2016 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE BILL NO. 446
BY SENATOR HEWITT
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 17:3140 and to repeal R.S. 17:3140, relative to postsecondary education; to
3 provide relative to a comprehensive review of the educational demands of the state
4 and its regions; to provide for an evaluation of the state's postsecondary education
5 assets, needs, gaps and barriers; to provide for a report of the findings and
6 recommendations; and to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 17:3140 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 ยง3140. Evaluation of the state's delivery of public postsecondary education
10 delivery system
11 A. The Board of Regents shall conduct a comprehensive review of the
12 present postsecondary education system in the state and recommend the
13 optimal delivery of postsecondary education in the future that will meet the
14 needs of the state's citizens and industries while maximizing the state's
15 resources. The review shall be of the state as a whole and of its workforce
16 development areas as provided in R.S. 23:2192, which shall be referred to in this
17 Section as "regions".
18 B. The board shall submit a written report detailing its findings and
19 recommendations relative to the assets, needs, gaps, and barriers to creating a
20 comprehensive, efficient, and cost-effective public postsecondary education
21 system in Louisiana to the Senate and House committees on education by no
22 later than forty-five days before the 2017 Legislative Session. The report shall
23 include, for the state as a whole and each region, the following:
24 (1) A description of assets, including:
25 (a) The role, scope, and mission of each institution of public
ACT No. 619
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1 postsecondary education in the state.
2 (b) Academic and non-academic programs, including those below the
3 certificate level and non-credit technical skills courses, offered at each public
4 postsecondary education institution, excluding continuing education courses but
5 including:
6 (i) Program enrollment and completion data for the last five years.
7 (ii) Academic discipline cost per full-time equivalent student for the
8 current academic year.
9 (c) Current centers of excellence, as defined by the Board of Regents, in
10 each institution, with explanation of how each center fits into the institution's
11 role, scope, and mission and aids in meeting the workforce and economic
12 development needs of the region or the state as a whole.
13 (d) A list of each facility and all immovable property owned or leased by
14 the state's public postsecondary institutions. The list shall also include a
15 description of each facility as follows:
16 (i) Age of the facility.
17 (ii) Square footage.
18 (iii) Usage.
19 (iv) Space usage and the methodology used to determine such usage.
20 (v) Condition of the facility.
21 (vi) Building defect data, including cited code violations for the most
22 recent twelve-month period.
23 (vii) Bonded indebtedness and contractual obligations.
24 (viii) Prioritized list of capital outlay needs for both new construction
25 and deferred maintenance, with costs estimates where available.
26 (e) Institutional data as provided pursuant to R.S. 17:3139.2(5), and the
27 following:
28 (i) Amount of institutional financial aid provided to students.
29 (ii) Faculty information including total faculty and percent by full-time
30 and part-time status; student-to-faculty ratios; percentage distribution of
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1 full-time instructional faculty by rank; full-time instructional average salary by
2 rank; part-time faculty and assistants as a percent of total instructional faculty;
3 number of full-time administrators; the demographics of all full-time faculty
4 and administrators including race, gender, years of experience, and degrees
5 held; and number of full-time staff.
6 (iii) Percentage of lower-level classes taught by teaching and research
7 assistants.
8 (iv) Percentage of students enrolled in remedial courses.
9 (v) Percentage of students admitted by exception to admission standards.
10 (vi) Employment rates by program.
11 (2) Description of needs to meet the current and forecasted educational
12 demand to ensure the state's public postsecondary education system is operating
13 in a comprehensive, efficient, cost-effective, and integrated manner.
14 (a) Educational demand shall be determined for the state as a whole and
15 for each region and shall consider:
16 (i) Academic needs of the citizens.
17 (ii) Research goals of the state's public postsecondary education
18 institutions and local industries.
19 (iii) Necessary public service activities, such as matters related to
20 statewide health, economic, and environmental issues.
21 (iv) Economic development needs.
22 (v) Current and emerging workforce needs as forecasted through the
23 Comprehensive Labor Market Information System, as provided in R.S. 23:71
24 et seq., including needs arising from the targeted cluster industries as provided
25 in R.S. 23:76.
26 (b) The report shall also include any issues related to accurately
27 forecasting educational demand.
28 (3) Description of gaps, which for the purpose of this Section, are defined
29 as either needs that exceed assets, or assets that exceed needs.
30 (4) Recommendations regarding how to efficiently and cost-effectively
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1 close the gaps to deliver postsecondary education by each region in order to
2 meet the forecasted educational demand. Each recommendation shall identify
3 the anticipated savings or costs associated with each action and whether any of
4 the following are needed:
5 (a) Merging of two or more existing postsecondary institutions.
6 (b) Converting a non-degree granting postsecondary institution to an
7 institution that grants degrees.
8 (c) Converting a college or university which is limited to offering degrees
9 of a lower rank than baccalaureate to a college or university that offers
10 baccalaureate degrees.
11 (d) Converting a college or university which offers baccalaureate degrees
12 to a college or university that is limited to offering degrees of a lower rank.
13 (e) Transferring a college or university from one postsecondary
14 management board to another.
15 (f) Closing a postsecondary educational institution.
16 (g) Donating a college or university to a private entity or creating a
17 private entity to receive such donation.
18 (h) Closing or consolidating any program at an institution or
19 coordinating any program across certain institutions.
20 (i) Adding a center of excellence to an institution, shifting a center of
21 excellence to a different institution, or coordinating resources between
22 institutions to develop a joint center of excellence.
23 (j) Sharing facilities between institutions in a region or closing or
24 demolishing certain facilities.
25 (k) Centralizing administrative services.
26 (5) Description of barriers, including:
27 (a) Bonded indebtedness, contractual obligations, and fitness of facilities.
28 (b) Accreditation issues.
29 (c) Compatibility of administrative services.
30 (d) Funding.
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1 (e) Staffing.
2 (f) Regional economic impacts.
3 (g) Financial impact on the institutions.
4 (h) Culture and tradition.
5 (6) An executive summary of recommendations to ensure that the state's
6 public postsecondary education enterprise is operating in a comprehensive,
7 efficient, cost-effective, and integrated manner that best meets the educational
8 demand of the state and each region.
9 C. The Department of Economic Development, the Louisiana Workforce
10 Commission, and each public postsecondary institution, management board,
11 and system shall fully cooperate with the Board of Regents and shall provide
12 such data and assistance as the board may request.
13 Section 2. R.S. 17:3140 is hereby repealed in its entirety.
14 Section 3.(A) This Section and Section 1 of this Act shall become effective upon
15 signature of this Act by the governor or, if not signed by the governor, upon expiration of
16 the time for bills to become law without signature by the governor, as provided by Article
17 III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If this Act is vetoed by the governor and
18 subsequently approved by the legislature, this Section and Section 1 of this Act shall become
19 effective on the day following such approval.
20 (B) Section 2 of this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2017.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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