CCS/HCS/SCS/SB 492 - This act modifies provisions relating to higher education. MABEP: This act establishes the "Missouri Advisory Board for Educator Preparation" (MABEP) within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to advise the State Board of Education and the Coordinating Board for Higher Education regarding matters of mutual interest in the area of quality educator preparation programs in Missouri. This provision is similar to the introduced version of HB 1949 (2014), provisions contained in SCS/HB 1390 (2014) and provisions contained in HCS/SB 605 (2014). (Section 161.097) LAW SCHOOL ACCREDITATION: This act repeals the authority of the State Board of Education to accredit a graduate law school. This provision is identical to a provision contained in SCS/HB 1390 (2014). (Section 161.097) COMMUNITY COLLEGES: Unless the General Assembly chooses to otherwise appropriate state funding, beginning in fiscal year 2016, at least ninety percent of an increase in core funding over the appropriated amount for the previous fiscal year must be distributed in accordance with the achievement of institutional performance measures. The Department of Higher Education is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of the community college resource allocation model and submit a report to the Governor, the Joint Committee on Education, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tem of the Senate by October 31, 2019 and every four years thereafter. This provision is identical to a provision contained in SCS/HB 1390 (2014). (Section 163.191) MISSOURI STEM INITIATIVE & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATION: This act expands the "Missouri Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Initiative" to require the Department of Higher Education to develop a process to award grants to Missouri public two- and four-year higher education institutions and school districts that have entered into articulation agreements to offer information technology certification through technical course work. The Department of Higher Education must develop a program to offer information technology certification through technical course work for students enrolled in a public high school that has entered into an articulation agreement with a Missouri public two- or four-year higher education institution. The program must provide instruction on skills and competencies essential for the workplace and requested by employers. The Department of Higher Education must conduct a study to identify the information technology industry certifications most frequently requested by Missouri employers by January 31, 2015. These provisions are identical to SB 941 (2014) and HB 2156 (2014). (Sections 173.670 to 173.680) INSTITUTIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES: This act repeals the requirement that performance measures for higher education institutions be adopted by July 1, 2008. For performance funding purposes, each institution shall utilize the five institutional performances that it submitted to and were approved by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education as of the effective date of this act. Each institution must adopt, in collaboration with the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, an additional institutional performance measure to measure student job placement in a field or position associated with the student's degree level and pursuit of a graduate degree. However, the job placement measure may not be used in any year in which the state unemployment rate has increased from the previous year's state unemployment rate. The Coordinating Board must evaluate and revise, if necessary, the performance measures every three years beginning in calendar year 2019 or more frequently. The Department of Higher Education is responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of the performance funding measures and must submit a report to the Governor, the Joint Committee on Education, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate by October 31, 2019. This provision is similar to a provision contained in SCS/HB 1390 (2014). (Section 173.1006) PUBLIC FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION: This act requires each public four-year institution of higher education to annually prepare an institutional budget request and submit it to the Department of Higher Education. The Department must review them and prepare annual appropriation recommendations for each public four-year institution of higher education. This act requires the cooperative development of an increase allocation model by the public four-year institutions of higher education and the Department of Higher Education. The Department must recommend the model to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education for its approval by October 31, 2014. Unless the General Assembly chooses to otherwise appropriate state funding, the appropriation of core-funding increases in state funding to public four-year institutions of higher education must be in accordance with the increase allocation model. The core funding level for each institution public four-year institution will be the appropriated amount for fiscal year 2015. Increases must be incorporated into the core funding level in accordance with the increase allocation model in fiscal year 2016. This act establishes parameters for how annual increases in appropriations are distributed through the increase allocation model. Unless otherwise provided by the General Assembly during the appropriations process, no more than ten percent of any increase in core appropriations will be distributed to address inequitable state funding on a per student basis, as determined by calculating full-time equivalency or on such bases as determined by the Department and institutions. Any inequity that results from performance funding measures must not be considered when distributing funds to address inequitable state funding. Unless otherwise provided by the General Assembly during the appropriations process, no more than ten percent of any increase in core appropriations will be distributed based on weighted full-time equivalent credit hours so as to provide enrollment, program offering, and mission sensitivity on an ongoing basis. Unless otherwise provided by the General Assembly during the appropriations process, at least ninety percent of the increase will be distributed based on the institutional performance measures. The Department must evaluate the increase allocation model's effectiveness and submit a report to the Governor, the Joint Committee on Education, the President Pro Tem of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by October 31, 2019 and every four years thereafter. This provision is identical to a provision contained in SCS/HB 1390 (2014). (Section 173.1540) STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF MISSOURI: Unless the General Assembly chooses to otherwise appropriate state funding, beginning in fiscal year 2016, at least ninety percent of any annual increase in core funding over the previous year will be distributed in accordance with the institutional performance measures. This provision is identical to a provision in SCS/HB 1390 (2014). (Section 178.638) LARGE ANIMAL VETERINARIAN STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM: This act renames the Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program the "Dr. Merrill Townley Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program." Further, this act repeals the sunset provision of the large animal veterinarian student loan program. These provisions are identical to provisions in SS/SCS/HCS/HB 1326 (2014) HCS/SB 506 (2014), HCS/SB 591 (2014) and HCS/SB 859 (2014). (Sections 340.381 & 340.396) MICHAEL RUFF