MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2003 Regular Session
To: Universities and Colleges; Appropriations
By: Senator(s) Burton
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-101-241, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE THE AUTHORITY OF THE MISSISSIPPI COMMISSION ON COLLEGE ACCREDITATION AND TO AUTHORIZE THE COMMISSION TO SEEK AN INJUNCTION TO ENJOIN UNAPPROVED COURSE OFFERINGS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-4-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE THE AUTOMATIC REPEALER ON THE STATUTE PROVIDING FOR THE TRANSFER OF STATE-FUNDED INDUSTRIAL TRAINING PROGRAMS AND POSTSECONDARY ADULT TRAINING PROGRAMS TO THE STATE BOARD FOR COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-101-241, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-241. (1) There is hereby created the Commission on College Accreditation. Said commission shall be composed of the Executive Director of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges * * *, the Commissioner of Higher Education, or their designees, and two (2) additional members, one (1) of whom shall be selected by the foregoing two (2) members and who shall represent the private colleges within the state, and one (1) of whom shall be selected by the Mississippi Association of Colleges. The latter two (2) members shall each serve for a term of three (3) years.
(2) The commission shall meet and organize by electing from among its membership a chairman, a vice chairman and a secretary. The commission shall keep full and complete minutes and records of all its proceedings and actions.
(3) The commission shall have the power and authority, and it shall be its duty to prepare an approved list of community, junior and senior colleges and universities or other entities which offer one or more postsecondary academic degrees and are domiciled, incorporated or otherwise located in the State of Mississippi. Postsecondary academic degrees include, but are not limited to, associate, bachelor, masters and doctorate degrees. * * * The commission shall adopt standards which are in keeping with the best educational practices in accreditation and receive reports from the institutions seeking to be placed on the approved list.
(4) The above-described community, junior and senior colleges and universities or other entities * * * must be approved annually by the commission in order to grant diplomas of graduation, degrees or offer instruction.
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(5) The commission shall petition the chancery court of the county in which a person or agent offers one or more postsecondary academic degrees subject to the provisions of this chapter or advertises for the offering of such degrees, without having first obtained approval by the commission, for an order enjoining such offering or advertising. The court may grant such injunctive relief upon a showing that the respondent named in the petition is offering or advertising one or more postsecondary academic degrees without having obtained prior approval of the commission. The Attorney General shall, upon request of the commission, represent the commission in bringing any such action.
SECTION 2. Section 37-4-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-4-11. (1) The purpose of this section is to insure the uniform management, oversight and accountability of the state-funded Industrial Training Programs, and postsecondary Adult Short-term Training Programs and Workforce Education Programs administered by the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges for adults provided to the citizens of Mississippi.
(2) Effective July 1, 1999, all state-funded Industrial Training Programs and postsecondary Adult Short-term Training Programs administered by and through the State Department of Education on June 30, 1999, shall be transferred to the Workforce Education Program of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges. The Legislature shall appropriate annually to the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges funds necessary to administer these programs.
(3) Effective July 1, 1999, all funds, unexpended balances, assets, liabilities and property of the State Department of Education which are used in the delivery of postsecondary Adult Short-term Training Programs and Industrial Training Programs, excluding funds, unexpended balances, assets, liabilities and property associated with the Research and Curriculum Unit at Mississippi State University, shall be transferred to the Workforce Education Program funds of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges. The State Department of Education also shall transfer to the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges all positions and funds employed by the State Department of Education and community colleges which render industrial training, postsecondary adult short-term training or workforce education services, including the seven (7) administrative and support positions providing support to these programs. Sufficient staff positions shall be transferred from the State Department of Education, which will have a reduction in training and educational responsibilities by virtue of this act, to the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges to assure that the transferred responsibilities will be properly managed and administered. Any funds available to the State Department of Education for Industrial Training Programs and state-funded postsecondary Adult Short-term Training Programs which are subject to carryover shall be transferred to the Work Force Carryover Fund established by Chapter 498, Laws of 1995, for use by the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, on or before August 15, 1999.
(4) The State Board for Community and Junior Colleges shall develop an accountability system that shall report and describe all classes taught in the area of workforce education, the number of persons taught in these classes, and the location and cost of each class taught. To assess the impact of these programs, the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges also shall report:
(a) Whether the needs of industry have been met through training program offerings;
(b) Any changes in the income of trainees between the completion of training and the date of the report;
(c) The number of jobs created and the number of jobs retained through the programs; and
(d) Trainee success in passing proficiency tests, where applicable.
This information shall be reported on a fiscal year basis and shall be provided to the House and Senate Education Committees before December 15 of each year.
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SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after June 1, 2003.