Authority: §§ 23-9.3, 23-9.6:1, 23-20, 23-38.13, and 23-38.45, Code of Virginia, SJR 22 (1949).

A.1. It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide general fund support to contract with Mary Baldwin College for Virginia women resident students to participate in the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership at Mary Baldwin College.

2. The amounts for Higher Education Coordination and Review include $709,080 $761,328 the first year and $761,328 $843,432 the second year from the general fund based on an estimated participation of 95 102 in-state students the first year and 95 113 in-state students the second year in the program. Funds paid to Mary Baldwin College under the contract will be based on the actual number of Virginia resident students participating in the program.

3. General fund appropriations provided under this contract include financial aid for the participating students at Mary Baldwin College in the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership program, therefore, these students are not eligible for Tuition Assistance Grants.

B. By October 1 of each year, each four-year and two-year public institution of higher education shall submit to the Secretary of Education and the State Council of Higher Education a progress report on implementing its strategic plan. Such plans should continue to pursue the principles of restructuring, accountability, and efficiency, and include an assessment of the effectiveness of academic programs. The progress report shall be prepared according to a format approved by the Secretary of Education and the State Council of Higher Education. A presentation on the progress of institutions in implementing their plans shall be made by the Secretary and the State Council of Higher Education to the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees at their regularly scheduled meetings in November of each year.

C. The amounts for Higher Education Coordination and Review include $100,000 the first year and $100,000 the second year from the general fund for the State Council of Higher Education "Indicators Project." For 1998-99, the State Council of Higher Education's "Indicators Project" should provide benchmarking information on the administrative and support service programs of the public institutions of higher education. The Council should participate in existing national studies, such as those provided by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. The public institutions of higher education, the Department of Accounts, the Department of General Services, the Department of Planning and Budget, and the Council on Information Management are requested to provide staff assistance and participate cooperatively in the design and implementation of this project. The Council shall report its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 1998.

D. In discharging the responsibilities specified in § 23-272 D, Code of Virginia, the State Council of Higher Education 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.

E. Out of the appropriation for Higher Education Coordination and Review, $2,265,000 the first year and $2,535,000 the second year from the general fund is provided for continuation of the Commonwealth Virtual Library. This appropriation includes $100,000 the second year to allow students and faculty at the Commonwealth's independent colleges and universities to participate in the Virtual Library.

F. Out of this appropriation, $149,700 the first year and $151,950 the second year from the general fund, is designated to support annual membership dues to the Southern Regional Education Board.

G. Out of this appropriation, $250,000 the first year and $250,000 the second year from the general fund shall be provided for institutes for technology training for public school teachers and administrators at institutions identified by the State Council of Higher Education and subject to a plan approved by the State Council, pursuant to § 23-9.13.1 of the Code of Virginia.

H. The State Council of Higher Education, in conjunction with the Department of Personnel and Training and the Department of Planning and Budget, is directed to study policies regarding the use of adjunct faculty at Virginia's public colleges and universities. The study shall examine course loads, benefits, and how these issues relate to faculty who have joint appointments with more than one public institution. The Council shall report its findings and recommendations regarding policies for the use of adjunct faculty to the Chairmen of the Senate Finance Committee and House Appropriations Committee by October 15, 1998.

I. The State Council of Higher Education and the Secretary of Education, in cooperation with the three medical schools, shall monitor the results of the Generalist Initiative, especially the decisions of graduates from the undergraduate medical programs to enter generalist residencies, and the composition of the residencies in the two associated academic health centers. It is the intent of the General Assembly that continued funding for the Generalist Initiative is contingent upon achievement at each participating institution of these goals: (i) at least 50 percent of Virginia medical school graduates shall enter generalist practice; and (ii) at least 50 percent of Virginia medical school graduates entering generalist practice shall enter practice in Virginia upon completion of residency training. The three medical schools shall report to the State Council by October 1, 1999, and the State Council shall submit by November 15, 1999, recommendations on funding for the program in 2000-02 to the Governor and General Assembly.

J. In developing its recommendations on operating budget guidelines and tuition policy for the Educational and General programs for 2000-02, the State Council should reaffirm or modify its recommended funding policies for undergraduate medical education. The policy of including patient fees as a funding source for undergraduate and graduate medical education should be continued. The medical schools are encouraged to be aggressive in setting tuition rates that are above national average tuition rates for both in-state and out-of-state students.

K. To reflect the value of noncredit instruction for workforce training, the State Council of Higher Education shall develop guidelines that recognize those noncredit courses which are 1) instructional in format and 2) which meet requirements for reporting as community education, for inclusion in state funding formulas for facility utilization and space justification, equipment, and positions.

L.1. This appropriation includes $750,000 the second year from the general fund to develop and implement a pilot program on distance learning. The pilot shall be between two or more Virginia public institutions of higher education to share professors and academic courses in their normal course offerings to students via live satellite, video and/or the Internet. This pilot project shall be operational by the spring semester of 2000.

2.a. This appropriation includes $750,000 the second year from the general fund to provide grants for a consortia of higher education institutions that offer academic degree programs utilizing electronic distance learning technologies. The purpose of the grants is to make degree programs more accessible through distance learning for citizens of Virginia who seek undergraduate and/or graduate degrees. The grants shall be available either to establish new distance learning programs or to augment existing distance learning programs.

b. Grants shall be awarded to a consortia of institutions that present proposals demonstrating: (1) collaboration among individual Virginia institutions, (2) a complete undergraduate or graduate degree program based on a common core curriculum, and (3) effective utilization of electronic mediums to provide access to a college degree at sites across the Commonwealth at affordable costs.

3.a. There is hereby created a Distance Learning Steering Committee to act as project manager and to evaluate the pilot outlined in L.1. above and the grant program in L.2. above. The membership of the Steering Committee shall include the Secretary of Education or his designee, who shall serve as chair, the Secretary of Technology or his designee, the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget or his designee, the Director of the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia or his designee, four representatives from Virginia public institutions of higher education as appointed by the Governor based upon the recommendations of Boards of Visitors, two staff representatives from the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees, and two representatives of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education as appointed by the Governor.

b. The purposes of the Steering Committee are: (1) to oversee implementation of the pilot project outlined in L.1. and to recommend appropriate policies for implementing and delivering academic courses between and among institutions of higher education through electronic media, (2) to review grant proposals submitted pursuant to L.2., and to approve grants to consortia meeting the specified requirements, and (3) to assess the benefits of the consortia in making quality educational degree programs widely available to the people of Virginia at affordable costs. It is the intent of the General Assembly that by October 1, 2000, the Steering Committee shall report its findings to the Governor and to the chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees.