4-2.01#1h (Nongeneral Fund Revenues) Tuition Public Comment. HB30 - Committee Approved

State Budget

2018 Session

Budget Amendments - HB30 (Committee Approved)

Bill Order » Item 4-2.01 #1h

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Tuition Public Comment (language only)

Item 4-2.01 #1h

Item 4-2.01 #1h
Revenues
Nongeneral Fund Revenues

Language

Page 478, after line 7, insert:

"e) 1) No governing board of any public institution of higher education shall approve an increase in undergraduate tuition or mandatory fees without providing students, any parent who has co-signed a student loan through the institution, and the public (i) a projected range of the planned increase, an explanation of the need for the increase, notice of the date and location of a board meeting at which such individuals shall be permitted to provide public comment in advance of any vote on the planned increase, by email and posting on the homepage of the institution's website and in any student newspaper, at least 30 days prior to such meeting and (ii) notice of the date and location of any vote on such increase by similar methods at least 30 days prior to such vote.

2) Prior to any vote referenced in subsection e) 1), the governing board of each public institution of higher education shall permit public comment on the proposed increase at a meeting of the governing board. Each such governing board shall establish policies for such public comment, which may include reasonable time limitations."

Explanation

(This amendment provides for public comment prior to any governing board voting on tuition and fee increases.)

Item 4-2.01

Item 4-2.01

§ 4-2.00 REVENUES

§ 4-2.01 NONGENERAL FUND REVENUES

a. SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS, GIFTS, GRANTS, AND CONTRACTS:

1. No state agency shall solicit or accept any donation, gift, grant, or contract without the written approval of the Governor except under written guidelines issued by the Governor which provide for the solicitation and acceptance of nongeneral funds, except that donations or gifts to the Virginia War Memorial Foundation that are small in size and number and valued at less than $5,000, such as library items or small display items, may be approved by the Executive Director of the Virginia War Memorial in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security. All other gifts and donations to the Virginia War Memorial Foundation must receive written approval from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security.

2. The Governor may issue policies in writing for procedures which allow state agencies to solicit and accept nonmonetary donations, gifts, grants, or contracts except that donations, gifts and grants of real property shall be subject to § 4-4.00 of this act and § 2.2-1149, Code of Virginia. This provision shall apply to donations, gifts and grants of real property to endowment funds of institutions of higher education, when such endowment funds are held by the institution in its own name and not by a separately incorporated foundation or corporation.

3. The preceding subdivisions shall not apply to property and equipment acquired and used by a state agency or institution through a lease purchase agreement and subsequently donated to the state agency or institution during or at the expiration of the lease purchase agreement, provided that the lessor is the Virginia College Building Authority.

4. The use of endowment funds for property, plant or equipment for state-owned facilities is subject to §§ 4-2.03 Indirect Costs, 4-4.01 Capital Projects-General and 4-5.03 Services and Clients of this act.

b. HIGHER EDUCATION TUITION AND FEES

1. Except as provided in Chapters 933 and 943 of the 2006 Acts of Assembly, Chapters 594 and 616 of the 2008 Acts of Assembly, and Chapters 675 and 685 of the 2009 Acts of Assembly, all nongeneral fund collections by public institutions of higher education, including collections from the sale of dairy and farm products, shall be deposited in the state treasury in accordance with § 2.2-1802, Code of Virginia, and expended by the institutions of higher education in accordance with the appropriations and provisions of this act, provided, however, that this requirement shall not apply to private gifts, endowment funds, or income derived from endowments and gifts.

2. a) The Boards of Visitors or other governing bodies of institutions of higher education may set tuition and fee charges at levels they deem to be appropriate for all resident student groups based on, but not limited to, competitive market rates, provided that the total revenue generated by the collection of tuition and fees from all students is within the nongeneral fund appropriation for educational and general programs provided in this act.

b) The Boards of Visitors or other governing bodies of institutions of higher education may set tuition and fee charges at levels they deem to be appropriate for all nonresident student groups based on, but not limited to, competitive market rates, provided that: i) the tuition and mandatory educational and general fee rates for nonresident undergraduate and graduate students cover at least 100 percent of the average cost of their education, as calculated through base adequacy guidelines adopted, and periodically amended, by the Joint Subcommittee Studying Higher Education Funding Policies, and ii) the total revenue generated by the collection of tuition and fees from all students is within the nongeneral fund appropriation for educational and general programs provided in this act.

c) For institutions charging nonresident students less than 100 percent of the cost of education, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia may authorize a phased approach to meeting this requirement, when in its judgment, it would result in annual tuition and fee increases for nonresident students that would discourage their enrollment.

d) The Boards of Visitors or other governing bodies of institutions of higher education shall not increase the current proportion of nonresident undergraduate students if the institution's nonresident undergraduate enrollment exceeds 25 percent. Norfolk State University, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia State University, and two-year public institutions are exempt from this restriction.

3. a) In setting the nongeneral fund appropriation for educational and general programs at the institutions of higher education, the General Assembly shall take into consideration the appropriate student share of costs associated with providing full funding of the base adequacy guidelines referenced in subparagraph 2. b), raising average salaries for teaching and research faculty to the 60th percentile of peer institutions, and other priorities set forth in this act.

b) In determining the appropriate state share of educational costs for resident students, the General Assembly shall seek to cover at least 67 percent of educational costs associated with providing full funding of the base adequacy guidelines referenced in subparagraph 2. b), raising average salaries for teaching and research faculty to the 60th percentile of peer institutions, and other priorities set forth in this act.

4. a) Each institution and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall monitor tuition, fees, and other charges, as well as the mix of resident and nonresident students, to ensure that the primary mission of providing educational opportunities to citizens of Virginia is served, while recognizing the material contributions provided by the presence of nonresident students. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall also develop and enforce uniform guidelines for reporting student enrollments and the domiciliary status of students.

b) The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall report to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees no later than August 1 of each year the annual change in total charges for tuition and all required fees approved and allotted by the Board of Visitors. As it deems appropriate, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall provide comparative national, peer, and market data with respect to charges assessed students for tuition and required fees at institutions outside of the Commonwealth.

c) Institutions of higher education are hereby authorized to make the technology service fee authorized in Chapter 1042, 2003 Acts of Assembly, part of ongoing tuition revenue. Such revenues shall continue to be used to supplement technology resources at the institutions of higher education.

d) Except as provided in Chapters 933 and 943 of the 2006 Acts of Assembly, Chapters 594 and 616 of the 2008 Acts of Assembly, and Chapters 675 and 685 of the 2009 Acts of Assembly, each institution shall work with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and the Virginia College Savings Plan to determine appropriate tuition and fee estimates for tuition savings plans.

5. It is the intent of the General Assembly that each institution's combined general and nongeneral fund appropriation within its educational and general program closely approximate the anticipated annual budget each fiscal year.

6. Nonresident graduate students employed by an institution as teaching assistants, research assistants, or graduate assistants and paid at an annual contract rate of $4,000 or more may be considered resident students for the purposes of charging tuition and fees.

7. The fund source "Higher Education Operating" within educational and general programs for institutions of higher education includes tuition and fee revenues from nonresident students to pay their proportionate share of the amortized cost of the construction of buildings approved by the Commonwealth of Virginia Educational Institutions Bond Act of 1992 and the Commonwealth of Virginia Educational Facilities Bond Act of 2002.

8. a) Except as provided in Chapters 933 and 943 of the 2006 Acts of Assembly, Chapters 594 and 616 of the 2008 Acts of Assembly, and Chapters 675 and 685 of the 2009 Acts of Assembly, mandatory fees for purposes other than educational and general programs shall not be increased for Virginia undergraduates beyond three percent annually, excluding requirements for wage, salary, and fringe benefit increases, authorized by the General Assembly. Fee increases required to carry out actions that respond to mandates of federal agencies are also exempt from this provision, provided that a report on the purposes of the amount of the fee increase is submitted to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by the institution of higher education at least 30 days prior to the effective date of the fee increase.

b) This restriction shall not apply in the following instances: fee increases directly related to capital projects authorized by the General Assembly; fee increases to support student health services; and other fee increases specifically authorized by the General Assembly.

c) Due to the small mandatory non-educational and general program fees currently assessed students in the Virginia Community College System, increases in any one year of no more than $15 shall be allowed on a cost-justified case-by-case basis, subject to approval by the State Board for Community Colleges.

9. Any institution of higher education granting new tuition waivers to resident or nonresident students not authorized by the Code of Virginia must absorb the cost of any discretionary waivers.

10. Tuition and fee revenues from nonresident students taking courses through Virginia institutions from the Southern Regional Education Board's Southern Regional Electronic Campus must exceed all direct and indirect costs of providing instruction to those students. Tuition and fee rates to meet this requirement shall be established by the Board of Visitors of the institution.

c. HIGHER EDUCATION PLANNED EXCESS REVENUES:

An institution of higher education, except for those public institutions governed by Chapters 933 and 943 of the 2006 Acts of Assembly, Chapters 594 and 616 of the 2008 Acts of Assembly, and Chapters 675 and 685 of the 2009 Acts of Assembly, may generate and retain tuition and fee revenues in excess of those provided in § 4-2.01 b Higher Education Tuition and Fees, subject to the following:

1. Such revenues are identified by language in the appropriations in this act to any such institution.

2. The use of such moneys is fully documented by the institution to the Governor prior to each fiscal year and prior to allotment.

3. The moneys are supplemental to, and not a part of, ongoing expenditure levels for educational and general programs used as the basis for funding in subsequent biennia.

4. The receipt and expenditure of these moneys shall be recorded as restricted funds on the books of the Department of Accounts and shall not revert to the surplus of the general fund at the end of the biennium.

5. Tuition and fee revenues generated by the institution other than as provided herein shall be subject to the provisions of § 4-1.04 a.3 Gifts, Grants, and Other Nongeneral Funds of this act.