Bill 3983

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3983
Ratification Number:       736
Act Number                 629
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Initiatives for research and academic
                           excellence

(A629, R736, H3983)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 104 TO TITLE 59 SO AS TO PROVIDE INITIATIVES FOR RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE BY DETAILING THE GOALS OF THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION RELATING TO EXCELLENCE FOR STUDENTS, INSTRUCTION AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, RESEARCH FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND IMPROVING ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 59-103-10, RELATING TO THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF THE MEMBERS FROM EACH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT TO BE BASED UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE MAJORITY OF THE LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION MEMBERS FROM THE DISTRICT, PROVIDE THAT SIX MEMBERS MUST BE APPOINTED FROM THE STATE AT LARGE WITH THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE SENATE, PROVIDE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF WHEN A MEMBER HAS SERVED THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF TERMS, REQUIRE MEMBERS RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO BE RESIDENTS OF THE APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, AND DELETE PROVISIONS RELATING TO REPRESENTATION ON THE COMMISSION AND NOTIFICATION OF MEETINGS; SECTION 59-103-35, RELATING TO SUBMISSION OF BUDGETS TO THE COMMISSION BY PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE BUDGETS TO INCLUDE FUNDS DERIVED FROM APPROVED PRIVATE PRACTICE PLANS, PROVIDE FOR PROGRAMS AT A TECHNICAL AND COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION INSTITUTION NOT TO BE TERMINATED PURSUANT TO THE COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION WHICH IS THE SUBJECT OF AN APPEAL, AND DELETE THE PROVISIONS DETAILING TIME LIMITS ON FEDERAL GRANT REVIEW AND BUDGET REVIEW FORMAT REQUIREMENTS AND THE PROVISIONS REQUIRING GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVAL OF A NEW PROGRAM, LIMITING THE APPLICATION OF THE CHAPTER, AND LIMITING THE TERMINATION OF EXISTING PROGRAMS; AND SECTION 59-113-10, RELATING TO THE HIGHER EDUCATION TUITION GRANT COMMITTEE, SO AS TO CHANGE THE REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE TO COMMISSION, PROVIDE FOR THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION OR HIS DESIGNEE TO SERVE ON THIS COMMISSION, PROVIDE FOR THIS COMMISSION TO BE RESPONSIBLE SOLELY TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND REPORT AT LEAST ANNUALLY TO THAT BODY, AND DELETE THE PROVISIONS FOR THE INITIAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONTINUED SERVICE OF THE PRESENT COMMISSION MEMBERS AND THE TERMS OF NEW MEMBERS; TO DIRECT THE CODE COMMISSIONER TO CHANGE THE REFERENCES TO THE HIGHER EDUCATION TUITION GRANT COMMITTEE IN THE CODE TO THE HIGHER EDUCATION TUITION GRANT COMMISSION; AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMMISSION TO CONDUCT A STUDY OF OUT-OF-STATE AND IN-STATE STUDENT ENROLLMENTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND NEIGHBORING STATES AND TO REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Initiatives for research and academic excellence

SECTION 1. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"CHAPTER 104

Initiatives for Research and

Academic Excellence

Article 1

Excellence for Students

Section 59-104-10. (A) In consultation and coordination with the public institutions of higher learning in this State, the State Commission on Higher Education shall ensure that minimal admissions standards are maintained by the institutions.

The commission, with the institutions, shall monitor the effect of compliance with admissions prerequisites that are effective in fall, 1988.

(B) The boards of trustees of each public institution of higher learning, excluding the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education, shall adopt admission policies reflecting the desired mix of in-state and out-of-state enrollment appropriate for each institution. Changes in the policies affecting the mix of in-state and out-of-state enrollment must be approved by the board of trustees of the affected institution. The boards shall submit the policies to the commission by July 1, 1989, and any subsequent changes to the policies must be submitted to the commission. For purposes of this section enrollment must be calculated on a full-time equivalency basis with the equivalent of one full-time student being a student enrolled for thirty credit hours in an academic year. Out-of-state students means students who are not eligible for in-state rates for tuition and fees under Chapter 112 of Title 59.

Section 59-104-20. The Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program is established to foster scholarship among the state's postsecondary students and retain outstanding South Carolina high school graduates in the State through awards based on scholarship and achievement. Measures must be taken to ensure equitable minority participation in this program. Recipients of these scholarships are designated Palmetto Fellows. Each Palmetto Fellow shall receive a scholarship in an amount designated by the Commission on Higher Education, half to be provided by the postsecondary institution at which he is enrolled. The commission shall promulgate regulations and establish procedures to administer the program and request annual state appropriations for the program.

Section 59-104-30. Each public institution of higher learning in this State shall develop a plan for developmental education in accord with provisions, procedures, and requirements developed by the Commission on Higher Education. The commission shall conduct a study as well as evaluations and reviews of developmental education in this State. The commission shall develop appropriate methods of funding developmental education programs and courses.

Section 59-104-40. (A) The technical education system in this State shall convert from the quarter calendar to the semester calendar, if funds are appropriated for this purpose. The Commission on Higher Education shall request state appropriations for the conversion to be funded and completed over a two-year period.

(B) The State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education, in consultation with the commission, shall limit the offering of courses designed for college transfer in those technical colleges that do not have approved college transfer programs. The offering of 'college parallel' general education courses in institutions not authorized to award the associate in arts or associate in science degree is limited to those necessary to support approved nontransfer programs. The commission, after consultation with the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education and with public senior colleges and universities, shall establish rules and procedures by which this limitation must be regulated. The commission shall continue to work with all of the institutions to improve articulation concerning courses acceptable for transfer.

Article III

Excellence in Instruction and

Educational Services

Section 59-104-210. A competitive grants program is established to improve undergraduate education in South Carolina. The State Commission on Higher Education shall administer the program, promulgate appropriate regulations, and request annual state appropriations for this purpose. All public and private nonproprietary postsecondary institutions accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools are eligible to participate in this program.

Section 59-104-220. The Governor's Professor of the Year Award is established as follows:

(1) Each public or private institution of higher learning in this State is eligible to nominate one faculty member for this award who has demonstrated exceptional teaching performance.

(2) The Governor's office in conjunction with the Commission on Higher Education shall establish a committee to choose the Professor of the Year. The committee must consist of representatives of the Governor's office, the commission, and appropriate civic, business, government, and academic organizations.

(3) The award must include a citation and a payment of five thousand dollars. The Governor's office shall host an appropriate ceremony at which the award must be presented.

(4) The commission shall request annual state appropriations for the award.

Section 59-104-230. The Commission on Higher Education shall request state funds and establish procedures to implement a program of endowed professorships at senior public institutions of higher learning to enable the institutions to attract or retain productive faculty scholars who are making or show promise of making substantial contributions to the intellectual life of the State.

Each professorship must be supported by the income from an endowment fund created especially for that purpose. Half of the corpus of each fund must be provided by the commission through this program, and half must be provided by the institution from private funds specifically donated for this purpose.

The State Treasurer shall establish a separate fund consisting of any funds appropriated for all endowed professorships plus accrued interest received. Any amount remaining in the established fund at the end of any fiscal year must be carried forward to the next fiscal year to be used for endowed professorships. Funds in the specified amounts to support each endowment may be transferred by the commission to each eligible institution.

Section 59-104-240. (A) The Commission on Higher Education shall request state funds by 1990 to implement a program to endow salary enhancements for outstanding faculty in technical colleges and two-year campuses of the University of South Carolina. The purpose of the program is to enable the state's two-year college systems to retain and reward outstanding instructional personnel.

(B) The commission, in collaboration with the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education and the University of South Carolina, shall establish procedures to implement the program. Each salary enhancement must be supported by an endowment fund created especially for that purpose. Half of the corpus of each fund must be provided by the commission through this program, and half must be provided by the institution from private sources specifically donated for this purpose.

(C) The State Treasurer shall establish a separate fund consisting of any funds appropriated for all salary enhancements plus accrued interest received. Any amount remaining in the established fund at the end of any fiscal year must be carried forward to the next fiscal year to be used for salary enhancements. Funds in the specified amounts to support each salary enhancement may be transferred by the commission to each eligible institution.

Section 59-104-250. All libraries in the technical colleges in this State shall convert to a computer-based automated system that is compatible with existing state library systems and allows for appropriate networking with public colleges and universities if funds are appropriated for this purpose. The Commission on Higher Education shall request special appropriations to accomplish the conversion.

Section 59-104-260. The Commission on Higher Education shall encourage the development of joint programs that take advantage of the strengths of the public colleges and universities and discourage the development of independent competitive programs. The programs must be developed through planning and cooperation among the institutions in both academic and nonacademic areas.

Article V

Excellence in Research For Economic Development

Section 59-104-410. A Research Investment Fund is created to establish or expand research programs in public institutions of higher learning in this State which are related to the continued economic development of South Carolina. The fund must consist of appropriations to the State Commission on Higher Education which it allocates to the institutions for research. The funds must be apportioned among the three senior universities and the four-year colleges in a manner that takes into account the previous year's expenditures of externally generated funds for research by the institutions as reported to the commission. However, the commission may make exceptions to accommodate economic development opportunities in any area of the State.

Section 59-104-420. (A) The fund must be used for research which:

(1) has a direct, positive impact on economic development, education, health, or welfare in this State;

(2) has an existing base in faculty expertise, resources, and facilities;

(3) serves to improve the quality of undergraduate and graduate education for South Carolina citizens in accordance with the institutions' stated missions as given in the commission's master plan.

(B) The fund must not be used for capital construction projects.

Section 59-104-430. At the end of each fiscal year, comprehensive reports must be made to the Commission on Higher Education on the expenditures of funds and the results realized from the research programs. At the end of two fiscal years and each fiscal year after that, the commission shall reexamine the process of appropriating funds for research and the results obtained from the expenditures and recommend changes and alterations in the funding of research by the State if the changes are considered advisable by the commission.

Section 59-104-440. (A) With the exception of the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, and the Medical University of South Carolina, institutions seeking financial support from the fund for research projects shall submit proposals to the commission for its review and approval.

(B) The portion of the fund allocated to the three senior universities excepted in subsection (A) must be distributed in a manner that takes into account the previous year's expenditures of externally generated funds for research which each university reported to the commission.

(C) No funds allocated under the provisions of this chapter nor matching funds received pursuant to terms of this chapter may be used to increase an institution's future years' formula funding as computed by the Commission on Higher Education.

Article VII

Improving Accountability Through

Planning and Assessment

Section 59-104-610. The State Commission on Higher Education shall maintain a statewide planning system to address strategic issues in public and private higher education. The system must focus upon the following goals to:

(1) identify future directions for higher education in South Carolina and recommend appropriate methods for meeting the resultant challenges;

(2) review major goals identified by the public and private institutions of higher learning in this State and ascertain their relationship to higher education in South Carolina;

(3) assure the maintenance and continued development of the quality of higher education in South Carolina;

(4) assure the maintenance and continued provision of access to and equality of educational opportunity in higher education in South Carolina.

Section 59-104-620. (A) The Commission on Higher Education shall establish an Advisory Council on Planning to assist the commission and the institutions of higher learning in maintaining planning as a high priority.

(B) The advisory council shall report to the executive committee of the commission, which shall serve as the standing committee on planning for the commission.

(C) The advisory council shall submit to the executive committee of the commission its advice, reports, and draft plans.

Section 59-104-630. The Commission on Higher Education shall ensure that each public institution of higher learning in this State maintains its individual planning process.

Section 59-104-640. (A) The chief executive officer of the Commission on Higher Education shall develop a prospectus for planning each year.

(B) In the initial year, the Advisory Council on Planning is responsible for developing a statewide planning document for submission to the commission.

(C) After the initial year and annually, the advisory council shall prepare revisions of the planning document for consideration by the commission. The revisions must conform to, but need not be limited to, the prospectus provided by the commission.

Section 59-104-650. (A) The goals for maintaining an effective system of quality assessment by institutions of higher learning in South Carolina are to:

(1) assure that a system for measuring institutional effectiveness is in effect on every public college and university campus in this State;

(2) provide a vehicle for disseminating the results of outcome measurements to the constituents within the State;

(3) provide data relative to the effectiveness of each institution that can be used to initiate curriculum, programmatic, or policy changes within the institution.

(B) The process by which these goals must be attained is as follows:

(1) Each institution of higher learning is responsible for maintaining a system to measure institutional effectiveness in accord with provisions, procedures, and requirements developed by the Commission on Higher Education. The system for measuring institutional effectiveness must include, but is not limited to, a description of criteria by which institutional effectiveness is being assessed.

(2) As a part of South Carolina's statewide planning process, each institution shall provide the commission with an annual report on the results of its institutional effectiveness program.

(3) The commission shall prepare a report that must include results of institutional effectiveness, including student assessment programs. Information from private colleges and universities must be included for those institutions that voluntarily provide the information to the commission.

Section 59-104-660. (A) All state-supported institutions of higher learning shall establish their own procedures and programs to measure student achievement. The procedures and programs must be submitted to the Commission on Higher Education as part of the plan for measuring institutional effectiveness and must:

(1) derive from institutional initiatives, recognizing the diversity of South Carolina public colleges and universities, the tradition of institutional autonomy, and the capacity of faculty and administrators to identify their own problems and solve them creatively;

(2) be consistent with each institution's mission and educational objectives;

(3) involve faculty in setting the standards of achievement, selecting the measurement instruments, and analyzing the results;

(4) follow student progress through the curriculum, as appropriate;

(5) include follow-up of graduates.

(B) As part of their annual report on institutional effectiveness, all state-supported colleges and universities shall describe their progress in developing assessment programs and submit information on student achievement to the commission."

Membership

SECTION 2. Section 59-103-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-103-10. There is created the State Commission on Higher Education. Two members must be appointed by the Governor from each congressional district upon the recommendation of the majority of the legislative delegation members from the district. Six members must be appointed by the Governor from the State at large with the advice and consent of the Senate. Members must be appointed for terms of four years and until their successors are appointed and qualify. No one is eligible to serve on the commission for more than two consecutive terms. A term served by a member which is less than a full four-year term must not be counted in determining when a member has served the maximum number of terms. No member may be an employee or member of a governing body of a public or private institution of higher learning in this State. The Governor, by his appointments, shall assure that various economic interests and minority groups, especially women and blacks, are fairly represented on the commission and shall attempt to assure that the graduates of no one public or private college or technical college are dominant on the commission. Vacancies must be filled in the manner of the original appointment for the unexpired portion of the term. The chairman of the commission must be elected annually by the members of the commission and may not serve as chairman for more than four consecutive years. Members recommended by the General Assembly must be residents of the appropriate congressional district. If the boundaries of congressional districts are changed, members serving on the commission continue to serve until the expiration of their terms, but successors to members whose terms expire must be appointed from the newly defined congressional district. If a congressional district is added, the commission must be enlarged to include representation from that district."

Budgets of public institutions of higher learning programs

SECTION 3. Section 59-103-35 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-103-35. All public institutions of higher learning shall submit line-item budgets to the commission in the manner set forth in this section. The State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education shall submit a single line-item budget to the commission representing the total request of all area-wide technical and comprehensive educational institutions. The budget submitted by each institution and the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education must include all state funds, federal grants, tuition, and fees other than funds derived wholly from athletic or other student contests, from the activities of student organizations, from approved private practice plans, and from the operation of canteens and bookstores which may be retained by the institutions and be used as determined by the respective governing boards, subject to annual audit by the State. Fees established by the respective governing boards for programs, activities, and projects not covered by appropriations or other revenues may be retained and used by each institution as previously determined by the respective governing boards, subject to annual audit by the State.

Supplemental appropriations requests from any public institution of higher education must be submitted first to the commission. If the commission does not concur in the requests the affected institution may request a hearing on the requests before the appropriate committee of the General Assembly. The commission may appear at the hearing and present its own recommendations and findings to the same committee.

No new program may be undertaken by any public institution of higher education without the approval of the commission. The provisions of this chapter apply to all college parallel, transferable, and associate degree programs of technical and comprehensive education institutions. All other programs and offerings of technical and comprehensive education institutions are excluded from this chapter. The commission has the authority to recommend the termination of an existing program at any institution within the purview of this chapter. An appeal from this recommendation must be made by the governing board of an affected institution within sixty days to the Senate Education Committee and the House Education and Public Works Committee which shall hear the parties to the appeal. If both committees refuse to concur in the recommendation for termination, the program must not be terminated pursuant to the recommendation of the commission which is the subject of this appeal. A decision must be reached by the committees within one hundred twenty days from the date of the filing of the appeal."

Name changed; commission members and responsibilities

SECTION 4. Section 59-113-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-113-10. There is created a Higher Education Tuition Grant Commission consisting of eight representatives of the independent institutions of higher learning in the State who choose to come under the provisions of this chapter. In addition, the membership of the commission includes one ex officio member to be named by the House Committee on Education and Public Works, one ex officio member to be named by the Senate Committee on Education, and one ex officio member who must be the chief executive officer of the State Commission on Higher Education or his designee. The terms of the representatives of the institutions are for three years and until their successors are selected and qualify. The membership of the commission must be rotated among the participating institutions. The commission shall administer the provisions of this chapter and shall make those regulations as may be necessary in order to carry out the intent of this chapter. The commission is responsible solely to the General Assembly and shall report to that body at least annually."

Terms

SECTION 5. (A) Members of the State Commission on Higher Education on the effective date of this act continue to serve until the expiration of their terms.

(B) Of the nine terms which expire in 1988:

(1) four members must be appointed, one from the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth congressional districts, upon the recommendation of the majority of the legislative delegation members from the district, for terms of four years;

(2) two members must be appointed, one from the first and second districts, upon the recommendation as provided in item (1), for terms of one year initially;

(3) three members must be appointed from the State at large with the advice and consent of the Senate, for terms of one year initially.

(C) Of the five terms which expire in 1989:

(1) two members must be appointed, one from the first and second districts, upon the recommendation as provided in item (1) of subsection (B), for terms of four years;

(2) three members must be appointed from the State at large, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for terms of four years.

(D) Of the nine terms which expire in 1990:

(1) four members must be appointed, one from the first, second, third, and fourth districts, upon the recommendation as provided in item (1) of subsection (B), for terms of four years;

(2) two members must be appointed, one from the fifth and sixth districts, upon the recommendation as provided in item (1) of subsection (B), for terms of one year initially;

(3) three members must be appointed from the State at large, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for terms of one year initially.

(E) Of the five terms which expire in 1991:

(1) two members must be appointed, one from the fifth and sixth districts, upon the recommendation as provided in item (1) of subsection (B), for terms of four years;

(2) three members must be appointed from the State at large, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for terms of four years.

(F) After the initial appointments provided for in this section, the terms of the members are four years, and their successors must be appointed as provided in this act.

Code references changed

SECTION 6. The South Carolina Code Commissioner is directed to change the references in the 1976 Code to the Higher Education Tuition Grant Committee to the Higher Education Tuition Grant Commission.

Study of enrollments

SECTION 7. The State Commission on Higher Education, in consultation with the public institutions of higher learning in this State, shall conduct a study of out-of-state and in-state student enrollments in South Carolina and neighboring states. The study must examine the appropriate level of charges for out-of-state undergraduate students in South Carolina's public Colleges and Universities and the impact of charges on student enrollment. The commission shall report the findings of the study to the General Assembly not later than January 1, 1989.

Time effective

SECTION 8. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.