17:3139

TITLE 17. EDUCATION

CHAPTER 24. BOARD OF REGENTS

17:3139 Louisiana Granting Resources and Autonomy for Diplomas Act; purpose; agreements; monitoring and renewal; reporting

A. Title. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Louisiana Granting Resources and Autonomy for Diplomas Act".

B. Purpose. The purpose of this Section is to support the state's public postsecondary education institutions in remaining competitive and increasing their overall effectiveness and efficiency by providing that the institutions achieve specific, measurable performance objectives aimed at improving college completion and at meeting the state's current and future workforce and economic development needs and by granting the institutions limited operational autonomy and flexibility in exchange for achieving such objectives.

C. Performance agreements; objectives. Effective beginning with the 2011 Fiscal Year, any public postsecondary education institution, including professional schools, may enter into an initial performance agreement with the Board of Regents in order to be granted limited operational autonomy and flexibility as provided in Subsection F of this Section in exchange for committing to meet established targets for the following performance objectives as applicable to the institution as determined by the Board of Regents:

(1) Student success. (a) Implement policies established by the institution's management board to achieve cohort graduation rate and graduation productivity goals that are consistent with institutional peers. For purposes of this Section, peer institutions shall mean those institutions as defined by the Board of Regents in accordance with R.S. 17:3351(A)(5)(e)(i).

(b) Increase the percentage of program completers at all levels each year.

(d) Increase passage rates on licensure and certification exams and workforce foundational skills.

(2) Articulation and transfer. (a) Phase in increased admission standards and other necessary policies by the end of the 2012 Fiscal Year in order to increase student retention and graduation rates.

(b) Provide feedback to community colleges and technical college campuses on the performance of associate degree recipients enrolled at the institution.

(c) Develop referral agreements with community colleges and technical college campuses to redirect students who fail to qualify for admission into the institution.

(d) Demonstrate collaboration in implementing the articulation and transfer requirements as provided in R.S. 17:3161 through 3169.

(3) Workforce and economic development. (a) Eliminate academic program offerings that have low student completion rates as identified by the Board of Regents or are not aligned with current or strategic workforce needs of the state, region, or both as identified by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

(b) Increase the use of technology for distance learning to expand educational offerings.

(c) Increase research productivity especially in key economic development industries and technology transfer at institutions to levels consistent with the institution's peers.

(d) To the extent that information can be obtained, demonstrate progress in increasing the number of students placed in jobs and in increasing the performance of associate degree recipients who transfer to institutions that offer academic undergraduate degrees at the baccalaureate level or higher.

(4) Institutional efficiency and accountability. (a) Eliminate remedial education course offerings and developmental study programs unless such courses or programs cannot be offered at a community college in the same geographic area.

(b) Eliminate associate degree program offerings unless such programs cannot be offered at a community college in the same geographic area or when the Board of Regents has certified educational or workforce needs.

(c) Upon entering the initial performance agreement, adhere to a schedule established by the institution's management board to increase nonresident tuition amounts that are not less than the average tuition amount charged to Louisiana residents attending peer institutions in other Southern Regional Education Board states and monitor the impact of such increases on the institution. However, for each public historically black college or university, the nonresident tuition amounts shall not be less than the average tuition amount charged to Louisiana residents attending public historically black colleges and universities in other Southern Regional Education Board states.

(d) Designate centers of excellence as defined by the Board of Regents which have received a favorable academic assessment from the Board of Regents and have demonstrated substantial progress toward meeting the following goals:

(i) Offering a specialized program that involves partnerships between the institution and business and industry, national laboratories, research centers, and other institutions.

(ii) Aligning with current and strategic statewide and regional workforce needs as identified by the Louisiana Workforce Commission and Louisiana Economic Development.

(iii) Having a high percentage of graduates or completers each year as compared to the state average percentage of graduates and that of the institution's peers.

(iv) Having a high number of graduates or completers who enter productive careers or continue their education in advanced degree programs, whether at the same or another institution.

(v) Having a high level of research productivity and technology transfer.

(5) Submit a report to the Board of Regents, the legislative auditor, and the legislature containing certain organizational data, including but not limited to the following:

(a) Number of students by classification.

(b) Number of instructional staff members.

(d) Average number of students per instructor.

(e) Number of non-instructional staff members in academic colleges and departments.

(f) Number of staff in administrative areas.

(g) The institution's organization chart containing all departments and personnel in the institution down to the second level of the organization below the president, chancellor, or equivalent position.

(h) Salaries of all personnel identified in Subparagraph (g) of this Paragraph and the date, amount, and type of all increases in salary received since June 30, 2008.

(i) Any additional data requested by the speaker of the House of Representatives or the president of the Senate.

(6) Any additional performance objectives as determined by the Board of Regents.

(7) Any performance objectives defined in the formula funding performance model adopted by the Board of Regents for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 shall be aligned with performance objectives defined in Subsection C of this Section.

D. Annual review; revocation; modifications. (1) The initial performance agreement and each subsequent agreement shall be a six-year agreement and shall be reviewed annually by the Board of Regents. The Board of Regents may revoke an agreement at any time if it determines that an institution has failed to abide by the terms of the agreement.

(2) The Board of Regents may modify the established targets for performance objectives contained in an institution's performance agreement in the event extraordinary circumstances prevent the institution from meeting such targets. Such modifications shall be subject to approval by the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.

E. Legislative auditor; performance analysis. Within six months after entering into a performance agreement pursuant to this Section, an institution shall provide to the legislative auditor all information that the auditor requests to conduct a detailed study of the performance of postsecondary education in Louisiana. The institutions shall provide information that will allow the auditor to analyze how well goals and objectives of postsecondary education are being met and to perform an economy and efficiency study. Such information shall include but shall not be limited to information relative to staffing levels, hiring and compensation practices, employee productivity and discipline, and performance management. This Subsection shall only be effective in the event that funds are appropriated to effect these provisions.

F. Autonomies granted. Each institution that enters into a performance agreement as provided in this Section shall be granted the following:

(1) For the 2010-2011 Fiscal Year, pursuant to policies adopted by the institution's management board and in addition to the authority provided in R.S. 17:3351(A)(5)(e), the authority to increase tuition and mandatory fee amounts by up to five percent annually.

(2) For the 2011-2012 Fiscal Year, if the Board of Regents has determined that the institution has met the short-term targets established in the performance agreement, in addition to the authority provided in R.S. 17:3351(A)(5)(e), the authority to increase tuition and mandatory fee amounts by up to five percent annually.

(3) Beginning with the 2012-2013 Fiscal Year and thereafter, if the Board of Regents has determined that the institution has met the short-term targets established in the performance agreement and demonstrated progress on long-term targets, the institution shall be authorized to:

(a) Increase tuition and fee amounts by up to ten percent annually, without legislative approval, until the institution reaches the average tuition and fee amounts of its peer institutions. The incremental tuition and fee amount increase shall be weighted in such a manner that the median household income in Southern Regional Education Board states in which respective peer institutions are located is compared with the median household income in Louisiana, and any differences between the average of the states be factored into the allowable tuition and fee amount increase.

(b) Upon reaching the average tuition and fee amounts as specified in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, increase tuition and fee amounts as necessary to maintain tuition and fee amounts as close to that average as practical.

(4) A base level of operational autonomy as determined by the Board of Regents subject to the approval by the division of administration which, at a minimum, shall include greater flexibility in:

(a) Carrying forward unexpended and unobligated funds from one fiscal year to the next.

(b) Procuring information technology products and services.

(5) The Board of Regents, in collaboration with the division of administration, shall identify additional operational autonomies, including but not limited to exceptions from procurement and construction regulations. However, no exception from any provision of the Louisiana Procurement Code or from Chapter 10 of Title 38 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 shall be granted, and, unless specifically authorized by the legislature, no design-build contract shall be authorized pursuant to this Paragraph. The Board of Regents may grant such autonomies to an institution during the initial agreement period if all of the following are met:

(a) After three years, the institution has achieved a sufficient number of the performance objectives provided in Subsection C of this Section as determined by the Board of Regents.

(b) The institution has demonstrated the ability to successfully operate with the base levels of autonomies granted by this Section as determined by the Board of Regents.

(6) Each postsecondary education management board shall establish criteria for waiving any tuition or mandatory fee increase as authorized in this Subsection in cases of financial hardship. Information relative to such waivers and the criteria and procedures for obtaining a waiver shall be made available to all prospective students in a timely manner such that each student is informed of the availability of a waiver prior to the student making a final decision concerning attendance at any public institution of postsecondary education.

G. Monitoring; reporting; renewal. (1) The Board of Regents annually shall monitor and report to the legislature and the governor on each participating institution's progress in meeting the established targets for performance objectives as specified in Subsection C of this Section. At the end of the initial agreement period and each subsequent agreement period, the Board of Regents shall determine whether to recommend renewal of an institution's performance agreement subject to the approval of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. Such determination shall be based on the recommendations of a review panel established by the Board of Regents to conduct a comprehensive review and evaluation of the institution's progress in meeting the performance objectives. The composition of the review panel shall be the same as is provided in R.S. 17:3138(C) with the addition of two representatives from the business community, who each possess a postsecondary degree, one recommended by the speaker of the House of Representatives and one recommended by the president of the Senate.

(2) If an institution's initial performance agreement is renewed for a second six-year period, the institution in exchange shall:

(a) Further increase cohort graduation rate goals as specified in Subparagraph (C)(1)(a) of this Section including the following, as applicable:

(i) A graduation rate of at least seventy-five percent for any institution classified as a "Four-Year 1" institution by the Southern Regional Education Board.

(ii) A graduation rate of at least sixty percent for any institution classified as a "Four-Year 2" institution by the Southern Regional Education Board.

(iii) A graduation rate of at least fifty percent for any institution classified as a "Four-Year 3", "Four-Year 4", or "Four-Year 5", institution by the Southern Regional Education Board.

(iv) For any community college and technical college campus, a graduation rate that is at least equal to the Southern Regional Education Board average for peer institutions.

(b) Continue to make progress in meeting all other performance objectives as contained in the initial agreement.

(3) If an institution's performance agreement is renewed for subsequent periods following the first renewal period, the institution in exchange shall:

(a) Maintain the same graduation rates as specified in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection.

(b) Continue to make progress in meeting all other performance objectives as contained in the initial agreement.

H. Certification of agreement by management board. Any agreements between the Board of Regents and public postsecondary education institutions authorized by the Louisiana Granting Resources and Autonomy for Diplomas Act shall be certified by the respective management boards of those institutions.

Added by Acts 2010, No. 741, § 1, eff. June 29, 2010.