Gov. Mark R. Warner raised questions about the bill that would give more independence to the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and the College of William & Mary by granting them charter status at a meeting with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, Tuesday.
"Gov. Warner appreciates the university officials who allowed him to put the bill on the backburner while the General Assembly worked out the tax and budget issues, but he realizes that it is time to talk about the bill in the next meeting," Warner's Press Secretary Ellen Qualls said.
Qualls noted that Warner said although the bill raises a good argument, he still has concerns about the bill and how it will affect his plans for higher education that he said he hopes to work out during the next Assembly meeting.
The University is in the process of refining the bill that will promote the autonomy of the three state schools in order to reintroduce the legislation to the General Assembly by Dec. 10, said Nancy Rivers, assistant vice president for management and budget.
In a statement released Tuesday, Colette Sheehy, vice president for management and budget, said the three schools are refining the details of the proposal, which was introduced in the General Assembly this year but was tabled until next year in Senate and House of Delegates committees.
The bill originally was introduced to both the House and Senate during the 2004 session of the General Assembly.
It proposes that the General Assembly enact a "Commonwealth Chartered Universities and Colleges Act." The act designates these three institutions as political subdivisions of the Commonwealth, under the pretense that the state will limit its financial contributions to the universities and colleges in return for less state personnel, procurement and capital project regulations, Rivers said.
"The idea is to set criteria that all schools in the Commonwealth could potentially fulfill one day," Rivers said.
Warner was in Seattle over the weekend where he became chairman of the National Governors Association on Monday, Qualls said.
Qualls added that as chairman, Warner has taken on the initiative of the outgrowth of "Education for a Lifetime," redesigning the American high school.
Warner spoke to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia about how he would like to implement the plan in the Commonwealth, as well as his ideas for higher education in the 18 months remaining in his term, Qualls said.
Qualls added Warner articulated how he wants to transform the senior year of high school. He would like to strengthen the relationship between high schools and two- and four-year higher education institutions within the Commonwealth, by offering up to 15 transferable credit hours during the senior year.
"By offering these credits, students could potentially graduate in seven semesters instead of eight and save as much as $5,000," Qualls said.
Warner also said he would like to make more industry certifications available to those students who are workforce bound following high school.
At the meeting, the governor also addressed the $270 million budget for higher education. Qualls said that Warner realizes that the budget "does not meet the identified state responsibility for higher education, but he wants to send a message to the higher education community that Richmond is serious about stepping up funding"
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