O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 22-16—sSB 18
Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING VARIOUS REVISIONS TO THE HIGHER
EDUCATION STATUTES
SUMMARY: This act requires public Connecticut higher education institutions’
governing boards to adopt a policy requiring newly appointed governing board
members to complete specified training within a year after their appointment or
election to the board. The act establishes the required instruction and training
topics, which include financial, legal, ethical, and institutional operation training
topics, among others. By January 1, 2023, each institution must post on its website
its training policy and a summary of the instruction and training board members
received.
Additionally, the act requires the Board of Regents for Higher Education (BOR)
to make the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities’ (CSCU) central office a
separate line item in BOR’s consolidated operating budget. It also makes several
conforming and technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2022
§ 1 — GOVERNING BOARD MEMBER TRAINING
The act requires BOR and the UConn Board of Trustees (BOT) to each adopt a
policy by January 1, 2023, that requires newly appointed governing board members
to receive instruction and training on the topics listed in the table below within the
first year of their appointment or election.
Training Topics for New BOR and UConn BOT Members
Board Operations and Member Duties
A board member’s duties to the state and the institution
Each board committee and its functions, including the executive committee
Financial Matters
Professional accounting and reporting standards
Business operations, administration, budgeting, financing, financial reporting, financial
reserves, and endowment management for higher education institutions
Institutional advancement, including philanthropic giving, and fundraising initiatives
Legal and Ethical Matters
Methods for meeting the board’s statutory, regulatory, and fiduciary obligations
State Freedom of Information Act
A board member’s institutional and statutory ethical responsibilities
Institutional Operations
Development and implementation of institutional policies O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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Oversight of planning, construction, maintenance, expansion, and renovation projects that
impact the institution’s infrastructure, physical facilities, and natural environment
Workforce planning, strategy, and investment
Alumni programming, communications and media, government and public relations, and
community affairs
Student Issues
Tuition, mandatory fees, and student debt trends
Student welfare issues, including academic studies, curriculum, residence life, student
governance and activities, and general physical and mental well-being
General Higher Education Issues
Current and anticipated higher education issues
Other topics each governing board determines necessary
§§ 2-5 — BOR BUDGETING PROCESS
The act requires BOR to make the CSCU central office a separate line item in
the consolidated operating budget request that it submits to the Office of Policy and
Management (OPM) (see BACKGROUND). The law already requires BOR to
itemize its budget by the Connecticut State University System, regional
community-technical college system, and Charter Oak State College. Additionally,
the act conforms law to practice by requiring BOR to include any tuition increase
proposed by Charter Oak State College for the fiscal year covered by the budget in
the consolidated higher education budget that it submits to OPM.
The act also allows BOR to apply allotment reductions (i.e., rescissions) to the
CSCU central office without regard to statutory limitations after consulting with
the OPM secretary, just as existing law permits the board to do for the public
colleges and universities under its jurisdiction. However, the act maintains the
requirement that the statutory limitations apply to the total of the amounts
appropriated.
BACKGROUND
BOR Budget Preparation
By law, BOR must develop either a formula or program-based budgeting
system for each institution under its oversight to use when preparing operating
budgets. Each institution’s request must contain a proposed expenditure plan that
includes the (1) total appropriation requested from the legislature, (2) amount to be
appropriated from the General Fund, and (3) amount to be paid from tuition
revenues. After reviewing and commenting on the institutions’ proposed
expenditure plans, BOR incorporates them into a single budget request containing
any proposed tuition increases and submits it to the OPM secretary. The single
request is itemized by the state university system, regional community-technical
college system, and Charter Oak State College (CGS § 10a-8(a)).