1

2

An act relating to the University of South Florida

3

Polytechnic; creating s. 1004.345, F.S.; establishing and

4

designating the University of South Florida Polytechnic

5

campus; providing legislative intent; requiring the Board

6

of Trustees to appoint a Campus Board; providing

7

membership, powers, and duties of the Campus Board;

8

providing that the university is administered by a Campus

9

Executive Officer; requiring the President of the

10

University of South Florida to consult with the Campus

11

Board before hiring or terminating the Campus Executive

12

Officer; providing duties and powers of the Campus

13

Executive Officer; providing that students enrolled at a

14

branch campus of the university have the same rights as

15

other students; requiring the University of South Florida

16

to provide for a system of student registration that meets

17

certain conditions; providing an effective date.

18

19

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

20

21

     Section 1.  Section 1004.345, Florida Statutes, is created

22

to read:

23

     1004.345 The University of South Florida Polytechnic.--

24

     (1) The Lakeland campus of the University of South Florida

25

is established and shall be known as the "University of South

26

Florida Polytechnic."

27

     (a) The Legislature intends that the University of South

28

Florida Polytechnic be operated and maintained as a separate

29

organizational and budget entity of the University of South

30

Florida, and that all legislative appropriations for the

31

University of South Florida Polytechnic be set forth as separate

32

line items in the annual General Appropriations Act.

33

     (b) The University of South Florida Polytechnic shall have

34

a Campus Board and a Campus Executive Officer.

35

     (c) The Legislature intends that the University of South

36

Florida Polytechnic operate under separate accreditation from the

37

Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges

38

and Schools when separate accreditation is in the best interest

39

of the campus. The Campus Board shall ensure that sufficient

40

student enrollment, faculty, and administration are in place

41

before requesting that the Board of Trustees of the University of

42

South Florida apply for separate accreditation for the University

43

of South Florida Polytechnic. Upon approval by the Board of

44

Trustees of the University of South Florida, the President of the

45

University of South Florida shall begin the application process

46

for separate accreditation on behalf of the Board of Trustees of

47

the University of South Florida. If the application is not

48

approved, or is provisionally approved, the President of the

49

University of South Florida shall correct any identified

50

deficiencies and shall continue to work for separate

51

accreditation.

52

     (2) The Board of Trustees of the University of South

53

Florida shall appoint, from a list of candidates recommended by

54

the President of the University of South Florida, four residents

55

of the Polytechnic campus service area to serve on the Campus

56

Board. The fifth member of the Campus Board shall be selected by

57

the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida from

58

among its membership, and that trustee shall serve jointly as a

59

member of the Board of Trustees of the University of South

60

Florida and the Campus Board. A trustee who serves jointly on the

61

Campus Board must be a resident of the Polytechnic campus service

62

area, unless none of the appointed members of the Board of

63

Trustees of the University of South Florida meet this criteria,

64

in which case any trustee may be appointed to serve jointly on

65

the Campus Board. The Board of Trustees of the University of

66

South Florida shall ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that

67

each county in the Polytechnic campus service area is represented

68

among the membership of the Campus Board. Each member of the

69

Campus Board shall be appointed to a 4-year term and may be

70

reappointed for one additional 4-year term. However, for purposes

71

of staggering the terms of the initial appointees, the Board of

72

Trustees of the University of South Florida shall select and

73

appoint one member to serve a term of 1 year, one member to serve

74

a term of 2 years, and one member to serve a term of 3 years,

75

each of whom may be reappointed to a subsequent 4-year term. The

76

Campus Board has the powers and duties provided by law, which

77

include the authority to:

78

     (a) Review and approve an annual legislative budget request

79

to be submitted to the Board of Trustees of the University of

80

South Florida. The Campus Executive Officer shall prepare the

81

legislative budget request in accordance with guidelines

82

established by the Board of Governors of the State University

83

System. This request must include items for campus operations and

84

fixed capital outlay.

85

     (b) Approve and submit an annual operating plan and budget

86

for review and consultation by the Board of Trustees of the

87

University of South Florida. The campus operating budget must

88

reflect the actual funding available to that campus from separate

89

line-item appropriations contained in each annual General

90

Appropriations Act. Such line-item appropriations must initially

91

reflect the funds reported to the Legislature for the University

92

of South Florida Lakeland campus for the 2007-2008 fiscal year

93

and any additional funds provided in the legislative

94

appropriation for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

95

     (c) Enter into central support services contracts with the

96

Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida for any

97

services that the Polytechnic campus cannot provide more

98

economically, including payroll processing, accounting,

99

technology, construction administration, and other desired

100

services. However, all legal services for the campus must be

101

provided by a central services contract with the university. The

102

Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida and the

103

Campus Board shall determine in a letter of agreement any

104

allocation or sharing of student fee revenue between the

105

University of South Florida's main campus and the Polytechnic

106

campus.

107

108

The Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida may

109

lawfully delegate other powers and duties to the Campus Board for

110

the efficient operation and improvement of the campus and for the

111

purpose of vesting in the campus the attributes necessary to meet

112

the requirements for separate accreditation by the Southern

113

Association of Colleges and Schools.

114

     (3) The University of South Florida Polytechnic shall be

115

administered by a Campus Executive Officer who shall be appointed

116

by, report directly to, and serve at the pleasure of the

117

President of the University of South Florida. The President shall

118

consult with the Campus Board before hiring or terminating the

119

Campus Executive Officer. The Campus Executive Officer has

120

authority and responsibility as provided in law, including the

121

authority to:

122

     (a) Administer campus operations within the annual

123

operating budget as approved by the Campus Board.

124

     (b) Recommend to the Campus Board an annual legislative

125

budget request that includes funding for campus operations and

126

fixed capital outlay.

127

     (c) Recommend to the Campus Board an annual campus

128

operating budget.

129

     (d) Recommend to the Campus Board appropriate services and

130

terms and conditions to be included in annual central support

131

services contracts.

132

     (e) Carry out any additional responsibilities assigned or

133

delegated by the President of the University of South Florida for

134

the efficient operation and improvement of the campus, especially

135

any authority necessary for the purpose of vesting in the campus

136

attributes necessary to meet the requirements for separate

137

accreditation.

138

     (4) Students enrolled at the University of South Florida,

139

including those enrolled at a branch campus, have the same rights

140

and obligations as provided by law, policy, or rule adopted by

141

the University of South Florida, the Board of Governors of the

142

State University System, the Department of Education, or any

143

other lawful entity. The University of South Florida shall

144

provide a comprehensive and coordinated system of student

145

registration so that a student enrolled at any campus of the

146

University of South Florida has the ability to register for

147

courses at any other campus of the University of South Florida.

148

     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.