| Printed Page 3180, May 1 | Printed Page 3200, May 1 |

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:

/SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-103-15. (A)(1) The General Assembly has determined that the mission for higher education in South Carolina is to be a global leader in providing a coordinated, comprehensive system of excellence in education by providing instruction, research, and life-long learning opportunities which are focused on economic development and benefit the State of South Carolina.

(2) The goals to be achieved through this mission are:

(a) high academic quality;

(b) affordable and accessible education;

(c) instructional excellence;

(d) coordination and cooperation with public education;

(e) cooperation among the General Assembly, Commission on Higher Education, Council of Presidents of State Institutions, institutions of higher learning, and the business community;

(f) economic growth;

(g) clearly defined missions.

(B) The General Assembly has determined that the primary mission or focus for each type of institution of higher learning or other post-secondary school in this State is as follows:

(1) Research institutions

(a) college-level baccalaureate education, master's, professional, and doctor of philosophy degrees which lead to continued education or employment;

(b) research through the use of government, corporate, nonprofit-organization grants, or state resources, or both;

(c) public service to the State and the local community;

(2) Four-year colleges and universities

(a) college-level baccalaureate education and selected master's degrees which lead to employment or continued education, or both, except for doctoral degrees currently being offered;

(b) limited and specialized research;

(c) public service to the State and the local community;

(3) Two-year institutions - branches of the University of South Carolina

(b) public service to the State and the local community;

(4) State technical and comprehensive education system

(a) all post-secondary vocational, technical, and occupational diploma and associate degree programs leading directly to employment or maintenance of employment and associate degree programs for nontraditional students to gain access to other post-secondary education;

(b) up-to-date and appropriate occupational and technical training for adults;

(c) special school programs that provide training for prospective employees for prospective and existing industry in order to enhance the economic development of South Carolina;

(d) public service to the State and the local community;

(e) continue to remain technical, vocational, or occupational schools or colleges with a mission as stated in item (4) and not become community or junior colleges."

SECTION 2. Section 59-103-20 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-103-20. The commission shall meet regularly and shall have the authority and responsibility for a coordinated, efficient, and responsive higher education system in this State consistent with the missions of each type of institution as stipulated in Section 59-103-15. In meeting this responsibility and in performing its duties and functions, the commission shall coordinate and collaborate at a minimum with the Council of Presidents of State Institutions, the council of board chairs of the various public institutions of higher learning and the business community. The commission also is charged with the duty of making studies of examining the state's institutions of higher learning relative to both short and long-range programs and missions which shall include:

(a) the role of state-supported higher education in serving the needs of the State and the roles and participation of the individual institutions in the statewide program;

(b) enrollment trends, student costs, business management practices, accounting methods, operating results and needs, and capital fund requirements;

(c) the administrative setup and curriculum offerings of the several institutions and of the various departments, schools, institutes, and services within each institution and the respective relationships to the services and offerings of other institutions;

(e) efforts to promote a clearer understanding and greater unity and good will among all institutions of higher learning, both public and private, in the interest of serving the educational needs of the people of South Carolina on a statewide level."

SECTION 3. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-103-30. (A) The General Assembly has determined that the critical success factors, in priority order, for academic quality in the several institutions of higher learning in this State are as follows:

(1) Mission Focus;

(2) Qualify of Faculty;

(3) Classroom Quality;

(4) Institutional Cooperation and Collaboration;

(5) Administrative Efficiency;

(6) Entrance Requirements;

(7) Graduates' Achievements;

(8) User-friendliness of the Institution;

(9) Research Funding.

(B) The General Assembly has determined that whether or not an institution embodies these critical success factors can be measured by the following performance indicators as reflected under the critical success factors below:

(1) Mission Focus

(a) expenditure of funds to achieve institutional mission;

(b) curricula offered to achieve mission;

(c) approval of a mission statement;

(d) adoption of a strategic plan to support the mission statement;

(e) attainment of goods of the strategic plan.

(2) Quality of Faculty

(a) academic and other credentials of professors and instructors;

(b) performance review system for faculty to include student and peer evaluations;

(c) post-tenure review for tenured faculty;

(d) compensation of faculty;

(e) availability of faculty to students outside the classroom;

(f) community and public service activities of faculty for which no extra compensation is paid.

(3) Classroom Quality

(a) class sizes and student/teacher ratios;

(c) ratio of full-time faculty as compared to other full-time employees;

(d) accreditation of degree-granting programs;

(e) institutional emphasis on quality teacher education and reform.

(4) Institutional Cooperation and Collaboration

(a) sharing and use of technology, equipment, supplies, and source matter experts within the institution, with other institutions, and with the business community;

(b) cooperation and collaboration with private industry.

(5) Administrative Efficiency

(a) percentage of administrative costs as compared to academic costs;

(b) use of best management practices;

(c) elimination of unjustified duplication of and waste in administrative and academic programs;

(d) amount of general overhead costs.

(6) Entrance Requirements

(a) SAT and ACT scores of student body;

(b) high school class standing, grade point averages, and activities of student body;

(c) post-secondary non-academic achievements of student body;

(d) priority on enrolling in-state residents.

(7) Graduates' Achievements

(a) graduation rate;

(b) employment rate for graduates;

(c) employer feedback on graduates who were employed or not employed;

(d) scores of graduates on post-undergraduate professional, graduate or employment-related examinations and certification tests;

(e) number of graduates who continued their education;

(f) credit hours earned of graduates.

(8) User-Friendliness of Institution

(a) transferability of credits to and from the institution;

(b) continuing education programs for graduates and others;

(c) accessibility to the institution of all citizens of the State.

(9) Research Funding

(a) financial support for reform in teacher education;

(b) amount of public and private sector grants."

SECTION 4. Section 59-103-35 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

Supplemental appropriations requests from any public institution of higher education must be submitted first to and approved by 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 commission.

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

SECTION 5. Section 59-103-45 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-103-45. In addition to the powers, duties, and functions of the Commission on Higher Education as provided by law, the commission, notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, shall have the following additional duties and functions with regard to the various public institutions of higher education:

(1) establish procedures for the transferability of courses at the undergraduate level between two-year and four-year institutions or schools;

(2) coordinate with the State Board of Education in the approval of secondary education courses for the purpose of determining minimum college entrance requirements;, and define minimum academic expectations for prospective post-secondary students, communicate these expectations to the State Board of Education, and work with the state board to ensure these expectations are met; and

(3) review minimum undergraduate admissions standards for in-state and out-of-state students.;

(4)(a) develop standards for determining how well an institution has met or achieved the performance indicators for quality academic success as enumerated in Section 59-103-30, and develop mechanisms for measuring the standards of achievement of particular institutions. These standards and measurement mechanisms shall be developed in consultation and cooperation with, at a minimum but not limited to, the Council of Presidents of State Institutions, the chairmen of the governing boards of the various institutions and the business community;

(b) base the higher education funding formula in part on the achievement of the standards set for these performance indicators including base-line funding for institutions meeting the standards of achievement, incentive funding for institutions exceeding the standards of achievement, and reductions in funding for institutions which do not meet the standards of achievement, provided that each institution under the formula until July 1, 1999, must receive at least its fiscal year 1996-1997 formula amount;

(c) promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of subitems (a) and (b) above and submit such regulations to the General Assembly for

(7) ensure access and equity opportunities at each institution of higher learning for all citizens of this State regardless of race, gender, color, creed, or national origin within the parameters provided by law."

SECTION 6. Section 59-103-60 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-103-60. The commission shall make such recommendations to the Governor's Office and the General Assembly as to policies, programs, curricula, facilities, administration, and financing of all state-supported institutions of higher learning as may be considered desirable. The House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the State Budget and Control Board, and the Governor's Office may shall refer to the commission for investigation, study, and report any requests of institutions of higher learning for new or additional appropriations for operating and for other purposes and for the establishment of new or expanded programs. These requested appropriations or requests for new or expanded programs must be approved by the commission before they may be granted or implemented."

"Section 59-103-65. If an institution beginning July 1, 1999, is closed by the commission, the institution shall be treated as a terminated agency under Section 1-20-30 and as such terminated in the manner provided therein. However, any remaining funds shall not revert to the general fund as provided in Section 1-20-30 but instead shall be reallocated to higher education funding through use of the higher education funding formula in the manner the commission shall provide."

SECTION 8. Section 59-103-110 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 59-103-110. No public institution of higher learning shall be authorized to construct any new permanent facility at any location other than on a currently approved campus or on property immediately contiguous thereto unless such new location and or purchase or acquire any new improved or unimproved real property unless such new facility, purchase, or acquisition has been approved by the Commission. Provided, that However, the provisions of this section shall not apply to the Trident Technical College property in Berkeley County or the new Palmer College site in Charleston County or Francis Marion College University in Florence County."

SECTION 9. Chapter 104 of Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

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 at the institution.

(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.

Section 59-104-20. The Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program is established to foster scholarship among the state's post-secondary 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 post-secondary 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

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 post-secondary 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

| Printed Page 3180, May 1 | Printed Page 3200, May 1 |