Education

Update - HB 2510 (Cox)/SB 2510

 The primary focus of the Dulles Regional Chamber (DRCC) on the legislative front for education was support for HB 2510 (Cox)/SB 2510 – Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011, which is a recommendation of the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation and Investment. It establishes the Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011 for the purpose of fueling strong economic growth in the Commonwealth and preparing Virginians for the top job opportunities in the knowledge-driven economy of the 21st century. The bill provides for (i) a new higher education funding policy; (ii) the calculation of the state general fund share of an institution's basic operations and instruction funding need; (iii) per student enrollment-based funding; (iv) targeted economic and innovation incentives; (v) the creation of a Higher Education Revenue Stabilization Fund as a sub-fund of the Revenue Stabilization Fund; (vi) the creation of a STEM Public-Private Partnership; and (vii) the creation of a Higher Education Advisory Committee.  We were very pleased that these bills advanced with broad, bipartisan support this session, along with the related funding necessary to implement the programs described above. (Updated 03/2011)

HB 2510 (Cox) -- Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011. 

The Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce
urges you to SUPPORT the
Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011

Representing more than 2,800 businesses and 100,000 jobs, the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce is focused on policies that promote a strong, pro-business environment that enhances Virginia’s and the Northern Virginia region’s economic competitiveness, cultivates growth in all segments of our economy, and ensures adequate access to critical business infrastructure and resources. We believe this legislation can directly support this goal.

This legislation is based on recommendations of Governor McDonnell’s bipartisan Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation and Investment, which offered recommendations in three major areas: greater economic opportunity and impact; reform-based investment; and affordable access for all capable and committed Virginia students.

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND IMPACT

• Provides a roadmap for achieving an additional 100,000 undergraduate (associate and bachelor’s) degrees for Virginians over the next 15 years by (1) increasing enrollment of Virginia students, (2) improving graduation and retention rates, and (3) assisting students with some college credit to complete degrees through public and private higher education institutions in Virginia.
• Focuses additional degree attainment in high-demand, high-income fields (e.g., STEM, healthcare) that are keys to top jobs in 21st Century economy.   Provides for creation of a not-for-profit STEM public-private partnership to fully engage the business and professional communities in the strategic direction and promotion of STEM initiatives. Incentivizes public-private collaboration on STEM-related and other commercially viable research.
• Higher education’s return on investment is second to none. The Weldon Cooper Center’s study for the Virginia Business Higher Education Council shows that every 1 dollar currently invested in Virginia’s public higher education system yields 13 dollars in increased economic output. College graduates on average earn twice as much as those without college degrees.

REFORM-BASED INVESTMENT

• Provides for sustained reform-based investment and innovation in delivery of higher education services, as well as extending college degree opportunities to more citizens in creative, cost-effective ways. Institutions’ six- year plans will address strategies and use of incentives for:

        o Year round use of physical facilities and instructional resources
        o Technology-enhanced instruction and resource-sharing across the
           higher end system
        o Innovative and economical degree paths
        o Ongoing restructuring and managerial reform

• Reverses the dramatic funding reduction cycle to higher education through a new comprehensive funding model framework with four components: basic operations and instruction; enrollment growth funding; need-based financial aid (for low- and middle-income families); and financial incentives to promote innovation and increased economic impact.
• Establishes a comprehensive and streamlined six-year planning process to aid college, university, and executive and legislative branch officials in implementing the long-term policies of the “Top Jobs” Act and in improving coordination among institutions and the Commonwealth.
• Creates a collaborative Higher Education Advisory Committee consisting of executive and legislative branch representatives and representatives of higher education institutions to develop performance criteria for incentives, institution-specific base funding policies, economic opportunity metrics for degree programs, opportunities for additional, cost-saving managerial autonomy and efficiency reforms, and other key policies.

AFFORDABLE ACCESS

• Provides enrollment-based funding to increase access for qualified Virginia students at public and private colleges and universities.
• Enhances long-term affordability through a three-prong strategy: (1) puts in place a model for stable and predictable state funding support, relieving the upward pressure on tuition over time as state funding rebounds; (2) provides for development of need-based financial aid options aimed at middle-income as well as low-income families; (3) creates a Revenue Stabilization Fund (higher education rainy-day fund) to help buffer higher education funding against future cuts that produce sudden and sharp tuition spikes during economic downturns.

The Commission’s report and recommendations include a detailed section on the economic value of university-based research and development activities. The Commission supports legislation creating the Virginia Research and Technology Investment Fund and providing a tax credit for companies that partner with higher education institutions for research. The Commonwealth needs to continue to strengthen research competitiveness through targeted investments at the six public doctoral institutions, the comprehensive public institutions as well as private colleges that conduct research, and state-funded research facilities and programs.

The Governor’s Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation, and Investment continues through 2011 to further study and develop regional strategies for public-private partnerships for business recruitment, workforce preparation, and university-based research. Another area of focus will be the Governor’s charge to make Virginia a national leader in providing higher education opportunities to military personnel and veterans.

More information on the Commission’s work including the interim report, recommendations, and meeting materials can be found at www.education.virginia.gov.           

Thank you for your consideration of our position on this important legislation. (Updated 02/2011)

The DRCC also supported the following bills in the Education area:

HB 2172 (Philips/O’Bannon)/SB 953 (Houck) – VIP incentive program; STEM course offerings. Given its focus on promoting STEM development, the DRCC supported this legislation, which requires the Board of Education to take into account in its guidelines for the Virginia Index of Performance program, a school division's increase in enrollments and elective course offerings in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These bills successfully passed this session. (Updated 03/2011)

HB 1960 (Rust)/SB 1439 (Herring) – Tuition Assistance Grant Program. This legislation amends the criteria for institutions of higher education to be eligible to receive tuition assistance on behalf of eligible students. For an institution, not admitted to the program as of January 1, 2011, to be eligible, (i) it must be formed, chartered, established, or incorporated within the Commonwealth; (ii) have their principal place of business within the Commonwealth; (iii) conduct their primary educational activity within the Commonwealth; and (iv) be accredited by a nationally recognized regional accrediting agency. The bill also defines "principal place of business." The House and Senate both supported this legislation. (Updated 03/2011)

SB 819 (Edwards) – Two-Year College Scholarship Match Program. The DRCC also supported this legislation, which would have established the Two-Year College Scholarship Match Program to provide matching funds to two-year college foundations and the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education. In the bill, funds paid would not have exceeded $5 million, in aggregate, in any fiscal year. These funds would have been used to award scholarships to students who (i) are domiciled residents of Virginia and (ii) are enrolled in an associate degree program in a Virginia two-year college studying science, technology, engineering, math, education, or nursing. Unfortunately, in addition to not receiving the necessary funds to establish this program, the bill also failed to advance in the House. (Updated 03/2011)

HJ 646 (Landes) – Study; efficacy of year-round schools; report. This study directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the efficacy of year-round schools. In conducting its study, the Commission shall (i) review the Board of Education's procedure for approving year-round schools; (ii) determine which school divisions have implemented year-round schools and their experience with this alternative method of providing education; (iii) conduct a comprehensive analysis of each year-round school, scheduling format, instructional, and extracurricular programs offered, and number of students enrolled in the year-round school; (iv) consider the minimum number of required teaching days or hours that should constitute the length of a school term and the issues attendant thereto; (v) identify and review year-round schools offered by other states and countries, noting advantages and disadvantages; (vi) ascertain and weigh the essential factors that must be considered before implementing year-round schools statewide, including, but not limited to, instructional costs, transportation and special education services, and the need for additional classroom teachers, staff, and support services; (vii) evaluate the impact of changing the scheduling format on school functions and length of terms and school breaks; and (viii) consider and thoroughly vet other issues and matters related to year-round schools as the Commission may deem necessary to provide feasible and appropriate recommendations. The Commission must submit an executive summary to the 2012 Session of the General Assembly and its final report and recommendations to the 2013 Session of the General Assembly. This study was passed and could provide recommendations of potential interest to the DRCC in the coming years. (Updated 03/2011)