Bill Text: CT SB00973 | 2015 | General Assembly | Comm Sub
Bill Title: An Act Implementing The Recommendations Of The Legislative Program Review And Investigations Committee Concerning Higher Education Certificate Programs.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-05-15 - House Calendar Number 566 [SB00973 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2015-SB00973-Comm_Sub.html
General Assembly |
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January Session, 2015 |
*_____SB00973HED___032415____* |
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM REVIEW AND INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEE CONCERNING HIGHER EDUCATION CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (1) of section 10a-22a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):
(1) "Private occupational school" means a person, board, association, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or other entity offering instruction in any form or manner in any trade, industrial, commercial, service, professional or other occupation for any remuneration, consideration, reward or promise of whatever nature, including, but not limited to, a hospital-based occupational school, barber school or hairdressing school authorized pursuant to section 10a-22b, except "private occupational school" shall not include (A) instruction offered under public supervision and control; (B) instruction conducted by a firm or organization solely for the training of its own employees or members; or (C) instruction offered by a school authorized by the General Assembly to confer degrees;
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) As used in this section and sections 3 to 5, inclusive, and section 7 of this act:
(1) "Institution of higher education" has the same meaning as provided in section 10a-34 of the general statutes; and
(2) "Private occupational school" has the same meaning as provided in section 10a-22a of the general statutes, as amended by this act.
Sec. 3. (Effective July 1, 2015) The Board of Regents for Higher Education, in collaboration with the Office of Higher Education, shall develop a written definition for all sub-baccalaureate certificates awarded by an institution of higher education or private occupational school in the state for the purpose of creating consistency among the various sub-baccalaureate certificate programs. Not later than January 1, 2016, the president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education shall submit, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, a report containing such written definition to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education.
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) (a) Not later than July 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, each institution of higher education and private occupational school in the state shall submit data for the prior academic year to the Office of Higher Education regarding its sub-baccalaureate certificate programs and the types of sub-baccalaureate certificates it offers in a uniform format developed by said office. Such data shall include, but need not be limited to, the following for each sub-baccalaureate certificate program:
(1) Name and subject matter area of such program;
(2) Total enrollment in such program;
(3) Any entry-level requirements for enrollment in such program;
(4) Number and type of certificates awarded by such program;
(5) Whether academic credits are offered as part of such program;
(6) Whether there is a clear pathway from successful completion of such program to enrollment in a related associate degree program;
(7) Whether such program leads to a credential recognized by the industry for which such program prepares a student;
(8) Whether a student can combine the certificate awarded upon successful completion of such program with any other certificate awarded upon the successful completion of another sub-baccalaureate certificate program in order to achieve a heightened level of qualification for a particular trade or occupation; and
(9) Average length of time to complete such program.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, the Office of Higher Education shall compile such data for purposes of comparing the various types of sub-baccalaureate programs offered by the institutions of higher education and private occupational schools and determining (1) which programs are similar, (2) student interest in each program and similar programs, and (3) the necessity of offering each program. Not later than July 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, said office shall make such data available on its Internet web site for the purpose of enabling a student or prospective student to make an informed decision about whether to enroll in a sub-baccalaureate program and, if so, which program is the best fit for such student.
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) Each institution of higher education and private occupational school shall develop for each sub-baccalaureate certificate program it offers a one-page fact sheet that provides basic information regarding such program to potential applicants, including, but not limited to, tuition, fees, costs of books and supplies, room and board, graduation and job placement rates and average student debt.
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) (a) The Board of Regents for Higher Education shall establish a working group comprised of deans of continuing education programs at the regional community-technical colleges to review all of the noncredit sub-baccalaureate certificate programs offered by each regional community-technical college. Not later than July 1, 2016, the working group shall design a uniform naming convention for such programs to enable students to distinguish between noncredit certificate programs with similar yet varied requirements within the same field of study. Programs that vary shall be uniformly designated with indications of different, enhanced or more demanding requirements.
(b) Not later than July 1, 2016, and periodically thereafter as prescribed by the Board of Regents for Higher Education, the working group shall review the tuition of uniformly named sub-baccalaureate certificate programs leading to the same qualifications to determine if any cost variations in the tuition and fees for such program are reasonable.
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) Not later than January 1, 2017, the Office of Higher Education shall develop a program to annually audit not less than a sample of student data from all sub-baccalaureate certificate programs offered by the institutions of higher education and the private occupational schools. Said office shall not disclose any personally identifiable information of any student obtained as a result of performing the annual audit.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
July 1, 2015 |
10a-22a(1) |
Sec. 2 |
July 1, 2015 |
New section |
Sec. 3 |
July 1, 2015 |
New section |
Sec. 4 |
July 1, 2015 |
New section |
Sec. 5 |
July 1, 2015 |
New section |
Sec. 6 |
July 1, 2015 |
New section |
Sec. 7 |
July 1, 2015 |
New section |
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
Section 1 was added and the remaining sections and internal references were renumbered accordingly for clarity and accuracy.
PRI |
Joint Favorable Subst. C/R |
HED |
HED |
Joint Favorable Subst. |