Florida Senate - 2015                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 948
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì821776GÎ821776                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/23/2015           .                                
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       The Committee on Higher Education (Gaetz) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 329 and 330
    4  insert:
    5         Section 10. Subsections (3) and (4) of section 1001.7065,
    6  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
    7         1001.7065 Preeminent state research universities program.—
    8         (3) PREEMINENT STATE RESEARCH UNIVERSITY DESIGNATION.—The
    9  Board of Governors shall designate each state research
   10  university that meets at least 11 of the 12 academic and
   11  research excellence standards identified in subsection (2) and
   12  that enters into and maintains a formal agreement with the
   13  National Merit Scholarship Corporation to offer college
   14  sponsored merit scholarship awards a preeminent state research
   15  university.
   16         (4) PREEMINENT STATE RESEARCH UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE FOR
   17  ONLINE LEARNING.—A state research university that, as of July 1,
   18  2013, met meets all 12 of the academic and research excellence
   19  standards identified in subsection (2), as verified by the Board
   20  of Governors, shall establish an institute for online learning.
   21  Continuation of the institute for online learning is contingent
   22  upon a state research university entering into and maintaining a
   23  formal agreement with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation
   24  to offer college-sponsored merit scholarship awards. The
   25  institute shall establish a robust offering of high-quality,
   26  fully online baccalaureate degree programs at an affordable cost
   27  in accordance with this subsection.
   28         (a) By August 1, 2013, the Board of Governors shall convene
   29  an advisory board to support the development of high-quality,
   30  fully online baccalaureate degree programs at the university.
   31         (b) The advisory board shall:
   32         1. Offer expert advice, as requested by the university, in
   33  the development and implementation of a business plan to expand
   34  the offering of high-quality, fully online baccalaureate degree
   35  programs.
   36         2. Advise the Board of Governors on the release of funding
   37  to the university upon approval by the Board of Governors of the
   38  plan developed by the university.
   39         3. Monitor, evaluate, and report on the implementation of
   40  the plan to the Board of Governors, the Governor, the President
   41  of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
   42         (c) The advisory board shall be composed of the following
   43  five members:
   44         1. The chair of the Board of Governors or the chair’s
   45  permanent designee.
   46         2. A member with expertise in online learning, appointed by
   47  the Board of Governors.
   48         3. A member with expertise in global marketing, appointed
   49  by the Governor.
   50         4. A member with expertise in cloud virtualization,
   51  appointed by the President of the Senate.
   52         5. A member with expertise in disruptive innovation,
   53  appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
   54         (d) The president of the university shall be consulted on
   55  the advisory board member appointments.
   56         (e) A majority of the advisory board shall constitute a
   57  quorum, elect the chair, and appoint an executive director.
   58         (f) By September 1, 2013, the university shall submit to
   59  the advisory board a comprehensive plan to expand high-quality,
   60  fully online baccalaureate degree program offerings. The plan
   61  shall include:
   62         1. Existing on-campus general education courses and
   63  baccalaureate degree programs that will be offered online.
   64         2. New courses that will be developed and offered online.
   65         3. Support services that will be offered to students
   66  enrolled in online baccalaureate degree programs.
   67         4. A tuition and fee structure that meets the requirements
   68  in paragraph (k) for online courses, baccalaureate degree
   69  programs, and student support services.
   70         5. A timeline for offering, marketing, and enrolling
   71  students in the online baccalaureate degree programs.
   72         6. A budget for developing and marketing the online
   73  baccalaureate degree programs.
   74         7. Detailed strategies for ensuring the success of students
   75  and the sustainability of the online baccalaureate degree
   76  programs.
   77  
   78  Upon recommendation of the plan by the advisory board and
   79  approval by the Board of Governors, the Board of Governors shall
   80  award the university $10 million in nonrecurring funds and $5
   81  million in recurring funds for fiscal year 2013-2014 and $5
   82  million annually thereafter, subject to appropriation in the
   83  General Appropriations Act.
   84         (g) Beginning in January 2014, the university shall offer
   85  high-quality, fully online baccalaureate degree programs that:
   86         1. Accept full-time, first-time-in-college students.
   87         2. Have the same rigorous admissions criteria as equivalent
   88  on-campus degree programs.
   89         3. Offer curriculum of equivalent rigor to on-campus degree
   90  programs.
   91         4. Offer rolling enrollment or multiple opportunities for
   92  enrollment throughout the year.
   93         5. Do not require any on-campus courses. However, for
   94  courses or programs that require clinical training or
   95  laboratories that cannot be delivered online, the university
   96  shall offer convenient locational options to the student, which
   97  may include, but are not limited to, the option to complete such
   98  requirements at a summer-in-residence on the university campus.
   99  The university may provide a network of sites at convenient
  100  locations and contract with commercial testing centers or
  101  identify other secure testing services for the purpose of
  102  proctoring assessments or testing.
  103         6. Apply the university’s existing policy for accepting
  104  credits for both freshman applicants and transfer applicants.
  105         (h) The university may offer a fully online Master’s in
  106  Business Administration degree program and other master’s degree
  107  programs.
  108         (i) The university may develop and offer degree programs
  109  and courses that are competency based as appropriate for the
  110  quality and success of the program.
  111         (j) The university shall periodically expand its offering
  112  of online baccalaureate degree programs to meet student and
  113  market demands.
  114         (k) The university shall establish a tuition structure for
  115  its online institute in accordance with this paragraph,
  116  notwithstanding any other provision of law.
  117         1. For students classified as residents for tuition
  118  purposes, tuition for an online baccalaureate degree program
  119  shall be set at no more than 75 percent of the tuition rate as
  120  specified in the General Appropriations Act pursuant to s.
  121  1009.24(4) and 75 percent of the tuition differential pursuant
  122  to s. 1009.24(16). No distance learning fee, fee for campus
  123  facilities, or fee for on-campus services may be assessed,
  124  except that online students shall pay the university’s
  125  technology fee, financial aid fee, and Capital Improvement Trust
  126  Fund fee. The revenues generated from the Capital Improvement
  127  Trust Fund fee shall be dedicated to the university’s institute
  128  for online learning.
  129         2. For students classified as nonresidents for tuition
  130  purposes, tuition may be set at market rates in accordance with
  131  the business plan.
  132         3. Tuition for an online degree program shall include all
  133  costs associated with instruction, materials, and enrollment,
  134  excluding costs associated with the provision of textbooks
  135  pursuant to s. 1004.085 and physical laboratory supplies.
  136         4. Subject to the limitations in subparagraph 1., tuition
  137  may be differentiated by degree program as appropriate to the
  138  instructional and other costs of the program in accordance with
  139  the business plan. Pricing must incorporate innovative
  140  approaches that incentivize persistence and completion,
  141  including, but not limited to, a fee for assessment, a bundled
  142  or all-inclusive rate, and sliding scale features.
  143         5. The university must accept advance payment contracts and
  144  student financial aid.
  145         6. Fifty percent of the net revenues generated from the
  146  online institute of the university shall be used to enhance and
  147  enrich the online institute offerings, and 50 percent of the net
  148  revenues generated from the online institute shall be used to
  149  enhance and enrich the university’s campus state-of-the-art
  150  research programs and facilities.
  151         7. The institute may charge additional local user fees
  152  pursuant to s. 1009.24(14) upon the approval of the Board of
  153  Governors.
  154         8. The institute shall submit a proposal to the president
  155  of the university authorizing additional user fees for the
  156  provision of voluntary student participation in activities and
  157  additional student services.
  158         Section 11. (1)The State University System Performance
  159  Based Incentive shall be based on indicators of institutional
  160  attainment of performance metrics adopted by the Board of
  161  Governors. The performance-based funding metrics shall include,
  162  but are not limited to, metrics that measure graduation and
  163  retention rates; degree production; affordability;
  164  postgraduation employment, salaries, or further education;
  165  student loan default rates; access; and any other metrics
  166  approved by the board.
  167         (2)The Board of Governors shall evaluate the institutions’
  168  performance on the metrics based on benchmarks adopted by the
  169  board which measure the achievement of institutional excellence
  170  or improvement. Each fiscal year, the amount of funds available
  171  for allocation to the institutions based on the performance
  172  funding model shall consist of the state’s investment in
  173  performance funding, plus an institutional investment consisting
  174  of funds to be redistributed from the base funding of the State
  175  University System, as determined in the General Appropriations
  176  Act. The institutional investment shall be restored for all
  177  institutions eligible for the state’s investment under the
  178  performance funding model. Any institution that fails to meet
  179  the board’s minimum performance funding threshold will not be
  180  eligible for the state’s investment, will have a portion of its
  181  institutional investment withheld, and must submit an
  182  improvement plan to the board that specifies the activities and
  183  strategies for improving the institution’s performance.
  184         (3) The Board of Governors must review the improvement
  185  plan, and if approved, must monitor the institution’s progress
  186  on implementing the specified activities and strategies. The
  187  institutions shall submit monitoring reports to the board no
  188  later than December 31 and May 31 of each year.
  189         (4) The Chancellor of the State University System shall
  190  withhold disbursement of the institutional investment until such
  191  time as the monitoring report for the institution is approved by
  192  the Board of Governors. Any institution that fails to make
  193  satisfactory progress will not have its full institutional
  194  investment restored. If all institutional investment funds are
  195  not restored, any remaining funds shall be redistributed in
  196  accordance with the board’s performance funding model.
  197         (5)By October 1 of each year, the Board of Governors shall
  198  submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
  199  Speaker of the House of Representatives a report on the previous
  200  year’s performance funding allocation which reflects the
  201  rankings and award distributions.
  202         (6) The Board of Governors shall adopt a regulation to
  203  implement this section.
  204         Section 12. (1) The Florida College System Performance
  205  Based Incentive shall be based on indicators of institutional
  206  attainment of performance metrics adopted by the State Board of
  207  Education. The performance-based funding metrics shall include,
  208  but are not limited to, metrics that measure retention; program
  209  completion and graduation rates; student loan default rates; job
  210  placement; and postgraduation employment, salaries, or further
  211  education.
  212         (2) The State Board of Education shall evaluate the
  213  institutions’ performance on the metrics based on benchmarks
  214  adopted by the board which measure the achievement of
  215  institutional excellence or improvement. Each fiscal year, the
  216  amount of funds available for allocation to the institutions
  217  based on the performance funding model shall consist of the
  218  state’s investment in performance funding plus an institutional
  219  investment consisting of funds to be redistributed from the base
  220  funding of the Florida College System Program Fund, as
  221  determined in the General Appropriations Act. The institutional
  222  investment shall be restored for all institutions eligible for
  223  the state’s investment under the performance funding model. Any
  224  institution that fails to meet the board’s minimum performance
  225  funding threshold will not be eligible for the state’s
  226  investment, will have a portion of its institutional investment
  227  withheld, and must submit an improvement plan to the board that
  228  specifies the activities and strategies for improving the
  229  institution’s performance.
  230         (3) The State Board of Education must review the
  231  improvement plan, and if approved, must monitor the
  232  institution’s progress on implementing the specified activities
  233  and strategies. The institutions shall submit monitoring reports
  234  to the board no later than December 31 and May 31 of each year.
  235         (4) The Commissioner of Education shall withhold
  236  disbursement of the institutional investment until such time as
  237  the monitoring report for the institution is approved by the
  238  State Board of Education. Any institution that fails to make
  239  satisfactory progress will not have its full institutional
  240  investment restored. If all institutional investment funds are
  241  not restored, any remaining funds shall be redistributed in
  242  accordance with the board’s performance funding model.
  243         (5) By October 1 of each year, the State Board of Education
  244  shall submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
  245  the Speaker of the House of Representatives a report on the
  246  previous year’s performance funding allocation which reflects
  247  the rankings and award distributions.
  248         (6) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to
  249  implement this section.
  250  
  251  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  252  And the title is amended as follows:
  253         Between lines 26 and 27
  254  insert:
  255         amending s. 1001.7065, F.S.; requiring a state
  256         research university to enter into and maintain a
  257         formal agreement with a specified organization to
  258         offer college-sponsored merit scholarship awards as a
  259         condition of designation as a preeminent state
  260         research university; specifying that continuation of a
  261         state research university’s institute for online
  262         learning is contingent on the university entering into
  263         and maintaining such an agreement; requiring the Board
  264         of Governors and the State Board of Education to base
  265         state performance funds for the State University
  266         System and the Florida College System on a specified
  267         metrics adopted by each board; specifying allocation
  268         of the funds; requiring the Chancellor of the State
  269         University System and the Commissioner of Education to
  270         withhold disbursement of certain funds; requiring the
  271         boards to submit reports by a specified time to the
  272         Governor and the Legislature; requiring the boards to
  273         adopt rules;