23-9.6:1 - Duties of Council generally
§ 23-9.6:1. Duties of Council generally.
In addition to such other duties as may be prescribedelsewhere, the State Council of Higher Education shall:
1. Develop a statewide strategic plan that reflects the goalsset forth in subsection B of § 23-38.88 for higher education in theCommonwealth, identifies a coordinated approach to such state and regionalgoals, and emphasizes the future needs for higher education in Virginia at boththe undergraduate and the graduate levels, as well as the mission, programs,facilities and location of each of the existing institutions of highereducation, each public institution's six-year plan, and such other matters asthe Council deems appropriate. The Council shall revise such plans at least onceevery six years and shall submit such recommendations as are necessary for theimplementation of the plan to the Governor and the General Assembly.
2. Review and approve or disapprove any proposed change in thestatement of mission of any presently existing public institution of highereducation and to define the mission of all public institutions of highereducation created after the effective date of this provision. The Councilshall, within the time prescribed in subdivision 1, make a report to theGovernor and the General Assembly with respect to its actions hereunder. Nosuch actions shall become effective until 30 days after adjournment of thesession of the General Assembly next following the filing of such a report.Nothing contained in this provision shall be construed to authorize the Councilto modify any mission statement adopted by the General Assembly, nor to empowerthe Council to affect, either directly or indirectly, the selection of facultyor the standards and criteria for admission of any public institution, whetherrelated to academic standards, residence or other criteria; it being theintention of this section that faculty selection and student admission policiesshall remain a function of the individual institutions.
3. Study any proposed escalation of any public institution toa degree-granting level higher than that level to which it is presentlyrestricted and to submit a report and recommendation to the Governor and theGeneral Assembly relating to the proposal. The study shall include the need forand benefits or detriments to be derived from the escalation. No suchinstitution shall implement any such proposed escalation until the Council'sreport and recommendation have been submitted to the General Assembly and theGeneral Assembly approves the institution's proposal.
4. Review and approve or disapprove all enrollment projectionsproposed by each public institution of higher education. The Council'sprojections shall be in numerical terms by level of enrollment and shall beused for budgetary and fiscal planning purposes only. The Council shall developestimates of the number of degrees to be awarded by each institution andinclude those estimates in its reports of enrollment projections. The studentadmissions policies for the institutions and their specific programs shallremain the sole responsibility of the individual boards of visitors; however,all four-year institutions shall adopt dual admissions policies with thecommunity colleges, as required by § 23-9.2:3.02.
5. Review and approve or disapprove all new academic programswhich any public institution of higher education proposes. As used herein,"academic programs" include both undergraduate and graduate programs.
6. Review and require the discontinuance of any undergraduateor graduate academic program that is presently offered by any publicinstitution of higher education when the Council determines that such academicprogram is (i) nonproductive in terms of the number of degrees granted, thenumber of students served by the program, the program's effectiveness, andbudgetary considerations, or (ii) supported by state funds and is unnecessarilyduplicative of academic programs offered at other public institutions of highereducation in the Commonwealth. The Council shall make a report to the Governorand the General Assembly with respect to the discontinuance of any suchacademic program. No such discontinuance shall become effective until 30 daysafter the adjournment of the session of the General Assembly next following thefiling of such report.
7. Review and approve or disapprove the creation andestablishment of any department, school, college, branch, division or extensionof any public institution of higher education that such institution proposes tocreate and establish. This duty and responsibility shall be applicable to theproposed creation and establishment of departments, schools, colleges,branches, divisions and extensions, whether located on or off the main campusof the institution in question. If any organizational change is determined bythe Council to be proposed solely for the purpose of internal management andthe institution's curricular offerings remain constant, the Council shallapprove the proposed change. Nothing in this provision shall be construed toauthorize the Council to disapprove the creation and establishment of anydepartment, school, college, branch, division or extension of any institutionthat has been created and established by the General Assembly.
8. Review the proposed closure of any academic program in ahigh demand or critical shortage area, as defined by the Council, by any publicinstitution of higher education and assist in the development of an orderlyclosure plan, when needed.
9. Develop a uniform, comprehensive data information systemdesigned to gather all information necessary to the performance of theCouncil's duties. The system shall include information on admissions,enrollments, self-identified students with documented disabilities, personnel,programs, financing, space inventory, facilities and such other areas as theCouncil deems appropriate. When consistent with the Government Data Collectionand Dissemination Practices Act, the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act,and applicable federal law, the Council, acting solely or in partnership withthe Virginia Department of Education or the Virginia Employment Commission, maycontract with private entities to create de-identified student records for thepurpose of assessing the performance of institutions and specific programsrelative to the workforce needs of the Commonwealth. For the purposes of thissection, "de-identified student records" means records in which allpersonally identifiable information has been removed.
10. Develop in cooperation with institutions of highereducation guidelines for the assessment of student achievement. An institutionshall use an approved program that complies with the guidelines of the Counciland is consistent with the institution's mission and educational objectives inthe development of such assessment. The Council shall report the institutions'assessments of student achievement in the biennial revisions to the state'smaster plan for higher education.
11. Develop in cooperation with the appropriate statefinancial and accounting officials and to establish uniform standards andsystems of accounting, record keeping and statistical reporting for the publicinstitutions of higher education.
12. Review biennially and approve or disapprove all changes inthe inventory of educational and general space that any public institution ofhigher education may propose, and to make a report to the Governor and theGeneral Assembly with respect thereto. No such change shall be made until 30days after the adjournment of the session of the General Assembly nextfollowing the filing of such report.
13. Visit and study the operations of each of the publicinstitutions of higher education at such times as the Council shall deemappropriate and to conduct such other studies in the field of higher educationas the Council deems appropriate or as may be requested by the Governor or theGeneral Assembly.
14. Provide advisory services to private, accredited andnonprofit institutions of higher education, whose primary purpose is to providecollegiate or graduate education and not to provide religious training ortheological education, on academic, administrative, financial and spaceutilization matters. The Council may also review and advise on jointactivities, including contracts for services between such public and privateinstitutions of higher education or between such private institutions and anyagency of the Commonwealth or political subdivision thereof.
15. Adopt such rules and regulations as the Council believesnecessary to implement all of the Council's duties and responsibilities as setforth in this Code. The various public institutions of higher education shallcomply with such rules and regulations.
16. Issue guidelines consistent with the provisions of thefederal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232grequiring public institutions of higher education to release a student'sacademic and disciplinary record to a student's parent.
17. Require that each institution of higher education formed,chartered, or established in the Commonwealth after July 1, 1980, shall ensurethe preservation of student transcripts in the event of institutional closureor revocation of approval to operate in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Aninstitution may provide for the preservation of student transcripts by bindingagreement with another institution of higher education with which it is notcorporately connected or in such other way as the Council may authorize byregulation. In the event an institution closes, or has its approval to operatein the Commonwealth revoked, the Council, through its Director, may take suchaction as is necessary to secure and preserve the student transcripts untilsuch time as an appropriate institution accepts all or some of the transcripts.Nothing in this section shall be deemed to interfere with the right of astudent to his own transcripts; nor shall this section authorize disclosure ofstudent records except as may otherwise be authorized by law.
18. Require the development and submission of articulation,transfer, and dual enrollment and admissions agreements between two- andfour-year public institutions of higher education in Virginia, includingprograms for qualified students to be simultaneously accepted by a communitycollege and a four-year public institution of higher education and, uponsuccessful completion of an associate degree program from the communitycollege, to be automatically enrolled in the four-year institution of highereducation. Dual admissions agreements shall set forth (i) the obligations ofthe students accepted in such programs, including grade point averagerequirements, acceptable associate degree majors, and completion timetables;and (ii) the student's access to the privileges of enrollment in bothinstitutions during the time enrolled in either institution. Such agreementsshall be subject to the admissions requirements of the four-year institutions,except as provided in § 23-9.2:3.02.
19. Provide periodic updates of base adequacy fundingguidelines adopted by the Joint Subcommittee Studying Higher Education FundingPolicies for the various public institutions.
20. Develop a uniform certificate of general studies program,in consultation with the Virginia Community College System and Virginia publicinstitutions of higher education, to be offered at each community college inVirginia. Such program shall ensure that a community college student whocompletes the one-year certificate program shall be able to transfer allcredits to a four-year public institution of higher education in theCommonwealth upon acceptance to the institution.
In carrying out its duties and responsibilities, the Council,insofar as practicable, shall preserve the individuality, traditions and senseof responsibility of the respective institutions. The Council, insofar aspracticable, shall seek the assistance and advice of the respectiveinstitutions in fulfilling all of its duties and responsibilities.
(1974, c. 544; 1979, c. 619; 1989, c. 105; 1991, c. 590; 1996,c. 215; 1999, cc. 451, 460; 2001, c. 841; 2002, c. 95; 2003, cc. 715, 725;2004, c. 502; 2005, cc. 818, 933, 945; 2006, c. 379; 2009, cc. 55, 56; 2010,cc. 68, 527.)