State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Connecticut > Title10a > Chap185 > Sec10a-11bSec. 10a-11b. Strategic master plan for higher education in the state. Blue Ribbon Commission established. Duties. Goals. Benchmarks. Reports. Termination of commission. (a) There is established a Blue Ribbon Commission to develop and implement a strategic master plan for higher education in Connecticut.
(1) The commission shall consist of the following voting members: (A) Two members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall have experience as former administrators or faculty members in independent institutions of higher education in this state; (B) two members appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom shall be a former administrator or faculty member of a regional community-technical college and one of whom shall be a former administrator or faculty member of The University of Connecticut; (C) two members appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a former administrator or faculty member of a state university in the Connecticut State University System and one of whom shall be a former administrator or faculty member of Charter Oak State College; (D) two members appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom shall have experience in the field of arts and culture and one of whom shall have experience in the field of health care; (E) two members appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives who shall have knowledge and expertise in science and technology; (F) two members appointed by the minority leader of the Senate who shall represent state-wide business organizations; and (G) four members appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall represent a nonprofit education foundation, one of whom shall have experience in university research and its commercial application and one of whom shall have experience in the field of education from prekindergarten to grade twelve, inclusive. The commission membership shall reflect the state's geographic, racial and ethnic diversity.
(2) The following persons shall serve as ex-officio nonvoting members on the commission: (A) The Commissioners of Higher Education, Education and Economic and Community Development, and the Labor Commissioner, or their designees; (B) the chairpersons of the boards of trustees and the chief executive officers of each constituent unit of the state system of higher education, or their designees; (C) the chairperson of the board and president of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, or their designees; (D) the director of the Office of Workforce Competitiveness, or the director's designee; (E) the chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education and employment advancement; and (F) the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee.
(3) The commission shall elect a chairperson at its first meeting. Any vacancies shall be filled by the appointing authority. The term of each appointed member of the commission shall be three years from the date of appointment. The commission members shall serve without compensation except for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The commission may seek the advice and participation of any person, organization or state or federal agency it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. The commission may, within available appropriations, retain consultants to assist in carrying out its duties. The commission may receive funds from any public or private sources to carry out its activities.
(b) The commission shall develop a strategic master plan that promotes the following overall goals for higher education in this state: (1) Ensure equal access and opportunity to post-secondary education for all state residents, (2) promote student achievement, including student performance, retention and graduation, (3) promote economic competitiveness in the state, (4) improve access to higher education for minorities and nontraditional students, including, but not limited to, part-time students, incumbent workers, adult learners, former inmates and immigrants, and (5) ensure the state's obligation to provide adequate funding for higher education.
(c) The commission shall:
(1) Examine the impact of demographics and workforce trends on higher education in the state;
(2) Address the challenges related to increasing the number of young people in the state earning a bachelor's degree, increasing the number of young people entering the state's workforce and the disparity in the achievement gap between minority students and the general student population;
(3) Develop and implement a strategic master plan for higher education that identifies specific short-term and long-term goals for the state that reflect the unique missions of each constituent unit of the state system of higher education and each independent institution of higher education in the state and includes benchmarks for achieving those goals by 2010, 2015 and 2020;
(4) Examine funding policies for higher education including coordination of appropriation, tuition and financial aid and seek ways to maximize funding through federal and private grants;
(5) Recommend ways in which each constituent unit of the state system of higher education and independent institution of higher education in the state can, in a manner consistent with such institution's mission, expand such institution's role in advancing the state's economic growth; and
(6) Submit a biennium report prepared by the Department of Higher Education to the Governor and the General Assembly on the progress made toward achieving the benchmarks established in the strategic plan.
(d) In developing the strategic master plan, the commission shall review the plans pursuant to sections 10a-6 and 10a-11 and the report titled "New England 2020: A Forecast of Educational Attainment and its Implications for the Workforce of New England States" prepared by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. In addition, the commission may consider the following: (1) Establishing incentives for institutional performance and productivity; (2) increasing financial aid incentive programs, especially in workforce shortage areas and for minority students; (3) implementing mandatory college preparatory curricula in high schools and aligning such curricula with curricula in institutions of higher education; (4) seeking partnerships with the business community and public institutions of higher education to serve the needs of workforce retraining that may include bridge programs in which businesses work directly with higher education institutions to move students into identified workforce shortage areas; (5) establishing collaborative partnerships between public high schools and institutions of higher education; (6) implementing programs in high school to assist high school students seeking a college track or alternative pathways for post-secondary education, such as vocational and technical opportunities; (7) developing policies to promote and measure retention and graduation rates of students; (8) addressing the educational needs of minority students and nontraditional students, including, but not limited to, part-time students, incumbent workers, adult learners, former inmates and immigrants, in order to increase enrollment and retention in institutions of higher education; and (9) addressing the affordability of tuition at institutions of higher education and the issue of increased student indebtedness.
(e) Not later than October 1, 2008, the commission shall submit the strategic master plan, including specific goals and benchmarks for the years ending 2010, 2015 and 2020, together with any recommendations for appropriate legislation and funding to the Governor and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education and employment advancement, education, commerce, labor and appropriations, in accordance with section 11-4a.
(f) On or before January 1, 2009, and biennially thereafter, until January 1, 2021, the commission shall submit a report, prepared by the Department of Higher Education, to the Governor and the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education and employment advancement, education, commerce, labor and appropriations, in accordance with section 11-4a, on the implementation of the plan and progress made toward achieving the goals specified in the plan.
(g) The commission shall terminate on January 1, 2021.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3, S. 41; P.A. 08-116, S. 2.)
History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3 effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 08-116 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a)(1)(C), (a)(2)(A) and (d)(6), effective May 27, 2008.
