Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act of 2005

Introduced in 2004, the Commonwealth Chartered Universities and Colleges Act failed to pass during the 2004 General Assembly Session, but provided a framework for the Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act of 2005 (Restructuring Act).

The Restructuring Act provided a set of basic operational autonomy for all institutions and specified that tuition and fee responsibility reside with the institutions' Boards of Visitors. The Restructuring Act required a formal commitment by the Boards of Visitors to the “state asks.” Institutions earn financial incentives based on meeting performance standards. In addition, there are opportunities for greater institutional autonomy through “memoranda of understanding” and “management agreements.”

The institution Boards of Visitors committed to 12 state goals – “state asks” – by formal resolution in 2005:

1. Access
2. Affordability
3. Academic offerings
4. Academic standards
5. Student progress and success
6. Articulation and dual enrollment
7. Economic development
8. Research
9. Enhancing K12
10. Six-year plans
11. Finance and administrative
12. Campus safety and security

Documents Related to the Restructuring Act

• Senate Joint Resolution 90
• Administrative and Financial Relationships Between the Commonwealth and Its Institutions of Higher Education
• The Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act of 2005 (Restructuring Act)
• Restructuring Act - 2005
• Restructuring Act - 2006 Amendment
• Restructuring Act - 2008 Amendment
• Restructuring Act - 2009 Amendment
• Eligibility for restructured financial and administrative operational authority and financial benefits (§ 23.1-1002 Code of Virginia)

Documents Related to the Levels of Authority

• Management Agreements for the College of William and Mary, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Tech - 2006
• Management Agreement for Virginia Commonwealth University - 2008
• Management Agreements (Amended) - 2009
• Management Agreement (Amended for UVA) - 2011
• Management Agreement (Amended for CWM) - 2013
• Management Agreements (§ 23.1-1004 through § 23.1-1028 Code of Virginia outlining institutional authority under management agreements)
• Level II Memoranda of Understanding (§ 23.1-1003 Code of Virginia outlining requirements for Level II institutions)
• Authority Level Information for Institutions 2022

Reports Related to the Restructuring Act

• SCHEV Update - Special Meeting: The State of Virginia Public Higher Education - July, 2009
• Restructuring Update - February 2, 2008
• Checks and Balances at Work: The Restructuring of Virginia’s Public Higher Education System
• The Politics of Restructuring Higher Education in Virginia: A Case Study
• The Politics of Restructuring Higher Education in Virginia: A Case Study (ERIC)
• First Detailed Look at Virginia Higher Education Restructuring Act Released
• Restructuring Relationships in Virginia: The Changing Compact between Higher Education Institutions and the State
• Matching Virginia Higher Education’s Strengths with the Commonwealth’s Needs
• International Case Study: USA – State of Virginia

Reports Related to the Levels of Authority

• Compliance Review of Initial Management Agreement between the State and Virginia Commonwealth University – Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLRAC) – 2011
• Two-Year Review of Initial Higher Education Management Agreements – Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLRAC) – 2008

For Presentations and Subcommittee Meeting documents from 2007-2011 please contact J. Huskey Mottley at JeanMottley@schev.edu.

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