§3139.2. Performance agreements; objectives

            Any public postsecondary education institution, including professional schools, may enter into an initial performance agreement with the Board of Regents in order to be granted limited tuition autonomy and flexibility as provided in R.S. 17:3139.5(A) in exchange for committing to meet established targets for the following performance objectives as applicable to the institution as determined by the Board of Regents:

            (1) Student success.

            (a) Implement policies established by the institution's management board to achieve cohort graduation rate and graduation productivity goals that are consistent with institutional peers. For purposes of this Part, peer institutions shall mean those institutions as defined by the Board of Regents in accordance with R.S. 17:3351(A)(5)(e)(i).

            (b) Increase the percentage of program completers at all levels each year.

            (c) Develop partnerships with high schools to prepare students for postsecondary education.

            (d) Increase passage rates on licensure and certification exams and workforce foundational skills.

            (e) For the purposes of this Part, successful attainment of the student success objectives shall be required for determination by the Board of Regents that an institution has met the short-term targets of the performance agreement as provided in this Section. An institution which has failed to meet its same-institution graduation rate, program completer, and retention rate targets, as appropriate for the mission of the institution, shall not be deemed by the Board of Regents to have met the requirements of its performance agreement for the year.

            (2) Articulation and transfer. (a) Phase in increased admission standards and other necessary policies by the end of the 2012 Fiscal Year in order to increase student retention and graduation rates. This Subparagraph does not require and the Board of Regents shall not require as an element of a performance agreement the adoption of admission standards at Grambling State University, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, or Southern University at New Orleans that would prevent those institutions from admitting students who require a single remedial course.

            (b) Provide feedback to community colleges and technical college campuses on the performance of associate degree recipients enrolled at the institution.

            (c) Develop referral agreements with community colleges and technical college campuses to redirect students who fail to qualify for admission into the institution.

            (d) Demonstrate collaboration in implementing the articulation and transfer requirements as provided in R.S. 17:3161 through 3169.

            (3) Workforce and economic development.

            (a) Eliminate academic program offerings that have low student completer rates as identified by the Board of Regents or are not aligned with current or strategic workforce needs of the state, region, or both as identified by the Louisiana Workforce Commission and Louisiana Economic Development.

            (b) Increase the use of technology for distance learning to expand educational offerings.

            (c) Increase research productivity especially in key economic development industries and technology transfer at institutions to levels consistent with the institution's peers.

            (d) To the extent that information can be obtained, demonstrate progress in increasing the number of students placed in jobs and in increasing the performance of associate degree recipients who transfer to institutions that offer academic undergraduate degrees at the baccalaureate level or higher.

            (4) Institutional efficiency and accountability. (a) Eliminate, except as otherwise provided in this Subparagraph, remedial education course offerings and developmental study programs unless such courses or programs cannot be offered at a community college in the same geographic area. Grambling State University, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, and Southern University at New Orleans shall be deemed to have met this target if no student takes more than one remedial course. However, the Board of Regents postsecondary education funding formula shall fund all remedial courses offered at these institutions at the rate established for such courses offered by community and technical colleges.

            (b) Eliminate associate degree program offerings unless such programs cannot be offered at a community college in the same geographic area or when the Board of Regents has certified educational or workforce needs.

            (c)(i) Upon entering the initial performance agreement, adhere to a schedule established by the institution's management board to increase nonresident tuition amounts that are not less than the average tuition amount charged to Louisiana residents attending peer institutions in other Southern Regional Education Board states and monitor the impact of such increases on the institution. However, for each public historically black college or university, the nonresident tuition amounts shall not be less than the average tuition amount charged to Louisiana residents attending public historically black colleges and universities in other Southern Regional Education Board states.

            (ii) The provisions of Item (i) of this Subparagraph are not applicable to a performance agreement entered into by a historically black college or university after August 1, 2015; the amount of nonresident tuition and fees for undergraduate programs at each such institution shall not be less than the average tuition and fee amounts charged to undergraduate resident students at the same institution.

            (d) Designate centers of excellence as defined by the Board of Regents which have received a favorable academic assessment from the Board of Regents and have demonstrated substantial progress toward meeting the following goals:

            (i) Offering a specialized program that involves partnerships between the institution and business and industry, national laboratories, research centers, and other institutions.

            (ii) Aligning with current and strategic statewide and regional workforce needs as identified by the Louisiana Workforce Commission and Louisiana Economic Development.

            (iii) Having a high percentage of graduates or completers each year as compared to the state average percentage of graduates and that of the institution's peers.

            (iv) Having a high number of graduates or completers who enter productive careers or continue their education in advanced degree programs, whether at the same or another institution.

            (v) Having a high level of research productivity and technology transfer.

            (5) Each institution annually shall submit a report to the Board of Regents, which shall publish the report on its website, the legislative auditor, the legislature, and the division of administration containing certain organizational data, including but not limited to the following:

            (a) Number of students by classification.

            (b) Number of instructional staff members.

            (c) Average class student-to-instructor ratio.

            (d) Average number of students per instructor.

            (e) Number of non-instructional staff members in academic colleges and departments.

            (f) Number of staff in administrative areas.

            (g) The institution's organization chart containing all departments and personnel in the institution down to the second level of the organization below the president, chancellor, or equivalent position.

            (h) Salaries of all personnel identified in Subparagraph (g) of this Paragraph and the date, amount, and type of all increases in salary received since June 30, 2008.

            (i) A cost performance analysis to include by institution:

            (i) Total operating budget by function, amount, and percent of total, reported in a manner consistent with the National Association of College and University Business Officers guidelines.

            (ii) Average yearly cost of attendance as reported to the United States Department of Education.

            (iii) Average time to degree for completion of academic programs at all levels.

            (iv) Average cost per degree awarded by degree level.

            (v) Average cost per non-completer by degree program entered.

            (j) All expenditures of the institution for that year.

            (k) Any additional data requested by the speaker of the House of Representatives or the president of the Senate.

            (6) Any additional performance objectives as determined by the Board of Regents.

            (7) Any performance objectives defined in the formula funding performance model adopted by the Board of Regents for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 shall be aligned with performance objectives defined in this Section.

            Acts 2010, No. 741, §1, eff. June 29, 2010; Acts 2011, No. 418, §1, eff. July 12, 2011; Acts 2015, No. 98, §1; Acts 2015, No. 100, §1, eff. June 19, 2015; Acts 2015, No. 359, §1, eff. June 29, 2015.