AN ACT WAIVING COURSE ENROLLMENT FEES AT CHARTER OAK STATE COLLEGE FOR MEMBERS OF THE CONNECTICUT NATIONAL GUARD.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 10a-143 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):

(a) The Board of Regents for Higher Education, in concert with the state's institutions of higher education, shall study, develop and coordinate the implementation of new methods of awarding undergraduate degrees and college credits including but not limited to: (1) External degrees awarded on the basis of acceptable performance in an educational field whether or not the necessary education was obtained by the candidate at an institution of higher education, and (2) examinations and methods other than classroom instruction for determining qualifications. On or before July 1, 1993, each constituent unit of the state system of higher education shall establish procedures to award college credits pursuant to this subsection and subsection (e) of this section.

(b) The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall promulgate regulations to authorize accredited institutions of higher education to award degrees by such new procedures.

(c) Charter Oak State College shall be an independent constituent unit of the state system of higher education with authority to grant undergraduate and graduate credits and degrees on the basis of (1) examinations, (2) courses offered by Charter Oak State College, and (3) other forms of evaluation and validation of learning including transfer of credit. Said college is authorized to use the term "Charter Oak State College" on diplomas and other documents and utterances to affirm the status of the college as a degree-granting institution of higher education. It shall be the responsibility of the college to serve the interest of all Connecticut residents by providing open access to academic credentials which are based on a consensus of professional judgment. The purpose of such credentials shall be to identify and give recognition to higher learning acquired by individuals through independent study, work experience and programs of noncollegiate educational activity.

(d) (1) The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall develop and implement programs at Charter Oak State College to improve opportunities in higher education through alternative modes of service, including, but not limited to, guidance and information services, registration and validation services, examination and degree-granting services, technological delivery systems, and projects of research and development. The board may appoint a chief academic and administrative officer and a professional academic staff of Charter Oak State College. The board may appoint and remove executive staff responsible for the operation of Charter Oak State College. The board may determine the size of the academic staff and the duties, terms, and conditions of employment of said director and staff. The board shall establish through appointments on an adjunct basis a faculty of consulting examiners at Charter Oak State College to make recommendations as to requirements and standards of the college's programs and to make recommendations for the award of academic undergraduate and graduate credits and degrees. Persons serving as members of the faculty of consulting examiners shall have appropriate professional qualifications as determined by the board and may hold professional appointments in active status at accredited institutions of postsecondary or higher learning. Within the limit of appropriations, the board shall fix the compensation of persons serving with adjunct appointment as members of the faculty of consulting examiners. The board shall confer such undergraduate and graduate certificates and degrees as are appropriate to programs of postsecondary and higher learning at Charter Oak State College and in accordance with the recommendations of the board's faculty of consulting examiners on the basis of (A) examinations, (B) courses offered by Charter Oak State College, and (C) other forms of validation and evaluation of learning, including transfer of credit. The board shall assist public institutions of higher education in establishing and implementing procedures to award college credits pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

(2) The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall develop a mission statement for Charter Oak State College which shall include, but not be limited to, the following elements: (A) The educational needs of, and constituencies served by said college; (B) the degrees offered by said college; and (C) the role and scope of the programs offered by said college.

(e) The board shall fix fees for examinations and for such other purposes as the board deems necessary on behalf of Charter Oak State College and may make refunds and other disposition of same as provided by law or regulation. The board may make contracts, leases or other agreements in connection with its responsibilities.

(f) The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall establish and administer a fund to be known as the Board of Regents for Higher Education for Charter Oak State College Operating Fund, which shall be a separate account within the General Fund. The operating fund shall be used for the expenses of Charter Oak State College, including personnel expenses and equipment, and for the support of college activities pursuant to this section, including validation and evaluation of learning, guidance and public information services, projects of research and development for the improvement of learning materials and the technology of delivery systems, and for the purchase of such services, materials and equipment as are required for use in connection with said activities. Appropriations from general revenues of the state, all fees and proceeds of the board's activities on behalf of Charter Oak State College, including grants and donations, not required by statute or regulation to be deposited to the credit of the General Fund, shall be credited to and become a part of the resources of said operating fund. Any balance of receipts above expenditures shall remain in said operating fund. Not later than sixty days after the close of each quarter, the Board of Regents for Higher Education shall submit to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, the Office of Higher Education and the Office of Policy and Management a report on the actual expenditures of the Board of Regents for Higher Education for Charter Oak State College Operating Fund.

(g) The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall promote fund-raising to assist Charter Oak State College's programs pursuant to this section and shall report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education by January 1, 1994, and biennially thereafter, on such fund-raising.

(h) The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall waive the payment of course enrollment fees at Charter Oak State College for any active member of the Connecticut Army or Air National Guard who (1) has been certified by the Adjutant General or the Adjutant General's designee as a member in good standing of the guard, and (2) is enrolled or accepted for admission to Charter Oak State College on a full-time or part-time basis in a degree granting program. If any person who receives a course enrollment fee waiver in accordance with the provisions of this subsection also receives educational reimbursement from an employer, such waiver shall be reduced by the amount of such educational reimbursement. Members of the National Guard described in this subsection shall be given the same status as students not receiving course enrollment fee waivers in registering for courses at Charter Oak State College.