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 House Bill 2866 and Senate Bill 1327, 2005 General 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 House Bill 2866 and Senate Bill 1327, 2005 Session of the General 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 the appropriation for Higher Education Coordination and Review, $5,176,894 the first year and $5,236,894 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, $378,200 in each year is earmarked to allow the participation of nonprofit, independent private colleges and universities.
E.1. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and the Secretary of Education, in cooperation 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. At least 50 percent of Virginia medical school graduates shall enter generalist residency programs. The percentage shall be calculated based on a three-year average at each of the three academic health centers.
b. At least 50 percent of Virginia Generalist residency graduates shall enter generalist practice upon completion of residency training and at least 50 percent of those graduates shall practice in Virginia. The percentage shall be calculated based on a three-year average at each of the three academic health centers.
c. In addition to the statistical goals specified above, the Virginia Generalist Initiative program shall be evaluated for its quality based on: 1) Virginia graduates' responses to the annual survey of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC); 2) Student evaluation of the program conducted by the individual institution; and 3) Faculty and community preceptors' evaluation of the student learning and skills.
2. The State Council shall report biennially on the status of the Generalist Initiative to the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees in November.
F. 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.
G. Out of this appropriation, $300,000 the first year and $300,000 the second year in nongeneral funds is provided to support higher education coordination and review services, including expenses incurred in regulating the private and out-of-state postsecondary institutions operating in Virginia. These funds may be generated through fee schedules developed pursuant to § 23-276.9, Code of Virginia.
H. Out of this appropriation, $102,237 in nongeneral funds and 1.0 position each year are provided for the oversight of proprietary schools in the Commonwealth pursuant to Chapter 991 of the Acts of Assembly of 2004.
I. 1. Out of this appropriation, $586,870 and six positions 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.
3. In addition, the State Council of Higher Education is charged with conducting a higher education affordability study. The purpose of the study shall be to address the extent to which cost is a barrier to access for students wishing to attend a public or private, nonprofit college or university in the Commonwealth. In addressing this issue, the study shall include, but is not limited to, identifying: (i) the economic diversity of students attending Virginia's public and private institutions of higher education; (ii) the extent to which students and families rely on grant aid, loans, savings, and supplemental employment to cover the cost of attendance; (iii) the extent to which state-funded need-based student financial aid mitigates any cost barrier for students in attending public colleges and universities or reduces reliance on loans, savings, and supplement employment; (iv) the extent to which state funding for the tuition assistance grant enables students to attend private, nonprofit colleges and universities in the Commonwealth; and (v) the comparative affordability and dependence on grants, loans, savings, and supplemental employment between Virginia's system of public and private institutions and that of similar states. The study shall be completed and transmitted to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees prior to the first day of the regular Session of the 2006 General Assembly.