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Connecticut Senate Bill SB00973

Connecticut 2015 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00973 Compare Versions

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11 General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 973
2-January Session, 2015 *_____SB00973HED___032415____*
2+January Session, 2015 *_____SB00973PRIHED031315____*
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44 General Assembly
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66 Substitute Bill No. 973
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88 January Session, 2015
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10-*_____SB00973HED___032415____*
10+*_____SB00973PRIHED031315____*
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1212 AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM REVIEW AND INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEE CONCERNING HIGHER EDUCATION CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS.
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1414 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
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16-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 Subdivision (1) of section 10a-22a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):
16+Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) As used in this section and sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act:
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18-(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;
18+(1) "Sub-baccalaureate certificate" means a postsecondary award earned on a for-credit or noncredit basis and conferred upon successful completion of a formal program of study below the baccalaureate level;
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20-Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) As used in this section and sections 3 to 5, inclusive, and section 7 of this act:
20+(2) "Public institution of higher education" has the same meaning as provided in section 10a-173 of the general statutes;
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22-(1) "Institution of higher education" has the same meaning as provided in section 10a-34 of the general statutes; and
22+(3) "Independent for-profit institution of higher education" means a for-profit institution established in this state (A) that has degree-granting authority in this state, (B) that has its main campus located in this state, (C) that is not included in the Connecticut system of public higher education, and (D) whose primary function is not the preparation of students for religious vocation;
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24-(2) "Private occupational school" has the same meaning as provided in section 10a-22a of the general statutes, as amended by this act.
24+(4) "Independent institution of higher education" has the same meaning as provided in section 10a-173 of the general statutes;
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26-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.
26+(5) "Private occupational school" has the same meaning as provided in section 10a-22a of the general statutes;
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28-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:
28+(6) "Hospital-based occupational school" means any hospital authorized pursuant to section 10a-22b of the general statutes to offer instruction in any form or manner in any trade, industrial, commercial, service, professional or other occupation for any remuneration, consideration, reward or promise, except to hospital employees, members of the medical staff and training for contracted workers;
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30-(1) Name and subject matter area of such program;
30+(7) "Barber school" means any program, school or other entity authorized pursuant to section 10a-22b of the general statutes to offer instruction in any form or manner in barbering for any remuneration, consideration, reward or promise; and
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32-(2) Total enrollment in such program;
32+(8) "Hairdressing school" means any program, school or other entity authorized pursuant to section 10a-22b of the general statutes to offer instruction in any form or manner in hairdressing for any remuneration, consideration, reward or promise.
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34-(3) Any entry-level requirements for enrollment in such program;
34+Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) (a) Not later than July 1, 2016, the Office of Higher Education shall develop and maintain a cost and outcome reporting system to provide information to the public about all sub-baccalaureate certificates awarded by the public, independent for-profit, and independent nonprofit institutions of higher education and the private occupational, hospital-based occupational, barber, and hairdressing schools in this state. Not later than January 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, each public, independent for-profit, and independent nonprofit institution of higher education and private occupational, hospital-based occupational, barber, and hairdressing school shall provide data for the prior academic year regarding its sub-baccalaureate certificate programs and the types of sub-baccalaureate certificates it offers to said office in a uniform format developed by said office. Not later than July 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, said office shall publish such data on its Internet web site for purposes of allowing basic comparisons among similar types of sub-baccalaureate certificate programs offered by such institutions and schools and any additional information concerning such certificate programs said office chooses to publish. The information provided by the cost and outcome reporting system for each such certificate program shall include, if applicable to the certificate program:
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36-(4) Number and type of certificates awarded by such program;
36+(1) Tuition and fees charged to a student who completes the certificate program in the time period prescribed by such program;
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38-(5) Whether academic credits are offered as part of such program;
38+(2) Costs relating to the purchase of books and supplies, unless such costs are included as part of the tuition and fees of such institution or school for such program;
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40-(6) Whether there is a clear pathway from successful completion of such program to enrollment in a related associate degree program;
40+(3) Median loan debt incurred by students who complete a for-credit certificate program or a noncredit certificate program, to the extent such information has been reported to the financial aid office of the institution or school offering such program, separately by Title IV loans and other education debt, including private and institutional loans;
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42-(7) Whether such program leads to a credential recognized by the industry for which such program prepares a student;
42+(4) Total enrollment in and number of certificates awarded by such program;
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44-(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
44+(5) Basic demographic information, to the extent available, of the students enrolled in such program, including, but not limited to, gender, age, race and ethnicity;
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46-(9) Average length of time to complete such program.
46+(6) Graduation rates for student cohorts completing such program;
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48-(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.
48+(7) Average length of time to complete such program;
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50-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.
50+(8) Job placement rates, to the extent available, for students who have completed such program;
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52-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.
52+(9) Entry level starting salary based on Labor Department statistics for jobs requiring the certificate;
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54+(10) Average salary based on Labor Department statistics for jobs requiring the certificate;
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56+(11) Cohort pass rate, to the extent available, for national certification programs; and
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58+(12) Cohort state licensure pass rate, to the extent available, for positions requiring the certificate and licensure.
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60+(b) Each public, independent for-profit, and independent nonprofit institution of higher education or private occupational, hospital-based occupational, barber, and hairdressing school that offers a sub-baccalaureate certificate program shall publish such information on its Internet web site as prominently as the certificate program description appears on such Internet web site.
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62+Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) Each public, independent for-profit, and independent nonprofit institution of higher education and private occupational, hospital-based occupational, barber, and hairdressing 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.
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64+Sec. 4. (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.
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5466 (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.
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56-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.
68+Sec. 5. (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 public, independent for-profit, and independent nonprofit institutions of higher education and the private occupational, hospital-based occupational, barber, and hairdressing schools. Said office shall not disclose any personally identifiable information of any student obtained as a result of performing the annual audit.
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6173 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
62-Section 1 July 1, 2015 10a-22a(1)
74+Section 1 July 1, 2015 New section
6375 Sec. 2 July 1, 2015 New section
6476 Sec. 3 July 1, 2015 New section
6577 Sec. 4 July 1, 2015 New section
6678 Sec. 5 July 1, 2015 New section
67-Sec. 6 July 1, 2015 New section
68-Sec. 7 July 1, 2015 New section
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7080 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
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7282 Section 1
7383
7484 July 1, 2015
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76-10a-22a(1)
86+New section
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7888 Sec. 2
7989
8090 July 1, 2015
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8292 New section
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8494 Sec. 3
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8696 July 1, 2015
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8898 New section
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90100 Sec. 4
91101
92102 July 1, 2015
93103
94104 New section
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96106 Sec. 5
97107
98108 July 1, 2015
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100110 New section
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102-Sec. 6
103-
104-July 1, 2015
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106-New section
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108-Sec. 7
109-
110-July 1, 2015
111-
112-New section
113-
114-Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
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116-Section 1 was added and the remaining sections and internal references were renumbered accordingly for clarity and accuracy.
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120114 PRI Joint Favorable Subst. C/R HED
121-HED Joint Favorable Subst.
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123116 PRI
124117
125118 Joint Favorable Subst. C/R
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127120 HED
128-
129-HED
130-
131-Joint Favorable Subst.