The General Assembly passed The Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act during the 2005 legislative session. The purpose of the Act was to provide public colleges and universities with more operational and administrative autonomy in exchange for a renewed commitment to their public missions.
The Act provides a set of basic operational autonomy for all institutions and specifies that tuition and fee responsibility resides with the institution Boards of Visitors. The Act required a formal commitment by the Boards of Visitors to the “state asks.” Institutions can earn financial incentives based on meeting performance standards. In addition, there are opportunities for greater institutional autonomy through “memoranda of understanding” and “management agreements.”
The institutions’ Boards of Visitors committed to the following 12 state goals – “state asks” – by formal resolution in 2005:
- Provide access for all citizens of the Commonwealth, including underrepresented populations
- Ensure that higher education remains affordable
- Offer a broad range of programs
- Maintain high academic standards
- Improve student retention
- Develop articulation agreements that have uniform application to all Virginia community colleges
- Actively contribute to efforts to stimulate the economic development of the Commonwealth
- Increase the level of externally funded research
- Work actively and cooperatively with elementary and secondary schools to improve student achievement, upgrade the knowledge and skills of teachers, and strengthen leadership skills of school administrators
- Prepare a six-year financial plan (2009 plans were suspended because required budget information was not available in time for institutions to complete their reports)
- Conduct the institution's business affairs in a manner that maximizes operational efficiencies and economies for the institution, contributes to maximum efficiencies and economies of state government as a whole, and meets the financial and administrative management standards
- Seek to ensure the safety and security of the Commonwealth's students on college and university campuses.
Based on the goals above, SCHEV is required to assess institutional progress in meeting specific education-related performance measures by June 1 each year. The Secretaries of Finance, Information Technology, and Administration are responsible for determining institutional performance in meeting financial and administrative standards.
The education-related performance standards are classified by those assessed for annual certification versus those that are reported biennially. Below is a chart showing each measure.
Goal |
Measure |
Annual Certification |
Biennial Reporting |
| Access | In-State Enrollment | X
|
|
| Underrepresented enrollment | X |
||
| Degree awards | X |
||
| Affordability | Affordability | X
|
|
| Need-based borrowing | X |
||
| Tuition assessment | X |
||
| Breadth of Academics |
High-need degrees | X |
|
| Academic Standards |
SACS program review | X |
|
| Degrees per FTE faculty | X |
||
| Retention & Graduation |
Retention rate | X
|
|
| Degrees per FTE students | X |
||
| Articulation and Dual Enrollment |
Transfer agreements | X
|
|
| Degree transfers | X |
||
| Dual enrollment | X |
||
| Economic Development |
Economic Development |
X |
|
| Research | Research expenditures | X
|
|
| Patents and licenses | X |
||
| K-12 Education | K-12 partnerships | X |
|
| Campus Safety and Security |
Campus Safety and Security | X |
Institutions are classified into one of three levels of financial and administrative operational authority. All institutions enter Level I authority as a result of the Boards of Visitors resolution in 2005. Level I institutions receive minimum operational authority.
Level II criteria were established by the 2008 General Assembly. Level II institutions receive additional authority in two of three areas – capital outlay, information technology, and procurement. Institutions enter Level II through a “memorandum of understanding” with the Governor and, respective, cabinet Secretaries. Level II memoranda of understanding were signed with George Mason University, James Madison University, Old Dominion University, Radford University, and Virginia Military Institute in 2009.
The highest level of financial and administrative operational authority is granted to a select group of institutions through a “management agreement” among the institution’s Board of Visitors, the Governor, and the General Assembly. Level III institutions have operational authority in the areas of capital outlay, information technology, procurement, human resources, and finance. The College of William and Mary, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Tech signed management agreements in 2005 which were approved by the 2006 General Assembly. Virginia Commonwealth University’s management agreement was approved by the 2008 General Assembly.
Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act
Restructuring Act - 2006 Amendment
Restructuring Act - 2009 Amendment
Management Agreement for Virginia Commonwealth University - 2008
Eligibility for restructured financial and administrative operational authority
§ 23-38.88 Code of Virginia
Level II Memoranda of understanding
§ 23-38.90 Code of Virginia outlining requirements for Level II institutions
Management Agreements
§ 23-38.97 through § 23-38.121 Code of Virginia outlining institutional authority under management agreements
Goals of the Restructuring Act
These are the 12 goals of the Restructured Higher Education and Administration Act.
Council Briefings and Actions
January 12, 2010 – Action on Proposed Measures for Longwood University – Level II
Agenda
October 27, 2009 – Action on Recommendations from the Restructuring Subcommittee
Agenda, Minutes
July 14, 2009 – Action on Enrollment Targets and Estimates of Degree Awards at Public Institutions
Agenda, Minutes
June 8-9, 2009 – Certification of Institutions Under Restructuring
Agenda, Minutes - June 8, Minutes - June 9
May 12, 2009 – Action on Certification of Institutions Under Restructuring and Action on Proposed Measures for Institutions Seeking Level II
Agenda, Minutes
January 6, 2009 – Action on Institutional Performance Standards (IPS) Targets
Agenda, Minutes
October 21, 2008 – Action on Recommendations from the Restructuring Task Force
Agenda, Minutes
May 13, 2008 – Certification of Institutions Under Restructuring and Institutional Performance Standards (IPS) Measures
Agenda, Minutes
March 10, 2008 – Update on Restructuring
Agenda, Minutes
May 8, 2007 – Action on Certification of Institutions Under Restructuring
Agenda, Minutes
November 13, 2006 – Action on Institutional Performance Standards
Agenda, Minutes
September 30, 2005 – Action on Standards for Institutional Certification and Action on Guidelines for Assessments of Institutional Performance
Agenda, Minutes
Restructuring Subcommittee
April 21, 2010
March 2, 2010
January 11, 2010
Agenda
December 1, 2009
Agenda, Minutes
September 15, 2009
Minutes
September 10, 2009
Minutes
August 4, 2009
Agenda
Presentations
Institutional Certification - May 12, 2009
Restructuring Overview - April 8, 2009
Higher Education Restructuring – December 6, 2007
Higher Education and the Public Good – August 15, 2007
Restructuring Act: Implementing Change in Virginia – April 20, 2007
Institution Web sites
The College of William and Mary
Institutional Performance Standards (IPS)
Assessment of Institutional Performance - 2009
Assessment of Institutional Performance Under Goal 11 - 2008
Cost of Attendance and Income - Summary
Cost of Attendance and Income - Detail
Council Certification Action - 2009
Final Review of Benchmarks and Targets of the Institutional Performance Standards (2006)
Virginia Reports and Links
SCHEV UPDATE - Special Meeting: The State of Virginia Public Higher Education - July, 2009
Two-Year Review of Initial Higher Education Management Agreements – Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLRAC) – November 10, 2008:
In Brief, Report, Briefing
Restructuring Update - February 2, 2008
Virginia Secretary of Education
External Reports and Links
Checks and Balances at Work: The Restructuring of Virginia’s Public Higher Education System
The Politics of Restructuring Higher Education in Virginia: A Case Study
The Politics of Restructuring Higher Education in Virginia: A Case Study (ERIC)
First Detailed Look at Virginia Higher Education Restructuring Act Released
The California Higher Education Policy Center
Restructuring Frequently Asked Questions – University of Virginia Curry School of Education
Matching Virginia Higher Education’s Strengths with the Commonwealth’s Needs
Ready to Assemble: A Model State higher Education Accountability System
International Case Study: USA – State of Virginia
Quick Links