; (ii) mechanisms to assist private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth with their capital needs.
F. The Executive Director, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, may appoint an advisory committee to assist the council with technology-enriched learning initiatives. The advisory committee may assist the council in (i) developing innovative, cost-effective, technology-enriched teaching and learning initiatives, including distance and distributed learning initiatives; (ii) improving cooperation among and between the public and private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth; (iii) improving efficiency and expand the availability of technology-enriched courses; and (iv) facilitating the sharing of research and experience to improve student learning.
G. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall include Eastern Virginia Medical School in any calculations used to determine the funding requirements for state medical schools.
H. In addition to the reviews conducted under § 23.1-206 and § 23.1-306, Code of Virginia, the State Council of Higher Education shall evaluate the progress of individual initiatives funded in this act as part of the incentive funding provided to colleges and universities with regard to improvements in retention, graduation, degree production and other criteria the Council deems appropriate.
I. Out of this appropriation, $160,295 the first year and $160,295 the second year from the general fund is designated to support research and analysis and the enhancement of consumer information regarding higher education.
J. Out of this appropriation, $300,000 the first year and $300,000 the second year from the general fund is designated to support initiatives related to the statewide plan for higher education and to help implement the recommendations of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission's series of higher education reports.
K. Out of this appropriation, $330,687 the first year and $330,687 the second year from the general fund is designated to support research and analysis and the administration of a multi-agency longitudinal data system to improve consumer information and policy recommendations.
L. Out of this appropriation, $225,000 the first year and $225,000 the second year from the general fund is designated to establish and maintain a fund for excellence and innovation. The fund is designed to stimulate collaboration among public school divisions, community colleges and universities to create and expand affordable student pathways and to pursue shared services and other efficiency initiatives at colleges and universities that lead to measurable cost reductions. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis, with eligibility criteria determined by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
M. Out of this appropriation, $514,031 the first year and $534,036 the second year from the general fund is designated for development of the Commonwealth Research and Technology Strategic Roadmap as well as support for the Virginia Research Investment Committee and Fund as established in Chapter 775, 2016 Acts of Assembly.
N. Out of this appropriation, $115,333 and one position the first year and $124,000 and one position the second year from the general fund is designated for the establishment of a student loan ombudsman to provide timely assistance to student borrowers of any student education loan in the Commonwealth. The ombudsman will also be responsible for establishing and maintaining an online student loan borrower education course, which would cover key loan terms, documentation requirements, monthly payment obligations, income-based repayment options, loan forgiveness, and disclosure requirements.
O. 1. Out of this appropriation, $200,000 the first year and $200,000 the second year from the general fund is designated for an internship pilot program. The funding is designed to stimulate public colleges and universities to develop partnerships to provide innovative internship programs for their students. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis to Virginia public colleges and universities, with eligibility criteria determined by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. To be eligible for a grant a Virginia public college or university must have at least one private sector partner and the state grant shall be matched equally by the partner with non-state funding.
2. Applications by institutions of higher education shall describe how the proposed internship grants will be used to accomplish one or more of the following goals: (i) support the strategic objectives of the Commonwealth of Virginia regarding designated workforce needs; (ii) support the strategic objectives of the Commonwealth of Virginia regarding research and research commercialization in sectors and clusters targeted for development; (iii) support regional economic growth and diversification plans; (iv) enhance the job readiness and access of students by providing valuable workplace experience as a member of a team addressing real problems and building skills that employers seek; and (v) reduce the amount of educational loan debt that students will incur without lengthening the course of study leading to a degree or industry-recognized credential.
3. a. Out of this appropriation, $700,000, the second year from the general fund is designated for an internship program. The funding is designed to expand paid or credit-bearing student internship and other work-based learning opportunities in collaboration with Virginia employers. The Program comprises institutional grants and a statewide initiative to facilitate the readiness of students, employers, and institutions of higher education to participate in internship and other work-based learning opportunities.
b. In administering the statewide initiative, the Council shall (i) engage stakeholders from business and industry, secondary and higher education, economic development, and state agencies and entities that are successfully engaging employers or successfully operating internship programs; (ii) explore strategies in Virginia and elsewhere on successful institutional, regional, statewide or sector-based internship programs; (iii) gather data on current institutional internship practices, scale, and outcomes; (iv) develop internship readiness educational resources, delivery methods, certification procedures, and outreach and awareness activities for employer partners, students, and institutional career development personnel; (v) pursue shared services or other efficiency initiatives, including technological solutions; and (vi) create a process to track key measures of performance.
c. The Council shall establish eligibility criteria, including requirements for matching funds, for institutional grants. Such grants shall be used to accomplish one or more of the following goals: (i) support state or regional workforce needs; (ii) support initiatives to attract and retain talent in the Commonwealth; (iii) support research and research commercialization in sectors and clusters targeted for development; (iv) support regional economic growth and diversification plans; (v) enhance the job readiness of students; (vi) enhance higher education affordability and timely completion for Virginia students; or (vii) further the objectives of increasing the tech talent pipeline.
P. As part of the biennial six-year financial plan required in the provisions of § 23.1-306, Code of Virginia, each public four-year institution of higher education, Richard Bland College, and the Virginia Community College System shall include in its six-year plan submitted to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) a tuition and fee transparency and predictability plan for in-state undergraduate students. Such tuition and fee predictability plans shall be for a period of not less than three years and must cover at least tuition and mandatory educational and general fees. Plans shall include a percentage and dollar increase or decrease of any size the institution determines to be appropriate from one year to the next or for the entire duration covered by the plan. Plans shall indicate a range of tuitions based upon available state resources, but must contain a scenario that includes the assumption of no new state general fund support. SCHEV shall develop instructions related to the submission of such plans in conjunction with the six-year financial plans as required by § 23.1-306, Code of Virginia.
Q. Out of this appropriation $750,000 in the second year from the general fund is designated for the administration of a one-time survey of graduates of public institutions of higher education. The survey shall be designed to enable Virginia to answer fundamental questions about the value and impact of undergraduate education and complement existing research on wages of college graduates derived from the Virginia Longitudinal Data System. The results of the survey may be used to guide future policy decisions in alignment with the priorities of the Governor and the General Assembly.
R. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall work with the Lumina Foundation to develop a statewide higher education finance plan that incorporates the priorities of the Joint Subcommittee on the Future Competitiveness of Higher Education and provides strategies to achieve higher education outcomes.
S. In addition to the exceptions pursuant to § 2.2-3815, the provisions of the section shall not be construed to prevent the release of a social security number to the U.S. Census, U.S. Education Department, or other agency of the federal government, by the State Council of Higher Education for the purposes of data-matching to improve knowledge of the outcomes of education programs of the Commonwealth, including, but not limited, to earnings and education-related debt.