AN ACT CONCERNING OVERSIGHT OVER HIGHER EDUCATION.

Substitute Senate Bill No. 423

Public Act No. 26-49

AN ACT CONCERNING OVERSIGHT OVER HIGHER EDUCATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 10a -78a of the 2026 supplement to the general
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof
(Effective from passage):
(a) Not later than [July 1, 2024 ] August 1, 2026, and annually
thereafter until and including July 1, 2030, the Board of Regents for
Higher Education shall submit a report, in accordance with the
provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing [committee] committees
of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher
education and employment advancement and government oversight
concerning the results achieved from the consolidation of the regional
community-technical colleges into the Connecticut State Community
College. Such report shall include, but need not be limited to, a
comparison of the following performance metrics from July 1, [2023]
2019, to [the date] July first of the year of such report:
(1) Percentage of students enrolled for the first time in credit-bearing
courses who:
(A) [complete] Complete introductory math and English course
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requirements not later than one year after enrollment; [,]
(B) Enroll for more than six credits during their first semester;
(C) Complete more than twenty-four credits during their first year of
enrollment;
[(B) enroll] (D) Enroll for a full semester and subsequently (i) reenroll
for the following semester, (ii) reenroll for the next fall or spring
semester after attending a fall or spring semester during the preceding
academic year, or (iii) graduate; [,] and
[(C) within] (E) Within the first three years of enrollment, (i) graduate,
(ii) transfer to a four-year institution of higher education, or (iii) are still
enrolled in a course of study, [(2) ratios] categorized by demographic;
(2) Percentage of students who attend multiple campuses;
(3) Ratios of students to (A) student counselors or advisors, (B) full -
time faculty, and (C) part-time or adjunct faculty;
[(3) the] (4) The number of executive positions at each campus of the
Connecticut State Community College; and
[(4) the] (5) The number of personnel by location or functional area at
each campus and type of position including, but not limited to, faculty,
direct student support staff, building operations, clerical or
administrative staff and executive positions.
(b) On and after August 1, 2026, such report shall also provide
additional information concerning the effects of the consolidation, and
shall:
(1) Detail the financial impact of the consolidation and whether it has
saved money or resulted in additional costs, including, but not limited
to, the average per student costs of the admission department, financial
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aid departments, student registration process and student records
process, from July 1, 2019, to the year preceding the report;
(2) Specify whether there are any administrative services that cannot
be efficiently redistributed;
(3) Include a cost-benefit analysis of eliminating the central office and
having an administrative office on each campus;
(4) Compare the numbers of faculty and direct student support staff
at the time of the report to prior to the consolidation;
(5) Include the increase or decrease of administrative positions,
faculty and direct student support staff by percentage since the
consolidation;
(6) After conducting a survey of students and faculty annually,
include the results of the survey of students concerning the impact on
students' ability to access classes necessary for their major and of faculty
concerning the impact on their ability to teach classes;
(7) Detail how the consolidation has or has not created a seamless
transition between the regional -technical community colleges and the
Connecticut State University System;
(8) Analyze whether the different missions of two-year and four-year
colleges have been impacted by the consolidation, and if there has been
an impact, an explanation of such impact;
(9) Provide a detailed comparison of the budgets of the Connecticut
State University System compared to separate regional -technical
community colleges before and after the consolidation; and
(10) Compare student outcomes at the Connecticut State University
System to outcomes at The University of Connecticut.
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(c) As used in this section, "executive position" includes any [(A)] (1)
person with a title such as president, director or chief executive officer,
[(B)] (2) administrative head of an office or department, [(C)] (3) deputy
to an administrative head, [(D)] (4) executive or personal secretary of
such person, administrative head or deputy, and [(E)] (5) other person
in an equivalent position.
Sec. 2. ( Effective from passage ) Not later than December 31, 2026, the
chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities shall
submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the
general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the General
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher education
and government oversight. Such report shall compare the number of full
time and part -time personnel performing each of the following
administrative functions at the system office of the Connecticut State
Colleges and Universities, the cent ral off ice of the Connecticut State
Community College and each campus of the regional and technical
community colleges as of June 30, 2026, compared to June 30, 2019, and
June 30, 2011: (1) Academic and student affairs, (2) accounting, (3) board
affairs, (4) finance and budget, (5) compliance and audit, (6) chancellor's
office, (7) external affairs, (8) facilities, (9) human resources and labor
relations, (10) decision support and institutional research, (11)
information technology, (12) legal, and (13) business s ervices and
procurement.
Sec. 3. Subsections (d) and (e) of section 10a -11b of the 2026
supplement to the general statutes are repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(d) Not later than September 1, 2025, the commission shall submit a
preliminary report on the development of the update of the higher
education strategic master plan and, not later than December 1, 2025,
the commission shall submit the higher education strategic master plan,
including specific goals and benchmarks for the years ending 2026 and
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2030, together with any recommendations for appropriate legislation
and funding to the Governor and the joint standing committees of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to higher
education and employment advancement, education, comme rce, labor
and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, in accordance
with the provisions of section 11 -4a. Not later than July 1, 2026, the
commission shall submit a copy of such plan to the joint standing
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
relating to government oversight.
(e) Not later than January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the
commission shall submit a report to the Governor and the joint standing
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
relating to higher education and employment advancement, education,
commerce, labor, [and] appropriations and the budgets of state agencies
and government oversight , in accordance with section 11 -4a, on the
implementation of the plan and progress made toward achieving the
goals specified in the plan. The commi ssion may periodically suggest
changes to the goals as necessary.