SECTION 1.  Chapter 15A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 5 the following section: -

Section 5A.  There shall be within the system of public institutions of higher education a segment that shall be and be known as the state university system.  The following public institutions of higher education shall constitute the state university system, and each such institution shall be a state university: Bridgewater State College, Fitchburg State College, Framingham State College, the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Salem State College, Westfield State College and Worcester State College.

Anything in any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, each of the state universities shall have the authority to offer degree programs at the doctoral level consistently with its mission; provided only that the board of higher education shall, in accordance with section 9(a), first approve the offering of each such degree program.

Anything in section 5, in this section 5A or in any other general or special provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the board of trustees of any state university may change the name of such institution by both including therein the word “university” and deleting there from the word “college” (or, in the case of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the word “academy”); provided only that, not less than sixty days prior to the effective date of such change, the board of trustees shall file with the governor, with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and with the board of higher education notice of such change and the effective date thereof.

Nothing in this section shall alter any bargaining unit that exists at any state university on the effective date of this section; and no act done pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be justification for altering any bargaining unit that exists at any state university on the date immediately preceding the effective date of such act. 

Any reference, by connotation or otherwise, to the state colleges generally or to any one or more of them individually in any general or special law or in any order, by-law, rule, regulation, deed, indenture or other document or instrument shall be and be deemed to be a reference, respectively, to the state universities generally or to the corresponding state universities, whether one or more, individually.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the state college building authority or the obligations, agreements, authorities or responsibilities thereof.