Bill Summary for S 519 (2017-2018)

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Bill: NCGRADE.

Summary date: 

Mar 30 2017

Bill Information:

View NCGA Bill Details2017-2018 Session
Senate Bill 519 (Public) Filed Wednesday, March 29, 2017
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A MINIMUM HIGH SCHOOL GRADE POINT AVERAGE AS AN ADMISSION REQUIREMENT FOR THE UNC SYSTEM, TO ESTABLISH THE NORTH CAROLINA GRADUATION RATE ACCELERATION DOUBLE ENROLLMENT (NCGRADE) PROGRAM, TO ESTABLISH THE NCGRADE GRANT PROGRAM, AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO IMPLEMENT THE NCGRADE PROGRAM.
Intro. by Curtis, Brown, McInnis.

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Bill summary

Section 1 Repeals SL 2015-241, Section 11.7, which established the NC Guaranteed Admission Program (NCGAP).

Section 2 enacts GS 116-40.13, prohibiting a constituent institution of the UNC System from accepting any student who applies for admission as a freshman at the constituent institution unless the student has a minimum high school GPA of 3.0 on a seven point scale, except as otherwise provided in the new statute or by Article 35 of GS Chapter 116. Permits each constituent institution to admit a student who has a high school GPA that is less than 3.0 on a seven point scale if the student satisfies all other admission criteria and is deemed by the institution to have special talents and qualifications. Limits the number of special talent students that can be enrolled by a constituent institution to 3% of the total number of first-time undergraduate applicants enrolled in the academic year of admittance. Applies to admission beginning with the 2018 fall academic semester.

Section 3

Enacts Article 36 to GS Chapter 116, setting forth legislative findings and directing the UNC Board of Governors in conjunction with the State Board of Community Colleges to establish the North Carolina Graduation Rate Acceleration Double Enrollment Program (NCGRADE). Describes NCGRADE as a double enrollment admission program that allows an eligible student with a high school GPA of 2.5 to 2.99 on a seven point scale to be accepted for admission to a constituent institution that is an NCGRADE participant so long as the student also enrolls at a community college designated as an NCGRADE partner for that constituent institution and satisfies all other admission criteria of the constituent institution. Adds that an eligible student with a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher on a seven point scale can also apply for admission and be accepted through NCGRADE rather than through a direct admission process at an NCGRADE constituent institution. Establishes that the provisions of new Article 36 apply to any student accepted through the NCGRADE admission process. 

Details the eligibility requirements a student must satisfy to be admitted to an NCGRADE constituent institution, including the requirement that the student be a legal resident as defined by GS 116-143.1.

Provides that a student accepted at a constituent institution through NCGRADE is enrolled as a freshman at both the constituent institution and the partner community college that the student attends. Requires a student to earn an associate degree from a partner community college within three years from the date of enrollment in order to continue to be classified as an NCGRADE student, to be eligible to enroll in credit courses at the constituent institution through NCGRADE, and to receive an NCGRADE grant pursuant to GS 116-302, enacted below. 

Requires an NCGRADE student who obtains an associate degree pursuant to this statute to enroll as a full-time student at the NCGRADE constituent institution within one year of the date that the student is awarded an associate degree from the partner community college. Requires that a student enrolled in an NCGRADE constituent institution to be enrolled in at least 15 credit hours at the constituent institution to be considered a full-time student. 

Specifies that an NCGRADE student is to be charged the community college tuition rate until the student transfers to the constituent institution and officially enrolls as a full-time student at the constituent institution. 

Directs the State Board of Community Colleges, in consultation with the Board of Governors, to adopt rules to ensure that a student participating in NCGRADE is provided counseling and assistance in selecting coursework that reflects the student's educational and career goals and that provides a smooth transition from the community college to the constituent institution. 

Establishes the NCGRADE Grant Fund (Fund) to be administered by the NC Education Assistance Authority (Authority). Establishes that the funds in the Fund are nonreverting and must be used as provided by the statute. Grants each full-time student who is enrolled and taking credit hours at a constituent institution as an NCGRADE participant $1,000 each academic semester in addition to all other financial assistance made available to a student attending a constituent institution. Requires a student, to be eligible for a grant, to (1) make satisfactory academic progress towards earning a baccalaureate degree, (2) maintain a course load of at least 15 credit hours each academic semester that satisfy course requirements for a baccalaureate degree, and (3) provide an affirmative statement to the constituent institution that the student does not have a felony conviction. Details parameters for the use of a grant and the administration of the grants. Requires the constituent institution to refund the full grant amount to the Authority in the event a student on whose behalf the grant has been paid is not enrolled and carrying a minimum academic load of 15 credit hours as of the tenth classroom day following the beginning of the school term for which the grant was paid. Sets forth in the event there are not sufficient funds to provide each eligible student with a full grant that: (1) the Board of Governors can transfer funds to meet the needs of the programs with approval of the Office of State Budget and Management and (2) each eligible student must receive a pro rata share of funds then available for the remainder of the academic semester within the fiscal period covered by the current appropriation. 

Limits a student to receiving an NCGRADE grant no more than four full-time academic semesters. Provides for the constituent institution to grant a waiver to the student to receive a grant for the equivalent of one additional full-time academic semester if the student demonstrates the student's pursuit of the degree was substantially interrupted due to a military service obligation, serious medical debilitation, a short-term or long-term disability, or other extraordinary hardship. Directs the constituent institution to establish policies and procedures to implement the waiver provided in the statute.

Applies to admissions beginning with the 2018 fall academic semester. 

Section 4

Directs the Board of Governors to annually review the enrollment records of the first-time, freshmen class enrolled by each constituent institution over a three-year period beginning with the 2013-14 academic year to determine the average high school GPA of students accepted during that time period. Requires any constituent institution to participate in NCGRADE that had an average over the three-year time period in which more than 5% of the first-time freshmen students enrolled had a high school GPA of less than 3.0 on a seven point scale. Details requirements for constituent institutions to partner with community colleges to participate in the NCGRADE program. Sets out requirements for constituent institutions concerning campus life for NCGRADE students. 

Directs NCGRADE to be implemented by the 2018-19 academic year and apply to student applications and admissions policies for the 2018 fall academic semester and each subsequent academic semester.

Section 5

Appropriates $600,000 for the 2017-18 fiscal year from the General Fund to the Board of Governors to design and implement the NCGRADE program.  Appropriates $600,000 for the 2017-18 fiscal year from the General Fund to the State Board of Community Colleges to design and implement the NCGRADE program. 

Appropriates $3,860,000 from the General Fund to the NCGRADE Grant Fund for the 2018-19 fiscal year.

Appropriates from the General Fund to the Board of Governors $9 million for the 2017-18 fiscal year and $9 million for the 2018-19 fiscal year, to be used for the support of NCGRADE.

Effective July 1, 2017.

Section 6 establishes that the act does not apply to the NC School of Science and Mathematics or the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.