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The Florida Senate

2011 Florida Statutes

Title XLVIII K-20 EDUCATION CODE
Chapter 1004 PUBLIC POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION Entire Chapter
SECTION 345
The University of South Florida Polytechnic.
F.S. 1004.345
1004.345 The University of South Florida Polytechnic.—
(1) The Lakeland campus of the University of South Florida is established and shall be known as the “University of South Florida Polytechnic.”
(a) The Legislature intends that the University of South Florida Polytechnic be operated and maintained as a separate organizational and budget entity of the University of South Florida, and that all legislative appropriations for the University of South Florida Polytechnic be set forth as separate line items in the annual General Appropriations Act.
(b) The University of South Florida Polytechnic shall have a Campus Board and a Campus Executive Officer.
(c) The Legislature intends that the University of South Florida Polytechnic operate under separate accreditation from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools when separate accreditation is in the best interest of the campus. The Campus Board shall ensure that sufficient student enrollment, faculty, and administration are in place before requesting that the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida apply for separate accreditation for the University of South Florida Polytechnic. Upon approval by the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida, the President of the University of South Florida shall begin the application process for separate accreditation on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida. If the application is not approved, or is provisionally approved, the President of the University of South Florida shall correct any identified deficiencies and shall continue to work for separate accreditation.
(2) The Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida shall appoint, from a list of candidates recommended by the President of the University of South Florida, four residents of the Polytechnic campus service area to serve on the Campus Board. The fifth member of the Campus Board shall be selected by the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida from among its membership, and that trustee shall serve jointly as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida and the Campus Board. A trustee who serves jointly on the Campus Board must be a resident of the Polytechnic campus service area, unless none of the appointed members of the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida meet this criteria, in which case any trustee may be appointed to serve jointly on the Campus Board. The Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida shall ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that each county in the Polytechnic campus service area is represented among the membership of the Campus Board. Each member of the Campus Board shall be appointed to a 4-year term and may be reappointed for one additional 4-year term. However, for purposes of staggering the terms of the initial appointees, the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida shall select and appoint one member to serve a term of 1 year, one member to serve a term of 2 years, and one member to serve a term of 3 years, each of whom may be reappointed to a subsequent 4-year term. The Campus Board has the powers and duties provided by law, which include the authority to:
(a) Review and approve an annual legislative budget request to be submitted to the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida. The Campus Executive Officer shall prepare the legislative budget request in accordance with guidelines established by the Board of Governors of the State University System. This request must include items for campus operations and fixed capital outlay.
(b) Approve and submit an annual operating plan and budget for review and consultation by the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida. The campus operating budget must reflect the actual funding available to that campus from separate line-item appropriations contained in each annual General Appropriations Act. Such line-item appropriations must initially reflect the funds reported to the Legislature for the University of South Florida Lakeland campus for the 2007-2008 fiscal year and any additional funds provided in the legislative appropriation for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
(c) Enter into central support services contracts with the Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida for any services that the Polytechnic campus cannot provide more economically, including payroll processing, accounting, technology, construction administration, and other desired services. However, all legal services for the campus must be provided by a central services contract with the university. The Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida and the Campus Board shall determine in a letter of agreement any allocation or sharing of student fee revenue between the University of South Florida’s main campus and the Polytechnic campus.

The Board of Trustees of the University of South Florida may lawfully delegate other powers and duties to the Campus Board for the efficient operation and improvement of the campus and for the purpose of vesting in the campus the attributes necessary to meet the requirements for separate accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

(3) The University of South Florida Polytechnic shall be administered by a Campus Executive Officer who shall be appointed by, report directly to, and serve at the pleasure of the President of the University of South Florida. The President shall consult with the Campus Board before hiring or terminating the Campus Executive Officer. The Campus Executive Officer has authority and responsibility as provided in law, including the authority to:
(a) Administer campus operations within the annual operating budget as approved by the Campus Board.
(b) Recommend to the Campus Board an annual legislative budget request that includes funding for campus operations and fixed capital outlay.
(c) Recommend to the Campus Board an annual campus operating budget.
(d) Recommend to the Campus Board appropriate services and terms and conditions to be included in annual central support services contracts.
(e) Carry out any additional responsibilities assigned or delegated by the President of the University of South Florida for the efficient operation and improvement of the campus, especially any authority necessary for the purpose of vesting in the campus attributes necessary to meet the requirements for separate accreditation.
(4) Students enrolled at the University of South Florida, including those enrolled at a branch campus, have the same rights and obligations as provided by law, policy, or rule adopted by the University of South Florida, the Board of Governors of the State University System, the Department of Education, or any other lawful entity. The University of South Florida shall provide a comprehensive and coordinated system of student registration so that a student enrolled at any campus of the University of South Florida has the ability to register for courses at any other campus of the University of South Florida.
History.—s. 1, ch. 2008-97.