SENATE, No. 2190

SECTION 1. Massachusetts College of Art -legislation

Chapter 15A of the General laws, as appearing in the 2003 Official Edition, is amended by inserting the following new section after Section 22A:

Section 22A. Massachusetts College of Art is defined as a specialized college of art and design within the public system of higher education in Massachusetts.  The name of the college shall be changed to Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

Sub-section 1.  Powers and Duties of the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts College of Art

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts College of Art and Design shall:

(a) establish the mission and those policies necessary to carry out that mission and establish policies for the administrative management of personnel, staff services and the general business of the institution under its authority;

(b)    fix and retain all tuition and fees charged by the college;

(c) set admission standards for said institution, provided that the number of undergraduate degree candidates who are Massachusetts residents enrolled on October 1, 2003 and each subsequent year thereafter shall be no less than the number of Massachusetts residents enrolled on October 1, 2002;

(d)    establish instructional programs for said institution, including all major and degree programs;

(e)    appoint, transfer, dismiss, promote and award tenure to all personnel of said institution;

(f)    appoint, set compensation and enter into a contract with the president;

(g)     manage and keep in repair all property, real and personal, owned or occupied by said institution;

(h)    seek, accept and administer 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;

(i)    implement and evaluate affirmative action policies and programs;

(j)     establish, implement and evaluate student services and policies;

(k)    establish and operate programs, including but not limited to summer and evening programs, in accordance with the degree authority conferred under the provisions of this chapter;

(l)    award degrees through the doctoral level in fields approved by the Board of Higher Education, either independently or in conjunction with other institutions, in accordance with actions of the Boards of Trustees of said other institutions and the Board of Higher Education;

(m)  develop a long range plan embracing an entrepreneurial model which leverages the potential to expand the mission and profile of the college to a more national focus.  Such plans shall include, but not be limited to, budget and enrollment projections for each year, projections for total student charges for each year, projections for in-state and out-of-state enrollments for each year and plans to ensure continuing access to the institution by residents of the Commonwealth and affirmative action policies and programs that affirm the need for and a commitment to maintaining and increasing access for economically disadvantaged and minority students.

Sub-section 2. Board of Trustees:  additional members

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, in order to discharge the enhanced responsibilities of the Board, the membership of the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts College of Art and Design will be expanded by four (4) additional members appointed by the Governor from a list of candidates identified by the Board of Trustees who have expertise in areas needed by the College.  Each member shall be appointed for a five (5) year term, but no member shall serve for more than 2 full terms. 

Sub-section 3: Fiscal matters

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary:

 (a)    the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts College of Art and Design shall establish all fees at said institution.  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 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.  For the purposes of this and other related chapters of the general laws said fees and tuition shall be considered monies of the state and said fund or funds shall be subject to annual audit by the state auditor;

(b)    the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts College of Art and Design shall establish and retain all tuition.  Such tuition charges shall be retained in a tuition retention fund and moneys therein shall be expended as the Board of Trustees may direct, for the administration and maintenance including the costs of personnel;

(c)    notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, all tuition and fees received by the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts College of Art and Design shall be retained by the Board of Trustees of that institution in a revolving trust fund or funds and shall be expended as the Board of the institution may direct.  Any balance in the trust funds at the close of the fiscal year shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years and shall not revert to the General Fund;

(d)  notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for employees of  Massachusetts College of Art and Design who are paid from tuition retained pursuant to this section, fringe benefits shall be funded as if those employees’ salaries were supported by state appropriations;

(e)     the Trustees shall have authority to transfer funds within and among the subsidiary accounts allocated to said institution;

(f)    the Trustees shall fix rents for the residence halls, provided that the rents are sufficient to meet obligations for debt payments and services provided by the Massachusetts State College Building Authority;

(g)    the Trustees shall develop financial data and an annual institutional spending plan.  Said plan shall include an account of spending from all revenue sources including but not limited to trust funds.

Sub-section 4: Reports, records, audits:

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the Trustees shall

(a)      undertake annually an independent audit and file same with the Joint Committee on Higher Education, the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means, and the Auditor General of the Commonwealth;

(b)      shall file a report annually which shall include but not be limited to performance standards, admission rates, number of Massachusetts students admitted and graduated and other information requested by the legislature with the Joint Committee on Higher Education and the Board of Higher Education.  The college will not be subject to a performance measurement system otherwise established by the Board of Higher Education.