Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 17 of chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1990 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 56 and 57, the words ", the board of regents of higher education".

SECTION 2. Section 17A of said chapter 6, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "regulation", in line 4, the words:- , the secretary of education.

SECTION 3. Said chapter 6 is hereby further amended by striking out section 18A, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following two sections:-

Section 18A. There shall be a committee on educational policy whose membership is established and powers, duties and responsibilities are defined under the provisions of chapter fifteen A.

Section 18B. (a) A public education nominating council is hereby established to advise the governor with respect to appointments to the board of education, the higher education coordinating council, and all boards of trustees of community colleges, state colleges, and the University of Massachusetts, other than the student and alumni trustees elected pursuant to section twenty-one of chapter fifteen A, and in the case of the university, pursuant to section one A of chapter seventy-five. Said council shall consist of not fewer than twelve nor more than fifteen members and shall act with the concurrence of at least a majority of its members.

(b) Members of the council shall be appointed to serve without compensation for terms coterminous with that of the governor. Members may be reimbursed for all expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of their duties. Any succeeding appointments and vacancies on the council shall be filled by the governor. A member of the council shall be considered a "person employed by the commonwealth for compensation" for the purposes of section thirteen of chapter fifty-five.

(c) The governor shall from time to time select one member to serve as chair of the council. The council shall adopt and make public by-laws for the conduct of its affairs. All records and deliberations with respect to persons under consideration as nominees or prospective nominees shall be held in confidence by the council but shall be available to the governor and the governor's representatives.

(d) Whenever a vacancy occurs or is expected to occur on the board of education, the higher education coordinating council or on a board of trustees, the governor shall notify the council. The council shall submit to the governor a list of persons who, in the judgment of the council, are qualified and willing to serve as members or trustees. Said list shall include at least twice as many names as there are vacant positions. The governor may appoint any person whose name is forwarded to him by the council. If the governor declines to appoint a person from any such list, the council shall submit additional names for that vacancy.

(e) In considering candidates, the council shall seek persons of the highest quality who, by experience, temperament, ability and integrity will provide policy direction and oversight for the commonwealth's educational system and its community colleges, state colleges, and the University of Massachusetts. Candidates shall be evaluated according to law and without regard to race, religion, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation or political affiliation. There shall be persons from diverse cultural, racial, social, geographic and ethnic backgrounds on the council. No member of the council may be considered for appointment to any board while a member of the council.

SECTION 4. Section 2 of chapter 6A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "regulation", in lines 3 and 4, the word:- , education.

SECTION 5. The first paragraph of section 1E of chapter 15 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first and second sentences and inserting in place thereof the following three sentences:- There shall be in the department a board of education, in this section and in sections one F and one G called the board, consisting of the chairman of the student advisory council, established under this section, the chancellor of higher education, the director of research of the advisory council on education, and the secretary of education, ex officiis, and eleven persons to be appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be a member of a labor organization affiliated with the State Labor Council, AFL-CIO and all others shall be residents of the commonwealth. Said chancellor and said director of research shall have no vote. The secretary of education shall serve as a voting member of the board, but shall not serve as chairperson of said board.

SECTION 6. Section 18A of said chapter 15, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 7 to 9, the words "and the board of regents of higher education on behalf of any employee of its system of public institutions of higher education" and inserting in place thereof the words:- , the higher education coordinating council on behalf of any employee of said council, the state colleges or the community colleges, the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts on behalf of any employee of said university.

SECTION 6A. Said section 1E of said chapter 15, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the first and second sentence and inserting in place thereof the following two sentences:- There shall be in the department a board of education, in this section and in sections one F and one G called the board, consisting of the chairman of the student advisory council, established under this section, the chancellor of higher education, the director of research of the advisory council on education, and the secretary of education, ex officiis, and thirteen persons to be appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be a member of a labor organization affiliated with the State Labor Council, AFL-CIO and all others shall be residents of the commonwealth. Said chancellor and said director of research shall have no vote. The secretary of education shall serve as a voting member of the board, but shall not serve as chairperson of said board.

SECTION 7. The General Laws are hereby further amended by striking out chapter 15A and inserting in place thereof the following chapter:- `tuc 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 accountable to its citizens through lay boards, in the form of the higher education coordinating council and the boards of trustees of each of the system's institutions.

It is hereby further declared that in pursuit of its stated goals, the system of public higher education will strive for excellence in its programming and strengthen the access of every individual in the commonwealth to educational opportunities.

It is hereby further declared that by maintaining a high quality system of public colleges and universities, the commonwealth moves toward achieving the following goals:-

(a) to provide its citizens with the opportunity to participate in academic and educational programs for their personal betterment and growth, as well as that of the entire citizenry;

(b) to contribute to the existing base of research and knowledge in areas of general and special interest, for the benefit of our communities, our commonwealth and beyond; and

(c) to understand the importance of higher education to the future of the economic growth and development of the commonwealth, and, by so doing, prepare its citizens to constitute a capable and innovative workforce to meet the economic needs of the commonwealth at all levels.

The higher education coordinating council shall be responsible for defining the mission of the state's system of higher education, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The council shall work with boards of trustees to identify and define institutional missions, taking into account regional needs, as well as to define each institution's role within the greater system. Said institutional missions shall also relate to the mission the council shall identify for each category of institution within the system, including the university, the state college, and community college segments. The council shall be responsible for publishing such mission statements, which shall be used for purposes of accountability, efficiency, and focus.

The higher education coordinating council shall work in conjunction with boards of trustees to hold the system accountable for achieving its goals and establishing a comprehensive system to measure quality by defining educational achievement and success with the use of standards and measurements. The council shall encourage an economical and effective use of the resources of the commonwealth with particular emphasis upon the development of regional and local consortia and related co-operative arrangements by and between public and independent institutions of higher education.

The council shall, in its role as a participant on the state's committee on educational policy, work to coordinate its activities within a framework of an integrated public education system extending from early childhood programs through the university level, to promote coordination and greater benefits to students. The council shall also encourage collaboration between educational institutions and business and industry in order to promote employment opportunities and educational improvements.

In achieving these ends the council shall foster decision-making close to the actual learning environment. The council shall encourage participation in that process by students, faculty, and the general public in an effort to create and maintain a system of higher education which provides the cultural, economic and personal growth opportunities to enrich and empower the lives of the people of this commonwealth.

Section 2. There shall be a committee on educational policy, hereinafter called the committee, consisting of the chairperson, who shall be the secretary of education, the members of the board of education and the members of the higher education coordinating council, whose powers and duties shall be as follows:

(a) to serve as a public forum for discussion of general education goals for the commonwealth;

(b) to develop goals and vision for a co-ordinated system from early childhood through higher education at the university level, and make recommendations to appropriate boards or groups relative to such;

(c) to study and report on issues common to both higher education and public elementary and secondary schools, including, but not limited to; (i) teacher preparation and certification; (ii) vocational education and training; (iii) standards for high school graduation and college admission; (iv) demographic trends relative to educational plans and regional needs;

(d) to build public support and understanding of education and of the committee's goals;

(e) to encourage and facilitate partnerships among and between elementary, secondary, and vocational schools with institutions of higher learning;

(f) to serve as a forum for discussion between the lay boards responsible for overseeing public education in the commonwealth;

(g) to articulate, through study and discussion, the vital connection between high quality public education and future economic growth and development in the commonwealth;

(h) to encourage and facilitate partnerships between schools and businesses to improve the delivery of educational services;

(i) to articulate goals for accountability and high standards of quality for the entire system of education in the commonwealth, in consultation with parents, students, educators, business representatives, community officials and the public at-large;

(j) to advise the legislature, the secretary of education, and the governor relative to any issue within its purview;

(k) to encourage contributions and grants to schools from businesses, foundations, or any viable and appropriate funding source;

(l) to develop methods of assessing achievement relative to committee goals and to publish the results of said assessments.

The committee may utilize subcommittees of the full committee to accomplish any of the duties required of it. Nothing in this section shall be construed to grant the committee any authority vested in the board of education or the higher education coordinating council.

The committee shall meet four times annually and the chairperson may call additional meetings at other times.

Section 3. The secretary of education shall be appointed by the governor and shall devote full time to the duties of the office. The secretary shall receive a salary as determined by the governor. The secretary shall serve in the cabinet established by section seventeen A of chapter six, and shall have the rank of secretary for all purposes.

The secretary shall advise the governor on matters relating to public education, and shall coordinate public education programs from early childhood through the university level by chairing the committee on educational policy and the higher education coordinating council. The secretary may appoint such experts, technical consultants and other assistants in his executive office as he deems necessary, pursuant to section seven of chapter six A. Nothing in this section shall be construed as conferring any powers or imposing any duties upon the secretary with respect to the board of education or the higher education coordinating council except as expressly provided by law.

The secretary shall have the following duties and powers:

(a) analyze the present and future goals, needs and requirements of public education in the commonwealth and recommend to the committee on educational policy comprehensive goals necessary to achieve a well coordinated system of high achievement in public education in the commonwealth;

(b) serve as the governor's advisor on educational issues and represent the interests of education in the governor's cabinet. The secretary shall report to the governor on the activities of public education from early childhood through the university level;

(c) serve as the chairperson of the committee on educational policy and the higher education coordinating council. The secretary shall convene said bodies as required by law and at such other times as may be appropriate. The secretary shall be a full voting member of each of the respective bodies;

(d) in the case of a vacancy, shall select, from a list of three qualified nominees recommended by the higher education coordinating council, a person to serve as chancellor of the public system of higher education;

(e) make recommendations to the governor relative to the funding of public higher education in the commonwealth and assist the governor in preparing proposals for appropriations to be put before the legislature;

(f) articulate the need for public support of education and to assist in building that support.

Section 4. The higher education coordinating council, hereinafter referred to as the council, shall consist of ten members appointed by the governor. Of the appointed members, at least one shall be a representative of organized labor, at least one shall be a representative of the business community, and one shall be a member which the governor shall choose from among no more than three full-time undergraduate students who shall be nominated, and who are currently enrolled in a public institution set forth in section five. Nominated students shall have maintained a satisfactory academic progress as determined by the policy of the institution at which such student is enrolled. Nominations shall be submitted by student members of the board of trustees for each such institution who, for the purpose of this section, shall be referred to as the student advisory committee. Such nominations may include, but not be limited to, students elected as trustees in accordance with the provisions of section twenty. There shall be an office of the council consisting of a chancellor and employees appointed by said council.

Members of the council shall be appointed to serve five year terms, except that the undergraduate student members shall be appointed annually to serve a term of one year's duration commencing initially upon the appointment by the governor and expiring on April thirtieth and every year thereafter commencing on May first and expiring on April thirtieth, for as long as he remains a full-time undergraduate; provided, however, that within three consecutive years said student appointee shall in the first year be a student attending a community college, and in the second year be a student attending a state college, and in the third year be a student attending a state university. This cycle shall repeat. For the purpose of this section the Massachusetts College of Art and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy shall be deemed to be a state college. Each of the student government associations at each of said public institutions may submit to the student advisory committee an individual nominated to be the undergraduate student member of the council. All guidelines for procedures and deadlines for the selection process of the undergraduate board members shall be established by the said student advisory committee, except as herein provided. No member shall be appointed for more than two consecutive terms, except that any student member may serve for one term only. Upon expiration of the term of office of a member, a successor shall be appointed in like manner. A vacancy shall be filled by the governor for the remainder of the term. The secretary shall forthwith notify the governor of any such vacancy.

The council shall, unless otherwise enumerated, be the successor of the board of regents and shall have all the duties and exercise the powers previously vested in said board, unless otherwise enumerated.

The members of the council shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for all expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of their duties.

No member of said council shall be principally employed within the public higher education system of the commonwealth; provided, however, that no more than one-third of the members shall be principally employed by the commonwealth. A member of the council shall cease to be a member if such member ceases to be qualified for appointment or if he is absent from five regularly scheduled meetings during any calendar year.

A person affiliated with an independent institution of higher education shall be eligible for membership on said council. No member of said council shall be found to be in violation of section six of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A for conduct which involves his participation, as a member of said council, in a particular matter before said council which may affect the financial interest of an independent institution of higher education with which he is affiliated; provided, however, that said member, his immediate family or partner, has no personal and direct financial interest in said particular matter; and provided, further, that such affiliation is disclosed to said council and recorded in the minutes of the council.

The council shall meet each month except that the chairperson, with the council's approval, may omit meetings in the months of July and August, and the chairperson may call additional meetings at other times.

Six members of the council shall constitute a quorum, and the affirmative vote of six members shall be necessary for any action taken by the council.

The chairperson shall be the secretary of education.

Commencing on September first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one, and continuing for the terms hereinafter stated and until their successors are appointed, the council shall include among its appointed members five persons appointed by the governor from among the members of the board of regents serving as of June first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one.

Of the ten initial appointed members of the council, two shall be appointed for one year terms, two shall be appointed for two year terms, two shall be appointed for three year terms, two shall be appointed for four year terms and two shall be appointed for five year terms. With the exception of the appointed members from among the members of the board of regents, and the student representative, all members of the council shall be appointed according to the provisions of section eighteen B of chapter six.

Section 5. There shall be, for the purposes of this chapter, a system of public institutions of higher education, hereinafter called the system, which shall include the following institutions:- the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell and Worcester; Bridgewater State College, Fitchburg State College, Framingham State College, the Massachusetts College of Art, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, North Adams State College, Salem State College, Westfield State College, Worcester State College, Berkshire Community College, Bristol Community College, Bunker Hill Community College, Cape Cod Community College, Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, Massachusetts Bay Community College, Massasoit Community College, Middlesex Community College, Mount Wachusett Community College, Northern Essex Community College, North Shore Community College, Quinsigamond Community College, Roxbury Community College and Springfield Technical Community College.

The council shall coordinate activities among the institutions.

Section 6. Upon its formation, and whenever a vacancy may occur, the council shall submit, to the secretary, a list of three qualified nominees as approved by majority vote of the council, to serve as chancellor of the system of public higher education. The secretary shall select a person from said list for appointment and notify the council of the selection. The council shall then appoint said person to serve as chancellor. If the secretary does not forward a selection within thirty days of receiving said list, the council may then appoint a chancellor by majority vote. The chancellor shall serve as chief executive officer of the council to implement its policies, and shall serve at the pleasure of said council.

The council shall be provided with adequate offices and shall, subject to appropriation, appoint such other employees as it deems necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities under the provisions of this chapter. The council shall also, subject to appropriation, establish a schedule of salaries for said chancellor and said other employees. Such salaries as so established by the council shall be in accordance with a classification and pay plan adopted by the council pursuant to a professional study of the job responsibilities of and appropriate salaries for the offices and positions held by said chancellor and said other employees. Such salaries shall be compensation in full for all services rendered to the council, except as otherwise expressly provided for by any general or special law; provided, however, that the chancellor shall receive, subject to appropriation, in addition to said salary such expenses as are approved by the council which are incurred by him in the discharge of his duties and which have been approved by majority vote of the house and senate committees on ways and means.

The council may delegate its authority or any portion thereof to the chancellor whenever in its judgment such delegation may be necessary or desirable. The chancellor shall exercise any such powers or duties delegated with the full authority of the council in any matter concerning the system of public institutions of higher education subject to the direction and approval of the council.

Section 7. With regard to the overall system of public higher education, and each of the three segments of the system, as defined by (i) the university segment, (ii) the state college segment, and (iii) the community college segment, the council shall develop and adopt mission statements. Said segmental mission statements shall include, but not be limited to, the goals and purpose of each type of institution within the system and how they relate to each other in fulfilling the mission of the entire system.

The board of trustees of the university of Massachusetts, shall develop and submit to the council mission statements for the university and each of its campuses. The board of trustees of each state college and community college shall develop and submit to the council a mission statement for each such college. The council shall have authority to approve institutional mission statements, as developed and submitted by boards of trustees. Said approval shall take into consideration how well the institution's mission statement correlates with the mission statements as set forth in the preceding paragraph.

The council shall be responsible for making public said mission statements. The council may, as it deems necessary, undertake or cause to be undertaken, revisions of said statements.

Section 8. The council shall have the following duties and powers:- (a) confer upon the boards of trustees the power to offer degree programs after taking into account, among other things, the need, resources and mission of the institution. The council shall confer the authority to award degrees to persons who have satisfactorily completed degree requirements; (b) in addition to the degrees authorized to be awarded under clause (a), the council may approve the awarding of certain other degrees and may define and authorize new functions or new programs, or consolidate, discontinue or transfer existing functions, educational activities and programs. The council shall act in writing on requests for program approval from boards of trustees within six months of said request, or said program shall be considered approved. The council may, after a public hearing and submission of a written report to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of the council, consolidate, discontinue, or transfer divisions, schools, stations, colleges, branches or institutions as it deems advisable; (c) consistent with general goals that may be established by the committee on educational policy, analyze the present and future goals, needs and requirements of public higher education in the commonwealth and establish overall goals in order to achieve a well coordinated quality system of public higher education in the commonwealth; (d) develop and adopt mission statements as defined in section seven; (e) approve institutional mission statements, pursuant to section seven; (f) prepare a five year master plan for public higher education in the commonwealth, which plan shall take into account the five year plans submitted by individual boards of trustees, as well as the general goals established by the committee on educational policy. The master plan shall include, but need not be limited to, enrollment projections, utilization of existing facilities, promotion of research, programmatic excellence, and public service activities, recommendations for closing of facilities or the construction or acquisition of new facilities, program distribution and the need for program revision, including the termination of obsolete or unnecessarily duplicative programs. The master plan shall be filed with the clerk of the house of representatives, the clerk of the senate, the secretary of education and the secretary of administration and finance; (g) annually file a detailed progress report on the five year master plan with said clerks and secretaries by the first Wednesday in September; (h) require boards of trustees to submit admission standards and program standards, which shall be subject to the approval of the council; provided, however, that said admission standards shall comply with the provisions of section thirty and that the council shall publish all admission and program standards; (i) develop a rational and equitable statewide tuition plan for the community colleges and state colleges in the commonwealth, which plan shall take into account by type of institution, the per student maintenance costs, total mandated costs per student and the need to maximize student access to higher education regardless of a student's financial circumstances. The council shall issue regulations governing the implementation of such tuition plans by the community colleges and state colleges. In the case of the university, the council shall review the recommendation of the board of trustees relative to tuition rates at said university and its campuses. Said tuition rates shall be subject to the approval of the council; (j) receive allotments to the commonwealth under federal programs of aid to public higher education and disburse such funds in accordance with a plan promulgated by the council, not to include grants to individuals or grants received directly by institutions; (k) set enrollment levels for each institution in the system; (l) require each institution in the system to submit to the council a five year plan, which plan shall be updated annually; (m) have overall responsibility for the property, real and personal, occupied or owned by the council, the state colleges and the community colleges; (n) subject to its direction and approval, authorize the chancellor to seek, accept and administer grants, gifts and trusts for system-wide purposes from private foundations, corporations, individuals and federal agencies, which shall be administered under the provisions of section two C of chapter twenty-nine of the General Laws and disbursed at the direction of the council pursuant to its authority; (o) from time to time, employ consultants and experts to study and report on matters necessary to the operation of the system; (p) establish, implement and maintain an accounting system as required by the state comptroller; (q) approve and fix the compensation of the chief executive officer of each institution within the state college system and community college system; (r) review annually, in accordance with post-audit procedures established by the council, the fiscal operations of constituent institutions. The council shall insure public inspections, through publication, of institutional spending plans; (s) require, collect, analyze, maintain such data from institutions and agencies for public higher education as may be relevant to the careful and responsible discharge of its purposes, functions and duties and such data shall include information available from private institutions of higher education. In the case of public institutions, such data shall include, but not be limited to, analyses of the rates of graduation and the scores received by students on standardized examinations. The council shall publish said analyses, both for the system and for individual institutions. (t) issue regulations defining resident of the commonwealth and proof of the same for the purpose of admission and tuition expenses of public institutions of higher education and prepare uniform proofs of residence to be used by all public institutions; (u) establish, where appropriate, coordination between and among post-secondary institutions public or private and resolve conflicts of policies or operations arising in public higher education; (v) develop and implement a transfer compact for the purpose of facilitating and fostering the transfer of students without the loss of academic credit or standing from one public institution to another; (w) establish an affirmative action policy and implement a program necessary to assure conformance with such policy throughout the system; (x) in the case of state colleges, fix the classification, title, salary range within the general salary schedule and descriptive job specifications for each position shall be determined by the council for each member of the professional staff and copies thereof shall be placed on file with the governor, budget director, personnel administrator and the joint committee on ways and means, except that any such salary may be fixed at any amount not less than the minimum salary nor more than the maximum salary shown in said schedule; provided, however, the council may establish the salary for the chief executive officer and such other officers and members of the professional staff and for the academic deans and members of the professional teaching staff without reference to the general salary schedule and salary range; and, provided further, that no such salary shall be established for any academic dean or any member of the professional teaching staff unless his classification rating is equal to or higher than that of professor, nor shall the number of academic deans and members of the professional teaching staff whose salaries may be so established exceed one percent of the combined total number of academic deans and members of the professional teaching staff. A notification of each personnel action taken shall be filed by the council with the personnel administrator and with the comptroller; (y) in the case of community colleges, fix the classification, title, salary range of each member of the professional staff within the general salary schedule, except that any such salary may be fixed at any amount not less than the minimum salary nor more than the maximum salary shown in said schedule; provided, however, that the council may fix the salary and salary range for the chief executive officer of each individual community college and other officers and members of the professional staff of the community college system not exceeding in number one percent of the total number of such other officers and members of the professional staff taken together in the community college system, without reference to the general salary schedule; and provided, further, that no such salary shall be fixed for any such member classed within the one percent unless he holds a position equivalent to or higher than the rank of professor; (z) recognize the duly elected student government association at each public university, state college or community college as the official representative of the student body; (aa) submit a written application of the Health and Educational Facilities Authority hereinafter referred to as HEFA requesting that said authority undertake a project, as defined in section three of said chapter six hundred and fourteen, on behalf of one or more public institutions for higher education, as so defined; provided, however, that the council shall only make such application for a project on behalf of the public university if such project is approved by the board of trustees of the public university; (bb) transfer or pledge that they will periodically transfer to HEFA any funds available for expenditure by the council, in order to provide for the expenses of HEFA and for the payment of indebtedness incurred by HEFA in connection with any project financed by HEFA on behalf of the council, one or more public institutions of higher education, their affiliated building authorities, or any other organization affiliated therewith, as defined in paragraph (e) of said section three of said chapter six hundred and fourteen; provided, however, that in the case of any funds expected to be available for expenditure by the council or such other entities pursuant to subsequent appropriation or other spending authorization by the legislature, the council may only pledge that they will so transfer such funds subject to such subsequent appropriation or other spending authorization. Any such pledge shall be valid and binding from the time when the pledge is made; the funds so pledged shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without any physical delivery thereof or further act, and the lien of any such pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise against the council or any such public institution of higher education, affiliated building authority, or other organization affiliated therewith, irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolution nor any trust agreement by which such a pledge is created need be filed or recorded except in the records of HEFA.

Section 9. The council shall have the following duties and powers:- (a) confer upon the boards of trustees the power to offer degree programs after taking into account, among other things, the need, resources and mission of the institution. The council shall confer the authority to award degrees to persons who have satisfactorily completed degree requirements; (b) in addition to the degrees authorized to be awarded under clause (a), the council may approve the awarding of certain other degrees and may define and authorize new functions or new programs, or consolidate, discontinue or transfer existing functions, educational activities and programs. The council shall act in writing on requests for program approval from boards of trustees within six months of said request, or said program shall be considered approved. The council may, after a public hearing and submission of a written report to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of the council, consolidate, discontinue, or transfer divisions, schools, stations, colleges, branches or institutions as it deems advisable; (c) consistent with general goals that may be established by the committee on educational policy, analyze the present and future goals, needs and requirements of public higher education in the commonwealth and establish overall goals in order to achieve a well-coordinated quality system of public higher education in the commonwealth; (d) develop and adopt mission statements as defined in section seven; (e) approve institutional mission statements, pursuant to section seven; (f) prepare a five year master plan for public higher education in the commonwealth, which plan shall take into account the five year plans submitted by individual boards of trustees, as well as the general goals established by the committee on educational policy. The master plan shall include, but need not be limited to, enrollment projections, utilization of existing facilities, promotion of research, programmatic excellence, and public service activities, recommendations for closing of facilities or the construction or acquisition of new facilities, program distribution and the need for program revision, including the termination of obsolete or unnecessarily duplicative programs. The master plan shall be filed with the clerk of the house of representatives, the clerk of the senate, the secretary of education and the secretary of administration and finance; (g) annually file a detailed progress report on the five year master plan with said clerks and secretaries by the first Wednesday in September; (h) require boards of trustees to submit admission standards and program standards, which shall be subject to the disapproval of the council; provided, however, that said admission standards shall comply with the provisions of section thirty and that the council shall publish all admission and program standards; (i) develop a rational and equitable statewide tuition plan for the state colleges and community colleges in the commonwealth, which plan shall take into account by type of institution, the per student maintenance costs and total mandated student costs per student. The total mandated costs per student shall include the state appropriation, retained revenue, fringe benefits, and ongoing maintenance. Said tuition plans shall include direct and indirect elements of the per student maintenance costs, including but not limited to, faculty and administrators that support an institution's primary mission of instruction; student admission services, and ongoing maintenance for classrooms, administrative buildings, libraries and laboratories. Said tuition plan shall include revised retention expenditure regulations which take into account the needs of said institutions with regards to personnel and utility costs. Said tuition plan shall further take into account the need to maximize student access to higher education regardless of a student's financial circumstances. The council shall issue regulations governing the implementation of such tuition plans by the state colleges and community colleges. In the case of the university, the council shall review the recommendations of the board of trustees relative to tuition rates at said university and its campuses. Said tuition rates shall be subject to the approval of the council. The council shall establish final tuition rates for the subsequent academic year no later than fifteen days prior to the deadline for submission of state or federal financial aid applications by students attending the institutions of higher education set forth in section five of this chapter. The council shall establish fee guidelines for the state colleges and community colleges which shall take into account the cost of educational activities. Fees established pursuant to said guidelines shall not exceed twenty-five percent of total student charges. (j) receive allotments to the commonwealth under federal programs of aid to public higher education and disburse such funds in accordance with a plan promulgated by the council, not to include grants to individuals or grants received directly by institutions; (k) review enrollment levels for each institution of the system subject to disapproval of the council; (l) require each institution in the system to submit to the council a five year plan, which plan shall be updated annually; (m) have overall responsibility for the property, real and personal, occupied or owned by the council, state colleges and community colleges; (n) subject to its direction and approval, authorize the chancellor to seek, accept and administer grants, gifts and trusts for system-wide purposes from private foundations, corporations, individuals and federal agencies, which shall be administered under the provisions of section two C of chapter twenty-nine of the General Laws and disbursed at the direction of the council pursuant to its authority; (o) from time to time, employ consultants and experts to study and report on matters necessary to the operation of the system; (p) maintain a uniform accounting system as required by the state comptroller; (q) approve and fix the compensation of the chief executive officer of each institution within the state college system and community college system; (r) review annually, in accordance with post-audit procedures established by the council, the fiscal operations of constituent institutions. The council shall insure public inspections, through publication, of institutional spending plans; (s) require, collect, analyze, maintain such data from institutions and agencies for public higher education as may be relevant to the careful and responsible discharge of its purposes, functions and duties and such data shall include information available from private institutions of higher education. In the case of public institutions, such data shall include, but not be limited to, analyses of the rates of graduation and the scores received by students on standardized examinations. The council shall publish said analyses, both for the system and for individual institutions. (t) issue regulations defining resident of the commonwealth and proof of the same for the purpose of admission and tuition expenses of public institutions of higher education and prepare uniform proofs of residence to be used by all public institutions; (u) establish, where appropriate, coordination between and among post-secondary institutions public or private and resolve conflicts of policies or operations arising in public higher education; (v) develop and implement a transfer compact for the purpose of facilitating and fostering the transfer of students without the loss of academic credit or standing from one public institution to another; (w) establish an affirmative action policy and implement a program necessary to assure conformance with such policy throughout the system; (x) in the case of state colleges, fix the classification, title, salary range within the general salary schedule and descriptive job specifications for each position shall be determined by the council for each member of the professional staff and copies thereof shall be placed on file with the governor, budget director, personnel administrator and the joint committee on ways and means, except that any such salary may be fixed at any amount not less than the minimum salary nor more than the maximum salary shown in said schedule; provided, however, the council may establish the salary for the chief executive officer and such other officers and members of the professional staff and for the academic deans and members of the professional teaching staff without reference to the general salary schedule and salary range; and, provided further, that no such salary shall be established for any academic dean or any member of the professional teaching staff unless his classification rating is equal to or higher than that of professor, nor shall the number of academic deans and members of the professional teaching staff whose salaries may be so established exceed one percent of the combined total number of academic deans and members of the professional teaching staff. A notification of each personnel action taken shall be filed by the council with the personnel administrator and with the comptroller; (y) in the case of community colleges, fix the classification, title, salary range of each member of the professional staff within the general salary schedule, except that any such salary may be fixed at any amount not less than the minimum salary nor more than the maximum salary shown in said schedule; provided, however, that the council may fix the salary and salary range for the chief executive officer of each individual community college and other officers and members of the professional staff of the community college system not exceeding in number one percent of the total number of such other officers and members of the professional staff taken together in the community college system, without reference to the general salary schedule; and provided further, that no such salary shall be fixed for any such member classed within the one percent unless he holds a position equivalent to or higher than the rank of professor; (z) recognize the duly elected student government association at each public university, state college or community college as the official representative of the student body; (aa) submit a written application of HEFA requesting that said authority undertake a project, as defined in section three of chapter six hundred and fourteen of the acts of nineteen hundred and sixty-eight, on behalf of one or more public institutions for higher education, as so defined; provided, however, that the council shall only make such application for a project on behalf of the public university if such project is approved by the board of trustees of the public university; (bb) transfer or pledge that they will periodically transfer to HEFA any funds available for expenditure by the council, in order to provide for the expenses of HEFA and for the payment of indebtedness incurred by HEFA in connection with any project financed by HEFA on behalf of the council, one or more public institutions of higher education, their affiliated building authorities, or any other organization affiliated therewith, as defined in paragraph (e) of said section three of said chapter six hundred and fourteen; provided, however, that in the case of any funds expected to be available for expenditure by the council or such other entities pursuant to subsequent appropriation or other spending authorization by the legislature, the council may only pledge that they will so transfer such funds subject to such subsequent appropriation or other spending authorization. Any such pledge shall be valid and binding from the time when the pledge is made; the funds so pledged shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without any physical delivery thereof or further act, and the lien of any such pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise against the council or any such public institution of higher education, affiliated building authority, or other organization affiliated therewith, irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolution nor any trust agreement by which such a pledge is created need be filed or recorded except in the records of HEFA.

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, Bunker Hill Community College, Cape Cod Community College, Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, Massachusetts Bay Community College, Massasoit Community College, Middlesex Community College, Mount Wachusett Community College, Northern Essex Community College, North Shore Community College, Quinsigamond Community College, Roxbury Community College, and Springfield Technical Community College, and any other community college established after November first, nineteen hundred and eighty-nine; or, if any such community college shall be abolished, any institution succeeding to the principal functions thereof.

"Community college affiliate" any organization or association, in any form, the activities of which are a part of the activities of such community college and are subject to regulation by the trustees of such community college or any research foundation, teaching hospital and associated clinics or other research or educational organization the operation of which in conjunction with such community college is approved by the trustees of such community college as furthering the purposes of the community college.

"HEFA" shall mean the Health and Educational Facilities Authority, established by section four of chapter six hundred and fourteen of the acts of nineteen hundred and sixty-eight, or, if said Health and Educational Facilities Authority shall be abolished, the board, body, or commission succeeding to the principal functions thereof or to which the powers given by said chapter six hundred and fourteen shall be given into law.

"Project" in the case of a participating institution for higher education, a structure or structures suitable for use as a dormitory or other multi-unit housing facility for students, faculty, officers or employees, a dining hall, student union, administration building, academic building, library, laboratory, research facility, classroom, athletic facility, health care facility, maintenance, storage or utility facility and other structures or facilities related to any of the foregoing or required or useful for the instruction of students or the conducting of research or the operation of an institution for higher education, including parking and other facilities or structures essential or convenient for the orderly conduct of such institution for higher education, and shall also include landscaping, site preparation, furniture, equipment and machinery and other similar items necessary or convenient for the operation of a particular facility or structure in the manner for which its use is intended and shall further include any furnishings, equipment, machinery and other similar items necessary or convenient for the operation of an institution of higher education, whether or not such items are related to a particular facility or structure financed by HEFA, but shall not include such items as books, fuel, supplies or other items the cost of which are customarily deemed to result in a current operating charge, and shall not include any facility used or to be used for sectarian instruction or as a place of religious worship nor any facility which is used or to be used primarily in connection with any part of the program of a school or department of divinity for any religious denomination. Project may include any combination of one or more of the foregoing undertaken jointly by one or more participating institutions with each other or with other parties.

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, convey or lease to HEFA or any community college affiliate real or personal property owned by the commonwealth in a city or town in which a community college is located or grant easements, licenses or any other rights or privileges therein to HEFA to any community college affiliate. Neither HEFA nor any community college affiliate shall be liable to taxation upon any real property, including any building or buildings erected thereon, or personal property sold, conveyed or leased under this section;

(b) Cause private ways, sidewalks, footpaths, ways for vehicular travel, parking areas, water, sewage or drainage facilities and similar improvements and steam service and other utilities and connections for heating and other necessary purposes to be furnished to or in any project carried out by HEFA or any community affiliate;

(c) Make available to HEFA or to any community college affiliate the services of officers and employees of a community college and office space and facilities in a community college for, among other things, billing and collecting rents, fees, rates and other charges for the use and occupancy of property of HEFA or any community college affiliate by one or more community colleges or community college affiliates, students, staff and their dependents; renting and leasing rooms and other accommodations in the buildings and structures of HEFA or a community college affiliate; cleaning, heating, daily operation of and repairs to and maintenance of such buildings and structures and other property of HEFA or any community college affiliate; and keeping all books of account for HEFA or any community college affiliate;

(d) Establish and manage trust funds for self-amortizing projects and self-supporting activities including, but not limited to, the operation of the boarding halls, student health service, research institutes and foundations, dormitories and student and faculty apartment; provided, that all income received from such projects or activities shall be held in trust by the council and expended for the purpose for which the trust fund was established; provided further, that the council may, for the purposes of this section or section twelve, group together several or more projects into one or more funds as is, in its judgement, required to best effectuate the purposes of the projects and activities and the purposes of the community colleges; and provided, further, that any unrestricted balances remaining in a trust fund upon its termination shall be used as directed by the council for the general purposes of the community college;

(e) Do any and all things authorized by law and necessary or convenient to aid and cooperate with HEFA or any community college affiliate in carrying out the purposes of HEFA or such community college and exercising their powers and in complying with the provisions of any trust agreement into which HEFA may enter in connection with any project financed by HEFA on behalf of any community college or community college affiliate.

In connection with any financing or refinancing provided by HEFA, the provisions of this paragraph shall apply. No lease or other agreement made under this section or section twelve made by HEFA, or the commonwealth acting through the council, or any other community college affiliate to HEFA, the commonwealth acting through the council, or any other community college affiliate shall be subject to any provision of law relating to publication or advertising for bids, and any such lease or agreement may be entered into and shall become effective without any necessity for any order of court or other action or formality other than the regular and formal action of the authorities concerned. No sale, conveyance, lease, or grant made under this section to HEFA or any community college affiliate by the council or by any community college affiliate shall be subject to the provisions of section forty F, section forty F>, section forty H or section forty I of chapter seven; provided, however, that the council may elect for any such sale, conveyance, lease, or grant to be subject to the provisions of said sections; provided, further, that in connection with (i) any project upon any real property or right thereto obtained by HEFA or any community college affiliate pursuant to the sale, conveyance, lease, or grant hereby exempted from said sections, or (ii) any disposition to a person or entity other than HEFA, the commonwealth acting through the council or otherwise, or a community college affiliate of any real property or right thereto obtained by HEFA or any community college affiliate pursuant to the sale, conveyance, lease, or grant hereby exempted from said sections, HEFA or such community college affiliate, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be a state agency for the purpose of paragraph (v) of section thirty-nine A of said chapter seven and shall be deemed to be a public agency for the purpose of subsection (1) of section forty-four A of chapter one hundred and forty-nine.

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, or the commonwealth acting through the council under the provisions of section eleven, or any other community college affiliate to HEFA, or the commonwealth acting through the council, or any other community college affiliate of buildings or other property, the council may, in the name and on behalf of the commonwealth, (i) transfer or pledge that they will periodically transfer to HEFA, or to any community college affiliate under terms permitting further transfer or pledge to HEFA, any part or all of any funds held as trust funds for any community college under the provisions of paragraph (d) of section eleven, administered on behalf of any community college as gifts, grants, or trusts under the provisions of clause (e) of section twenty-two, made available for expenditure on behalf of any community college pursuant to an appropriation or other spending authorization in the commonwealth's annual operating budget, including supplementary and deficiency budgets, or otherwise available for expenditure by the council, and (ii) may contract with HEFA or any community college affiliate with respect thereto under terms permitting further transfer or pledge by HEFA to a trustee under any trust agreement related to such project and entered into by HEFA pursuant to chapter six hundred and fourteen of the acts of nineteen hundred and sixty-eight; provided, that in the case of any funds expected to be available for expenditure by the council pursuant to subsequent appropriation or other spending authorization by the legislature, the council may only pledge that they will so transfer such funds subject to such subsequent appropriation or other spending authorization. The council may impose such terms and conditions as to the application of the funds so transferred as it deems appropriate for the carrying out of the provisions of said chapter six hundred and fourteen and of this chapter. Any such pledge shall be valid and binding from the time when the pledge is made; the funds so pledged shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without any physical delivery thereof or further act, and the lien of any such pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise against the council, any community college, or any other community college affiliate, irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolution nor any trust agreement by which such a pledge is created need be filed or recorded except in the records of HEFA.

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 purposes of this act whenever the same shall, in the opinion of HEFA, cease to be needed for such purposes. The proceeds of any such sale or lease shall be held and disposed of as revenues from the project for or with respect to which the property sold or leased shall have been acquired; provided, however, that except as permitted by section eleven, no property acquired from the commonwealth shall be sold or leased without prior approval of the governor and council; and provided further that the proceeds of any sale or lease of any such property shall be paid to the treasurer and receiver-general of the commonwealth and shall be credited on the books of the commonwealth to the General Fund.

In the event that the council shall sell, convey or lease to HEFA any dormitory, dining commons or boarding hall faculty or student apartment building or student union building at any community college and owned by the commonwealth or any interest of the commonwealth in or to such a building so located but owned by another, and in the further event that funds for the rental or maintenance of such building or buildings have been provided by appropriation from general funds of the commonwealth for any fiscal year ending after the effective date of such sale, conveyance or lease, such sale, conveyance or lease shall provide that the rentals, fees or other charges levied for the use of such building or rooms or accommodations therein or services provided therein in such fiscal years shall be retained by or paid to the treasurer and receiver-general of the commonwealth, as the case may be.

Section 14. Upon application by the trustees of the state university, 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 twelve.

Section 15. The council shall periodically prepare and submit to the budget director an estimate, in detail, for the ordinary maintenance of the entire system of public institutions of higher education, and revenue therefrom, as provided in section three of chapter twenty-nine. Said statement shall include the salaries of all officers and employees within said system and all program costs which are to be borne by any source other than the commonwealth, including such sources as federal financing or federal research, demonstration, or training grants, community contributions and other grants, endowments or trusts.

The council shall also periodically submit requests for capital outlay for the entire system of public institutions of higher education to the secretary of administration and finance as provided by section seven of said chapter twenty-nine and to the house and senate committees on ways and means. The council shall use the estimates and requests prepared by each board of trustees for the purposes of this section attaching whatever recommendations it may desire or deem necessary. The general court shall appropriate funds for the system of public institutions of higher education in various line items, including, but not limited to four separate appropriations; one each for the university, state colleges, community colleges, and scholarships.

The board of trustees of the university shall receive its appropriation directly, in one sum. Funds appropriated for the state college system and the community college system shall be disbursed by the council to each board of trustees by the establishment of allocation accounts; provided, however, that the council shall not allocate an amount less than that appropriated by the general court for the expenses of "01, salaries, permanent positions"; "02, salaries, other"; or "03, services, nonemployee" without prior approval of the commissioner of administration; and provided, further, that no such funds allocated for the expenses of "01 salaries, permanent" to a board of trustees shall be transferred without the prior approval of the commissioner of administration.

Except as provided in the preceding paragraph, the council shall not be prevented from amending institutional allocations or reallocating funds among institutions.

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 even numbered fiscal year of said two year budget cycle each board of trustees shall prepare and submit to the council a budget request for the ordinary maintenance of its institution; said budget request shall include the salary of all officers and employees of said institution and all revenues therefrom and any other such information as the council may require or as provided in section three of chapter twenty-nine. Each board of trustees shall make requests to the council under the provisions of chapter twenty-nine. The boards of trustees shall attach to said even numbered fiscal year budget request a budget request for the following odd numbered fiscal year; said odd numbered fiscal year budget request shall include the salary of all officers and employees of said institution and all revenues therefrom and any other such information as the council may require or as provided in section three of chapter twenty-nine.

Each board of trustees shall prepare their estimates and requests according to the funding formulas prescribed in section fifteen A of this chapter.

The council shall review the institutional budget requests prepared by each board of trustees attaching whatever comments and recommendations it may desire or deem necessary. Said comments and recommendations shall be consistent with the aforementioned funding formulas, statewide needs and the adopted institutional and system long range plans. In reviewing the various estimates and requests the council may comment on the overall level of funding for the system of public higher education and may comment regarding funding priorities among segments of the system of public higher education and among the various institutions. The council shall submit the recommendations and comments of the council to the secretary of administration and finance, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on education, arts and humanities. The council shall include in addition to the information provided by the boards of trustees all program costs which are to be borne by any other source other than the commonwealth, including such sources as federal financing or federal research, demonstration or training grants, community contributions and other grants, endowments or trusts.

Section 16. There shall be a general scholarship program administered by the council for the purpose of providing financial assistance to students domiciled in the commonwealth and enrolled in and pursuing a program of higher education in any approved public or independent college, university or school of nursing, or any other approved institution furnishing a program of higher education. Such aid and assistance shall consist of awarding of full or partial scholarships to worthy and qualified students in need of financial assistance.

The amount of awards to qualified students shall be determined by using an indexing system which shall be included in the guidelines established by the council to govern this program. The council shall file a report of current year general scholarship program expenditures, appropriations needed to fund full need for all students, and projections of general scholarship expenditures for the following year by family contribution ranges and independent student contribution ranges. Said report shall be filed with the clerk of the house and senate no later than the end of each calendar year.

There shall be a Christian A. Herter Memorial Scholarship Program which authorizes the council to guarantee the payment of full or partial scholarships to no more than twenty-five students annually of extraordinary need and ability selected in tenth or eleventh grades by persons or agencies designated by said council under such regulations as the council shall deem necessary. These awards shall be guaranteed to the student at the time of the student's selection; provided however, that said student successfully completes high school and is enrolled in and pursuing a program of higher education in any approved public or independent college, scientific or technical institution, or any other approved institution furnishing a program of higher education, and shall be payable from the general scholarship funds at the time of the student's matriculation.

There shall be a program, administered by the council, providing for the matching of scholarship grants to participating Massachusetts independent regionally accredited colleges, universities and schools of nursing; provided, that the council shall establish policies and regulations relating to the program, including an audit procedure to insure that institutions are in compliance with such policies and regulations; provided, further, that a participating institution shall be eligible to receive an amount equal to such institution's expenditure for scholarship aid to needy Massachusetts undergraduate students enrolled in such institutions as full-time matriculating students in a course of study leading to an associate or bachelor degree; provided further, that each participating institution shall agree to expend an amount equal to one hundred percent of the grant awarded hereunder in direct financial assistance to the needy Massachusetts students; provided further, that each participating institution shall agree to comply with the information requests of the council in accordance with this chapter, and provided, further, that students receiving such aid shall be ineligible for additional scholarship assistance provided by the commonwealth.

There shall be a Christa McAuliffe Teacher Incentive Program for the purpose of providing financial assistance for undergraduate and graduate students in approved institutions of higher education within the commonwealth who agree to teach on a full time basis within a public education system located in the commonwealth. The council shall institute and maintain learning contracts for all students admitted in the teacher incentive program, which shall include provisions for "payback" service for a period commencing after such students have fulfilled all graduation requirements, or for repayment to the commonwealth of the full amount of such grants on terms established by said council. Said council shall establish guidelines governing said program which shall include but not be limited to eligibility requirements, selection criteria, and period of time which must be spent teaching in the commonwealth.

There shall be a part-time student grant program to provide assistance to part-time undergraduate students attending approved institutions of higher education within the commonwealth who have demonstrated financial need. The council shall establish guidelines governing said program.

The council may award full or partial scholarships to worthy and qualified students who have been residents of the commonwealth for a period of four years immediately prior to receiving such award and who are in need of financial assistance in order to pursue graduate studies. The council shall award scholarships and notify all applicants on or before July first in each year. No scholarship may be awarded for more than five years to any one student. The council may expend such sums as may be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this paragraph. The council shall establish guidelines governing said program which shall include but not be limited to eligibility requirements and selection criteria.

There shall be a Council Grant for Campus-based Assistance Program for adult learners and work study opportunities. Participating approved institutions of higher education within Massachusetts shall receive an allocation from the council to provide grant or work study assistance to eligible students with demonstrated financial need. The council shall establish guidelines to govern this program which shall insure that those students receiving assistance include part-time students, graduate students and adult learners.

There shall be a Public Service Scholarship Program to provide scholarships to children and widowed spouses of Massachusetts police officers, firefighters and correction officers, who are killed or die from injuries received while in the performance of duties including authorized training duty; to children of prisoners of war or military or service persons missing in action in Southeast Asia whose wartime service is credited to the commonwealth and whose service was between February first, nineteen hundred and fifty-five, and the termination of the Vietnam campaign; and to the children of veterans whose service was credited to the commonwealth and who were killed in action or otherwise died as a result of such service. Such scholarships shall be awarded by the council pursuant to its guidelines established to govern this program and shall go to those persons referenced above who are admitted to an institution of higher education in the commonwealth to pursue undergraduate studies.

There shall be a dedicated grant program for undergraduate students enrolled at an approved institution of higher education within the commonwealth. The council shall establish guidelines to govern said program.

There shall be a consortium scholarship program for undergraduate students to pursue programs that are not currently offered by public institutions of higher education within the commonwealth. The council shall establish guidelines to govern said program.

Any student receiving financial assistance under any program listed above shall maintain satisfactory academic progress in order to continue to receive such assistance. Each institution which recipients attend shall maintain documentation of each recipient's academic standing and provide requested documentation to the council in accordance with guidelines promulgated by the council.

All programs of financial assistance above shall be subject to appropriation.

Any institution of higher education participating in any of the programs set forth above shall annually execute a participating agreement for each such program and place such contracts on file with the council's scholarship office.

When applicable federal law requires, each applicant for assistance under any program established herein shall provide appropriate documentation to verify his compliance with the Military Selective Service Act in effect at the time of such application.

With the exception of the public service scholarship program grants, all financial assistance provided for in this section shall be based on ability to pay, as provided for in guidelines promulgated by the council.

Upon adoption by the council of guidelines promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this section, said council shall file a copy thereof with the secretary of administration and finance, and with the clerk of the house of representatives, who shall refer such guidelines to the joint committee on education, arts and humanities, and the house and senate ways and means committees.

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 students deficient in basic skills, as determined by the board of education with college students as instructional aides. Instructional aides shall assist teachers in instructional activities during regular school programs or extended day programs, but shall not replace existing school personnel. Funds provided under this section shall be used first to provide matching funds for work-study college students, and in the case where work-study students are not available, to hire college students not enrolled in work-study programs. The council, in cooperation with the board of education, shall promulgate rules and regulations for said program, including selection criteria for public school sites, cooperative agreements between colleges and public schools, yearly programs evaluation procedures, program duration standards, and other rules.

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 a student participating in at least seventy-five percent of the full-time curriculum. Such an institution may elect to allow students to waive participation in its student health insurance program or any part thereof; provided, however, that an institution permitting such waivers shall require students waiving participation to certify in writing prior to any academic year in which they will not participate in the institution's plan that they are participating in a health insurance program having comparable coverages.

Each public and independent institution of higher education shall submit an annual report to the department of medical security detailing its procedures for complying with the provisions of this section; provided, however, that prior to the implementation of this section the department of medical security and the council shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means. Such a report shall include, but not be limited to, an analysis of the number of students lacking health insurance, the costs of the requirements of this section to the students and the public and independent institutions of higher education, and a proposed method for meeting such costs.

Any public or independent institution of higher learning failing to carry out its responsibilities under this section shall pay a penalty per student for every day during which the failure continues, equal to the penalty per employee per day imposed upon noncomplying employers by subsection (i) of section fourteen G of chapter one hundred and fifty-one A. Any penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the public responsibility account of the medical security trust fund established by chapter one hundred and eighteen F. Any institution which, in accordance with regulations promulgated pursuant to this section, relies in good faith on statements by students relative to their health insurance status shall not be liable for any penalty or for failure to comply with the provisions of this section caused by misstatements of such students.

The department of medical security, with the advice and consent of the council, shall issue regulations to define qualifying student health insurance programs, to establish procedures to monitor compliance, and to implement the provisions of this section.

Section 19. There shall be a single tuition 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 sixteen.

Such guidelines (i) shall establish institutional waiver allocation formulas and eligibility requirements, including needs criteria, for designated waiver programs, (ii) shall provide tuition waivers for specific categories of students designated by the council which shall include veterans, armed forces personnel, senior citizens, graduate students and native Americans, (iii) may provide waivers for additional categories of students not included in clause (ii), and (iv) may provide waivers of tuition or fees for undergraduate programs, summer sessions, evening classes, or any specific courses or set of courses.

Tuition waivers for graduate students shall be administered by each institution of public higher education. Said institutions shall annually and on a date specified by the council submit a written report to the board detailing graduate student waiver policies and distributions of said waivers.

Upon the adoption of guidelines in accordance with the provision of this section the council shall file copies of thereof with the clerks of the house and the senate, who shall refer such guidelines to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on education, arts and humanities.

The council shall annually on or before March fifteenth report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and to the joint committee on education, arts and humanities regarding any modifications to the guidelines setting forth tuition waiver programs. Said report shall include information relative to tuition waivers for graduate students as administered by the several institutions of public higher education.

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 student admissions, transfers, and enrollments.

Such public institutions shall cooperate with the center by furnishing such nonconfidential information as may assist the center in the performance of its duties. The center may request and receive similar information from private or other public educational institutions to the commonwealth.

An applicant for admission to an institution whose application is not accepted may send to the center appropriate nonconfidential information concerning his application. The center may, at its discretion and with permission of the applicant, direct the attention of the applicant to other institutions and direct the attention of other institutions to the applicant.

The center may conduct such studies and analyses of admission, transfers and enrollments as may be deemed appropriate.

Section 21. There shall be board of trustees consisting of eleven members for each of the institutions named in section five other than the University of Massachusetts. Each board of trustees shall elect a chairman.

One member of such board of trustees shall be a full-time undergraduate student member from said institution, and ten members shall be appointed by the governor pursuant to the provisions of section eighteen B of chapter six, at least one of whom shall be an alumnus of said institution and one of whom shall be elected thereto by the alumni association of said institution. Each elected alumnus member shall be elected every five years. No elected alumnus member shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. A vacancy in the position of elected alumnus member prior to the expiration of a term shall be filled for the remainder of the term in the same manner as elections to full terms. Each student member shall be elected by the student body annually, no later than May fifteenth. The term of office of each elected student member of the board shall be one year and shall commence on July first following their election and terminate on June thirtieth of the following year. The student member shall be eligible for re-election for as long as said student remains a full-time undergraduate student and maintains satisfactory academic progress as determined by the policy of the institution at which the student is enrolled. If at any time during the elected term of office said student member ceases to be a full-time undergraduate student or fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress, the membership of said student on the board shall be terminated and the office of the elected student member shall be deemed vacant, provided, however, that if the elected student member vacates his position upon graduation from the institution prior to July first, the elected successor may assume the position of student member on the board effective from the date of graduation of his predecessor, provided further that the statutory time limit of one year of the successor student trustee shall commence to run on July first notwithstanding any taking of office prior to the commencement of said term. A vacancy in the office of the elected student member prior to the expiration of a term shall be filled for the remainder of the term in the same manner as student elections to full terms.

No member of a board of trustees shall be a member of the higher education coordinating council. No member of a board of trustees shall be principally employed within the public higher education system of the commonwealth; provided, however, that no more than one-third of the members shall be principally employed by the commonwealth. Membership on a board of trustees shall terminate if a member ceases to be qualified for appointment.

Members shall be appointed to serve for five year terms, but no member shall be appointed for more than two consecutive terms. Members of the board shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for all expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of their duties.

Any vacancy on a board of trustees shall be filled for the duration of the term, in the same manner as the prior appointment. If a member is absent from four regular meetings in any calendar year, exclusive of July and August, that person's membership on the board shall terminate and a vacancy shall be deemed to exist. The chairman shall forthwith notify the governor when any vacancy exists.

Each board of trustees shall from time to time advise the higher education coordinating council on admissions programs, labor relations and program approval for its institution. Each board of trustees shall at their pleasure and with the approval of the council appoint and remove the chief executive officer of its institution.

Section 22. Each board of trustees of a community college or state college 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 limitation upon the generality of the foregoing, each such board shall: (a) cause to be prepared and submit to the council estimates of maintenance and capital outlay budgets for the institution under its authority; (b) establish all fees at said institution subject to guidelines established by the council. Said fees shall include fines and penalties collected pursuant to the enforcement of traffic and parking rules and regulations. Said rules and regulations shall be enforced by persons in the employ of the institution who throughout the property of the institution shall have the powers of police officers, except as to the service of civil process. Said fees established under the provisions of this section shall be retained by the board of trustees in a revolving fund or funds, and shall be expended as the board of the institution may direct; provided that the foregoing shall not authorize any action in contravention of the requirements of Section 1 of Article LXIII of the Amendments to the Constitution. Said fund or funds shall be subject to annual audit by the state auditor; (c) appoint, transfer, dismiss, promote and award tenure to all personnel of said institution; (d) manage and keep in repair all property, real and personal, owned or occupied by said institution; (e) seek, accept and administer for faculty research, programmatic and institutional purposes grants, gifts and trusts from private foundations, corporations, federal agencies, alumnae and other sources, which shall be administered under the provisions of section two C of chapter twenty-nine and may be disbursed at the direction of the board of trustees pursuant to its authority; (f) implement and evaluate affirmative action policies and programs; (g) establish, implement and evaluate student services and policies; (h) recommend to the council admission standards and instructional programs for said institution, including all major and degree programs provided, however, that said admission standards shall comply with the provisions of section thirty; (i) have authority to transfer funds within and among subsidiary accounts allocated to said institution by the council; (j) establish and operate programs, including summer and evening programs, in accordance with the degree authority conferred under the provisions of this chapter; (k) award degrees in fields approved by the council; either independently or in conjunction with other institutions, in accordance with actions of the boards of trustees of said other institutions and the council; (l) submit a five year master plan to the council, which plan shall be updated annually on or before the first Wednesday of December in each year; (m) submit financial data and an annual institutional spending plan to the council for review. Said plan shall include an account of spending from all revenue sources including but not limited to, trust funds; (n) develop a mission statement for the institution consistent with identified missions of the system of public higher education as a whole, as well as the identified mission of the category of institution within which the institution operates. Said mission statement shall be forwarded to the council for its approval. The board of trustees shall, after its approval, make said mission statement available to the public; (o) submit an institutional self-assessment report to the council, which the board of trustees shall make public and available at the institution. Said assessment report shall be used to foster improvement at the institution by the board of trustees and shall include information relative to the institution's progress in fulfilling its mission, as approved by the council. Said report shall be submitted, initially, by January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three and every two years thereafter.

The board of trustees of each institution may delegate to the president of such institution any of the powers and responsibilities herein enumerated.

The commonwealth shall indemnify a trustee of a community college or state college against loss by reason of the liability to pay damages to a party for any claim arising out of any official judgment, decision, or conduct of said trustee; provided, however, that said trustee has acted in good faith and without malice; and provided, further, that the defense or settlement of such claim shall have been made by the attorney general or his designee. If a final judgment or decree is entered in favor of a party other than said trustee, the clerk of the court where such judgment or decree is entered shall, within twenty-one days after the final disposition of the claim, provide said trustee with a certified copy of such judgment or entry of decree, showing the amount due from said trustee, who shall transmit the same to the comptroller who shall forthwith notify the governor; and the governor shall draw his warrant for such amount on the state treasurer, who shall pay the same from appropriations made for the purpose by the general court.

Section 23. Each board of trustees shall periodically prepare and submit to 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 and any other such information as the council may require or as provided in section three of chapter twenty-nine. Each board of trustees shall make requests to the council under the provisions of section seven of chapter twenty-nine.

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, educational and scientific supplies and equipment, printing and binding, emergency repairs and replacement parts, and perishable items, without recourse to any other state board, bureau, department or commission; provided, however, that in so doing the college shall follow modern methods of purchasing and shall, wherever practicable, invite competitive bids. Except as herein provided, the state purchasing agent shall on the certification of availability of funds purchase all items specified on requisitions submitted to him by any such board of trustees; provided, that the board of trustees shall have the right to review all bids received on any said board's requisitions and to make binding recommendations on the award of the contract based on the judgment of the board as to which of the bids best meet said board's specification on which the bids were received. Products assembled, manufactured or otherwise produced by the Massachusetts commission for the blind shall be purchased from the commission pursuant to the provisions of section one hundred and thirty-four of chapter six.

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 the commonwealth.

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 on the application for admission or student housing for the applicant to indicate whether he would prefer to reside in a room where smoking was prohibited or whether he would prefer to reside in a room where smoking was allowed.

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 any public institution of higher education in the commonwealth, provided that the council shall determine the method and terms of the lease if applicable or rental thereof.

Section 29. (a) As used in this chapter and in chapters seventy-three, 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 as a separately assessed item, accompanied by a statement as to the nature of said item and that said item is not a charge required to be paid by the student but rather the student may deduct said charge from the total amount due, and that said item appears on the bill at the request of the student body and does not necessarily reflect the endorsement of the board of trustees.

"Student organization", any organization of students at public post-secondary educational institutions which is open to membership of all students who pay the waivable fee and is controlled by its student members.

"Nonpartisan", as applied to student organizations not endorsing or adhering to particular ideological or religious positions in the articles of incorporation, charter, constitution, or by-laws.

"Official student referendum", a referendum vote of the student body which is sanctioned by the college-recognized student governmental association and certified by said student government association as valid.

(b) Nonmandatory student fees to nonpartisan student organizations which employ legislative agents as defined in section thirty-nine of chapter three, or to nonpartisan student organizations attempting to influence legislation as defined in section forty-four of said chapter three, shall be paid on student tuition bills by a waivable fee whenever students have authorized said fee by a majority vote of those students voting in an official student referendum. The continuation of said waivable fee on the student tuition bill may be subject to reauthorization by an official student referendum every two years. Necessary administrative costs arising in connection with the collection of said fee may be billed by the board of trustees to the student organization at the time of the transfer of funds collected to said student organizations.

(c) The boards of trustees shall not allow any funds for legislative agents as defined in section thirty-nine of said chapter three or organizations attempting to influence legislation as defined in section forty-four of said chapter three to be assessed on student tuition bills; provided, however, that waivable fees for nonpartisan student organizations which employ said legislative agents or attempt to influence legislation shall be collected by the boards of trustees whenever students have authorized a waivable fee by a majority vote of those students voting in an official student referendum. Said waivable fees shall be collected as provided in paragraph (b).

(d) No funds collected as a mandatory student activities fee shall be paid to legislative agents as defined in section thirty-nine of said chapter three or organizations attempting to influence legislation as defined in section forty-four of said chapter three.

(e) As used in this section, the term "legislative agent" or "organization attempting to influence legislation" shall not include any student government association or associations, individually or collectively, or any organization comprised of representatives of such associations, which are selected by students through referendum to be an official representative of the student body.

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, shall be required to take any standardized college entrance aptitude test to gain admittance to any public institution of higher education in the commonwealth. Admission shall be determined by all other relevant factors excluding standardized achievement testing. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any person solely because of blindness or visual impairment, regardless of age at which such individual became blind or visually-impaired.

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 council shall make public the amount of administrative spending at each institution and may, as a result, make recommendations relative to reducing such spending to provide for more efficient administration of the system of public higher education.

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, including, but not limited to, ability to reason, communication and language skills, and other factors the council deems appropriate to evaluate, in order to assess the general performance of higher education institutions in fostering learning and academic growth. The council shall determine the method of assessment shall publish the results of such assessment.

Section 33. The council shall publish a report, on or before January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and every four years thereafter, assessing overall faculty productivity and overall teacher effectiveness within the public system of higher education. Said report may include narrative research and statistical data which the council deems appropriate. Any data or information gathered for said report is not intended to be and shall not be used for the evaluation of the performance of any individual faculty member and the identity of individual faculty members shall be confidential. Said report shall also include information gained from students, both present and former, and shall further include information obtained from the commonwealth's business community relative to work force preparation. The report shall draw comparisons between institutions and types of institution, as well as between the commonwealth's public higher education system and those in other states, to the extent feasible.

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 system of higher education may be undertaken to determine the strengths and weaknesses of said system and to propose strategies and directions for the higher education coordinating council and the system as a whole to take in order to fulfill its mission more effectively. Said benchmark study shall be conducted by a panel of nationally recognized objective experts in the field of higher education whose members shall be selected by the council, through the consultation with the secretary of education, the joint committee on education, the arts and humanities, and the ways and means committees of the house and senate. Said benchmark study shall be filed with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives no later than December first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and shall be made available to the public.

The aforementioned study shall be conducted at least every seven years, subject to appropriation.

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 programs for the purpose of fostering improved teacher training and professional development. In order to be eligible for a professional development school grant a school in cooperation with one or more public or private institutions of higher education shall jointly submit a program application which shall include, but not be limited to, a statement of program objectives covering a three year period, a program plan with specific timelines for implementation, and a plan for program evaluation. The program designated in the application must be approved by the faculty of the institution of higher education, the teachers, administrators and other professional staff of the public school, the superintendent of schools and by majority vote of the school committee and school improvement council. The board of education shall give priority to those programs in which the teacher training and professional development activities will take place in the public school.

Grants awarded under this section, to the extent that said funds are allocated to the public school, shall be deposited with the town, city, or regional district treasurer in a separate account to be expended, without further appropriation, by the school committee for the purposes of the professional development schools grant.

The board of education may contract with any public institution of higher education or nonprofit corporation, which has the requisite knowledge and experience in teacher training for the purpose of administering the professional development schools grant program.

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 in any fiscal year commencing on July first, nineteen hundred and eighty-five, or (2) any schools receiving professional development school grants have received average per pupil support less than that received on average by all other schools of the same classification and grade level in the district, or (3) the absolute level of financial support for the public schools in the city, town or regional school district has decreased in any year since fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-six. In the case of a school district which fails to meet the aforementioned criteria, the board of education shall consider as eligible those schools in which the per pupil educational portion of local expenditures, adjusted for inflation and other factors, has not declined in any year since fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-six.

SECTION 8. Section 30 of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1990 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 8, the words "board of regents" and inserting in place thereof the words:- higher education coordinating council.

SECTION 9. Said section 30 of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 8, the second time it appears, and in lines 11, 16, 19, 23, 28, 33, and 37 the word "board" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the word:- council.

SECTION 10. Said section 30 of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 46, the words "board of higher education" and inserting in place thereof the words:- higher education coordinating council.

SECTION 11. Section 30A of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words "board of regents" and inserting in place thereof the words:- higher education coordinating council.

SECTION 12. Said section 30A of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 4, 7 and 16, the word "board" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the word:- council.

SECTION 13. Section 31 of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the words "board of regents" and inserting in place thereof the words:- higher education coordinating council.

SECTION 14. Section 31A of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 9, the words "board of regents" and inserting in place thereof the words:- higher education coordinating council.

SECTION 15. Section 31B of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the words "board of regents" and inserting in place thereof the words:- higher education coordinating council.

SECTION 16. Chapter 75 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 1, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 1. The state university shall be the University of Massachusetts, consisting of campuses to be maintained at Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and Worcester, which shall continue as a public institution of higher learning within the system of public higher education and shall be governed by the board of trustees established herein. In addition to the authority, responsibility, powers and duties specifically conferred by this chapter, the board of trustees shall have all authority, responsibility, rights, privileges, powers and duties customarily and traditionally exercised by governing boards of institutions of higher learning. In exercising such authority, responsibility, powers and duties said board shall not in the management of the affairs of the university be subject to, or superseded by, any other state agency, board, bureau, commission, department or officer, except as provided in sections thirty-eight A> to forty-three I, inclusive, of chapter seven, chapter fifteen, chapter fifteen A or in this chapter. This chapter shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes.

SECTION 17. Said chapter 75 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 1 the following section:-

Section 1A. There shall be a board of trustees for University of Massachusetts consisting of nineteen voting members. Two members shall be full-time students from said institution, and seventeen members shall be appointed by the governor, at least five of whom shall be alumni of said institution, and one of whom shall be a representative of organized labor who shall be appointed by the governor from a list of not less than two nor more than five names, representing different unions submitted by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. If no such list of names is submitted within sixty days after a vacancy occurs, the governor may appoint any representative of organized labor of his own choosing to the board. Of the alumni appointed to the University board, one shall be a graduate of the Amherst campus; one shall be graduate of the Boston campus; one shall be a graduate of the Dartmouth campus; one shall be a graduate of the Lowell campus; and one shall be a graduate of the Worcester campus. The student members shall be elected annually, and each shall be selected on a rotating basis in order by the student body of the Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and Worcester campuses. In any given year, the elected student representatives of the three campuses without a vote shall be ex officio non-voting members of the board; provided, however, that said members may only participate in open meetings of the full board of trustees. The secretary of education shall be an ex officio non-voting member of the board.

The term of office of each elected student member shall be one year and shall commence on July first following her election and shall terminate on June thirtieth of the following year. If at any time during the elected term of office said student member ceases to be a full-time student or fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress, the membership of said student shall be terminated and the office of the elected student member shall be deemed vacant. A vacancy in the office of an elected student member prior to the expiration of a term shall be filled for the remainder of the term in the same manner as an election to a full term.

Members shall be appointed to serve for five year terms, but no member shall be appointed for more than two consecutive terms. A vacancy in the appointed membership prior to the expiration of a term shall be filled for the remainder of the term by the governor. Membership on the board of trustees shall terminate if a member ceases to be qualified for appointment. If any member, either elected or appointed, is absent from four regular meetings in any calendar year, exclusive of July and August, his office as member of said board shall be deemed vacant. The chairperson shall forthwith notify the governor when any vacancy exists. Said vacancy shall be filled by the governor according to the provisions of section eighteen B of chapter six.

All members of the board shall be elected or appointed for their interests in, and their ability to contribute to, the fulfillment of the purposes of the board. The members appointed by the governor shall include representatives from each region of the commonwealth. All members shall be deemed members-at-large, charged with the responsibility of serving the best interests of the university. No member of the board of trustees shall be principally employed by the commonwealth. Members of the board shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for all expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of their duties. The board of trustees shall elect a chair. No chair shall serve for more than three consecutive years.

The board of trustees shall be responsible for establishing those policies necessary for the administrative management of personnel, staff services and the general business of the university. The board shall: (a) cause to be prepared and submit to the higher education coordinating council estimates of maintenance and capital outlay budgets for the university; (b) establish all fees at said institution, subject to guidelines established by the council. The board shall submit recommendations for fee guidelines to the council. Said fees shall include fines and penalties collected pursuant to the enforcement of traffic and parking rules and regulations. Said rules and regulations shall be enforced by persons in the employ of the institution who throughout the property of the institution shall have the powers of police officers, except as to the service of civil process. Said fees established under the provisions of this section shall be retained by the board of trustees in a revolving fund or funds, and shall be expended as the board of the institution may direct; provided that the foregoing shall not authorize any action in contravention of the requirements of Section 1 of Article LXIII of the Amendments to the Constitution. Said fund or funds shall be subject to annual audit by the state auditor; (c) appoint, transfer, dismiss, promote and award tenure to all personnel of the university; (d) manage and keep in repair all property, real and personal, owned or occupied by the university; (e) seek, accept and administer for faculty research, programmatic and institutional purposes grants, gifts and trusts from private foundations, corporations, federal agencies, alumni and other sources, which shall be administered under the provisions of section two C of chapter twenty-nine and may be disbursed at the direction of the board of trustees pursuant to its authority; (f) implement and evaluate affirmative action policies and programs; (g) establish, implement and evaluate student services and policies; (h) with approval of the higher education coordinating council, establish admission standards and instructional programs for the university, including all major and degree programs; provided, however, that said admission standard shall comply with the provisions of section thirty of chapter fifteen A; (i) have authority to transfer funds within and among subsidiary accounts allocated to the university; (j) establish and operate programs, including summer and evening programs, in accordance with the degree authority conferred under the provisions of this chapter; (k) with the approval of the council, award degrees in fields, either independently or in conjunction with other institutions; and (l) submit a five year master plan to the council, which plan shall be updated annually on or before the first Wednesday of December in each year; (m) submit financial data and an annual institutional spending plan to the council for review. Said plan shall include an account of spending from all revenue sources including but not limited to, trust funds; (n) develop a mission statement for each campus, as well as a statement for the university, consistent with identified missions of the system of public higher education as a whole. Said mission statements shall be forwarded to the council for its approval. The board of trustees shall, after their approval, make said mission statements available to the public; (o) submit an institutional self-assessment report to the council, which the board of trustees shall make public and available at the institution. Said assessment report shall be used to foster improvement at the institution by the board of trustees and shall include information relative to the institution's progress in fulfilling its mission, as approved by the council. Said report shall be submitted, initially, by January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three and every two years thereafter; (p) submit recommendations to the council for approval for tuition rates at the university.

The board of trustees may delegate to the president of the university any of the powers and responsibilities herein enumerated.

The commonwealth shall indemnify a member of the board against loss by reason of the liability to pay damages to a party for any claim arising out of any official judgment, decision, or conduct of said member; provided, however, that said member has acted in good faith and without malice; and provided, further, that the defense or settlement of such claim shall have been made by the attorney general or his designee. If a final judgment or decree is entered in favor of a party other than said member, the clerk of the court where such judgment or decree is entered, shall, within twenty-one days after the final disposition of the claim, provide said member with a certified copy of such judgment or entry of decree, showing the amount due from said member, who shall transmit the same to the comptroller who shall forthwith notify the governor; and the governor shall draw his warrant for such amount on the state treasurer, who shall pay the same from appropriations made for the purpose by the general court.

SECTION 18. Said chapter 75, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out section 2 and inserting in place thereof the following:-

Section 2. The major purpose of the university shall be to provide, without discrimination, public service, research, and education programs, including continuing education services, in the liberal arts and sciences and in the professions, and in those professional areas normally requiring either education beyond four years of undergraduate training or a basic or advanced degree beyond the bachelor's level, with exclusive jurisdiction in agriculture. The university may offer the adult education services of the university extension services. The university shall have the general authority to award an earned doctoral degree, either independently or jointly with any other public institution of higher education operated by the commonwealth in accordance with joint programs approved by the higher education coordinating council and the board of trustees of the university and the board of trustees of such other public institution. The trustees shall maintain high educational standards at the university and shall, subject only to the general authority in the higher education coordinating council, have complete authority to establish, locate, support, consolidate or abolish classes, courses, curricula, departments, divisions, schools or colleges of the university wherever and whenever required in meeting the needs of the commonwealth in the field of public higher education. The trustees shall establish for the university the qualifications and standards for promotion and graduation and shall award academic degrees and diplomas and confer honors as is customary in American universities. The trustees shall establish, for the university, the qualifications and standards for admission subject to approval by the higher education coordinating council. Said standards for admission shall accommodate persons who have been diagnosed as developmentally disabled, including but not limited to, having dyslexia or other specific language disabilities, by an evaluation procedure prescribed by chapter seventy-one B, or equivalent testing. The trustees may confer such honorary degrees as they deem appropriate.

SECTION 19. Said chapter 75 is hereby further amended by striking out section 13, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 13. The board of trustees shall have the authority to make any purchase or purchases in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars or less, and to purchase without limitation of amount library books and periodicals, educational and scientific supplies and equipment, printing and binding, emergency repairs and replacement parts, and perishable items, without recourse to any other state board. Such purchases shall be subject to competitive bids wherever practicable. The board of trustees shall promulgate regulations further defining the process for the purchase of said supplies.

SECTION 20. Section 14 of said chapter 75, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second and third paragraphs and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

The trustees shall have complete authority with respect to the election or appointment of the president of the university and such other officers and members of the professional staff of the university, including terms, conditions and periods of employment, classification and reclassification, salary within such salary schedule and exemptions as the trustees shall determine, compensation, transfer, promotion, and demotion, and shall define the duties and tenure of all officers and members of the professional staff, without limitation of any other provision of law. Said compensation and university salary schedule shall be set without reference to any state salary schedule. Copies of the classification, title, salary range, and descriptive job specifications for each position shall be placed on file with the governor, the council, the budget director, the personnel administrator, and the house and senate committees on ways and means.

SECTION 21. Said section 14 of said chapter 75, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the definition of "General salary schedule".

SECTION 22. Said chapter 75 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 14 the following two sections:-

Section 14A. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the trustees shall prescribe and enforce such regulations as they may deem necessary, and may enter into contracts with corporations, foundations, other entities, and individuals concerning inventions, discoveries, research, or other work product, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and any other intellectual property, developed under the terms of a sponsored agreement entered into by the university or involving the use of university funds, facilities, excluding libraries, equipment, material or time by students, research fellows, staff members, faculty or other university personnel, including the transfer of rights involving such work product, the amount of the respective shares in the proceeds therefrom, and provision for the resolution of any and all disagreements involving the same. The trustees shall also have the authority to prescribe in such regulations the circumstances under which the university, students, research fellows, staff members, faculty, and other university personnel may own equity or hold other financial interests in connection with such work product.

Section 14B. The trustees shall establish for each campus a council, broadly representative of the community, alumnae and students, and shall, upon recommendation of the campus president, appoint members thereto. The campus council shall advise the campus president and the trustees and make recommendations regarding said campus, and shall undertake such other activities as shall be determined by the campus president.

SECTION 23. Chapter seventy-five A of the General Laws is hereby repealed.

SECTION 24. Chapter seventy-five B of the General Laws is hereby repealed.

SECTION 25. The definition of "Employer" in section 1 of chapter 150E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1990 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the third sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- In the case of employees of the system of public institutions of higher education, the employer shall mean the higher education coordinating council or any individual who is designated to represent it and act in its interest in dealing with employees, except that the employer of employees of the University of Massachusetts shall be the board of trustees of the university or any individual who is designated to represent it and act in its interest in dealing with employees.

SECTION 26. Paragraph (b) of section 7 of said chapter 150E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 7, the words "board of regents of higher education" and inserting in place thereof the words:- higher education coordinating council or the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts.

SECTION 27. Paragraph (c) of said section 7 of chapter 150E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 21 and 22, the words "board of regents of higher education" and inserting in place thereof the words:- higher education coordinating council, the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts.

SECTION 28. (a) All books, papers, records, documents, equipment, lands, interests in land, buildings, facilities and other property, both personal and real, which immediately prior to the effective date of this act, are in the custody of the board of regents shall be transferred to the higher education coordinating council by this act. All duly existing contracts, leases and obligations of the board of regents in force immediately prior to the effective date of this act shall thereafter be performed by the council. No existing right or remedy of any character shall be lost, impaired or affected by the provisions of this act. All monies heretofore appropriated for the board of regents remaining unexpended on the effective date of this act shall be available for expenditure by the council for the purposes for which funds were originally appropriated.

(b) All employees of the board of regents are hereby transferred by this act to the council or the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts, as appropriate.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to confer upon any employee any right not held immediately prior to the effective date of this act or to prohibit any reduction of salary or grade, transfer, reassignment, suspension, discharge, layoff, or abolition of position not prohibited prior to said effective date.

All orders, rules and regulations duly made, and all licenses, permits, certificates and approvals duly granted by the board of regents which are in force immediately prior to the effective date of this act, shall continue in force and the provisions thereof shall thereafter be enforced, unless and until otherwise suspended, revised, rescinded or canceled in accordance with law.

SECTION 29. As of the effective date of this act, each employee transferred from the board of regents shall become an employee of the council or of the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts as appropriate. Rights and obligations under collective bargaining agreements with respect to employees of all state colleges and all community colleges transferred from the board of regents to said council shall be assumed by and imposed upon the council who shall, pursuant to section one of chapter one hundred and fifty E of the General Laws, be the "public employer" of all employees of all state colleges and community colleges.

SECTION 30. Commencing on September first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one, and continuing for the terms hereinafter stated and until their successors are appointed, the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts established by section one A of chapter seventy-five of the General Laws shall include the following appointed members:

(1) Eight persons appointed by the governor prior to September one, nineteen hundred and ninety-one from among members of the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts; provided, however, that the governor shall select from existing board members the alumni to be appointed from the Amherst, Boston, and Worcester campuses, as provided in said section one A.

(2) Four persons appointed by the governor prior to July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one from among members of the board of trustees of the University of Lowell; provided, however, that the governor shall select from existing board members the alumnus to be appointed from the Lowell campus, as provided in said section one A.

(3) Four persons appointed by the governor prior to September first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one from among members of the Southeastern Massachusetts University; provided, however, that the governor shall select from existing board members the alumnus to be appointed from the Dartmouth campus, as provided in said section one A.

Of the sixteen initial appointed trustees, three shall be appointed for one year terms, three shall be appointed for two year terms, three shall be appointed for three year terms, three shall be appointed for four year terms, and four shall be appointed for five year terms. As the terms of the initial appointed members of the board expire, their successors shall be appointed as provided for in section one A of chapter seventy-five of the General Laws and according to the provisions of section eighteen B of chapter six of the General Laws. For purposes of appointment under said section one A, an alumnus of the University of Lowell shall be considered to be a graduate of the Lowell campus of the University of Massachusetts, and an alumnus of Southeastern Massachusetts University shall be considered to be a graduate of the Dartmouth campus of the University of Massachusetts. Any term of office served by a member of the board of trustees of Southeastern Massachusetts University, the board of trustees of the University of Lowell, or the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts prior to July one, nineteen hundred and ninety-one shall not be considered for purposes of qualification and appointment as provided in said section thereafter.

SECTION 31. Commencing on September first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one, the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts established by section one A of chapter seventy-five of the General Laws shall include as the two initial elected student members the student elected by the student body of the Dartmouth campus and the student elected by the student body of the Lowell campus to serve respectively on the board of trustees of Southeastern Massachusetts University and the University of Lowell on July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one. The terms of said elected student members shall expire on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and ninety-two. As the terms of the initial elected student members of the board expire, their successors shall be elected on a rotating basis in order as provided for in section one A of chapter seventy-five of the General Laws.

SECTION 32. The terms of office of all appointed and elected members of the board of trustees of Southeastern Massachusetts University, the board of trustees of the University of Lowell, and the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts who are not appointed or elected to the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts under the provisions of this act are hereby terminated as of August thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one.

SECTION 33. The rights, powers, duties, and properties of the board of trustees of Southeastern Massachusetts University, the board of trustees of the University of Lowell, and the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts, abolished by this act, shall hereafter be exercised, performed, and held by the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts, established by section one A of chapter seventy-five of the General Laws, which shall be their lawful successor.

SECTION 34. The staff of Southeastern Massachusetts University and the University of Lowell on August thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one shall be and are hereby transferred to the staff of the University of Massachusetts without impairment of status, tenure, seniority, retirement, insurance, industrial accident coverage and all other rights and benefits to which such staff are entitled on said date notwithstanding any change in duties and titles resulting from such transfer; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to confer upon any employee any rights not held immediately prior to such transfer.

SECTION 35. The terms of any collective bargaining agreement in existence on August thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one between any employee organization and the board of regents of higher education concerning Southeastern Massachusetts University, the University of Lowell, and the University of Massachusetts shall continue in full force and effect until the expiration of said agreement, subject to the provisions of this act.

No provisions of this act shall itself constitute an independent basis for altering the appropriate bargaining units existing as of the effective date of this act.

SECTION 36. All orders, rules and regulations duly made by the board of trustees of Southeastern Massachusetts University, the board of trustees of the University of Lowell, and the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts with respect to the institutions under their respective jurisdictions and which are in force and effect on August thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one, shall continue until superseded, revised, or rescinded in accordance with law. All petitions, hearings, and other proceedings relating to said boards or their respective institutions shall continue unabated, notwithstanding the passage of this act, in the name of the board or their respective institutions shall continue unabated, notwithstanding the passage of this act, in the name of the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts established by section one A of chapter seventy-five of the General Laws, or the University of Massachusetts respectively. All questions relating to the identification of such orders, rules, regulations, petitions, hearings, and proceedings shall be determined by the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts or an officer designated by said trustees.

SECTION 37. All duly existing contracts, leases and obligations of the board of trustees of Southeastern Massachusetts University, the board of trustees of the University of Lowell and the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts which are in force and effect on August thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one, shall thereafter be performed by the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts established by section one A of chapter seventy-five of the General Laws, and no existing right of any character shall be lost, impaired, or affected by the provisions of this act. This section shall not affect any renewal provision or option to renew contained in any said contracts, leases and obligations, all of which may thereafter be exercised by said trustees as hereinbefore provided.

SECTION 38. All monies of any kind heretofore appropriated to the board of regents of higher education or any other entity for the benefit of Southeastern Massachusetts University or the University of Lowell and encumbered therefor, or any monies from any other sources for the benefit of said institutions, remaining unexpended on August thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one, shall be and are hereby transferred to and made available for expenditure by the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts established by section one A of chapter seventy-five of the General Laws; provided, however, that such monies shall be expended by said trustees solely for the benefit of the Dartmouth and Lowell campuses of said university respectively. All questions regarding the identification of such monies and the appropriate accounts to which they are to be transferred shall be determined by the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts or an officer designated by said board.

SECTION 39. This act shall not be construed to affect the building authorities of Southeastern Massachusetts University, the University of Massachusetts, and the University of Lowell or the obligations, contracts and agreements thereof with their respective institutions in effect on August thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one, which shall be assumed by the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts established by section one A of chapter seventy-five of the General Laws.

SECTION 40. Whenever the name of the board of trustees of Southeastern Massachusetts University or the board of trustees of the University of Lowell, or of Southeastern Massachusetts University or the University of Lowell, or any words connoting the foregoing appear in any general or special law, or in any order, bylaw, rule, regulation or other document, such name or words shall be construed as referring to the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts or the University of Massachusetts respectively; provided, however, that any such general or special law shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of this act.

SECTION 41. On September first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one, Southeastern Massachusetts University and the University of Lowell shall be discontinued; provided, however, that all programs, functions, and activities shall be transferred to the Dartmouth and Lowell campuses of the University of Massachusetts, and the education of the students presently enrolled at Southeastern Massachusetts University and the University of Lowell will continue without interruption.

SECTION 42. The board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts, established by section one A of chapter seventy-five of the General Laws, shall prepare or cause to be prepared for submission to the general court, not later than December first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one, recommendations for further amendment of the general and special laws relating to the management and operation of said university, as said trustees may deem desirable or necessary.

SECTION 43. The joint committee on education, arts and humanities is hereby directed to conduct a thorough study of elementary and secondary education in the commonwealth for the purpose of recommending necessary reforms in said system of education.

Said study shall include, but not be limited to, consideration of the following: (i) school finance, (ii) curriculum issues, (iii) personnel issues, (iv) teacher certification and preparation, (v) specialized areas such as vocational or special education programs, (vi) school governance and system governance.

Said study and report shall be issued to the general court on or before November first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one.

SECTION 44. A commission on the future of the state college and community college system is hereby established to advise and report to the governor and the higher education quality of its curricula, appropriate funding levels and funding sources, and the differentiation of its purposes and programs. Said commission shall also consider issues relative to allowing greater autonomy and decision-making at the campus level.

Said commission shall make such recommendations to the governor and the council as are concurred in by at least a majority of its members.

Said commission shall consist of nineteen members to be appointed by the governor. The chairperson of the commission shall be the secretary of education, one of whom shall be the chancellor of higher education, one of whom shall be a member of a board of trustees of a state college, one of whom shall be a member of a board of trustees of a state community college, one of whom shall be a president of a state college, one of whom shall be a president of a state community college, one of whom shall be a faculty member of a state college, one of whom shall be a faculty member of a state community college, one of whom shall be a student presently attending a state college, one of whom shall be a student presently attending a state community college, one of whom shall be a state senator who attended a state college or community college and is nominated by the senate president, one of whom shall be a state senator who attended a state college or community college and is nominated by the minority leader of the senate, one of whom shall be a state representative who attended a state college or community college and is nominated by the speaker of the house of representatives, one of whom shall be a state representative who attended a state college or community college and is nominated by the minority leader of the house of representatives, and five of whom shall be at-large members who shall be chosen for their experience, temperament, ability and integrity.

Said commission shall report its recommendations to the governor with regard to the matters set forth in this section. Said report shall include proposed drafts of legislation necessary to implement any of its recommendations and copies shall be forwarded to the clerk of the house of representatives who shall forward the same to the joint committee on education, arts and humanities. Said report shall also be forwarded to the higher education coordinating council for the purpose of assisting said council in fulfilling its role to develop and approve mission statements within the system of public higher education, and for any other purposes relative to its duties according to chapter fifteen A of the General Laws.

SECTION 45. The secretary of education, in conjunction with the higher education coordinating council, shall undertake a study of the system of financial accounting for its public higher education system, with the intention of developing and implementing a uniform accounting system for all public higher education institutions. In conducting said study, the secretary shall involve representatives of each type of institution, including the university, state college and community college segments. The secretary shall appoint a subcommittee of the council and may utilize staff of the council to accomplish said study. The secretary and council shall complete and approve said study and publish the results by April first, nineteen hundred and ninety-two. The council shall implement a uniform accounting system in accordance with said study as of July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-two.

SECTION 46. The secretary of education, in conjunction with higher education coordinating council, shall conduct a study of tuition and fees charged at each institution with the intention of implementing guidelines to be followed by each institution relative to various charges and whether said charges should be classified as tuition or as a separate fee. The secretary shall appoint a subcommittee of the council and may utilize staff of the council to accomplish said study. Except for the fees mandated by section twenty-nine of chapter fifteen A, and fees for summer and evening sessions, for purposes of said study and guidelines, the secretary and council shall consider as "tuition" any charge or fees that are mandatory for all students, and the secretary and council shall consider as "fees" only those charges or fees that are assessed for a particular purpose and are not mandatory for all students.

Said study, subject to council approval, shall be completed and published by April first, nineteen hundred and ninety-two. The council shall implement the recommendations of said study by July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-two.

SECTION 47. The secretary of education, in conjunction with the higher education coordinating council, shall conduct a study of the issues relative to allowing each institution of public higher education to retain tuition charges, as imposed pursuant to section nine of chapter fifteen A of the General Laws, inserted by section eight of this act, as funds received on account of said institution. The secretary shall appoint a subcommittee of the council and may utilize staff of the council to accomplish said study. Said study shall include a plan for implementing such a "tuition retention" plan for fiscal year nineteen hundred and ninety-three and shall take into account various factors, including, but not limited to, the payment of fringe benefits for employees whose salaries are paid from the Tuition Retention Trust Fund, as well as the impact the tuition waivers and need-based waivers will have on various institutions under a full tuition retention plan.

The secretary, subject to council approval, shall forward an analysis of all pertinent issues and recommendations relative to "tuition retention" to the joint committee on education, arts and humanities and the house and senate committees on ways and means. Said study shall be completed by January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-two, and said tuition retention plan shall be implemented by for fiscal year nineteen hundred and ninety-three.

SECTION 47A. The higher education coordinating council shall conduct a study relative to developing funding formulas to determine the allocation of state support for the public institutions of higher education. Said study shall take into account, but shall not be limited to, such factors as: the previous year's costs for education and general operations; costs of instruction, administration, libraries, institutional support, academic support, student services, operation and maintenance of physical plant, and differential costs per student for bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level programs. Said study shall also consider discretionary incentive funding to promote excellence within the system, and its role within a formula funding system. The council shall publish a report relative to said study no later than March first, nineteen hundred and ninety-two, and shall submit said report to the secretary of administration and finance, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on education, arts and humanities.

SECTION 48. Notwithstanding any provisions of this act to the contrary, the board of regents as constituted on the effective date of this act shall continue to function through August thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one but with all powers and duties of the higher education coordinating council established by this act. The higher education coordinating council, appointed in accordance with section four of chapter fifteen A of the General Laws, shall be appointed and shall assume its powers, duties, and responsibilities as of September first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one.

SECTION 48A. Notwithstanding the provisions of any section of this act to the contrary, the members of the board of trustees for each of the institutions named in section five of chapter fifteen A of the General Laws, other than the University of Massachusetts at Boston, Amherst, Dartmouth, Lowell and Worcester shall remain as members of said boards until the expiration of their current terms.

SECTION 49. Section eight of chapter fifteen A of the General Laws shall become inoperative on July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-two. Section nine of said chapter fifteen A shall take effect on July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-two.

SECTION 50. Section six A of this act shall take effect on July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-two.