SB 858 Summary

• Establishes the Kirklyn M. Kerr program to support veterinary medicine education for up to five in-state veterinary students per cohort, with support not exceeding $20,000 annually or $80,000 total over four years of graduate school.

• Creates a Planning Commission for Higher Education to develop and implement a strategic master plan with numerical goals for 2015 and 2020 to increase bachelor's and associate degree completion, eliminate achievement gaps between minority and general student populations, and improve workforce development.

• Requires public and independent institutions receiving state funding to track unique student identifiers assigned by the Department of Education, and mandates school districts include these identifiers on student transcripts.

• Makes technical revisions to higher education statutes, changing references from "branches" to "campuses" for University of Connecticut locations and updating governance structures for the Board of Governors of Higher Education.

• Expands Connecticut Higher Education Financing Authority (CHEFA) bonding authority to include health care institutions, nursing homes, and other qualified nonprofit organizations beyond traditional hospital participation.