NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1965 SESSION
CHAPTER 1096
HOUSE BILL 965
AN ACT TO AMEND ARTICLE 16, CHAPTER 116 OF THE GENERAL STATUTES OF NORTH CAROLINA TO REDEFINE THE DUTIES AND INCREASE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE STATE BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:
Section 1. § 116-155 of the General Statutes of North Carolina is hereby deleted and rewritten to read as follows:
"§ 116-155. Definitions. As used herein:
'Board' refers to the North Carolina Board of Higher Education.
'Higher education' refers to all educational and instructional curricula and services in the university system and the senior colleges.
'Institutions of higher education' and 'such institutions' refer to all senior institutions of higher education now existing or hereafter established supported wholly or in part by direct appropriations of the North Carolina General Assembly.
'Senior Colleges' refers to all State supported four-year colleges, except the university system.
Sec. 2. § 116-156 of the General Statutes of North Carolina is hereby deleted and rewritten to read as follows:
"§ 116-156. Membership; Appointment, Term and Qualifications; Vacancies. The Board shall consist of fifteen citizens of North Carolina, one of whom shall be a member of the State Board of Education to be appointed by the Governor, eight of whom shall be appointed by the Governor to represent the public at large, but none of whom shall be officers or employees of the State, or officers, employees or trustees of the institutions of higher education, four of whom shall be selected by the Boards of Trustees of State supported senior colleges, and two of whom shall be selected by the Board of Trustees of the University, provided, no trustee member shall be a member of the General Assembly. The four senior colleges, whose trustees shall select one of their members as a Board member to serve for a two-year term, shall be selected by the Governor in such order of rotation as he may choose every two years; provided, that the right of selection of such Board member shall be rotated among all institutions equally.
"Members of the Board other than the six selected by the Trustees of Institutions shall be appointed by the Governor for terms of six years, except that of the first Board appointed, three members shall serve for two years, three shall serve for four years and three for six years. Terms of all members of the first Board so selected shall commence July 1, 1965.
"All regular appointments, except appointments to the first Board, shall be subject to confirmation by the House of Representatives and the Senate in Joint Session assembled. The Governor shall forward all such appointments, except those of the first Board, to the General Assembly before the fortieth legislative day of each Regular Session. The Governor shall, without such confirmation, appoint members to fill vacancies for unexpired terms.
"Appointees to the Board shall be selected for their interest in and ability to contribute to the fulfillment of the purpose of the Board All members of the Board shall be deemed members-at-large, charged with the responsibility of serving the best interests of the whole State."
Sec. 3. § 116-158 of the General Statutes is hereby deleted and rewritten as follows:
"§ 116-158. Powers and Duties Generally. The Board shall have the following specific powers and duties, in the exercise and Performance of which it shall be subject to the provisions of Article 1, Chapter 143 of the General Statues except as herein otherwise provided:
"(1) The primary function of the Board of Higher Education shall be to plan and coordinate the major educational functions and activities of higher education in the State and to allot the functions and activities of the institutions of higher education in addition to the purposes specified in Articles 1 and 2 of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes. The Board shall not, however, allot to any senior college the right to award the doctors degree. The Board shall give the Governor, the General Assembly and the various institutions advice on higher education policy and problems.
"(2) In carrying out the duties prescribed in subsection 1 hereof and subject thereto, the Board shall determine the types of degrees which shall be granted by each of such institutions.
"(3) The Board shall cause to be made such visits to the institutions as it shall deem necessary and proper in the performance of its duties.
"(4) The Board shall prescribe uniform statistical reporting practices and policies to be followed by such institutions where it finds such uniformity will promote the purpose of the Board.
"(5) Subject to the provisions of subsection 1, all institutions included in the State System of Higher Education shall conform to the educational functions and activities assigned to them respectively; provided, that the Board shall not require any institution to abandon or discontinue any existing educational functions or activities, if, after notice and hearing, the institution is not in agreement with the decision of the Board until such decision is first recommended to and approved by the General Assembly.
"(6) Each institution shall furnish the Board a copy of its biennial budget requests and related data at the same time said requests are furnished to the Advisory Budget Commission. The Board shall review the institutional budget requests to determine whether the same are consistent with the primary purposes of the institution and with the functions and activities allocated to the institution by statute or by the Board The Board shall concentrate on broad fiscal policy and avoid a line-by-line detailed review of budget requests. The Board shall advise the Advisory Budget Commission and the institution of any budget requests inconsistent with the purposes and allocated functions and activities.
"(7) Any requests of an institution for transfers and changes as between objects and items in the approved budget of such institution and involving the establishment of new educational functions or activities shall be submitted to the Board of Higher Education for review to determine the compatibility of the request with the assigned functions of the respective institution.
"(8) The Board shall possess such powers as are necessary and proper for the exercise of the foregoing specific powers, including the power to make and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary for effectuating the provisions of this Article."
Sec. 4. § 116-159 of the General Statutes of North Carolina is hereby rewritten to read as follows:
"§ 116-159. Board's Decision Subject to Approval by Director of Budget. The exercise of the powers conferred on the Board and its decisions of an educational nature shall be made by the Board within the limits of appropriated funds and fiscal availability."
Sec. 5. § 116-160 of the General Statutes of North Carolina is hereby deleted and rewritten to read as follows:
"§ 116-160. Hearings Concerning Proposed Action. Before final action is taken by the Board in the exercise of powers conferred by § 116-158, the presidents and such persons as they may designate shall, upon request, be granted an opportunity to be heard by the Board concerning the proposed action."
Sec. 6. § 116-163 of the General Statutes of North Carolina is hereby deleted and rewritten to read as follows:
"§ 116-163. Office Space; Director of Higher Education; Review of Actions of Director; Other Employees. In order to effectuate the provisions of this Article, the Board shall be furnished suitable quarters in Raleigh, and shall, subject to the approval of the Governor, appoint a full-time Director of Higher Education. The salary of the Director of Higher Education shall be fixed by the Governor subject to the approval of the Advisory Budget Commission. The Director of Higher Education shall have training and experience in the field of higher education and shall be well qualified to serve as the Director of a State System of Higher Education as contemplated by this Article. The Director of Higher Education shall be responsible to the Board and shall perform such duties and exercise such powers as shall be prescribed by the Board. Any institution aggrieved by any action of the Director of Higher Education shall, upon request, be afforded an opportunity to be heard by the Board with respect thereto. The Board shall, within the limits of funds provided by law, appoint such professional staff members as shall be sufficient to carry out the provisions of this Article, whose salaries shall be fixed by the Governor subject to the approval of the Advisory Budget Commission, and such other necessary employees who shall be subject to the provisions of Article 2, Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.
Sec. 6 1/2. Amend G.S. 116-45(1) by deleting the word "undergraduate" immediately following the word "offer" and before the word "instruction" and by adding immediately following the word "sciences" and before the comma the words "including the preparation for the master's degree".
Sec. 7. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.
Sec. 8. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after July 1, 1965.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 16th day of June, 1965.