§ 115D‑5. Administration of institutions by State Board of Community Colleges; personnelexempt from State Personnel Act; extension courses; tuition waiver; in‑planttraining; contracting, etc., for establishment and operation of extension unitsof the community college system; use of existing public school facilities.
(a) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges may adopt and execute such policies, regulations andstandards concerning the establishment, administration, and operation ofinstitutions as the State Board may deem necessary to insure the quality ofeducational programs, to promote the systematic meeting of educational needs ofthe State, and to provide for the equitable distribution of State and federalfunds to the several institutions.
The State Board of CommunityColleges shall establish standards and scales for salaries and allotments paidfrom funds administered by the State Board, and all employees of theinstitutions shall be exempt from the provisions of the State Personnel Act.The State Board shall have authority with respect to individual institutions:to approve sites, capital improvement projects, budgets; to approve theselection of the chief administrative officer; to establish and administerstandards for professional personnel, curricula, admissions, and graduation; toregulate the awarding of degrees, diplomas, and certificates; to establish andregulate student tuition and fees within policies for tuition and feesestablished by the General Assembly; and to establish and regulate financialaccounting procedures.
The State Board of CommunityColleges shall require all community colleges to meet the faculty credentialrequirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for allcommunity college programs.
(a1) Notwithstanding G.S.66‑58(c)(3) or any other provisions of law, the State Board of CommunityColleges may adopt rules governing the expenditure of funds derived frombookstore sales by community colleges. These expenditures shall be consistentwith the mission and purpose of the Community College System. Profits may beused in the support and enhancement of the bookstores, for student aid orscholarships, for expenditures of direct benefit to students, and for othersimilar expenditures authorized by the board of trustees, subject to rulesadopted by the State Board. These funds shall not be used to supplementsalaries of any personnel.
(a2) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall comply with the provisions of G.S. 116‑11(10a)to plan and implement an exchange of information between the public schools andthe institutions of higher education in the State.
(a3) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall adopt the following rules to assist community collegesin their administration of procedures necessary to implement G.S. 20‑11and G.S. 20‑13.2:
(1) To establish theprocedures a person who is or was enrolled in a community college must followand the requirements that person must meet to obtain a driving eligibilitycertificate.
(2) To require theperson who is required under G.S. 20‑11(n) to sign the drivingeligibility certificate to provide the certificate if he or she determines thatone of the following requirements is met:
a. The person seekingthe certificate is eligible for the certificate under G.S. 20‑11(n)(1)and is not subject to G.S. 20‑11(n1).
b. The person seekingthe certificate is eligible for the certificate under G.S. 20‑11(n)(1)and G.S. 20‑11(n1).
(3) To provide for anappeal through the grievance procedures established by the board of trustees ofeach community college by a person who is denied a driving eligibilitycertificate.
(4) To define exemplarystudent behavior and to define what constitutes the successful completion of adrug or alcohol treatment counseling program.
TheState Board also shall develop policies as to when it is appropriate to notifythe Division of Motor Vehicles that a person who is or was enrolled in acommunity college no longer meets the requirements for a driving eligibilitycertificate. The State Board also shall adopt guidelines to assist thepresidents of community colleges in their designation of representatives tosign driving eligibility certificates.
TheState Board shall develop a form for the appropriate individuals to providetheir written, irrevocable consent for a community college to disclose to theDivision of Motor Vehicles that the student no longer meets the conditions fora driving eligibility certificate under G.S. 20‑11(n)(1) or G.S. 20‑11(n1),if applicable, in the event that this disclosure is necessary to comply withG.S. 20‑11 or G.S. 20‑13.2. Other than identifying under whichstatutory subsection the student is no longer eligible, no other details orinformation concerning the student's school record shall be released pursuantto this consent.
(b) (Effective untilJuly 1, 2010) In order to make instruction as accessible as possible to allcitizens, the teaching of curricular courses and of noncurricular extensioncourses at convenient locations away from institution campuses as well as oncampuses is authorized and shall be encouraged. A pro rata portion of theestablished regular tuition rate charged a full‑time student shall becharged a part‑time student taking any curriculum course. In lieu of anytuition charge, the State Board of Community Colleges shall establish a uniformregistration fee, or a schedule of uniform registration fees, to be chargedstudents enrolling in extension courses for which instruction is financedprimarily from State funds; provided, however, that the State Board of CommunityColleges may provide by general and uniform regulations for waiver of tuitionand registration fees for persons not enrolled in elementary or secondaryschools taking courses leading to a high school diploma or equivalentcertificate, for training courses for volunteer firemen, local fire departmentpersonnel, volunteer rescue and lifesaving department personnel, local rescueand lifesaving department personnel, Radio Emergency Associated Citizens Team(REACT) members when the REACT team is under contract to a county as anemergency response agency, local law‑enforcement officers, patients inState alcoholic rehabilitation centers, all full‑time custodial employeesof the Department of Correction, employees of the Department's Division ofCommunity Corrections and employees of the Department of Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention required to be certified under Chapter 17C of theGeneral Statutes and the rules of the Criminal Justice and Training StandardsCommission, trainees enrolled in courses conducted under the New and ExpandingIndustry Program, clients of sheltered workshops, clients of adultdevelopmental activity programs, students in Health and Human ServicesDevelopment Programs, juveniles of any age committed to the Department of JuvenileJustice and Delinquency Prevention by a court of competent jurisdiction, prisoninmates, members of the North Carolina State Defense Militia as defined in G.S.127A‑5 and as administered under Article 5 of Chapter 127A of the GeneralStatutes, and elementary and secondary school employees enrolled in courses infirst aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Provided further, tuitionshall be waived for up to six hours of credit instruction and 96 contact hoursof noncredit instruction per academic semester for senior citizens age 65 orolder who are qualified as legal residents of North Carolina. Provided further,tuition shall also be waived for all courses taken by high school students atcommunity colleges, including students in early college and middle college highschool programs, in accordance with G.S. 115D‑20(4) and this section.
(b) (Effective July1, 2010) In order to make instruction as accessible as possible to allcitizens, the teaching of curricular courses and of noncurricular extensioncourses at convenient locations away from institution campuses as well as oncampuses is authorized and shall be encouraged. A pro rata portion of theestablished regular tuition rate charged a full‑time student shall becharged a part‑time student taking any curriculum course. In lieu of anytuition charge, the State Board of Community Colleges shall establish a uniformregistration fee, or a schedule of uniform registration fees, to be chargedstudents enrolling in extension courses for which instruction is financedprimarily from State funds; provided, however, that the State Board ofCommunity Colleges may provide by general and uniform regulations for waiver oftuition and registration fees for persons not enrolled in elementary orsecondary schools taking courses leading to a high school diploma or equivalentcertificate, for training courses for volunteer firemen, local fire departmentpersonnel, volunteer rescue and lifesaving department personnel, local rescueand lifesaving department personnel, Radio Emergency Associated Citizens Team(REACT) members when the REACT team is under contract to a county as anemergency response agency, local law‑enforcement officers, patients inState alcoholic rehabilitation centers, all full‑time custodial employeesof the Department of Correction, employees of the Department's Division ofCommunity Corrections and employees of the Department of Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention required to be certified under Chapter 17C of theGeneral Statutes and the rules of the Criminal Justice and Training StandardsCommission, trainees enrolled in courses conducted under the New and ExpandingIndustry Program, clients of sheltered workshops, clients of adultdevelopmental activity programs, students in Health and Human ServicesDevelopment Programs, juveniles of any age committed to the Department ofJuvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention by a court of competentjurisdiction, members of the North Carolina State Defense Militia as defined inG.S. 127A‑5 and as administered under Article 5 of Chapter 127A of theGeneral Statutes, and elementary and secondary school employees enrolled incourses in first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Provided further,tuition shall be waived for up to six hours of credit instruction and 96contact hours of noncredit instruction per academic semester for seniorcitizens age 65 or older who are qualified as legal residents of NorthCarolina. Provided further, tuition shall also be waived for all courses takenby high school students at community colleges, including students in earlycollege and middle college high school programs, in accordance with G.S. 115D‑20(4)and this section.
(c) No course ofinstruction shall be offered by any community college at State expense or partialState expense to any captive or co‑opted group of students, as defined bythe State Board of Community Colleges, without prior approval of the StateBoard of Community Colleges. Approval by the State Board of Community Collegesshall be presumed to constitute approval of both the course and the groupserved by that institution. The State Board of Community Colleges may delegateto the President the power to make an initial approval, with final approval tobe made by the State Board of Community Colleges. A course taught without suchapproval will not yield any full‑time equivalent students, as defined bythe State Board of Community Colleges.
(c1) Community collegesshall report full‑time equivalent (FTE) student hours for correctioneducation programs on the basis of contact hours rather than student membershiphours. No community college shall operate a multi‑entryulti‑exitclass or program in a prison facility, except for a literacy class or program.
The State Board shall workwith the Department of Correction on offering classes and programs that matchthe average length of stay of an inmate in a prison facility.
(d) Recodified as G.S.115D‑5.1(a) by Session Laws 2005‑276, s. 8.4(a), effective July 1,2005.
(e) Repealed by SessionLaws 1999‑84, s. 3, effective May 21, 1999.
(f) A communitycollege may not offer a new program without the approval of the State Board ofCommunity Colleges except that approval shall not be required if the tuitionfor the program will fully cover the cost of the program. If at any timetuition fails to fully cover the cost of a program that falls under theexception, the program shall be discontinued unless approved by the State Boardof Community Colleges. If a proposed new program would serve more than onecommunity college, the State Board of Community Colleges shall perform afeasibility study prior to acting on the proposal.
The State Board of CommunityColleges shall report on an annual basis to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor,the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Joint LegislativeCommission on Governmental Operations, on all new programs it approved duringthe year. The report shall include the specific reasons for which each programwas approved.
(g) Funds appropriatedto the Community Colleges System Office as operating expenses for allocation tothe institutions comprising the North Carolina Community College System shallnot be used to support recreation extension courses. The financing of thesecourses by any institution shall be on a self‑supporting basis, andmembership hours produced from these activities shall not be counted whencomputing full‑time equivalent students (FTE) for use in budget‑fundingformulas at the State level.
(h) Whenever acommunity college offers real estate continuing education courses pursuant toG.S. 93A‑4.1, the courses shall be offered on a self‑supportingbasis.
(i) Recodified as G.S.115D‑5.1(c) by Session Laws 2005‑276, s. 8.4(a), effective July 1,2005.
(j) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall use its Board Reserve Fund for feasibility studies,pilot projects, start‑up of new programs, and innovative ideas. The StateBoard shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee onexpenditures from the State Board Reserve Fund on January 15 and June 15 eachyear.
(k) Recodified as G.S.115D‑5.1(b) by Session Laws 2005‑276, s. 8.4(a), effective July 1,2005.
(l) The State Boardshall review and approve lease purchase and installment purchase contracts asprovided under G.S. 115D‑58.15(b). The State Board shall adopt policiesand procedures governing the review and approval process.
(m) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall maintain an education program auditing function thatconducts an annual audit of each community college operating under theprovisions of this Chapter. The purpose of the annual audit shall be to ensurethat college programs and related fiscal operations comply with State law,State regulations, State Board policies, and System Office guidance. The StateBoard of Community Colleges shall require auditors of community collegeprograms to use a statistically valid sample size in performing program auditsof community colleges. All education program audit findings shall be forwardedto the college president, local college board of trustees, the State Board ofCommunity Colleges, and the State Auditor.
(n) The North CarolinaCommunity Colleges System Office shall provide the Department of Revenue with alist of all community colleges, including name, address, and other identifyinginformation requested by the Department of Revenue. The North CarolinaCommunity Colleges System Office shall update this list whenever there is achange.
(o) The GeneralAssembly finds that additional data are needed to determine the adequacy ofmulticampus and off‑campus center funds; therefore, multicampus collegesand colleges with off‑campus centers shall report annually, beginningSeptember 1, 2005, to the Community Colleges System Office on all expendituresby line item of funds used to support their multicampuses and off‑campuscenters. The Community Colleges System Office shall report on theseexpenditures to the Education Appropriation Subcommittees of the House ofRepresentatives and the Senate, the Office of State Budget and Management, andthe Fiscal Research Division by December 1 of each year.
(p) The North CarolinaCommunity College System may offer courses, in accordance with the lateralentry program of study established under G.S. 115C‑296(c1), toindividuals who choose to enter the teaching profession by lateral entry.
(q) Repealed by SessionLaws 2009‑451, s. 8.9, effective July 1, 2009.
(r) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall develop curriculum and continuing education standardsfor courses of instruction in American Sign Language and shall encouragecommunity colleges to offer courses in American Sign Language as a modernforeign language.
(s) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges may retain and budget fees charged to students taking theGeneral Education Development (GED) test. Fees collected for this purpose shallbe used only to (i) offset the costs of the GED test, including the cost ofscoring the test, (ii) offset the costs of printing GED certificates, and (iii)meet federal and State reporting requirements related to the test.
(t) The purpose of thefirst semester of the Gateway to College Program is to address additionalsupport to successfully complete the program. Students may need to takedevelopmental courses necessary for the transition to more challenging courses;therefore, the State Board of Community Colleges shall (i) permit high schoolstudents who are enrolled in Gateway to College Programs to enroll indevelopmental courses based on an assessment of their individual student needsby a high school and community college staff team and (ii) include thiscoursework in computing the budget FTE for the colleges. (1963, c. 488, s. 23; 1967,c. 652; 1969, c. 1294; 1973, c. 768; 1975, c. 882; 1977, c. 1065; 1979, c. 462,s. 2; c. 896, ss. 5‑7; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1130, s. 1; 1981, c. 609; c.859, s. 35.1; c. 897; c. 1127, s. 43; 1983, c. 717, s. 28; 1983 (Reg. Sess.,1984), c. 1034, ss. 45, 46; 1985, c. 479, s. 67; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c.955, s. 22; 1987, c. 282, s. 34; c. 564, ss. 8‑10, 12, 33; c. 763, s. 1;1989, c. 162; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 915, s. 1; c. 1066, s. 91; 1991, c.689, ss. 44, 48; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 880, s. 4; 1993, c. 170, s. 2; c.321, ss. 111, 117(e); c. 492, s. 2; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 769, s. 18.4;1995, c. 288, s. 2; c. 324, s. 16.4; 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, ss. 17.4,17.7(a); 1997‑443, ss. 9.5, 9.6(a), 11A.118(a); 1997‑507, s. 4;1998‑111, s. 3; 1998‑202, s. 4(q); 1999‑84, ss. 3, 9; 1999‑243,s. 9; 2000‑137, s. 4(t); 2001‑111, s. 1; 2001‑427, s. 9(b);2001‑487, s. 47(e); 2004‑124, s. 8.4; 2005‑193, s. 1; 2005‑198,s. 3; 2005‑247, s. 3; 2005‑276, ss. 8.4(a), 8.6; 2005‑395, s. 25; 2006‑203, s. 37; 2007‑154,s. 2(a); 2007‑484, ss. 29(a), 35; 2008‑107, ss. 8.11, 8.17, 8.18;2009‑208, s. 1; 2009‑451, ss. 8.8, 8.9, 8.11(d), (e); 2009‑570,s. 42; 2009‑575, s. 5.)
§ 115D‑5. Administration of institutions by State Board of Community Colleges; personnelexempt from State Personnel Act; extension courses; tuition waiver; in‑planttraining; contracting, etc., for establishment and operation of extension unitsof the community college system; use of existing public school facilities.
(a) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges may adopt and execute such policies, regulations andstandards concerning the establishment, administration, and operation ofinstitutions as the State Board may deem necessary to insure the quality ofeducational programs, to promote the systematic meeting of educational needs ofthe State, and to provide for the equitable distribution of State and federalfunds to the several institutions.
The State Board of CommunityColleges shall establish standards and scales for salaries and allotments paidfrom funds administered by the State Board, and all employees of theinstitutions shall be exempt from the provisions of the State Personnel Act.The State Board shall have authority with respect to individual institutions:to approve sites, capital improvement projects, budgets; to approve theselection of the chief administrative officer; to establish and administerstandards for professional personnel, curricula, admissions, and graduation; toregulate the awarding of degrees, diplomas, and certificates; to establish andregulate student tuition and fees within policies for tuition and feesestablished by the General Assembly; and to establish and regulate financialaccounting procedures.
The State Board of CommunityColleges shall require all community colleges to meet the faculty credentialrequirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for allcommunity college programs.
(a1) Notwithstanding G.S.66‑58(c)(3) or any other provisions of law, the State Board of CommunityColleges may adopt rules governing the expenditure of funds derived frombookstore sales by community colleges. These expenditures shall be consistentwith the mission and purpose of the Community College System. Profits may beused in the support and enhancement of the bookstores, for student aid orscholarships, for expenditures of direct benefit to students, and for othersimilar expenditures authorized by the board of trustees, subject to rulesadopted by the State Board. These funds shall not be used to supplementsalaries of any personnel.
(a2) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall comply with the provisions of G.S. 116‑11(10a)to plan and implement an exchange of information between the public schools andthe institutions of higher education in the State.
(a3) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall adopt the following rules to assist community collegesin their administration of procedures necessary to implement G.S. 20‑11and G.S. 20‑13.2:
(1) To establish theprocedures a person who is or was enrolled in a community college must followand the requirements that person must meet to obtain a driving eligibilitycertificate.
(2) To require theperson who is required under G.S. 20‑11(n) to sign the drivingeligibility certificate to provide the certificate if he or she determines thatone of the following requirements is met:
a. The person seekingthe certificate is eligible for the certificate under G.S. 20‑11(n)(1)and is not subject to G.S. 20‑11(n1).
b. The person seekingthe certificate is eligible for the certificate under G.S. 20‑11(n)(1)and G.S. 20‑11(n1).
(3) To provide for anappeal through the grievance procedures established by the board of trustees ofeach community college by a person who is denied a driving eligibilitycertificate.
(4) To define exemplarystudent behavior and to define what constitutes the successful completion of adrug or alcohol treatment counseling program.
TheState Board also shall develop policies as to when it is appropriate to notifythe Division of Motor Vehicles that a person who is or was enrolled in acommunity college no longer meets the requirements for a driving eligibilitycertificate. The State Board also shall adopt guidelines to assist thepresidents of community colleges in their designation of representatives tosign driving eligibility certificates.
TheState Board shall develop a form for the appropriate individuals to providetheir written, irrevocable consent for a community college to disclose to theDivision of Motor Vehicles that the student no longer meets the conditions fora driving eligibility certificate under G.S. 20‑11(n)(1) or G.S. 20‑11(n1),if applicable, in the event that this disclosure is necessary to comply withG.S. 20‑11 or G.S. 20‑13.2. Other than identifying under whichstatutory subsection the student is no longer eligible, no other details orinformation concerning the student's school record shall be released pursuantto this consent.
(b) (Effective untilJuly 1, 2010) In order to make instruction as accessible as possible to allcitizens, the teaching of curricular courses and of noncurricular extensioncourses at convenient locations away from institution campuses as well as oncampuses is authorized and shall be encouraged. A pro rata portion of theestablished regular tuition rate charged a full‑time student shall becharged a part‑time student taking any curriculum course. In lieu of anytuition charge, the State Board of Community Colleges shall establish a uniformregistration fee, or a schedule of uniform registration fees, to be chargedstudents enrolling in extension courses for which instruction is financedprimarily from State funds; provided, however, that the State Board of CommunityColleges may provide by general and uniform regulations for waiver of tuitionand registration fees for persons not enrolled in elementary or secondaryschools taking courses leading to a high school diploma or equivalentcertificate, for training courses for volunteer firemen, local fire departmentpersonnel, volunteer rescue and lifesaving department personnel, local rescueand lifesaving department personnel, Radio Emergency Associated Citizens Team(REACT) members when the REACT team is under contract to a county as anemergency response agency, local law‑enforcement officers, patients inState alcoholic rehabilitation centers, all full‑time custodial employeesof the Department of Correction, employees of the Department's Division ofCommunity Corrections and employees of the Department of Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention required to be certified under Chapter 17C of theGeneral Statutes and the rules of the Criminal Justice and Training StandardsCommission, trainees enrolled in courses conducted under the New and ExpandingIndustry Program, clients of sheltered workshops, clients of adultdevelopmental activity programs, students in Health and Human ServicesDevelopment Programs, juveniles of any age committed to the Department of JuvenileJustice and Delinquency Prevention by a court of competent jurisdiction, prisoninmates, members of the North Carolina State Defense Militia as defined in G.S.127A‑5 and as administered under Article 5 of Chapter 127A of the GeneralStatutes, and elementary and secondary school employees enrolled in courses infirst aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Provided further, tuitionshall be waived for up to six hours of credit instruction and 96 contact hoursof noncredit instruction per academic semester for senior citizens age 65 orolder who are qualified as legal residents of North Carolina. Provided further,tuition shall also be waived for all courses taken by high school students atcommunity colleges, including students in early college and middle college highschool programs, in accordance with G.S. 115D‑20(4) and this section.
(b) (Effective July1, 2010) In order to make instruction as accessible as possible to allcitizens, the teaching of curricular courses and of noncurricular extensioncourses at convenient locations away from institution campuses as well as oncampuses is authorized and shall be encouraged. A pro rata portion of theestablished regular tuition rate charged a full‑time student shall becharged a part‑time student taking any curriculum course. In lieu of anytuition charge, the State Board of Community Colleges shall establish a uniformregistration fee, or a schedule of uniform registration fees, to be chargedstudents enrolling in extension courses for which instruction is financedprimarily from State funds; provided, however, that the State Board ofCommunity Colleges may provide by general and uniform regulations for waiver oftuition and registration fees for persons not enrolled in elementary orsecondary schools taking courses leading to a high school diploma or equivalentcertificate, for training courses for volunteer firemen, local fire departmentpersonnel, volunteer rescue and lifesaving department personnel, local rescueand lifesaving department personnel, Radio Emergency Associated Citizens Team(REACT) members when the REACT team is under contract to a county as anemergency response agency, local law‑enforcement officers, patients inState alcoholic rehabilitation centers, all full‑time custodial employeesof the Department of Correction, employees of the Department's Division ofCommunity Corrections and employees of the Department of Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention required to be certified under Chapter 17C of theGeneral Statutes and the rules of the Criminal Justice and Training StandardsCommission, trainees enrolled in courses conducted under the New and ExpandingIndustry Program, clients of sheltered workshops, clients of adultdevelopmental activity programs, students in Health and Human ServicesDevelopment Programs, juveniles of any age committed to the Department ofJuvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention by a court of competentjurisdiction, members of the North Carolina State Defense Militia as defined inG.S. 127A‑5 and as administered under Article 5 of Chapter 127A of theGeneral Statutes, and elementary and secondary school employees enrolled incourses in first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Provided further,tuition shall be waived for up to six hours of credit instruction and 96contact hours of noncredit instruction per academic semester for seniorcitizens age 65 or older who are qualified as legal residents of NorthCarolina. Provided further, tuition shall also be waived for all courses takenby high school students at community colleges, including students in earlycollege and middle college high school programs, in accordance with G.S. 115D‑20(4)and this section.
(c) No course ofinstruction shall be offered by any community college at State expense or partialState expense to any captive or co‑opted group of students, as defined bythe State Board of Community Colleges, without prior approval of the StateBoard of Community Colleges. Approval by the State Board of Community Collegesshall be presumed to constitute approval of both the course and the groupserved by that institution. The State Board of Community Colleges may delegateto the President the power to make an initial approval, with final approval tobe made by the State Board of Community Colleges. A course taught without suchapproval will not yield any full‑time equivalent students, as defined bythe State Board of Community Colleges.
(c1) Community collegesshall report full‑time equivalent (FTE) student hours for correctioneducation programs on the basis of contact hours rather than student membershiphours. No community college shall operate a multi‑entryulti‑exitclass or program in a prison facility, except for a literacy class or program.
The State Board shall workwith the Department of Correction on offering classes and programs that matchthe average length of stay of an inmate in a prison facility.
(d) Recodified as G.S.115D‑5.1(a) by Session Laws 2005‑276, s. 8.4(a), effective July 1,2005.
(e) Repealed by SessionLaws 1999‑84, s. 3, effective May 21, 1999.
(f) A communitycollege may not offer a new program without the approval of the State Board ofCommunity Colleges except that approval shall not be required if the tuitionfor the program will fully cover the cost of the program. If at any timetuition fails to fully cover the cost of a program that falls under theexception, the program shall be discontinued unless approved by the State Boardof Community Colleges. If a proposed new program would serve more than onecommunity college, the State Board of Community Colleges shall perform afeasibility study prior to acting on the proposal.
The State Board of CommunityColleges shall report on an annual basis to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor,the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Joint LegislativeCommission on Governmental Operations, on all new programs it approved duringthe year. The report shall include the specific reasons for which each programwas approved.
(g) Funds appropriatedto the Community Colleges System Office as operating expenses for allocation tothe institutions comprising the North Carolina Community College System shallnot be used to support recreation extension courses. The financing of thesecourses by any institution shall be on a self‑supporting basis, andmembership hours produced from these activities shall not be counted whencomputing full‑time equivalent students (FTE) for use in budget‑fundingformulas at the State level.
(h) Whenever acommunity college offers real estate continuing education courses pursuant toG.S. 93A‑4.1, the courses shall be offered on a self‑supportingbasis.
(i) Recodified as G.S.115D‑5.1(c) by Session Laws 2005‑276, s. 8.4(a), effective July 1,2005.
(j) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall use its Board Reserve Fund for feasibility studies,pilot projects, start‑up of new programs, and innovative ideas. The StateBoard shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee onexpenditures from the State Board Reserve Fund on January 15 and June 15 eachyear.
(k) Recodified as G.S.115D‑5.1(b) by Session Laws 2005‑276, s. 8.4(a), effective July 1,2005.
(l) The State Boardshall review and approve lease purchase and installment purchase contracts asprovided under G.S. 115D‑58.15(b). The State Board shall adopt policiesand procedures governing the review and approval process.
(m) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall maintain an education program auditing function thatconducts an annual audit of each community college operating under theprovisions of this Chapter. The purpose of the annual audit shall be to ensurethat college programs and related fiscal operations comply with State law,State regulations, State Board policies, and System Office guidance. The StateBoard of Community Colleges shall require auditors of community collegeprograms to use a statistically valid sample size in performing program auditsof community colleges. All education program audit findings shall be forwardedto the college president, local college board of trustees, the State Board ofCommunity Colleges, and the State Auditor.
(n) The North CarolinaCommunity Colleges System Office shall provide the Department of Revenue with alist of all community colleges, including name, address, and other identifyinginformation requested by the Department of Revenue. The North CarolinaCommunity Colleges System Office shall update this list whenever there is achange.
(o) The GeneralAssembly finds that additional data are needed to determine the adequacy ofmulticampus and off‑campus center funds; therefore, multicampus collegesand colleges with off‑campus centers shall report annually, beginningSeptember 1, 2005, to the Community Colleges System Office on all expendituresby line item of funds used to support their multicampuses and off‑campuscenters. The Community Colleges System Office shall report on theseexpenditures to the Education Appropriation Subcommittees of the House ofRepresentatives and the Senate, the Office of State Budget and Management, andthe Fiscal Research Division by December 1 of each year.
(p) The North CarolinaCommunity College System may offer courses, in accordance with the lateralentry program of study established under G.S. 115C‑296(c1), toindividuals who choose to enter the teaching profession by lateral entry.
(q) Repealed by SessionLaws 2009‑451, s. 8.9, effective July 1, 2009.
(r) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall develop curriculum and continuing education standardsfor courses of instruction in American Sign Language and shall encouragecommunity colleges to offer courses in American Sign Language as a modernforeign language.
(s) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges may retain and budget fees charged to students taking theGeneral Education Development (GED) test. Fees collected for this purpose shallbe used only to (i) offset the costs of the GED test, including the cost ofscoring the test, (ii) offset the costs of printing GED certificates, and (iii)meet federal and State reporting requirements related to the test.
(t) The purpose of thefirst semester of the Gateway to College Program is to address additionalsupport to successfully complete the program. Students may need to takedevelopmental courses necessary for the transition to more challenging courses;therefore, the State Board of Community Colleges shall (i) permit high schoolstudents who are enrolled in Gateway to College Programs to enroll indevelopmental courses based on an assessment of their individual student needsby a high school and community college staff team and (ii) include thiscoursework in computing the budget FTE for the colleges. (1963, c. 488, s. 23; 1967,c. 652; 1969, c. 1294; 1973, c. 768; 1975, c. 882; 1977, c. 1065; 1979, c. 462,s. 2; c. 896, ss. 5‑7; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1130, s. 1; 1981, c. 609; c.859, s. 35.1; c. 897; c. 1127, s. 43; 1983, c. 717, s. 28; 1983 (Reg. Sess.,1984), c. 1034, ss. 45, 46; 1985, c. 479, s. 67; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c.955, s. 22; 1987, c. 282, s. 34; c. 564, ss. 8‑10, 12, 33; c. 763, s. 1;1989, c. 162; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 915, s. 1; c. 1066, s. 91; 1991, c.689, ss. 44, 48; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 880, s. 4; 1993, c. 170, s. 2; c.321, ss. 111, 117(e); c. 492, s. 2; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 769, s. 18.4;1995, c. 288, s. 2; c. 324, s. 16.4; 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, ss. 17.4,17.7(a); 1997‑443, ss. 9.5, 9.6(a), 11A.118(a); 1997‑507, s. 4;1998‑111, s. 3; 1998‑202, s. 4(q); 1999‑84, ss. 3, 9; 1999‑243,s. 9; 2000‑137, s. 4(t); 2001‑111, s. 1; 2001‑427, s. 9(b);2001‑487, s. 47(e); 2004‑124, s. 8.4; 2005‑193, s. 1; 2005‑198,s. 3; 2005‑247, s. 3; 2005‑276, ss. 8.4(a), 8.6; 2005‑395, s. 25; 2006‑203, s. 37; 2007‑154,s. 2(a); 2007‑484, ss. 29(a), 35; 2008‑107, ss. 8.11, 8.17, 8.18;2009‑208, s. 1; 2009‑451, ss. 8.8, 8.9, 8.11(d), (e); 2009‑570,s. 42; 2009‑575, s. 5.)
§ 115D‑5. Administration of institutions by State Board of Community Colleges; personnelexempt from State Personnel Act; extension courses; tuition waiver; in‑planttraining; contracting, etc., for establishment and operation of extension unitsof the community college system; use of existing public school facilities.
(a) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges may adopt and execute such policies, regulations andstandards concerning the establishment, administration, and operation ofinstitutions as the State Board may deem necessary to insure the quality ofeducational programs, to promote the systematic meeting of educational needs ofthe State, and to provide for the equitable distribution of State and federalfunds to the several institutions.
The State Board of CommunityColleges shall establish standards and scales for salaries and allotments paidfrom funds administered by the State Board, and all employees of theinstitutions shall be exempt from the provisions of the State Personnel Act.The State Board shall have authority with respect to individual institutions:to approve sites, capital improvement projects, budgets; to approve theselection of the chief administrative officer; to establish and administerstandards for professional personnel, curricula, admissions, and graduation; toregulate the awarding of degrees, diplomas, and certificates; to establish andregulate student tuition and fees within policies for tuition and feesestablished by the General Assembly; and to establish and regulate financialaccounting procedures.
The State Board of CommunityColleges shall require all community colleges to meet the faculty credentialrequirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for allcommunity college programs.
(a1) Notwithstanding G.S.66‑58(c)(3) or any other provisions of law, the State Board of CommunityColleges may adopt rules governing the expenditure of funds derived frombookstore sales by community colleges. These expenditures shall be consistentwith the mission and purpose of the Community College System. Profits may beused in the support and enhancement of the bookstores, for student aid orscholarships, for expenditures of direct benefit to students, and for othersimilar expenditures authorized by the board of trustees, subject to rulesadopted by the State Board. These funds shall not be used to supplementsalaries of any personnel.
(a2) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall comply with the provisions of G.S. 116‑11(10a)to plan and implement an exchange of information between the public schools andthe institutions of higher education in the State.
(a3) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall adopt the following rules to assist community collegesin their administration of procedures necessary to implement G.S. 20‑11and G.S. 20‑13.2:
(1) To establish theprocedures a person who is or was enrolled in a community college must followand the requirements that person must meet to obtain a driving eligibilitycertificate.
(2) To require theperson who is required under G.S. 20‑11(n) to sign the drivingeligibility certificate to provide the certificate if he or she determines thatone of the following requirements is met:
a. The person seekingthe certificate is eligible for the certificate under G.S. 20‑11(n)(1)and is not subject to G.S. 20‑11(n1).
b. The person seekingthe certificate is eligible for the certificate under G.S. 20‑11(n)(1)and G.S. 20‑11(n1).
(3) To provide for anappeal through the grievance procedures established by the board of trustees ofeach community college by a person who is denied a driving eligibilitycertificate.
(4) To define exemplarystudent behavior and to define what constitutes the successful completion of adrug or alcohol treatment counseling program.
TheState Board also shall develop policies as to when it is appropriate to notifythe Division of Motor Vehicles that a person who is or was enrolled in acommunity college no longer meets the requirements for a driving eligibilitycertificate. The State Board also shall adopt guidelines to assist thepresidents of community colleges in their designation of representatives tosign driving eligibility certificates.
TheState Board shall develop a form for the appropriate individuals to providetheir written, irrevocable consent for a community college to disclose to theDivision of Motor Vehicles that the student no longer meets the conditions fora driving eligibility certificate under G.S. 20‑11(n)(1) or G.S. 20‑11(n1),if applicable, in the event that this disclosure is necessary to comply withG.S. 20‑11 or G.S. 20‑13.2. Other than identifying under whichstatutory subsection the student is no longer eligible, no other details orinformation concerning the student's school record shall be released pursuantto this consent.
(b) (Effective untilJuly 1, 2010) In order to make instruction as accessible as possible to allcitizens, the teaching of curricular courses and of noncurricular extensioncourses at convenient locations away from institution campuses as well as oncampuses is authorized and shall be encouraged. A pro rata portion of theestablished regular tuition rate charged a full‑time student shall becharged a part‑time student taking any curriculum course. In lieu of anytuition charge, the State Board of Community Colleges shall establish a uniformregistration fee, or a schedule of uniform registration fees, to be chargedstudents enrolling in extension courses for which instruction is financedprimarily from State funds; provided, however, that the State Board of CommunityColleges may provide by general and uniform regulations for waiver of tuitionand registration fees for persons not enrolled in elementary or secondaryschools taking courses leading to a high school diploma or equivalentcertificate, for training courses for volunteer firemen, local fire departmentpersonnel, volunteer rescue and lifesaving department personnel, local rescueand lifesaving department personnel, Radio Emergency Associated Citizens Team(REACT) members when the REACT team is under contract to a county as anemergency response agency, local law‑enforcement officers, patients inState alcoholic rehabilitation centers, all full‑time custodial employeesof the Department of Correction, employees of the Department's Division ofCommunity Corrections and employees of the Department of Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention required to be certified under Chapter 17C of theGeneral Statutes and the rules of the Criminal Justice and Training StandardsCommission, trainees enrolled in courses conducted under the New and ExpandingIndustry Program, clients of sheltered workshops, clients of adultdevelopmental activity programs, students in Health and Human ServicesDevelopment Programs, juveniles of any age committed to the Department of JuvenileJustice and Delinquency Prevention by a court of competent jurisdiction, prisoninmates, members of the North Carolina State Defense Militia as defined in G.S.127A‑5 and as administered under Article 5 of Chapter 127A of the GeneralStatutes, and elementary and secondary school employees enrolled in courses infirst aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Provided further, tuitionshall be waived for up to six hours of credit instruction and 96 contact hoursof noncredit instruction per academic semester for senior citizens age 65 orolder who are qualified as legal residents of North Carolina. Provided further,tuition shall also be waived for all courses taken by high school students atcommunity colleges, including students in early college and middle college highschool programs, in accordance with G.S. 115D‑20(4) and this section.
(b) (Effective July1, 2010) In order to make instruction as accessible as possible to allcitizens, the teaching of curricular courses and of noncurricular extensioncourses at convenient locations away from institution campuses as well as oncampuses is authorized and shall be encouraged. A pro rata portion of theestablished regular tuition rate charged a full‑time student shall becharged a part‑time student taking any curriculum course. In lieu of anytuition charge, the State Board of Community Colleges shall establish a uniformregistration fee, or a schedule of uniform registration fees, to be chargedstudents enrolling in extension courses for which instruction is financedprimarily from State funds; provided, however, that the State Board ofCommunity Colleges may provide by general and uniform regulations for waiver oftuition and registration fees for persons not enrolled in elementary orsecondary schools taking courses leading to a high school diploma or equivalentcertificate, for training courses for volunteer firemen, local fire departmentpersonnel, volunteer rescue and lifesaving department personnel, local rescueand lifesaving department personnel, Radio Emergency Associated Citizens Team(REACT) members when the REACT team is under contract to a county as anemergency response agency, local law‑enforcement officers, patients inState alcoholic rehabilitation centers, all full‑time custodial employeesof the Department of Correction, employees of the Department's Division ofCommunity Corrections and employees of the Department of Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention required to be certified under Chapter 17C of theGeneral Statutes and the rules of the Criminal Justice and Training StandardsCommission, trainees enrolled in courses conducted under the New and ExpandingIndustry Program, clients of sheltered workshops, clients of adultdevelopmental activity programs, students in Health and Human ServicesDevelopment Programs, juveniles of any age committed to the Department ofJuvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention by a court of competentjurisdiction, members of the North Carolina State Defense Militia as defined inG.S. 127A‑5 and as administered under Article 5 of Chapter 127A of theGeneral Statutes, and elementary and secondary school employees enrolled incourses in first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Provided further,tuition shall be waived for up to six hours of credit instruction and 96contact hours of noncredit instruction per academic semester for seniorcitizens age 65 or older who are qualified as legal residents of NorthCarolina. Provided further, tuition shall also be waived for all courses takenby high school students at community colleges, including students in earlycollege and middle college high school programs, in accordance with G.S. 115D‑20(4)and this section.
(c) No course ofinstruction shall be offered by any community college at State expense or partialState expense to any captive or co‑opted group of students, as defined bythe State Board of Community Colleges, without prior approval of the StateBoard of Community Colleges. Approval by the State Board of Community Collegesshall be presumed to constitute approval of both the course and the groupserved by that institution. The State Board of Community Colleges may delegateto the President the power to make an initial approval, with final approval tobe made by the State Board of Community Colleges. A course taught without suchapproval will not yield any full‑time equivalent students, as defined bythe State Board of Community Colleges.
(c1) Community collegesshall report full‑time equivalent (FTE) student hours for correctioneducation programs on the basis of contact hours rather than student membershiphours. No community college shall operate a multi‑entryulti‑exitclass or program in a prison facility, except for a literacy class or program.
The State Board shall workwith the Department of Correction on offering classes and programs that matchthe average length of stay of an inmate in a prison facility.
(d) Recodified as G.S.115D‑5.1(a) by Session Laws 2005‑276, s. 8.4(a), effective July 1,2005.
(e) Repealed by SessionLaws 1999‑84, s. 3, effective May 21, 1999.
(f) A communitycollege may not offer a new program without the approval of the State Board ofCommunity Colleges except that approval shall not be required if the tuitionfor the program will fully cover the cost of the program. If at any timetuition fails to fully cover the cost of a program that falls under theexception, the program shall be discontinued unless approved by the State Boardof Community Colleges. If a proposed new program would serve more than onecommunity college, the State Board of Community Colleges shall perform afeasibility study prior to acting on the proposal.
The State Board of CommunityColleges shall report on an annual basis to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor,the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Joint LegislativeCommission on Governmental Operations, on all new programs it approved duringthe year. The report shall include the specific reasons for which each programwas approved.
(g) Funds appropriatedto the Community Colleges System Office as operating expenses for allocation tothe institutions comprising the North Carolina Community College System shallnot be used to support recreation extension courses. The financing of thesecourses by any institution shall be on a self‑supporting basis, andmembership hours produced from these activities shall not be counted whencomputing full‑time equivalent students (FTE) for use in budget‑fundingformulas at the State level.
(h) Whenever acommunity college offers real estate continuing education courses pursuant toG.S. 93A‑4.1, the courses shall be offered on a self‑supportingbasis.
(i) Recodified as G.S.115D‑5.1(c) by Session Laws 2005‑276, s. 8.4(a), effective July 1,2005.
(j) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall use its Board Reserve Fund for feasibility studies,pilot projects, start‑up of new programs, and innovative ideas. The StateBoard shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee onexpenditures from the State Board Reserve Fund on January 15 and June 15 eachyear.
(k) Recodified as G.S.115D‑5.1(b) by Session Laws 2005‑276, s. 8.4(a), effective July 1,2005.
(l) The State Boardshall review and approve lease purchase and installment purchase contracts asprovided under G.S. 115D‑58.15(b). The State Board shall adopt policiesand procedures governing the review and approval process.
(m) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall maintain an education program auditing function thatconducts an annual audit of each community college operating under theprovisions of this Chapter. The purpose of the annual audit shall be to ensurethat college programs and related fiscal operations comply with State law,State regulations, State Board policies, and System Office guidance. The StateBoard of Community Colleges shall require auditors of community collegeprograms to use a statistically valid sample size in performing program auditsof community colleges. All education program audit findings shall be forwardedto the college president, local college board of trustees, the State Board ofCommunity Colleges, and the State Auditor.
(n) The North CarolinaCommunity Colleges System Office shall provide the Department of Revenue with alist of all community colleges, including name, address, and other identifyinginformation requested by the Department of Revenue. The North CarolinaCommunity Colleges System Office shall update this list whenever there is achange.
(o) The GeneralAssembly finds that additional data are needed to determine the adequacy ofmulticampus and off‑campus center funds; therefore, multicampus collegesand colleges with off‑campus centers shall report annually, beginningSeptember 1, 2005, to the Community Colleges System Office on all expendituresby line item of funds used to support their multicampuses and off‑campuscenters. The Community Colleges System Office shall report on theseexpenditures to the Education Appropriation Subcommittees of the House ofRepresentatives and the Senate, the Office of State Budget and Management, andthe Fiscal Research Division by December 1 of each year.
(p) The North CarolinaCommunity College System may offer courses, in accordance with the lateralentry program of study established under G.S. 115C‑296(c1), toindividuals who choose to enter the teaching profession by lateral entry.
(q) Repealed by SessionLaws 2009‑451, s. 8.9, effective July 1, 2009.
(r) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall develop curriculum and continuing education standardsfor courses of instruction in American Sign Language and shall encouragecommunity colleges to offer courses in American Sign Language as a modernforeign language.
(s) The State Board ofCommunity Colleges may retain and budget fees charged to students taking theGeneral Education Development (GED) test. Fees collected for this purpose shallbe used only to (i) offset the costs of the GED test, including the cost ofscoring the test, (ii) offset the costs of printing GED certificates, and (iii)meet federal and State reporting requirements related to the test.
(t) The purpose of thefirst semester of the Gateway to College Program is to address additionalsupport to successfully complete the program. Students may need to takedevelopmental courses necessary for the transition to more challenging courses;therefore, the State Board of Community Colleges shall (i) permit high schoolstudents who are enrolled in Gateway to College Programs to enroll indevelopmental courses based on an assessment of their individual student needsby a high school and community college staff team and (ii) include thiscoursework in computing the budget FTE for the colleges. (1963, c. 488, s. 23; 1967,c. 652; 1969, c. 1294; 1973, c. 768; 1975, c. 882; 1977, c. 1065; 1979, c. 462,s. 2; c. 896, ss. 5‑7; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1130, s. 1; 1981, c. 609; c.859, s. 35.1; c. 897; c. 1127, s. 43; 1983, c. 717, s. 28; 1983 (Reg. Sess.,1984), c. 1034, ss. 45, 46; 1985, c. 479, s. 67; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c.955, s. 22; 1987, c. 282, s. 34; c. 564, ss. 8‑10, 12, 33; c. 763, s. 1;1989, c. 162; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 915, s. 1; c. 1066, s. 91; 1991, c.689, ss. 44, 48; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 880, s. 4; 1993, c. 170, s. 2; c.321, ss. 111, 117(e); c. 492, s. 2; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 769, s. 18.4;1995, c. 288, s. 2; c. 324, s. 16.4; 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, ss. 17.4,17.7(a); 1997‑443, ss. 9.5, 9.6(a), 11A.118(a); 1997‑507, s. 4;1998‑111, s. 3; 1998‑202, s. 4(q); 1999‑84, ss. 3, 9; 1999‑243,s. 9; 2000‑137, s. 4(t); 2001‑111, s. 1; 2001‑427, s. 9(b);2001‑487, s. 47(e); 2004‑124, s. 8.4; 2005‑193, s. 1; 2005‑198,s. 3; 2005‑247, s. 3; 2005‑276, ss. 8.4(a), 8.6; 2005‑395, s. 25; 2006‑203, s. 37; 2007‑154,s. 2(a); 2007‑484, ss. 29(a), 35; 2008‑107, ss. 8.11, 8.17, 8.18;2009‑208, s. 1; 2009‑451, ss. 8.8, 8.9, 8.11(d), (e); 2009‑570,s. 42; 2009‑575, s. 5.)
