Chapter 15A

Section 1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the commonwealth to provide, foster and support institutions of public higher education that are of the highest quality, responsive to the academic, technical and economic needs of the commonwealth and its citizens, and account…

Section 10. As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Community college'' shall mean any of the following institutions of higher education: Berkshire Community College, Bristol Community College, Bun…

Section 11. The council may, in the name and on behalf of the commonwealth, upon such terms and with or without consideration, do any or all of the following in order to aid and contribute to the performance of the educational and other purposes of any community college: (a) Sell…

Section 12. To provide for the expenses of HEFA and for the payment of indebtedness incurred by it in connection with any project financed by HEFA on behalf of any community college or any community college affiliate, or in connection with any transfer for such purpose by HEFA, o…

Section 13. HEFA may sell the buildings or other structures upon any land acquired by it pursuant to section eleven and which are not included in a project, or may remove the same, and may sell or lease any lands or rights or interest in lands or other property acquired for the p…

Section 14. Upon application by the trustees of the University of Massachusetts, the council may exercise on behalf of such university and its university affiliates all the powers it has with respect to community colleges or community college affiliates under sections eleven and …

Section 15. In accordance with the funding formulas referenced in section 15B of this chapter, the secretary, in consultation with the council and with the board of trustees for the university of Massachusetts, shall periodically prepare and submit to the budget director an estim…

[There is no 15A:15A.]

Section 15B. There shall be established a two year budget cycle for the public system of higher education which shall be instituted beginning in fiscal year nineteen hundred and ninety-four and shall be repeated every even numbered fiscal year thereafter. In preparing for the eve…

Section 15C. The public institutions of higher education shall report monthly by subsidiary all expenditures and revenues from all appropriated and non-appropriated funds on the Massachusetts management and accounting reporting system, so-called, by July thirty-first, nineteen hu…

Section 15D. The public institutions of higher education shall report all personnel information for those employees compensated from any budgetary, federal, capital or trust fund through the personnel administrative reporting and information system, so-called, by July thirty-firs…

Section 15E. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the commonwealth to encourage private fundraising by the public institutions of higher education and to assist fundraising through a matching program to be known as the public higher education endowment incentive and capital …

Section 15F. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the commonwealth to encourage public community college training opportunities in order to promote workforce development, minimize the shortage of skilled workers and raise economic opportunity through a matching incentive gra…

Section 15G. (a) The department of higher education shall assess stackable credentials offered at community colleges, state universities and the University of Massachusetts campuses and, in collaboration with the public higher education institutions and regional workforce organiz…

Section 16. There shall be a general scholarship program administered by the council to provide financial assistance to students domiciled in the commonwealth and enrolled in and pursuing a program of higher education in an approved public or independent college, university or sc…

Section 16A. (a) There shall be a scholarship program, subject to appropriation, to be administered by the board, which shall be known as the high demand targeted scholarship program, to provide financial assistance to students in the commonwealth who are enrolled in and pursuing…

Section 17. The council, subject to appropriation, shall establish a program entitled the ''teaching learning corps''. The program shall provide school districts choosing to participate, which contain a significant proportion of low-income students or a significant proportion of …

Section 18. Every full-time and part-time student enrolled in a public or independent institution of higher learning located in the commonwealth shall participate in a qualifying student health insurance program. For the purposes of this section, ''part-time student'' shall mean …

Section 19. There shall be a single tuition and fee waiver program administered by the council in accordance with guidelines established by the council to govern the program, provided that no tuition waiver be funded by the transfer of funds appropriated pursuant to section sixte…

Section 19A. There shall be a student loan repayment program known as the attracting excellence to teaching program, for the purpose of encouraging outstanding students to teach in the public schools of the commonwealth by providing financial assistance for the repayment of quali…

Section 19B. There shall be an incoming teacher signing bonus program to be administered by the department of education for the purpose of encouraging the best and brightest candidates to teach in the public schools. The goal of such program shall be to encourage high achieving c…

Section 19C. There shall be Massachusetts master teacher corps program for the purpose of building a group of recognized teachers of high achievement in the profession who shall serve to mentor incoming apprentice teachers and further the goals of the education reform act, so-cal…

Section 19D. There shall be a scholarship program to be administered by the board, in consultation with the department of elementary and secondary education, which shall be known as the tomorrow's educators program to encourage students to teach in public schools by providing qua…

Section 19E. There shall be a principal and superintendent recruitment program for recruiting and training as principals and superintendents in public schools individuals from other professions who have the skills, experience and talent to be outstanding school principals and sup…

Section 19F. (a) Subject to appropriation, the board shall, in consultation with the board of early education and care, establish an early education and care educator scholarship program for current and prospective early education and care sector educators. The program shall be a…

Section 19G. (a) Subject to appropriation, the board shall, in consultation with the board of early education and care, establish an early education and care educator loan forgiveness program for early education and care educators pursuant to clause (10) of section 5 of chapter 1…

Section 20. There shall be an educational opportunities information center in the office of the council to provide information and assistance to prospective college and university students, and to public and independent institutions of higher education on matters regarding studen…

Section 21. There shall be a board of trustees consisting of 11 members for each of the institutions named in section 5, other than the University of Massachusetts. Each board of trustees shall elect a chairman; provided, however, that in the case of community colleges, the gover…

Section 22. Each board of trustees of a community college or state university shall be responsible for establishing those policies necessary for the administrative management of personnel, staff services and the general business of the institution under its authority. Without lim…

Section 22A. (a) For purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:- ''Board'', the board of trustees of the Roxbury Community College. ''Center'', the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center established in subsection (b). ''College'', the Roxbury…

Section 23. Each board of trustees shall periodically prepare and submit to the secretary and the council an estimate, in detail, for the ordinary maintenance of its institution, including the salaries of all officers and employees of said institution and all revenues therefrom a…

Section 24. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each board of trustees shall have the authority to make any purchase or purchases in the amount of two thousand dollars or less, and to purchase without limitation of amount library books and periodicals, edu…

Section 24A. With respect to purchases by a board of trustees authorized by section 24, including a purchase by the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts as authorized by section 13 of chapter 75, a board of trustees and the board of higher education may join toget…

Section 25. The council or a board of trustees shall not refuse to elect and contract with a candidate for a teaching position in any public institution of higher education because of the blindness of such candidate.

Section 26. Each public institution of higher education may conduct summer sessions, provided such sessions are operated at no expense to the commonwealth. Each public institution of higher education may conduct evening classes, provided such classes are operated at no expense to…

Section 27. Each public institution of higher education which provides housing for students in dormitories shall establish rules and regulations providing that a certain number of dormitory rooms shall be reserved for nonsmokers. Each such public institution shall provide a space…

Section 28. Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of law, the board of bank incorporation or the commissioner of banks is hereby authorized to allow a bank, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and sixty-seven, to establish and maintain a branch on the grounds of an…

Section 29. (a) As used in this chapter and in chapters seventy-three, seventy-five, seventy-five A, and seventy-five B, the following words shall have the following meanings:— ''Waivable fee'', any amount payable on a student tuition bill, but not a mandatory charge, appearing a…

Section 30. No resident of the commonwealth who has been diagnosed as being developmentally disabled, including but not limited to, having dyslexia or other specific language disabilities, by any evaluation procedure prescribed by chapter seventy-one B, or equivalent testing, sha…

Section 30A. (a) In order to ensure that individuals with severe intellectual disabilities, severe autism spectrum disorders or other severe developmental disabilities participate as non-matriculated students in undergraduate academic courses, internships, work-based trainings, e…

Section 31. The council shall define which of those expenses at the institutional level are to be considered administrative expenses. In preparing their annual spending plans, each board of trustees shall indicate the amount of spending which falls under said definition. The coun…

Section 32. The council shall prepare a system of student assessment, to be administered within the public system of higher education, to measure student improvement, between the first and fourth years of attendance at public higher education institutions, on various tasks, inclu…

Section 33. The council shall publish a report, on or before January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and every four years thereafter, assessing overall faculty productivity and overall teacher effectiveness within the public system of higher education. Said report may in…

Section 34. It is hereby declared the policy of the commonwealth to provide and ensure an accurate and objective study of the public system of higher education in order to fulfill the goals and purposes of this chapter. Subject to appropriation a benchmark study of the public sys…

Section 35. There is hereby established a professional development schools grant program. The board of education shall award grants to exemplary public schools and to cooperating public or private institutions of higher education in the commonwealth to establish collaborative pro…

Section 36. No public school shall receive funds through the professional development schools grant program if, (1) said school is within a city, town, or regional school district in which the share of local expenditures allocated to the support of the public schools has declined…

Section 37. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise: ''Foundation'', an organization which is (a) either (i) a corporation within the meaning of clause (c) of section two of chapter one hundr…

Section 38. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, all public institutions of higher education shall offer the same student information and on-campus recruiting opportunities to representatives of the state or United States armed services as is offered to non…