§ 4-9.00 HIGHER EDUCATION RESTRUCTURING

§ 4-9.01 ASSESSMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL PERFORMANCE

Consistent with § 23.1-206, 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. Such certification shall be completed and forwarded in writing to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than October 1 of each even-numbered year. Institutional performance on measures set forth in paragraph D of this section shall be evaluated year-to-date by the Secretaries of Finance and Administration as appropriate, and communicated to the State Council of Higher Education before October 1 of each even-numbered year. Financial benefits provided to each institution in accordance with § 23.1-1002 will be evaluated in light of that institution's performance.

In general, institutions are expected to achieve all performance measures in order to be certified by SCHEV, but it is understood that there can be circumstances beyond an institution's control that may prevent achieving one or more performance measures. The Council shall consider, in consultation with each institution, such factors in its review: (1) institutions meeting all performance measures will be certified by the Council and recommended to receive the financial benefits, (2) institutions that do not meet all performance measures will be evaluated by the Council and the Council may take one or more of the following actions: (a) request the institution provide a remediation plan and recommend that the Governor withhold release of financial benefits until Council review of the remediation plan or (b) recommend that the Governor withhold all or part of financial benefits.

Further, the State Council shall have broad authority to certify institutions as having met the standards on education-related measures. The State Council shall likewise have the authority to exempt institutions from certification on education-related measures that the State Council deems unrelated to an institution's mission or unnecessary given the institution's level of performance.

The State Council may develop, adopt, and publish standards for granting exemptions and ongoing modifications to the certification process.

a. BIENNIAL ASSESSMENTS

1. Institution meets at least 95 percent of its State Council-approved biennial projections for in-state undergraduate headcount enrollment.

2. Institution meets at least 95 percent of its State Council-approved biennial projections for the number of in-state associate and bachelor degree awards.

3. Institution meets at least 95 percent of its State Council-approved biennial projections for the number of in-state STEM-H (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Health professions) associate and bachelor degree awards.

4. Institution meets at least 95 percent of its State Council-approved biennial projections for the number of in-state, upper level - sophomore level for two-year institutions and junior and senior level for four-year institutions - program-placed, full-time equivalent students.

5. Maintain or increase the number of in-state associate and bachelor degrees awarded to students from under-represented populations.

6. Maintain or increase the number of in-state two-year transfers to four-year institutions.

b. Elementary and Secondary Education

1. The Virginia Department of Education shall share data on teachers, including identifying information, with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia in order to evaluate the efficacy of approved programs of teacher education, the production and retention of teachers, and the exiting of teachers from the teaching profession.

2. a) The Virginia Department of Education and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall share personally identifiable information from education records in order to evaluate and study student preparation for and enrollment and performance at state institutions of higher education in order to improve educational policy and instruction in the Commonwealth. However, such study shall be conducted in such a manner as to not permit the personal identification of students by persons other than representatives of the Department of Education or the State Council for Higher Education for Virginia, and such shared information shall be destroyed when no longer needed for purposes of the study.

b) Notwithstanding § 2.2-3800 of the Code of Virginia, the Virginia Department of Education, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, Virginia Community College System, and the Virginia Employment Commission may collect, use, share, and maintain de-identified student data to improve student and program performance including those for career readiness.

3. Institutions of higher education shall disclose information from a pupil's scholastic record to the Superintendent of Public Instruction or his designee for the purpose of studying student preparation as it relates to the content and rigor of the Standards of Learning. Furthermore, the superintendent of each school division shall disclose information from a pupil's scholastic record to the Superintendent of Public Instruction or his designee for the same purpose. All information provided to the Superintendent or his designee for this purpose shall be used solely for the purpose of evaluating the Standards of Learning and shall not be redisclosed, except as provided under federal law. All information shall be destroyed when no longer needed for the purposes of studying the content and rigor of the Standards of Learning.

c. SIX-YEAR PLAN

Institution prepares six-year financial plan consistent with § 23.1-907.

d. FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE STANDARDS

The financial and administrative standards apply to all institutions except those governed under Chapters 933 and 943 of the 2006 Acts of Assembly, Chapters 594 and 616 of the 2008 Acts of Assembly, Chapters 675 and 685 of the 2009 Acts of Assembly, and Chapters 124 and 125 of the 2019 Acts of Assembly.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. The institution will achieve the classified staff turnover rate goal established by the institution; however, a variance of 15 percent from the established goal will be acceptable.

4. The institution will substantially comply with its annual approved Small, Women and Minority (SWAM) plan as submitted to the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; however, a variance of 15 percent from its SWAM purchase goal, as stated in the plan, will be acceptable.

The institution will make no less than 75 percent of dollar purchases through the Commonwealth's enterprise-wide internet procurement system (eVA) from vendor locations registered in eVA.

5. The institution will complete capital projects (with an individual cost of over $1,000,000) within the budget originally approved by the institution's governing board for projects initiated under delegated authority, or the budget set out in the Appropriation Act or other Acts of Assembly. If the institution exceeds the budget for any such project, the Secretaries of Administration and Finance shall review the circumstances causing the cost overrun and the manner in which the institution responded and determine whether the institution shall be considered in compliance with the measure despite the cost overrun.

6. The institution will complete major information technology projects (with an individual cost of over $1,000,000) within the budgets and schedules originally approved by the institution's governing board. If the institution exceeds the budget and/or time schedule for any such project, the Secretary of Administration shall review the circumstances causing the cost overrun and/or delay and the manner in which the institution responded and determine whether the institution appropriately adhered to Project Management Institute's best management practices and, therefore, shall be considered in compliance with the measure despite the cost overrun and/or delay.

e. FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE STANDARDS

The financial and administrative standards apply to institutions governed under Chapters 933 and 943 of the 2006 Acts of Assembly, Chapters 594 and 616 of the 2008 Acts of Assembly, Chapters 675 and 685 of the 2009 Acts of Assembly, and Chapters 124 and 125 of the 2019 Acts of Assembly. They shall be measured by the administrative standards outlined in the Management Agreements and § 4-9.02.d.4. of this act. However, the Governor may supplement or replace those administrative performance measures with the administrative performance measures listed in this paragraph. Effective July 1, 2009, the following administrative and financial measures shall be used for the assessment of institutional performance for institutions governed under Chapters 933 and 943 of the 2006 Acts of Assembly and those governed under Chapters 594 and 616 of the 2008 Acts of Assembly, Chapters 675 and 685 of the 2009 Acts of Assembly, and Chapters 124 and 125 of the 2019 Acts of Assembly.

1. Financial

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.

2. Debt Management

a) The institution shall maintain a bond rating of AA- or better;

b) The institution achieves a three-year average rate of return at least equal to the imoney.net money market index fund; and

c) The institution maintains a debt burden ratio equal to or less than the level approved by the Board of Visitors in its debt management policy.

3. Human Resources

a) The institution's voluntary turnover rate for classified plus university/college employees will meet the voluntary turnover rate for state classified employees within a variance of 15 percent; and

b) The institution achieves a rate of internal progression within a range of 40 to 60 percent of the total salaried staff hires for the fiscal year.

4. Procurement

a) The institution will substantially comply with its annual approved Small, Women and Minority (SWAM) procurement plan as submitted to the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; however, a variance of 15 percent from its SWAM purchase goal, as stated in the plan, will be acceptable; and

b) The institution will make no less than 80 percent of purchase transactions through the Commonwealth's enterprise-wide internet procurement system (eVA) with no less than 75 percent of dollars to vendor locations in eVA.

5. Capital Outlay

a) The institution will complete capital projects (with an individual cost of over $1,000,000) within the budget originally approved by the institution's governing board at the preliminary design state for projects initiated under delegated authority, or the budget set out in the Appropriation Act or other Acts of Assembly which provides construction funding for the project at the preliminary design state. If the institution exceeds the budget for any such project, the Secretaries of Administration and Finance shall review the circumstances causing the cost overrun and the manner in which the institution responded and determine whether the institution shall be considered in compliance with the measure despite the cost overrun;

b) The institution shall complete capital projects with the dollar amount of owner requested change orders not more than 2 percent of the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) or construction price; and

c) The institution shall pay competitive rates for leased office space – the average cost per square foot for office space leased by the institution is within 5 percent of the average commercial business district lease rate for similar quality space within reasonable proximity to the institution's campus.

6. Information Technology

a) The institution will complete major information technology projects (with an individual cost of over $1,000,000) on time and on budget against their managed project baseline. If the institution exceeds the budget and/or time schedule for any such project, the Secretary of Technology shall review the circumstances causing the cost overrun and/or delay and the manner in which the institution responded and determine whether the institution appropriately adhered to Project Management Institute's best management practices and, therefore, shall be considered in compliance with the measure despite the cost overrun and/or delay; and

b) The institution will maintain compliance with institutional security standards as evaluated in internal and external audits. The institution will have no significant audit deficiencies unresolved beyond one year.

f. REPORTING

The Director, Department of Planning and Budget, with cooperation from the Comptroller and institutions of higher education governed under Management Agreements, shall develop uniform reporting requirements and formats for revenue and expenditure data.

g. EXEMPTION

The requirements of this section shall not be in effect if they conflict with § 23.1-206.D. of Chapters 828 and 869 of the Acts of Assembly of 2011.