§ 115D-31.3. Institutional performance accountability. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 115D‑31.3. Institutional performance accountability.

(a)        Creation ofAccountability Measures and Performance Standards. – The State Board ofCommunity Colleges shall create new accountability measures and performancestandards for the Community College System. Survey results shall be used as aperformance standard only if the survey is statistically valid. The State Boardof Community Colleges shall review annually the accountability measures andperformance standards to ensure that they are appropriate for use inrecognition of successful institutional performance.

(b)        through (d)Repealed by Session Laws 2000‑67, s. 9.7, effective July 1, 2000.

(e)        MandatoryPerformance Standards. – The State Board of Community Colleges shall evaluateeach college on the following eight performance standards:

(1)        Progress of basicskills students,

(2)        Passing rate forlicensure and certification examinations,

(3)        Performance ofstudents who transfer to a four‑year institution,

(4)        Passing rates indevelopmental courses,

(5)        Success rates ofdevelopmental students in subsequent college‑level courses,

(6)        The level ofsatisfaction of students who complete programs and those who do not completeprograms,

(7)        Curriculum studentretention and graduation, and

(8)        Client satisfactionwith customized training.

The State Board may also evaluateeach college on additional performance standards.

(f)         Publication ofPerformance Ratings. – Each college shall publish its performance on the eightstandards set out in subsection (e) of this section (i) annually in itselectronic catalog or on the Internet and (ii) in its printed catalog each timethe catalog is reprinted.

The Community Colleges SystemOffice shall publish the performance of all colleges on all eight standards.

(g)        Recognition forSuccessful Institutional Performance. – For the purpose of recognition forsuccessful institutional performance, the State Board of Community Collegesshall evaluate each college on the eight performance standards. For each ofthese eight performance standards on which a college performs successfully, thecollege may retain and carry forward into the next fiscal year one‑fourthof one percent (¼ of 1%) of its final fiscal year General Fund appropriations.If a college demonstrates significant improvement on a standard that has beenin use for three years or less, the college may also carry forward one‑fourthof one percent (¼ of 1%) of its final fiscal year General Fund appropriationsfor that standard.

(h)        Recognition forExceptional Institutional Performance. – Funds not allocated to colleges inaccordance with subsection (g) of this section shall be used to rewardexceptional institutional performance. After all State aid budget obligationshave been met, the State Board of Community Colleges shall distribute theremainder of these funds equally to colleges that perform successfully on eightperformance standards and meet the following criteria:

(1)        The passing rate onall reported licensure and certification examinations for which the communitycolleges have authority over who sits for the examination must meet or exceedseventy percent (70%) for first‑time test takers; and

(2)        The percentage ofcollege transfer students with a grade point average of at least 2.0 after twosemesters at a four‑year institution must equal or exceed the performanceof students who began college at that four‑year institution.

The State Board may withhold theportion of funds for which a college may qualify as an exceptional institutionwhile the college is under investigation by a State or federal agency or if itsperformance does not meet the standards established by the Southern Associationof Colleges and Schools, the State Auditor's Office, or the State Board ofCommunity Colleges. The State Board may release the funds at such time as theinvestigations are complete and the issues are resolved.

(i)         Permissible Usesof Funds. – Funds retained by colleges or distributed to colleges pursuant tothis section shall be used for the purchase of equipment, initial program start‑upcosts including faculty salaries for the first year of a program, and one‑timefaculty and staff bonuses. These funds shall not be used for continuing salaryincreases or for other obligations beyond the fiscal year into which they werecarried forward. These funds shall be encumbered within 12 months of the fiscalyear into which they were carried forward.

(j)         Use of funds inlow‑wealth counties. – Funds retained by colleges or distributed tocolleges pursuant to this section may be used to supplement local funding formaintenance of plant if the college does not receive maintenance of plant fundspursuant to G.S. 115D‑31.2, and if the county in which the main campus ofthe community college is located meets all of the following:

(1)        Is designated as a Tier1 county in accordance with G.S. 143B‑437.08.

(2)        Had an unemploymentrate of at least two percent (2%) above the State average or greater than sevenpercent (7%), whichever is higher, in the prior calendar year.

(3)        Is a county whosewealth, as calculated under the formula for distributing supplemental fundingfor schools in low‑wealth counties, is eighty percent (80%) or less ofthe State average.

Funds may be used for thispurpose only after all local funds appropriated for maintenance of plant havebeen expended. (1999‑237,s. 9.2(a); 2000‑67, s. 9.7; 2001‑186, s. 1; 2006‑66, s.8.9(a); 2007‑230, s. 1; 2007‑484, s. 29.5(a); 2007‑527, s.19.)