Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act of 2005

Introduced in 2004, the Commonwealth Chartered Universities and Colleges Act failed to pass during the 2004 General Assembly Session, but provided a framework for the Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act of 2005 (Restructuring Act).

The Restructuring Act provided a set of basic operational autonomy for all institutions and specified that tuition and fee responsibility reside with the institutions' Boards of Visitors. The Restructuring Act required a formal commitment by the Boards of Visitors to the “state asks.” Institutions 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 institution Boards of Visitors committed to 12 state goals – “state asks” – by formal resolution in 2005:

1. Access
2. Affordability
3. Academic offerings
4. Academic standards
5. Student progress and success
6. Articulation and dual enrollment
7. Economic development
8. Research
9. Enhancing K12
10. Six-year plans
11. Finance and administrative
12. Campus safety and security