                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

HIGHER EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED; DUTIES (§ 23.1-309)

A. The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Chairmen of the House
Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and
Appropriations, the Secretary of Finance, and each public institution of higher
education, shall convene a Higher Education Advisory Committee (Advisory
Committee) to provide advice and make recommendations on the matters set forth
in subsections B, C, and D. The Advisory Committee shall consist of at least 11
members as follows: one representative of the Office of the Secretary of
Education appointed by the Secretary of Education who shall serve as chair of
the Advisory Committee; one representative of the Office of the Secretary of
Finance appointed by the Secretary of Finance; one representative of the Council
appointed by the Chairman of the Council; the staff directors of the House
Appropriations Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance
and Appropriations, or their designees; and the presidents or their designees of
five public institutions of higher education, which shall include two doctoral
institutions, two comprehensive institutions, and one comprehensive community
college, appointed by the presidents of the public institutions of higher
education, and a representative from a nonprofit private institution of higher
education appointed by the Governor who shall not provide advice or make
recommendations concerning policies that solely impact public institutions of
higher education. Both the Governor and the Advisory Committee may designate
other individuals to serve on the Advisory Committee, including representatives
of academic and instructional faculty or fiscal officers of public institutions
of higher education.

B. Consistent with the objective and purposes of this chapter identified in §
23.1-301, the Advisory Committee shall develop and subsequently review at least
once every five years, in consultation with the staff of the Council and the
respective Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and on Education
and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and on
Education and Health, or their designees, representatives of public institutions
of higher education, and such other state officials as may be designated by the
Governor, and with assistance from the staff of the Council and such other
assistance as it may require:

   1. The methodology established pursuant to subsection A of &#xA7; 23.1-304 for
   determining how a significant increment of state funding shall follow the
   student to the associate-degree-granting or baccalaureate public institution
   of higher education in which the student enrolls, how the amount of such per
   student funding for baccalaureate public institutions of higher education will
   be made to correspond as nearly as practical to the per student allocation
   envisioned under the then-existing appropriation for the Tuition Assistance
   Grant Act (&#xA7; 23.1-628 et seq.) for students attending nonprofit private
   institutions of higher education, how and as of what date the student
   enrollment at each public institution of higher education shall be calculated,
   and how an increase or decrease in Virginia undergraduate student enrollment
   above or below the enrollment level used to calculate the institution&#8217;s
   funding pursuant to &#xA7; 23.1-303 shall be reflected in the
   institution&#8217;s appropriation pursuant to subsection A of &#xA7; 23.1-304,
   and the standards and process for determining whether an increase or decrease
   in Virginia undergraduate student enrollment qualifies for funding pursuant to
   &#xA7; 23.1-304;

   2. Criteria for determining which families qualify as &#8220;low-income&#8221;
   and &#8220;middle-income&#8221; for purposes of &#xA7; 23.1-306 and how they
   relate to federal, state, and institutional policies governing the provision
   of financial assistance to students of such families;

   3. Objective performance criteria for measuring the financial incentives set
   forth in &#xA7; 23.1-305 and the benefits of meeting or consequences of not
   meeting the incentives included in an institution&#8217;s six-year plan
   pursuant to &#xA7; 23.1-306;

   4. Economic opportunity metrics such as marketplace demand, earning potential,
   and employer satisfaction and other indicators of the historical and projected
   economic value of degrees that can be used to assess degree programs in order
   to provide useful information on the economic impact of degrees to students as
   they make career choices and state policy makers and university decision
   makers as they decide how to allocate scarce resources;

   5. The additional authority that should be granted to all public institutions
   of higher education under the Restructured Higher Education Financial and
   Administrative Operations Act (&#xA7; 23.1-1000 et seq.), state goals and
   objectives each public institution of higher education should be expected to
   achieve, objective criteria for measuring educational-related performance with
   regard to those goals and objectives, and the benefits of meeting or
   consequences of not meeting those goals and objectives, including those set
   forth in subsection C of &#xA7; 23.1-1002; and

   6. The role of private institutions of higher education in addressing the
   goals set forth in this chapter and recommendations regarding such matters.
   				The Advisory Committee shall submit its recommendations to the Council,
   which shall review the recommendations and report its recommendations to the
   Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and on
   Education and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Finance and
   Appropriations and on Education and Health.

C. Consistent with the objective and purposes of this chapter identified in §
23.1-301, the Advisory Committee shall review at least every five years, in
consultation with the staff of the Council, the respective Chairmen of the House
Committees on Appropriations and on Education and the Chairmen of the Senate
Committees on Finance and Appropriations and on Education and Health, or their
designees, representatives of public institutions of higher education, and such
other state officials as may be designated by the Governor, and with assistance
from the staff of the Council and such other assistance as it may require:

   1. Federal and state financial aid programs and institutional practices to
   ensure that the appropriate level of financial assistance is being provided to
   both low-income and middle-income families, as required by &#xA7; 23.1-306,
   including loan forgiveness programs targeted by purpose in furtherance of the
   objective of this chapter; and

   2. The Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations
   Act (&#xA7; 23.1-1000 et seq.) to identify additional ways to reduce costs and
   enhance efficiency by increasing managerial autonomy with accountability at
   the institutional level.
   				The Advisory Committee shall submit its recommendations to the Council,
   which shall review the recommendations and report its recommendations to the
   Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and
   Education and the Senate Committees on Finance and on Education and Health.

D. The Advisory Committee shall periodically assess, based upon the
institutions&#8217; six-year plans and other relevant factors, the degree to
which the Commonwealth&#8217;s system of higher education is meeting the
statewide objectives of economic impact, reform, affordability, and access
reflected in this chapter and the strategic impact of new general fund
investments on achieving those objectives. The Advisory Committee shall submit
its assessment and recommendations to the Council, which shall review the
assessment and recommendations and report its recommendations to the Governor
and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and on Education and
the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and on
Education and Health.

E. In addition to providing advice and making recommendations on the matters set
forth in subsections B, C, and D, the Advisory Committee shall perform such
other duties and undertake such other responsibilities as requested by the
Governor or the General Assembly.

HISTORY: 2011, cc. 828, 869, §§ 23-38.87:15, 23-38.87:20; 2016, c. 588.