Authority: Title 23.1, Chapter 18, Code of Virginia.

A. This Item includes general and nongeneral fund appropriations to support institutional initiatives that help meet statewide goals described in the Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act of 2005 (Chapters 933 and 945, 2005 Acts of Assembly).

B. Out of this appropriation an amount estimated at $80,483 the first year and $80,483 the second year from the general fund and $36,130 the first year and $36,130 the second year nongeneral funds are designated for the educational telecommunications project to provide graduate engineering education. The participating institutions and centers shall jointly submit an annual report and operating plan to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia in support of these funded activities.

C. As Virginia's public colleges and universities approach full funding of the base adequacy guidelines and as the General Assembly strives to fully fund the general fund share of the base adequacy guidelines, these funds are provided with the intent that, in exercising their authority to set tuition and fees, the Board of Visitors shall take into consideration the impact of escalating college costs for Virginia students and families. In accordance with the cost-sharing goals set forth in § 4-2.01 b. of this act, the Board of Visitors is encouraged to limit increases on tuition and mandatory educational and general fees for in-state, undergraduate students to the extent possible.

D. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the University of Mary Washington may enter into an agreement with the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cooperative economic development efforts in the Fredericksburg region, for the purpose of expanding regional efforts in the field of economic development and research.

E. 1. Out of this appropriation, $338,550 the first year and $338,550 the second year from the general fund is designated to address increased degree production in Data Science and Technology, Science and Engineering, Healthcare, and Education.

2. Degree production shall be measured for Bachelors, Masters, Doctorates and First Professional awards as follows:

a. Data Science and Technology awards shall be based on completion data contained in the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, C-16 completion report;

b. Science and Engineering awards shall be based on completion data contained in the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), C-1 A1 completion report for the following programs Biological and Biomedical Science (26), Engineering (14) less those already counted in paragraph 2 a., Engineering Technologies (15), and Physical Sciences (40);

c. Healthcare awards shall be based on completion data contained in the SCHEV C-1 A1 completion report for the Health Professions and Related Programs (51); and

d. Education awards shall be based on completion data contained in the SCHEV C-1 A1 completion report for the Education Programs (13).

3. University of Mary Washington is expected to maintain increases in:

a. Science and Engineering awards of 5 annually over the base year.

b. Education awards of 5 annually over the base year.

c. The 2016-17 year will serve as the base year for these purposes.

4. SCHEV shall report on the progress toward these goals to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriation Committees annually.

F. Out of this appropriation, $568,000 the first year and $568,000 the second year from the general fund is designated to support an educational partnership between regional K-12 school divisions, community colleges, University of Mary Washington and industry to develop a curriculum that accelerates time to degree, lowers cost, eliminates the skills gap and reduces reliance on student debt in the areas of Education, Healthcare and Cybersecurity.