CCS#2/HCS/SB 455 – This act modifies provisions relating to higher education. COORDINATING BOARD FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: The Coordinating Board will require all public two-year and four-year higher education institutions to replicate best practices in remediation, as described in the act. (Section 173.005) The Coordinating Board will also require all public two-year and four-year higher education institutions, by July 1, 2014, to create a statewide core transfer library of at least twenty-five lower division courses across all institutions that are transferable among all public higher education institutions. (Section 173.005) The Coordinating Board must develop a policy to foster reverse transfer for students who have accumulated enough hours in combination with public higher education institution in Missouri that offers an associate degree and four-year institutions to be awarded an associate degree. (Section 173.005) The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must maintain the alignment of the statewide assessments for entry-level courses in English, mathematics, foreign language, sciences, and social sciences associated with an institution's general education core with the existing competencies. (Section 173.005) The Coordinating Board may charge and collect fees from out-of-state public institutions to cover the costs of reviewing and assuring the quality of programs offered by out-of-state public institutions. (Section 173.005) The annual report that the Coordinating Board submits prior to the start of the legislative session must include the campus-level data on student persistence and a description of progress towards implementing revised remediation, transfer, and retention practices. (Section 173.040) These provisions are identical to SCS/HCS/HB 1042(2012). EDUCATION COMMISSION OF THE STATES: This act corrects the name of the organization named in the Compact for Education so that it is correctly referred to as the "Education Commission of the States" instead of as the "Educational Commission of the States." This provision is identical to HB 1201 (2012) and a provision contained in HCS/SCS/SB 563 (2012). (Section 173.300) PROPRIETARY SCHOOLS: Current law requires each proprietary school to annually apply to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education for a certificate of approval. This act allows a proprietary school in continuous operation for no less than five years to be able to apply for certification valid for two years. (Section 173.606) This act modifies the fees for a certificate of approval. The base annual fee is set at $.0013 per one dollar of net tuition and fees income with a maximum of five thousand dollars and a minimum of five hundred dollars per school. For a school having a certificate of approval for the sole purpose of recruiting Missouri students, the fee will be five hundred dollars plus the amount produced by the foundation calculation, with a maximum of five thousand dollars. The Coordinating Board may increase the base annual fee every five years, beginning in fiscal year 2013 by administrative rule based on the consumer price index. The Coordinating Board may also establish additional appropriate fees if necessary to generate funding sufficient to cover the entirety of costs associated with the operation of the certification program. (Section 173.608) Currently, the Coordinating Board may require each proprietary school to file a security bond. This act increases the maximum amount of the security bond from twenty-five thousand dollars to one hundred thousand dollars. This act also limits the Coordinating Board's collection of data from proprietary schools to that which is necessary for the administration, supervision, and enforcement of the proprietary school laws. The Department of Higher Education must establish a system to electronically submit all data. Also, the Department of Higher Education must review new programs within ninety days of a proprietary school's submission of such program and must review a revised program submission within sixty days. If the Department fails to review the program within the established timeframe, the proprietary school may offer the program until the review is completed. If the Department finds an issue that needs correction, it must give the school ninety days' notice and allow for correction. (Section 173.612) The members of the Proprietary School Advisory Committee will be appointed by the Commissioner of Higher Education, instead of the Coordinating Board. Also, members of the committee must be owners or managerial employees of proprietary schools. At least three members of the committee must represent schools that confer a degree and at least one of the three must represent a school that confers a baccalaureate degree or higher. (Section 173.614) This act allows the Department of Higher Education to take action against any violation of the proprietary school laws that is authorized in section 407.020, relating to unlawful merchandising practices. (Section 173.618) These provisions are identical to SCS/HCS/HB 1042 (2012) and HCS/HB 1722 (2012). MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF GOVERNORS: Currently, six of the nine members' terms of the Missouri State University board of governors expire in 2011. However, current law also requires that no more than three terms expire in any given year and does not provide a mechanism to modify term lengths to accommodate the timing of the term expiration. This act modifies the term lengths for the appointments to fill the six terms that expired in 2011 so that no more than three of the nine board members' terms will expire in any given year. This act would allow three members' terms to expire on January 1, 2013, three members' terms to expire on January 1, 2015, and three members' terms to expire on January 1, 2017. This provision is also contained in HCS/SCS/SB 563 (2012), SCS/HCS/HB 1042 (2012), and SS/SB 650 (2012). (Section 174.450) MICHAEL RUFF