STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 54th Legislature (2014)

HOUSE BILL 3179	By:	Blackwell

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to higher education; amending 70 O.S. 2011, Section 3218.8, which relates to the tuition and mandatory fees that may be charged at state institutions of higher education; prohibiting students from being charged tuition or fees for remedial courses; allowing institutions of higher education to charge an online fee for online remedial courses; allowing certain students to re-enroll in online or other courses at the resident school district in order to complete remediation requirements; providing for calculation of funding for students who re-enroll; amending 70 O.S. 2011, Section 3903, as amended by Section 637, Chapter 304, O.S.L. 2012 (70 O.S. Supp. 2013, Section 3903), which relates to the allocation and allotment system for The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education; updating statutory language; changing Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education budget preparation timeframe; deleting certain process for allocating funds for the Regents' budget; providing for appropriation of funds for the Regents' budget; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     70 O.S. 2011, Section 3218.8, is amended to read as follows:
Section 3218.8  A.  Subject to the provisions of subsection D and E of this section, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education are authorized to establish undergraduate resident tuition, nonresident tuition and mandatory fees, which students shall pay as a condition of enrollment, except as otherwise provided by law.  The process for establishing tuition and mandatory fees shall incorporate the provisions of Section 3218.14 of this title.
1.  At the comprehensive universities the combined average of the resident tuition and mandatory fees established for any school year for the nonguaranteed rate, as determined by the State Regents, shall remain less than the combined average of the resident tuition and fees at the state-supported institutions of higher education that are members of the Big Twelve Conference on the effective date of this act.  The combined average of the nonresident tuition and mandatory fees, as determined by the State Regents, shall remain less than one hundred five percent (105%) of the combined average of the nonresident tuition and fees at the state-supported institutions of higher education that are members of the Big Twelve Conference on the effective date of this act.
2.  At the regional universities and two-year colleges the combined average of the resident tuition and mandatory fees established for any school year for the nonguaranteed rate, as determined by the State Regents, shall remain less than the combined average of the resident tuition and mandatory fees at like-type state-supported institutions of higher education in states determined by the State Regents that include, but are not limited to, those adjacent to Oklahoma.  The combined average of the nonresident tuition and mandatory fees, as determined by the State Regents, shall remain less than one hundred five percent (105%) of the combined average of the nonresident tuition and fees at like-type state-supported institutions of higher education in states determined by the State Regents that include, but are not limited to, those adjacent to Oklahoma.
B.  In its deliberation on the establishment of resident tuition rates for undergraduate and graduate education, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall balance the affordability of public higher education with the provision of available, diverse and high-quality learning opportunities.  In this endeavor the State Regents shall give consideration to the level of state appropriations, the state economy, the per capita income and cost of living, the college-going and college-retention rates, and the availability of financial aid in Oklahoma.  For any increase in the tuition rates, the State Regents shall demonstrate a reasonable effort to effect a proportionate increase in the availability of need-based student financial aid.  Need-based financial aid shall include, but shall not be limited to, awards for the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program, Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grants, federal need-based financial aid and tuition waivers, and private donations.  In addition, when determining the guaranteed tuition rates as provided for in subsection D of this section, the Regents shall consider the anticipated revenue needs during the four-year period of the guarantee.
C.  Students permitted to audit courses shall pay the same resident tuition and nonresident tuition as required of students who enroll for course credit.
D.  1.  Beginning with the 2008-2009 academic year, each comprehensive and regional institution within The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education shall offer to resident students enrolling for the first time as a full-time undergraduate a tuition rate that will be guaranteed for a period of not less than four (4) consecutive academic years as provided for in this subsection.  Students shall have the option to participate or not participate in the guaranteed tuition rate program and shall indicate their election at the time of enrollment.  Each institution shall provide students with the following information prior to enrollment:
a.	the annual tuition rate charged and the percentage increase for the previous four (4) academic years, and
b.	the annual tuition and percentage increase that the nonguaranteed tuition rate would have to increase to equal or exceed the guaranteed tuition rate for the succeeding four (4) academic years.
2.  Except as otherwise provided for in this subsection, for a student who elects to participate in the guaranteed tuition rate program, who is a resident of the state, and who enrolls for the first time as a full-time undergraduate student at an institution in the state after the 2007-2008 academic year, the amount of undergraduate resident tuition charged to the student for four (4) consecutive academic years at a comprehensive and regional institution shall not exceed the amount that the student was charged at the time of first enrollment, nor shall it exceed one hundred fifteen percent (115%) of the nonguaranteed undergraduate tuition rate charged to resident students enrolling for the first time as undergraduate students at the same institution for the same academic year.
3.  If the normal time of completion for an undergraduate program is more than four (4) years, as determined by the institution, the amount of resident tuition charged to students in that program who have elected to participate in the guaranteed tuition rate program shall not increase during the normal completion period of the program.
4.  If a student who has elected to participate in the guaranteed tuition rate program is a member of the United States Armed Forces including the Army and Air National Guard, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Reserves, or any other component of the Armed Forces, and when ordered by the proper authority to active or inactive duty or service is required to withdraw from an institution for military or other national defense emergencies, the amount of resident tuition the student is required to pay upon reentering the institution shall not exceed the amount the student was charged at the time of withdrawal.
5.  If a student who has elected to participate in the guaranteed tuition rate program transfers to another institution or transfers from a constituent agency of an institution to another constituent agency or the institution after initial enrollment, the student shall be charged the amount of resident tuition charged to other students enrolling for the first time at that institution or constituent agency.
6.  If a student who has elected to participate in the guaranteed tuition rate program changes majors or transfers to another campus of the same institution after initial enrollment, the tuition charged to the student shall equal the amount the student would have been charged had the student been admitted to the changed major or enrolled at the new campus when the student first enrolled.  This paragraph shall not apply if a student transfers from a constituent agency of an institution to another constituent agency of the institution.
7.  A student who elects to participate in the guaranteed tuition rate program shall maintain full-time enrollment during the guaranteed four-year period.  For purposes of this subsection, full-time enrollment shall be the number of credit hours as determined by the State Regents for Higher Education to be full-time enrollment for each institution.
E.  A student who graduates from a high school and enrolls in a state institution of higher education within three (3) years of graduating high school and is required to take a remedial course or courses as determined by the Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education policy shall not be required to pay any tuition or fees associated with the remedial course or courses.  The institution of higher education providing the remedial course to the student may charge an online fee for each remedial course if the course is provided to the student as an online course.  In addition to complete any remediation requirements, the student may enroll in an online course offered through the resident school district of the student or may re-enroll in the resident school district in a course or courses for which the student is in need of remediation.  State Aid funding for students re-enrolling in a school district pursuant to this subsection, either in an online course or course offered at the resident school district, shall be calculated based upon the percentage of the total school day in which the student is enrolled multiplied by the appropriate grade level weight pursuant to Section 18-201.1 of this title.  Only enrollment in courses necessary to complete remediation requirements and not elective courses or periods shall be included in the calculation of State Aid funding.
SECTION 2.     AMENDATORY     70 O.S. 2011, Section 3903, as  amended by Section 637, Chapter 304, O.S.L. 2012 (70 O.S. Supp. 2013, Section 3903), is amended to read as follows:
Section 3903.  ~~(a)~~ A.  The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education shall operate an allotment system similar to the procedure set out in the Oklahoma State Finance Act, Section 34 et seq. of Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes, for other agencies of the state except that the State Regents shall be substituted for the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services in connection with approving allotment requests of the constituent institutions and agencies comprising the State System.  The account classification for the State System shall conform as nearly as possible with the classification of accounts recommended by the publications of the National Association of College and University Business Officers.  The State Regents shall allocate to each institution and agency in the State System, from the consolidated or lump-sum appropriation made by the Legislature, an amount sufficient to meet the needs and functions of the institution or agency for the entire year.  Upon ~~such~~ allocation, monies appropriated for educational and general purposes shall be transferred to the Educational and General Operations Revolving Fund of the institution or agency and monies appropriated for capital improvement purposes shall be transferred to the Capital Improvement Revolving Fund of the institution or agency.  The amount allocated to an institution or agency for each fiscal year shall be made in a lump sum without regard to uniform budget or accounting classifications, but shall not be available for expenditure until subsequently allotted by the State Regents.
~~(b)~~ B.  The State Regents, with the approval of the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, may allot money to any ~~such~~ institution or agency to establish and operate a petty cash fund at the institution or agency~~; said~~.  The petty cash fund shall only be reimbursed upon the filing of claims showing the purposes for which the money was expended.  No single expenditure from any petty cash fund so established and operated shall exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).  Splitting of invoices for the purpose of avoiding this limitation is prohibited.  Except for payments to sports officials, research participants, refunds to students, competition judges, and temporary farm crews employed at Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Stations, expenditures from ~~such~~ the fund for personal services, travel reimbursement, or professional services are prohibited.  Further, the exemption for payments to sports officials and refunds to students is limited to only those institutions which have previously been authorized to participate in both the "Alternate Claims Processing", by the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, and "Remote Warrant Printing", by the State Treasurer.  The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall publish uniform guidelines applicable to all institutions of higher education for expenditures from petty cash funds, which shall be strictly adhered to.
~~(c)~~ C.  Governing boards of control are integral parts of institutions under their respective jurisdiction~~; therefore~~.  Therefore, the expenses of boards in carrying out their respective duties shall be paid from the operating budgets of the institutions and other budget agencies under their jurisdiction.  In cases where a board is the governing board for two or more institutions and/or other budget agencies, the board shall prorate its operating expenses among the institutions and/or other budget agencies so governed.  Prior to the beginning of the fiscal year, each board shall prepare a budget~~,~~ setting out in detail its necessary expenses for the entire fiscal year and shall, not later than July 1, file a copy of its budget with the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and the Legislative Service Bureau.  ~~Said~~ The budget shall include all full-time-equivalent positions in each activity or division and an itemization of all sources of income used for operations and programs.  Each board shall revise its budget, if necessary, and provide ~~said~~ revisions to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, and the Legislative Service Bureau not later than January 1 of each year.  In cases where a board has jurisdiction over two or more institutions or budget agencies, it shall, not later than July 1, notify the President of each institution as to the amount of its pro rata share of the ~~board's~~ expense budget of the board that will be assessed against the institution and/or other budget agency during the fiscal year.
~~(d)~~ D.  Prior to ~~the beginning of the fiscal~~ March 1 of each year, the coordinating board of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education shall prepare a budget setting out in detail its necessary expenses for the entire fiscal year~~,~~ and, not later than ~~July~~ April 1, shall file a copy of its budget with the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and the Legislative Service Bureau.  The ~~State Regents shall allocate the money required to fund its budget prior to making distribution of appropriated monies to the various institutions of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education~~ expenses of the Regents shall be paid from appropriations made by the Legislature for that purpose.
~~(e)~~ E.  The Division of Central Accounting and Reporting shall make cash allocations of revenue, in accordance with Section 23 of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution, to each institution and agency, considering the total allocation made by the State Regents from the lump-sum legislative appropriation as the total appropriation for the institution or agency, in lieu of legislative appropriations.  All income available to an institution or agency for educational and general purposes, as defined in the uniform budget and accounting classifications recommended by the publications of the National Association of College and University Business Officers~~,~~ and including income defined by law as revolving fund income, shall operate as a continuing nonfiscal appropriation which may be expended for any educational and general purpose for which appropriated funds may be expended, if allocated and allotted in accordance with the Oklahoma State Finance Act, as provided in this section~~; provided that no~~.  No obligation shall be incurred in excess of the unencumbered balance of cash on hand.
~~(f)~~ F.  At least thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, each of the constituent institutions and agencies shall file with the State Regents its request for appropriation allotments for each of the purposes for which expenditures are to be made.  ~~Such requests~~ Requests shall be in conformity with the uniform budget or accounting classifications recommended by the publications of the National Association of College and University Business Officers.  Each request for appropriation allotments shall show the amount required to finance each item of the request for the entire year and for each quarter or each six-month period within the fiscal year, as required by the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.  The State Regents, or their designated official or employee who has been authorized to approve itemized allotment requests, shall consider the allotment requests for the purpose of making a determination that: ~~(1) the~~
1.  The current financial requirements of the institution or agency concerned justify the allotment to be made; ~~(2) the~~
2.  The accounting classification is sufficient to reflect the purpose for which expenditures are to be made and that ~~such~~ the classification is in accordance with the budget classifications adopted by the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and the State Regents, which shall conform as nearly as possible to the account classification recommended by the publications of the National Association of College and University Business Officers; and ~~(3) the~~
3.  The realization of estimated revenues determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services is sufficient to allow the commitments to be made.
In allotting appropriations and other funds, and approving subsequent allotments, which may be required by each institution and agency the State Regents shall follow the same general procedure as other agencies of the state not under the control of the State Regents, except as otherwise provided in this section.  All forms and account classifications shall be mutually agreed upon by the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and the State Regents.  The State Regents shall file approved requests of constituent institutions and agencies with the Division of Central Accounting and Reporting.  The State Regents and the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services shall approve any request from the administrative head of a constituent institution or agency for amendment of the approved schedule of positions and salaries or transfers between items, so long as the currently approved allotment for ~~such~~ those purposes is not exceeded and each ~~such~~ amendment shall be filed with the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, in ~~such~~ as much detail as ~~he~~ the Director may require, prior to the date on which the first payroll or other disbursement affected by such amendments is submitted for payment.  In the event that the realization of estimated revenues at any time during the fiscal year indicates that the total revenue from that fiscal year to any state fund will be insufficient at the end of the fiscal year to meet the total appropriations from that fund, the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services shall notify the State Regents as to the amount of reduction necessary against the consolidated~~,~~ or lump-sum appropriation~~,~~ made to the State Regents.
~~(g)~~ G.  The State Regents in making itemized allotments during the fiscal year~~,~~ may reserve an amount sufficient to meet a reasonable failure of revenue until receipt of notice from the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services that the realization of estimated revenues indicates that the total appropriations may be allotted for expenditure.  Upon receipt of notice from the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services of a necessary reduction in the consolidated~~,~~ or lump-sum appropriation~~,~~ to meet a failure in revenue, the State Regents shall immediately take action to control the approval of subsequent allotment requests sufficient to make the aggregate reduction in allotments of all constituent institutions under their control equal the amount of reduction ordered against the lump-sum appropriation made by the Legislature.  ~~Such~~ The reductions against the lump-sum appropriation shall not exceed the percentage reduction ordered against other agencies of the state, in accordance with Section 23 of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution.
SECTION 3.  This act shall become effective July 1, 2014.
SECTION 4.  It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.

54-2-8980	KB	01/14/14