Sec. 10a-11b. Strategic master plan for higher education in the state. Blue Ribbon Commission established. Duties. Goals. Benchmarks. Reports. Termination of commission.
Sec. 10a-11b. Strategic master plan for higher education in the state. Blue
Ribbon Commission established. Duties. Goals. Benchmarks. Reports. Termination of commission. (a) There is established a Blue Ribbon Commission to develop
and implement a strategic master plan for higher education in Connecticut.
(1) The commission shall consist of the following voting members: (A) Two members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall have experience as former administrators or faculty members in independent institutions of higher
education in this state; (B) two members appointed by the president pro tempore of the
Senate, one of whom shall be a former administrator or faculty member of a regional
community-technical college and one of whom shall be a former administrator or faculty
member of The University of Connecticut; (C) two members appointed by the majority
leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a former administrator
or faculty member of a state university in the Connecticut State University System and
one of whom shall be a former administrator or faculty member of Charter Oak State
College; (D) two members appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom
shall have experience in the field of arts and culture and one of whom shall have experience in the field of health care; (E) two members appointed by the minority leader of
the House of Representatives who shall have knowledge and expertise in science and
technology; (F) two members appointed by the minority leader of the Senate who shall
represent state-wide business organizations; and (G) four members appointed by the
Governor, one of whom shall represent a nonprofit education foundation, one of whom
shall have experience in university research and its commercial application and one of
whom shall have experience in the field of education from prekindergarten to grade
twelve, inclusive. The commission membership shall reflect the state's geographic, racial and ethnic diversity.
(2) The following persons shall serve as ex-officio nonvoting members on the commission: (A) The Commissioners of Higher Education, Education and Economic and
Community Development, and the Labor Commissioner, or their designees; (B) the
chairpersons of the boards of trustees and the chief executive officers of each constituent
unit of the state system of higher education, or their designees; (C) the chairperson of
the board and president of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, or their
designees; (D) the director of the Office of Workforce Competitiveness, or the director's
designee; (E) the chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committee of
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education and
employment advancement; and (F) the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee.
(3) The commission shall elect a chairperson at its first meeting. Any vacancies
shall be filled by the appointing authority. The term of each appointed member of the
commission shall be three years from the date of appointment. The commission members
shall serve without compensation except for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The commission may seek the advice and participation of any
person, organization or state or federal agency it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. The commission may, within available appropriations, retain consultants to assist in carrying out its duties. The commission may receive funds from any
public or private sources to carry out its activities.
(b) The commission shall develop a strategic master plan that promotes the following overall goals for higher education in this state: (1) Ensure equal access and opportunity to post-secondary education for all state residents, (2) promote student achievement,
including student performance, retention and graduation, (3) promote economic competitiveness in the state, (4) improve access to higher education for minorities and nontraditional students, including, but not limited to, part-time students, incumbent workers,
adult learners, former inmates and immigrants, and (5) ensure the state's obligation to
provide adequate funding for higher education.
(c) The commission shall:
(1) Examine the impact of demographics and workforce trends on higher education
in the state;
(2) Address the challenges related to increasing the number of young people in the
state earning a bachelor's degree, increasing the number of young people entering the
state's workforce and the disparity in the achievement gap between minority students
and the general student population;
(3) Develop and implement a strategic master plan for higher education that identifies specific short-term and long-term goals for the state that reflect the unique missions
of each constituent unit of the state system of higher education and each independent
institution of higher education in the state and includes benchmarks for achieving those
goals by 2010, 2015 and 2020;
(4) Examine funding policies for higher education including coordination of appropriation, tuition and financial aid and seek ways to maximize funding through federal
and private grants;
(5) Recommend ways in which each constituent unit of the state system of higher
education and independent institution of higher education in the state can, in a manner
consistent with such institution's mission, expand such institution's role in advancing
the state's economic growth; and
(6) Submit a biennium report prepared by the Department of Higher Education to
the Governor and the General Assembly on the progress made toward achieving the
benchmarks established in the strategic plan.
(d) In developing the strategic master plan, the commission shall review the plans
pursuant to sections 10a-6 and 10a-11 and the report titled "New England 2020: A
Forecast of Educational Attainment and its Implications for the Workforce of New
England States" prepared by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. In addition, the
commission may consider the following: (1) Establishing incentives for institutional
performance and productivity; (2) increasing financial aid incentive programs, especially in workforce shortage areas and for minority students; (3) implementing mandatory college preparatory curricula in high schools and aligning such curricula with curricula in institutions of higher education; (4) seeking partnerships with the business
community and public institutions of higher education to serve the needs of workforce
retraining that may include bridge programs in which businesses work directly with
higher education institutions to move students into identified workforce shortage areas;
(5) establishing collaborative partnerships between public high schools and institutions
of higher education; (6) implementing programs in high school to assist high school
students seeking a college track or alternative pathways for post-secondary education,
such as vocational and technical opportunities; (7) developing policies to promote and
measure retention and graduation rates of students; (8) addressing the educational needs
of minority students and nontraditional students, including, but not limited to, part-time
students, incumbent workers, adult learners, former inmates and immigrants, in order
to increase enrollment and retention in institutions of higher education; and (9) addressing the affordability of tuition at institutions of higher education and the issue of
increased student indebtedness.
(e) Not later than October 1, 2008, the commission shall submit the strategic master
plan, including specific goals and benchmarks for the years ending 2010, 2015 and
2020, together with any recommendations for appropriate legislation and funding to the
Governor and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance
of matters relating to higher education and employment advancement, education, commerce, labor and appropriations, in accordance with section 11-4a.
(f) On or before January 1, 2009, and biennially thereafter, until January 1, 2021,
the commission shall submit a report, prepared by the Department of Higher Education,
to the Governor and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having
cognizance of matters relating to higher education and employment advancement, education, commerce, labor and appropriations, in accordance with section 11-4a, on the
implementation of the plan and progress made toward achieving the goals specified in
the plan.
(g) The commission shall terminate on January 1, 2021.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3, S. 41; P.A. 08-116, S. 2.)
History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3 effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 08-116 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a)(1)(C),
(a)(2)(A) and (d)(6), effective May 27, 2008.