CT HB05376

Board of Regents shall conduct a feasibility study by July 1, 2015 on expanding manufacturing technology centers to other high-demand career areas and implement the Plus 50 Initiative throughout the regional community-technical college system.

Board of Regents must establish consistent parameters for noncredit vocational courses and programs by July 1, 2015, and require constituent units to collect and report enrollment, completion rates, demographic data, and employment outcomes by July 1, 2016 and annually thereafter.

Accountability measures for higher education institutions must now include graduation rates, retention rates, completions, tuition and fees, transfer patterns, enrollment trends, faculty productivity, and data on graduates by academic and noncredit vocational programs broken down by age.

Board of Regents and Office of Higher Education must work with the Labor Department to produce periodic employment and earnings reports for students in academic and noncredit vocational courses, sorted by student age and covering status prior to enrollment and after completion.

Board of Regents and Office of Higher Education shall study financial aid options for noncredit vocational students, including low-interest loans with sliding-scale or deferred payments based on employment status, with results due by January 1, 2015.