§ 4-9.06 ASSESSMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL PERFORMANCE

Consistent with § 23-9.6:1.01., Code of Virginia, the following education-related and financial and administrative management measures shall be the basis on which the State Council of Higher Education shall annually assess and certify institutional performance.  By July 15, 2006, the State Council shall publish institutional performance benchmarks for each objective measure, which shall be established in cooperation with the respective institution.

A. Access

1. Institution meets at least 99 percent of its State Council-approved biennial projection of total in-state student enrollment.

2. Institution maintains acceptable progress towards increasing enrollment of under-represented populations, with emphasis on income level, educational attainment of parents, geographic origin within Virginia, race and ethnicity.

3. Institution meets at least 95 percent of State Council-approved estimates of degrees awarded.

B. Affordability

4. Institution's in-state undergraduate tuition and fees, both gross and net of need-based gift aid, as a percentage of the institution's student family income, remain within an acceptable range, within the context of the institution's six-year academic, financial, and enrollment plans, family income, and other relevant factors.

5. Institution reports annually on loans as a percent of all financial aid for need-based in-state undergraduate students.

6. Institution conducts a biennial assessment of the impact of tuition and fee levels net of financial aid on applications, enrollment, and student indebtedness incurred for the payment of tuition and fees and provides the State Council with a copy of this study upon its completion and makes appropriate reference to its use within the required six-year plans.

C. Breadth of Academic Programs

7. Institution maintains acceptable progress toward a mutually agreed target for the total number and percentage of graduates in high-need areas.

D. Academic Standards

8, Institution reports on total programs reviewed under Southern Association of Colleges and Schools assessment of student learning outcomes criteria within the institution's established assessment cycle in which continuous improvement plans addressing recommended policy and program changes were implemented.

9. Institution reports annually on the number of required introductory (100- and 200-level) courses and the number of students on waiting lists for required introductory courses.

E. Student Retention and Timely Graduation

10. Institution maintains acceptable progress towards a mutually agreed target for the average annual retention and progression rates of degree-seeking undergraduate students.

11. Institution maintains acceptable progress towards a mutually agreed target for the average time to degree for undergraduate students, including transfer students.

F. Articulation Agreements and Dual Enrollment

12. Institution maintains acceptable progress toward a mutually agreed target for the number of undergraduate programs or schools for which the institution has established a uniform articulation agreement by program or school for associate degree graduates transferring from all colleges of the Virginia Community College System and Richard Bland College.

13. Institution maintains acceptable progress towards a mutually agreed target for the total number of associate degree graduates enrolled from Virginia Community College System and Richard Bland College and for which general education credits earned from those institutions apply toward general education baccalaureate degree requirements.

14. Virginia Community College System and Richard Bland College maintain acceptable progress towards a mutually agreed target for the number of students involved in dual enrollment programs.

G. Economic Development

15. Institution develops a specific set of actions, in cooperation with the State Council, to help address local and/or regional economic development needs consisting of specific partners, activities, fiscal support, and desired outcomes.  Institution will receive positive feedback on an annual standardized survey developed by the State Council, in consultation with the institution, of local and regional leaders, and the economic development partners identified in its plans, regarding the success of its local and regional economic development plans.

H. Research, Patents, and Licenses

16. Institution maintains acceptable progress towards a mutually agreed target that maintains or increases the total expenditures in grants and contracts for research.

17. Institution maintains acceptable progress towards a mutually agreed target that maintains or increases the annual number of new patent awards and licenses.

I. Elementary and Secondary Education

18. Institution develops a specific set of actions, in cooperation with the State Council, with schools or school district administrations with specific goals to improve student achievement, upgrade the knowledge and skills of teachers, or strengthen the leadership skills of school administrators.  Institution will receive positive feedback on an annual standardized survey developed by the State Council, in consultation with the institution, of the superintendents, principals, and appropriate other parties.

J. Six-Year Plan

19. Institution prepares six-year financial plan consistent with § 23-9.2:3.02.

K. Financial and Administrative Standards

20. Institution completes no less than 75 percent of all non-exempt purchase transactions through the Commonwealth's enterprise-wide Internet procurement system (eVA) and makes no less than 75 percent of dollar purchases from vendors and suppliers who are registered in eVA.

21. Institution completes no less than 75 percent of dollar purchases from leveraged cooperative contracts, when such a contract is available for a particular commodity, except when the institution can demonstrate that the cost of the purchase was less than the cost under all available leveraged cooperative contracts.

22. Institution complies with a comprehensive policy, as approved by its governing board, that governs the procurement of leased office, classroom and other space both inside and outside the institution's primary campus, and specifies the following:

a. Use of competitive solicitations to the maximum practicable degree in the procurement of leases.

b. The option to engage a tenant broker to represent the interests of the institution if such services are available under contract with the Department of General Services or other agencies or institutions of statewide application.

c. Space standards consistent with State Council of Higher Education guidelines for institutions of higher education.

d. Filing of executed copies of completed leases with the Department of General Services, Division of Real Estate Services.

23. Institution adopts an annual SWAM Procurement Plan that specifies purchasing goals for doing business with certified small, women-owned, and minority-owned business enterprises, in accordance with § 2.2-1404.1., Code of Virginia, and the Governor's Executive Orders and Directives. 

24. Institution complies with a debt management policy approved by its governing board that defines the maximum percent of institutional resources that can be used to pay debt service in a fiscal year, and the maximum amount of debt that can be prudently issued within a specified period.

25. Institution makes acceptable progress toward compliance with current applicable Commonwealth information technology policies, standards, and guidelines in information technology strategic planning, infrastructure, architecture, ongoing operations, and security, consistent with the institution's information technology strategic plan; and project management as provided in the Code of Virginia, appropriation act, or as specified in a Management Agreement executed under Chapter 4.10 of Title 23, Code of Virginia.

26. As specified in § 2.2-5004, Code of Virginia, institution takes all appropriate actions to meet the following financial and administrative standards:

a. An unqualified opinion from the Auditor of Public Accounts upon the audit of the public institution's financial statements;

b. No significant audit deficiencies attested to by the Auditor of Public Accounts;

c. Substantial compliance with all financial reporting standards approved by the State Comptroller;

d. Substantial attainment of accounts receivable standards approved by the State Comptroller, including but not limited to, any standards for outstanding receivables and bad debts; and

e. Substantial attainment of accounts payable standards approved by the State Comptroller including, but not limited to, any standards for accounts payable past due.

Consistent with § 23-9.6:1.01, Code of Virginia, the State Council shall annually assess the degree to which each individual public institution of higher education has met the performance benchmarks associated with these measures.  Its assessment shall include a certification of each institution's performance on each of the eleven goals included in § 23-38.88, Code of Virginia.  Institutions that are certified to have met the eleven goals shall be entitled to the financial benefits set forth in § 2.2-5005, Code of Virginia.