Authority: §§ 23-9.3, 23-9.6:1, 23-20, 23-21.1, 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 $546,986 the first year and $546,986 the second year from the general fund based on an estimated participation of 94 in-state students in the program each year. 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. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), with direction from the Secretary of Education, shall develop a six-year statewide strategic plan for higher education.  As part of this planning process and consistent with the provisions of  Chapters 933 and 945, 2005 Acts of Assembly, Virginia's public colleges and universities shall develop six-year financial, enrollment, and academic plans that include strategies to meet statewide higher education goals.  In this planning process and consistent with the provisions of Chapters 933 and 945, 2005 Acts of Assembly, SCHEV shall also require institutions to provide annual updates on their strategic plans.  Such reports shall include (i) progress in meeting both state and institutional goals and (ii) specific actions to restructure institutional activities and programs to meet state and institutional goals.

C. In discharging the responsibilities specified in § 23-272 D, Code of Virginia, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall provide exemptions to individual proprietorships, associations, copartnerships 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.

D. Out of this appropriation, $85,033 the first year and one position from the general fund and $91,493 and one position from the general fund the second year is designated for the purpose of coordination of articulation activities from the state's community colleges and Richard Bland College to ensure compliance with the 2005 Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act.

E. Out of the appropriation for Higher Education Coordination and Review, $6,003,177 the first year and $6,003,177 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, $396,785 in each year is earmarked to allow the participation of nonprofit, independent private colleges and universities.

F.1. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and the Secretary of Education, in conjunction with the three medical schools, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Eastern Virginia Medical School, 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.  The three medical schools shall report biennially to the State Council by October 1.  It is the intent of the General Assembly that:

a. The three medical schools shall maintain the efforts to educate and train sufficient generalist physicians to meet the needs of the Commonwealth, recognizing the Commonwealth's need for generalist physicians in medically underserved regions of the state.  Further, the medical schools shall support medical education and training in the principles of generalist medicine for all undergraduate medical students, regardless of their chosen specialty or field of study. 

b. The three medical schools shall jointly collect and report on their production of generalist residents to the Secretary of Education and the State Council of Higher Education biennially.

c. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall set forth the reporting requirements in consultation with the three medical schools. 

d. The State Council shall, in consultation with the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Eastern Virginia Medical School, provide a summary of the biennial report to the chairman of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by November 1, and shall include policy and funding recommendations, as appropriate, to address the need for medical education and training in the Commonwealth.

G. Out of this appropriation, $492,237 the first year and four positions from nongeneral funds and $504,237 $552,661 the second year and four positions 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 § 23-276.9, Code of Virginia.

H.1.  Out of this appropriation, $586,870 and six positions each year from the general fund are provided in recognition of the increased role that the State Council of Higher Education must play in: (i) coordinating Virginia's system of higher education; (ii) aligning statewide enrollment demand with institutional enrollment projections; (iii) providing guidance and oversight in the development and routine update of six-year financial, academic, and enrollment plans; and (iv) making policy recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly that ensure the Commonwealth's needs with respect to higher education are met consistently.

2. Specifically, these funds are provided to enhance the agency's capacity to: (i) collect and analyze data; (ii) conduct rigorous policy reviews, as needed; and (iii) evaluate and make recommendations related to resource needs, allocations, and systemwide funding policies. In addition to these funds, existing agency resources shall be reallocated and reprioritized in order to meet the needs of the Governor and General Assembly for routine assessments of the academic program and strategic planning efforts of Virginia's colleges and universities.

I.1. The State Council of Higher Education, in consultation with the Healthcare Workforce Task Force described herein, shall develop and recommend criteria for awarding additional state funds via a competitive grant process to innovative regional public-private sector partnerships that seek to maximize the number of newly licensed nurses and increase the supply of graduate nursing faculty. The Healthcare Workforce Task Force will develop criteria for the grant award process, identify aggressive attainment goals, establish mechanisms to monitor results and recommend program scope for the Council and policy makers to consider. The Task Force will be co-chaired by the Secretaries of Education and Health and Human Resources and will also include two members of the Senate appointed by the President pro tempore and three members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House. In addition to these seven policy makers, the Task Force will include six individuals appointed by the co-chairs with experience and knowledge of nursing and other allied health professional supply, training and practice issues as follows:  two higher education leaders, two business leaders and two hospital or health system executives.  The criteria developed by the Task Force for reviewing potential grant applications will reward  a) regions that demonstrate partnerships between education institutions and healthcare employers for addressing the registered nursing shortage; b) applicants that document past, current and new matching private funds applied toward registered nurse education (to leverage potential public funds); c) innovative and cost-effective plans that expand the output of registered nurses (e.g., standardized curricula, improved retention rates and improved pass rates on licensure exams); and d) partnerships that demonstrate a desire and capability to be held accountable for results.  The Council and Healthcare Workforce Task Force shall submit a report on the healthcare workforce competitive grant program scope, criteria and structure to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by May 1, 2007.

2. Out of this appropriation $750,000 each year from the general fund shall be provided to Northern Virginia Community College to support public-private sector partnerships in order to maximize the number of newly licensed nurses and increase the supply of nursing faculty.

3. Out of this appropriation $750,000 each year from the general fund shall be provided to the University of Virginia to support public-private sector partnerships in order to maximize the number of newly licensed nurses and increase the supply of nursing faculty.

J. The State Council of Higher Education (SCHEV) shall examine the financial and programmatic feasibility of establishing a satellite campus of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry on the campus of the University of Virginia at Wise.  SCHEV shall provide a report of its findings to the Chairman of House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by October 1, 2007.

K. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), 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.

L. The Executive Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) 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.

M. 1. In consultation with the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Finance, and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance Committee, or their designees, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall review, and if necessary, update institutional peer groups used for assessing the Commonwealth's goal to fund teaching and research faculty at the 60th percentile of peer institutions nationally.

2. In updating each public college or university's peer group, the Council shall develop a set of peers that is statistically similar to the Virginia institution.   Factors to be used in the assessment of similar institutions may include, but shall not be limited to, the institution's Carnegie classification, the mix of academic programs offered, qualifications for student admissions, and faculty qualifications.

3. The State Council shall report its findings to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees no later than July 1, 2007 along with an assessment of the impact of faculty salary rankings using the updated peer groups.

N.  By November 15, 2006, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall present to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees, its recommendations for allocating general fund support for state need-based student financial aid to public colleges and universities.  To the extent those recommendations differ from the General Assembly's long-held goal to meet 50 percent of remaining student need, the State Council shall identify how the proposed methodology addresses student need, and if appropriate, recommend an alternative measure to monitor the level of need being met with existing appropriations.