Florida Senate - 2011                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1732
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 438478                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/04/2011           .                                
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       The Committee on Higher Education (Lynn) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Present subsection (4) of section 1004.015,
    6  Florida Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (6) and amended,
    7  and new subsections (4) and (5) are added to that section, to
    8  read:
    9         1004.015 Higher Education Coordinating Council.—
   10         (4) The council shall, with input of the State Board of
   11  Education and the Board of Governors, recommend improvement
   12  options and implementation plans to:
   13         (a) Define the primary core mission of public and nonpublic
   14  postsecondary education institutions in the context of state
   15  access demands and economic development goals.
   16         (b) Establish performance outputs and outcomes designed to
   17  meet annual and long-term state goals, including, but not
   18  limited to, increased student access, preparedness, retention,
   19  transfer, and completion. Performance measures must be
   20  consistent across sectors and allow for a comparison of the
   21  state’s performance to that of other states.
   22         (c) Evaluate the state’s articulation policies and
   23  practices to ensure that cost benefits to the state are
   24  maximized without jeopardizing quality. The evaluation shall
   25  consider return on investment for both the state and students.
   26         (d) Establish a plan for implementing changes in workforce
   27  development education to:
   28         1. Align school district and Florida College System
   29  workforce development education programs to ensure cost
   30  efficiency and mission delineation, including an examination of
   31  the need for both college credit and noncollege credit
   32  certificate programs, an evaluation of the merit of retaining
   33  the associate in applied science degree, and the consolidation
   34  of adult general education programs within school districts.
   35         2. Improve the consistency of workforce education data
   36  collected and reported by Florida College System institutions
   37  and school districts, including the establishment of common
   38  elements and definitions for any data that is used for state and
   39  federal funding and program accountability.
   40         (e) Address baccalaureate degree authorization and
   41  production, which shall include the following:
   42         1. An assessment of the potential need to establish
   43  comprehensive undergraduate institutions that would primarily
   44  focus on the delivery of undergraduate instruction, including
   45  offering baccalaureate degrees. Such institutions may include
   46  Florida College System institutions, state universities, and
   47  university branch campuses. The assessment must recommend
   48  accountability options and address local and regional workforce
   49  needs and gaps that might result from an institution’s shift in
   50  primary mission.
   51         2. Recommendations related to appropriate student
   52  enrollment and institutional expenditure thresholds for upper
   53  division programs that justify legislative consideration in
   54  order to establish or reestablish an institution under the
   55  governance and oversight of the State Board of Education, the
   56  Board of Governors, or another statutorily established or
   57  created governing or advisory organization.
   58         3. Recommendations related to funding options and
   59  strategies, student tuition and fees, student financial aid
   60  funding, and other strategies to encourage performance-based
   61  funding.
   62         (5) The council shall submit a report to the Governor, the
   63  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
   64  Representatives by December 31, 2011, which specifically
   65  includes recommendations for consideration by the Legislature
   66  for implementation in the 2012-2013 fiscal year.
   67         (6)(4) The Board of Governors and the Department of
   68  Education shall provide administrative support for the council.
   69         Section 2. Subsections (2), (6), and (10) of section
   70  1007.27, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   71         1007.27 Articulated acceleration mechanisms.—
   72         (2) The Department of Education shall annually identify and
   73  publish the minimum scores, maximum credit, and course or
   74  courses for which credit is to be awarded for each College Level
   75  Examination Program (CLEP) general examination, CLEP subject
   76  examination, College Board Advanced Placement Program
   77  examination, Advanced International Certificate of Education
   78  examination, and International Baccalaureate examination. The
   79  department shall use student performance data in subsequent
   80  postsecondary courses to determine the appropriate examination
   81  scores and courses for which credit is to be granted. In
   82  addition, the department shall identify such courses in the
   83  general education core curriculum of each state university and
   84  community college.
   85         (6) Advanced placement shall be the enrollment of an
   86  eligible secondary student in a course offered through the
   87  Advanced Placement Program administered by the College Board.
   88  Postsecondary credit for an advanced placement course shall be
   89  limited to students who score a minimum of 3, on a 5-point
   90  scale, on the corresponding Advanced Placement Examination for
   91  examinations taken before June 30, 2011. On or after July 1,
   92  2011, postsecondary credit for an advanced placement course
   93  shall be limited to credit for one course per exam taken for
   94  students who score a minimum of 4, on a 5-point scale, on the
   95  corresponding Advanced Placement Examination. The specific
   96  courses for which students receive such credit shall be
   97  identified in the statewide articulation agreement required by
   98  s. 1007.23(1). Students of Florida public secondary schools
   99  enrolled pursuant to this subsection shall be exempt from the
  100  payment of any fees for administration of the examination
  101  regardless of whether or not the student achieves a passing
  102  score on the examination.
  103         (10) Any student who earns 9 or more credits from one or
  104  more of the acceleration mechanisms provided for in this section
  105  is exempt from any requirement of a public postsecondary
  106  educational institution mandating enrollment during a summer
  107  term.
  108         Section 3. Subsections (6) and (7) of section 1007.33,
  109  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  110         1007.33 Site-determined baccalaureate degree access.—
  111         (6)(a) Beginning July 1, 2010, and each subsequent July 1,
  112  the Division of Florida Colleges may accept and review
  113  applications from a Florida college to obtain an exemption from
  114  the State Board of Education’s approval for subsequent degrees
  115  as required in subsection (5), if the Florida college is
  116  accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern
  117  Association of Colleges and Schools as a baccalaureate-degree
  118  granting institution and has been offering baccalaureate degree
  119  programs for 3 or more years. The division shall develop
  120  criteria for determining eligibility for an exemption based upon
  121  demonstrated compliance with the requirements for baccalaureate
  122  degrees, primary mission, and fiscal, including, but not limited
  123  to:
  124         1. Obtaining and maintaining appropriate SACS
  125  accreditation;
  126         2. The maintenance of qualified faculty and institutional
  127  resources;
  128         3. The maintenance of enrollment projections in previously
  129  approved programs;
  130         4. The appropriate management of fiscal resources;
  131         5. Compliance with the primary mission and responsibility
  132  requirements in subsections (2) and (3);
  133         6. The timely submission of the institution’s annual
  134  performance accountability report; and
  135         7. Other indicators of success such as program completers,
  136  placements, and surveys of students and employers.
  137         (b) If the Florida college has demonstrated satisfactory
  138  progress in fulfilling the eligibility criteria in this
  139  subsection, the Division of Florida Colleges may recommend to
  140  the State Board of Education that the institution be exempt from
  141  the requirement in subsection (5) for approval of future
  142  baccalaureate degree programs. The State Board of Education
  143  shall review the division’s recommendation and determine if an
  144  exemption is warranted. If the State Board of Education approves
  145  the application, the Florida college is exempt from subsequent
  146  program approval under subsection (5) and such authority is
  147  delegated to the Florida college board of trustees. If the State
  148  Board of Education disapproves of the Florida college’s request
  149  for an exemption, the college shall continue to be subject to
  150  the State Board of Education’s approval of subsequent
  151  baccalaureate degree programs.
  152         (c) Prior to developing or proposing a new baccalaureate
  153  degree program, all Florida colleges, regardless of an exemption
  154  from subsection (5), shall:
  155         1. Engage in need, demand, and impact discussions with the
  156  state university in their service district and other local and
  157  regional, accredited postsecondary providers in their region.
  158         2. Send documentation, data, and other information from the
  159  inter-institutional discussions regarding program need, demand,
  160  and impact required in subparagraph 1. to the college’s board of
  161  trustees, the Division of Florida Colleges, and the Chancellor
  162  of the State University System.
  163         3. Base board of trustees approval of the new program upon
  164  the documentation, data, and other information required in this
  165  paragraph and the factors in subsection (5)(d).
  166  
  167  The Division of Florida Colleges shall use the documentation,
  168  data, and other information required in this subsection,
  169  including information from the Chancellor of the State
  170  University System, in its compliance review.
  171         (d) The board of trustees of a Florida college that is
  172  exempt from subsection (5) must submit newly approved programs
  173  to the Division of Florida Colleges and SACS within 30 days
  174  after approval.
  175         (e) Within 30 days after receiving the approved
  176  baccalaureate degree program, the Division of Florida Colleges
  177  shall conduct a compliance review and notify the college if the
  178  proposal meets the criteria for implementation based upon the
  179  criteria in paragraphs (5)(d) and (6)(c). If the program fails
  180  to meet the criteria for implementation as determined by the
  181  Division of Florida Colleges, the college may not proceed with
  182  implementation of the program until the State Board of Education
  183  reviews the proposal and the compliance materials and gives its
  184  final approval of the program.
  185         (6)(7) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to
  186  prescribe format and content requirements and submission
  187  procedures for notices of intent, proposals, and alternative
  188  proposals under subsection (5).
  189         Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 1001.64, Florida
  190  Statutes, is amended to read:
  191         1001.64 Community college boards of trustees; powers and
  192  duties.—
  193         (3) A board of trustees shall have the power to take action
  194  without a recommendation from the president and shall have the
  195  power to require the president to deliver to the board of
  196  trustees all data and information required by the board of
  197  trustees in the performance of its duties. A board of trustees
  198  shall ask the Commissioner of Education to authorize an
  199  investigation of the president’s actions by the department’s
  200  inspector general if the board considers such investigation
  201  necessary. The inspector general shall provide a report
  202  detailing each issue under investigation and shall recommend
  203  corrective action. If the inspector general identifies potential
  204  legal violations, he or she shall refer the potential legal
  205  violations to the Commission on Ethics, the Department of Law
  206  Enforcement, the state attorney, or another appropriate
  207  authority.
  208         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
  209  
  210  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  211         And the title is amended as follows:
  212         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  213  and insert:
  214                        A bill to be entitled                      
  215         An act relating to postsecondary education; amending
  216         s. 1004.015, F.S.; requiring the Higher Education
  217         Coordinating Council to recommend plans and submit a
  218         report to the Governor and the Legislature relating to
  219         core missions of postsecondary education institutions,
  220         performance outputs and outcomes, articulation
  221         policies, workforce development education, and
  222         baccalaureate degree authorization; amending s.
  223         1007.27, F.S.; requiring the Department of Education
  224         to use student performance data to determine
  225         appropriate credit-by-examination scores and courses;
  226         revising the minimum Advanced Placement Examination
  227         scores for postsecondary credit; deleting an exemption
  228         from summer-term enrollment in a public postsecondary
  229         education institution for students earning accelerated
  230         credit; amending s. 1007.33, F.S.; deleting an
  231         exemption from provisions governing the approval
  232         process for baccalaureate degrees; amending s.
  233         1001.64, F.S.; requiring a community college board of
  234         trustees to ask the Commissioner of Education to
  235         authorize an investigation of a college president by
  236         the Department of Education’s inspector general in
  237         specified circumstances; requiring the inspector
  238         general to report on the investigation and make
  239         recommendations; requiring the inspector general to
  240         refer any potential legal violation to the Commission
  241         on Ethics, the Department of Law Enforcement, the
  242         state attorney, or other appropriate authority;
  243         providing an effective date.