To amend sections 3333.01, 3333.02, 3333.021, 3333.03, 3333.04, 3333.041, 3333.042, 3333.043, 3333.044, 3333.045, 3333.046, 3333.047, 3333.05, 3333.06, 3333.07, 3333.071, 3333.072, 3333.08, 3333.09, 3333.10, 3333.11, 3333.12, 3333.121, 3333.122, 3333.123, 3333.13, 3333.14, 3333.15, 3333.16, 3333.161, 3333.162, 3333.163, 3333.17, 3333.18, 3333.19, 3333.20, 3333.21, 3333.22, 3333.23, 3333.25, 3333.26, 3333.27, 3333.28, 3333.29, 3333.31, 3333.33, 3333.34, 3333.35, 3333.36, 3333.37, 3333.372, 3333.373, 3333.374, 3333.375, and 3333.38 and to enact sections 3333.031 and 3333.032 of the Revised Code to transfer appointment of the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents to the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make the Board of Regents an advisory board to the Chancellor, to transfer the Board's duties and powers to the Chancellor, to shorten the terms of the Board's members, and to declare an emergency.

SECTION 1.  That sections 3333.01, 3333.02, 3333.021, 3333.03, 3333.04, 3333.041, 3333.042, 3333.043, 3333.044, 3333.045, 3333.046, 3333.047, 3333.05, 3333.06, 3333.07, 3333.071, 3333.072, 3333.08, 3333.09, 3333.10, 3333.11, 3333.12, 3333.121, 3333.122, 3333.123, 3333.13, 3333.14, 3333.15, 3333.16, 3333.161, 3333.162, 3333.163, 3333.17, 3333.18, 3333.19, 3333.20, 3333.21, 3333.22, 3333.23, 3333.25, 3333.26, 3333.27, 3333.28, 3333.29, 3333.31, 3333.33, 3333.34, 3333.35, 3333.36, 3333.37, 3333.372, 3333.373, 3333.374, 3333.375, and 3333.38 be amended and sections 3333.031 and 3333.032 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 3333.01.  (A) There is hereby created the Ohio board of regents consisting as an advisory board to the chancellor appointed under section 3333.03 of the Revised Code. The board shall consist of nine members to be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. The members shall be residents of this state who possess an interest in and knowledge of higher education. No member shall be a trustee, officer, or employee of any Ohio public or private college or university while serving as a member of the board. In addition to the members appointed by the governor, the chairman chairperson of the education committee of the senate and the chairman chairperson of the education committee of the house of representatives shall, after January 1, 1967, be ex officio members of the board without a vote.

Terms (B) Prior to September 20, 2008, terms of office shall be for nine years, commencing on the twenty-first day of September and ending on the twentieth day of September. Each

(C) Beginning on September 20, 2008, the terms of office for the members of the board of regents shall be as follows:

(1) The terms of office of the three members whose terms under division (B) of this section are scheduled to expire on September 20, 2008, shall expire on September 20, 2008. The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint successors for terms beginning on September 21, 2008, and ending on September 20, 2014.

(2) Notwithstanding division (B) of this section, the terms of office of the three members whose terms under division (B) of this section otherwise are scheduled to expire on September 20, 2011, shall expire on September 20, 2010. The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint successors for terms beginning on September 21, 2010, and ending on September 20, 2016.

(3) Notwithstanding division (B) of this section, the terms of office of the three members whose terms under division (B) of this section otherwise are scheduled to expire on September 20, 2014, shall expire on September 20, 2012. The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint successors for terms beginning on September 21, 2012, and ending on September 20, 2018.

Thereafter, the terms of office of all subsequent members of the board of regents shall be for six years beginning on the twenty-first day of September and ending on the twentieth day of September.

(D) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, each member shall hold office from the date of his appointment until the end of the term for which he the member was appointed. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of such term. Any member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of his the member's term until his a successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

No person who has served a full nine-year term under division (B) of this section or two full six-year terms under division (C) of this section shall be eligible for reappointment.

(E) Board members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the conduct of board business.

Sec. 3333.02.  The Ohio board of regents shall hold its first meeting at the call of the governor, within three months after all members have been appointed and qualified. Meetings thereafter shall be called in such manner and at such times as prescribed by rules standards adopted by the board, but the board shall meet at least four times annually quarterly. A majority of the board constitutes a quorum. At its first meeting, the board shall organize by selecting a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and a secretary, and such other officers as it deems necessary. The board shall adopt rules standards for the conduct of its business, and to provide for the term and election of officers, and shall establish an office in Columbus. The rules standards shall permit the formation of a quorum and the taking of votes at meetings conducted by interactive video teleconference if provisions are made for public attendance at any location involved in such a teleconference.

A record shall be kept of board proceedings, which shall be open for public inspection. The board shall adopt a seal to be affixed to official documents. Each member of the board, before entering on official duties and after qualifying for office, shall take and subscribe to an oath of office, to uphold the constitution and laws of the United States and this state, and to perform the duties of office honestly, faithfully, and impartially.

Sec. 3333.021.  As used in this section, "university" means any college or university that receives a state appropriation.

(A) This division does not apply to proposed rules, amendments, or rescissions subject to review under division (I) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code. No action taken by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents that could reasonably be expected to have an effect on the revenue or expenditures of any university shall take effect unless at least two weeks prior to the date on which the action is taken, the board chancellor has filed with the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the legislative budget office of the legislative service commission, and the director of budget and management a fiscal analysis of the proposed action. The analysis shall include an estimate of the amount by which, during the current and ensuing fiscal biennium, the action would increase or decrease the university's revenues or expenditures and increase or decrease any state expenditures and any other information the board chancellor considers necessary to explain the action's fiscal effect.

(B) Within three days of the date the board of regents chancellor files with the clerk of the senate a proposed rule, amendment, or rescission that is subject to review and invalidation under division (I) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code, it the chancellor shall file with the speaker of the house, the president of the senate, the legislative budget office of the legislative service commission, and the director of budget and management a fiscal analysis of the proposed rule. The analysis shall include an estimate of the amount by which, during the current and ensuing fiscal biennium, the action would increase or decrease any university's revenues or expenditures and increase or decrease state revenues or expenditures and any other information the board chancellor considers necessary to explain the fiscal effect of the rule, amendment, or rescission. No rule, amendment, or rescission shall take effect unless the board chancellor has complied with this division.

Sec. 3333.03.  (A) The Ohio board of regents governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint a the chancellor to serve at its pleasure and of the Ohio board of regents. The governor may remove the chancellor in accordance with section 3.04 of the Revised Code, except that the removal shall not require the advice and consent of the senate. The governor shall prescribe the chancellor's duties in addition to the chancellor's duties prescribed by law. In no case shall the chancellor assume any duties prescribed by the governor or law until the senate has consented to the chancellor's appointment. The board governor shall fix the compensation for the chancellor. The chancellor shall be a member of the governor's cabinet.

(B) The term of office of the chancellor shall be five years. Any person appointed chancellor to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of that term. Any vacancy in the office shall be filled within sixty days after the vacancy occurs. Each chancellor shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the term for which the chancellor was appointed until a successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first. The chancellor may be reappointed.

(C) The chancellor is the administrative officer of the board, and is responsible for appointing and fixing the compensation of all professional, administrative, and clerical employees and staff members necessary to assist the board and the chancellor in the performance of their the chancellor's duties. All employees and staff shall serve at the chancellor's pleasure.

(D) The chancellor shall be a person qualified by training and experience to understand the problems and needs of the state in the field of higher education and to devise programs, plans, and methods of solving the problems and meeting the needs.

(C)(E) Neither the chancellor nor any staff member or employee of the board chancellor shall be a trustee, officer, or employee of any public or private college or university while serving on the board as chancellor, staff member, or employee.

Sec. 3333.031.  Whenever the term "Ohio board of regents" is used, referred to, or designated in any statute, rule, contract, grant, or other document, the use, reference, or designation shall be construed to mean the "chancellor of the Ohio board of regents," except in sections 3333.01, 3333.011, 3333.02, and 3333.032 of the Revised Code or unless the use, reference, or designation of the term "Ohio board of regents" relates to the board's duties to give advice to the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents or unless another section of law expressly provides otherwise.

Sec. 3333.032. The Ohio board of regents shall submit to the general assembly, in accordance with division (B) of section 101.68 of the Revised Code, and to the governor, an annual report on the condition of higher education in this state, including the performance of the chancellor of the board.

Sec. 3333.04.  The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall:

(A) Make studies of state policy in the field of higher education and formulate a master plan for higher education for the state, considering the needs of the people, the needs of the state, and the role of individual public and private institutions within the state in fulfilling these needs;

(B)(1) Report annually to the governor and the general assembly on the findings from its the chancellor's studies and the master plan for higher education for the state;

(2) Report at least semiannually to the general assembly and the governor the enrollment numbers at each state-assisted institution of higher education.

(C) Approve or disapprove the establishment of new branches or academic centers of state colleges and universities;

(D) Approve or disapprove the establishment of state technical colleges or any other state institution of higher education;

(E) Recommend the nature of the programs, undergraduate, graduate, professional, state-financed research, and public services which should be offered by the state colleges, universities, and other state-assisted institutions of higher education in order to utilize to the best advantage their facilities and personnel;

(F) Recommend to the state colleges, universities, and other state-assisted institutions of higher education graduate or professional programs, including, but not limited to, doctor of philosophy, doctor of education, and juris doctor programs, that could be eliminated because they constitute unnecessary duplication, as shall be determined using the process developed pursuant to this section division, or for other good and sufficient cause. For Prior to recommending a program for elimination, the chancellor shall request the board of regents to hold at least one public hearing on the matter and advise the chancellor on whether the program should be recommended for elimination. The board shall provide notice of each hearing within a reasonable amount of time prior to its scheduled date. Following the hearing, the board shall issue a recommendation to the chancellor. The chancellor shall consider the board's recommendation but shall not be required to accept it.

For purposes of determining the amounts of any state instructional subsidies paid to these state colleges, universities, and other state-assisted institutions of higher education, the board chancellor may exclude students enrolled in any program that the board chancellor has recommended for elimination pursuant to this division except that the board chancellor shall not exclude any such student who enrolled in the program prior to the date on which the board chancellor initially commences to exclude students under this division. The board of regents

The chancellor and these state colleges, universities, and other state-assisted institutions of higher education shall jointly develop a process for determining which existing graduate or professional programs constitute unnecessary duplication.

(G) Recommend to the state colleges, universities, and other state-assisted institutions of higher education programs which should be added to their present programs;

(H) Conduct studies for the state colleges, universities, and other state-assisted institutions of higher education to assist them in making the best and most efficient use of their existing facilities and personnel;

(I) Make recommendations to the governor and general assembly concerning the development of state-financed capital plans for higher education; the establishment of new state colleges, universities, and other state-assisted institutions of higher education; and the establishment of new programs at the existing state colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education;

(J) Review the appropriation requests of the public community colleges and the state colleges and universities and submit to the office of budget and management and to the chairpersons of the finance committees of the house of representatives and of the senate its the chancellor's recommendations in regard to the biennial higher education appropriation for the state, including appropriations for the individual state colleges and universities and public community colleges. For the purpose of determining the amounts of instructional subsidies to be paid to state-assisted colleges and universities, the board chancellor shall define "full-time equivalent student" by program per academic year. The definition may take into account the establishment of minimum enrollment levels in technical education programs below which support allowances will not be paid. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the board chancellor shall make no change in the definition of "full-time equivalent student" in effect on November 15, 1981, which would increase or decrease the number of subsidy-eligible full-time equivalent students, without first submitting a fiscal impact statement to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the legislative service commission, and the director of budget and management. The board chancellor shall work in close cooperation with the director of budget and management in this respect and in all other matters concerning the expenditures of appropriated funds by state colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education.

(K) Seek the cooperation and advice of the officers and trustees of both public and private colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education in the state in performing its the chancellor's duties and making its the chancellor's plans, studies, and recommendations;

(L) Appoint advisory committees consisting of persons associated with public or private secondary schools, members of the state board of education, or personnel of the state department of education;

(M) Appoint advisory committees consisting of college and university personnel, or other persons knowledgeable in the field of higher education, or both, in order to obtain their advice and assistance in defining and suggesting solutions for the problems and needs of higher education in this state;

(N) Approve or disapprove all new degrees and new degree programs at all state colleges, universities, and other state-assisted institutions of higher education;

(O) Adopt such rules as are necessary to carry out its the chancellor's duties and responsibilities;. The rules shall prescribe procedures for the chancellor to follow when taking actions associated with the chancellor's duties and responsibilities and shall indicate which types of actions are subject to those procedures. The procedures adopted under this division shall be in addition to any other procedures prescribed by law for such actions. However, if any other provision of the Revised Code or rule adopted by the chancellor prescribes different procedures for such an action, the procedures adopted under this division shall not apply to that action to the extent they conflict with the procedures otherwise prescribed by law. The procedures adopted under this division shall include at least the following:

(1) Provision for public notice of the proposed action;

(2) An opportunity for public comment on the proposed action, which may include a public hearing on the action by the board of regents;

(3) Methods for parties that may be affected by the proposed action to submit comments during the public comment period;

(4) Submission of recommendations from the board of regents regarding the proposed action, at the request of the chancellor;

(5) Written publication of the final action taken by the chancellor and the chancellor's rationale for the action;

(6) A timeline for the process described in divisions (O)(1) to (5) of this section.

(P) Establish and submit to the governor and the general assembly a clear and measurable set of goals and timetables for their achievement for each program under the chancellor's supervision of the board that is designed to accomplish any of the following:

(1) Increased access to higher education;

(2) Job training;

(3) Adult literacy;

(4) Research;

(5) Excellence in higher education;

(6) Reduction in the number of graduate programs within the same subject area.

In July of each odd-numbered year, the board of regents chancellor shall submit to the governor and the general assembly a report on progress made toward these goals.

(Q) Make recommendations to the governor and the general assembly regarding the design and funding of the student financial aid programs specified in sections 3333.12, 3333.122, 3333.21 to 3333.27, and 5910.02 of the Revised Code;

(R) Participate in education-related state or federal programs on behalf of the state and assume responsibility for the administration of such programs in accordance with applicable state or federal law;

(S) Adopt rules for student financial aid programs as required by sections 3333.12, 3333.122, 3333.21 to 3333.27, 3333.28, 3333.29, and 5910.02 of the Revised Code, and perform any other administrative functions assigned to the board chancellor by those sections;

(T) Administer contracts under sections 3702.74 and 3702.75 of the Revised Code in accordance with rules adopted by the director of health under section 3702.79 of the Revised Code;

(U) Conduct enrollment audits of state-supported institutions of higher education;

(V) Appoint consortiums of college and university personnel to participate in the development and operation of statewide collaborative efforts, including the Ohio supercomputer center, the Ohio academic resources network, OhioLink, and the Ohio learning network. For each consortium, the board chancellor shall designate a college or university to serve as that consortium's fiscal agent, financial officer, and employer. Any funds appropriated to the board for the consortiums shall be distributed to the fiscal agents for the operation of the consortiums. A consortium shall follow the rules of the college or university that serves as its fiscal agent.

(W) Adopt rules establishing advisory duties and responsibilities of the board of regents not otherwise prescribed by law;

(X) Respond to requests for information about higher education from members of the general assembly and direct staff to conduct research or analysis as needed for this purpose.

Sec. 3333.041.  On or before the last day of December of each year, the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall submit a report to the general assembly, the state board of education, and the board of education of each city, exempted village, and local school district on the status of graduates of Ohio school districts at state-assisted colleges or universities during the twelve-month period ending on the thirtieth day of September of the current calendar year. The report shall list, by school district, the number of graduates of each school district who attended such a college or university and the percentage of each district's graduates enrolled in such a college or university during the reporting period who were required during such period by the college or university, as a prerequisite to enrolling in those courses generally required for first-year students, to enroll in a remedial course in English, including composition or reading, mathematics, and any other area designated by the board.

Each state-assisted college and university shall, by the first day of November of each year, submit to the board chancellor in the form specified by the board chancellor the information the board chancellor requires to compile its the report.

As used in this section, "state-assisted college or university" means a state university or college as defined in division (A)(1) of section 3345.12 of the Revised Code, community colleges, state community colleges, university branches, and technical colleges.

Sec. 3333.042.  The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents may grant money to a nonprofit entity that provides a statewide resource for aerospace research, education, and technology, so long as the nonprofit entity makes its resources accessible to state colleges and universities and to agencies of this and other states and the United States. The board chancellor, by rule adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall establish procedures and forms whereby nonprofit entities may apply for grants; standards and procedures for reviewing applications for and awarding grants; procedures for distributing grants to recipients; procedures for monitoring the use of grants by recipients; requirements, procedures, and forms whereby grant recipients shall report upon their use of grants; and standards and procedures for terminating and requiring repayment of grants in the event of their improper use.

A state college or university or a private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code and any agency of state government may provide assistance, in any form, to any nonprofit entity that receives a grant under this section. Such assistance shall be solely for the purpose of assisting the nonprofit entity in making proper use of the grant.

A nonprofit entity that expends a grant under this section for a capital project is not thereby subject to Chapter 123. or 153. of the Revised Code. An officer or employee of, or a person who serves on a governing or advisory board or committee of, a nonprofit entity that receives a grant under this section is not thereby an officer or employee of a state college or university or of the state. An officer or employee of a state college or university or of the state who is assigned to assist a nonprofit entity in making proper use of a grant does not, to the extent the officer or employee provides such assistance, thereby hold an incompatible office or employment, or have a direct or indirect interest in a contract or expenditure of the entity.

Sec. 3333.043.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Institution of higher education" means the state universities listed in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, municipal educational institutions established under Chapter 3349. of the Revised Code, community colleges established under Chapter 3354. of the Revised Code, university branches established under Chapter 3355. of the Revised Code, technical colleges established under Chapter 3357. of the Revised Code, state community colleges established under Chapter 3358. of the Revised Code, any institution of higher education with a certificate of registration from the state board of career colleges and schools, and any institution for which the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents receives a notice pursuant to division (C) of this section.

(2) "Community service" has the same meaning as in section 3313.605 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) The board of trustees or other governing entity of each institution of higher education shall encourage and promote participation of students in community service through a program appropriate to the mission, student population, and environment of each institution. The program may include, but not be limited to, providing information about community service opportunities during student orientation or in student publications; providing awards for exemplary community service; encouraging faculty members to incorporate community service into students' academic experiences wherever appropriate to the curriculum; encouraging recognized student organizations to undertake community service projects as part of their purposes; and establishing advisory committees of students, faculty members, and community and business leaders to develop cooperative programs that benefit the community and enhance student experience. The program shall be flexible in design so as to permit participation by the greatest possible number of students, including part-time students and students for whom participation may be difficult due to financial, academic, personal, or other considerations. The program shall emphasize community service opportunities that can most effectively use the skills of students, such as tutoring or literacy programs. The programs shall encourage students to perform services that will not supplant the hiring of, result in the displacement of, or impair any existing employment contracts of any particular employee of any private or governmental entity for which services are performed.

(2) The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall encourage all institutions of higher education in the development of community service programs. With the assistance of the Ohio community service council created in section 121.40 of the Revised Code, the board of regents chancellor shall make available information about higher education community service programs to institutions of higher education and to statewide organizations involved with or promoting volunteerism, including information about model community service programs, teacher training courses, and community service curricula and teaching materials for possible use by institutions of higher education in their programs. The board chancellor shall encourage institutions of higher education to jointly coordinate higher education community service programs through consortia of institutions or other appropriate means of coordination.

(C) The board of trustees of any nonprofit institution with a certificate of authorization issued by the Ohio board of regents pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code or the governing authority of a private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code may notify the board of regents chancellor that it is making itself subject to divisions (A) and (B) of this section. Upon receipt of such a notice, these divisions shall apply to that institution.

Sec. 3333.044.  (A) The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents may contract with any consultants that are necessary for the discharge of the board's chancellor's duties under this chapter.

(B) The Ohio board of regents chancellor may purchase, upon the terms that the board chancellor determines to be advisable, one or more policies of insurance from insurers authorized to do business in this state that insure consultants who have contracted with the board chancellor under division (A) of this section or members of an advisory committee appointed under section 3333.04 of the Revised Code, with respect to the activities of the consultants or advisory committee members in the course of the performance of their responsibilities as consultants or advisory committee members.

(C) Subject to the approval of the controlling board, the Ohio board of regents chancellor may contract with any entities for the discharge of the board's chancellor's duties and responsibilities under any of the programs established pursuant to sections 3333.12, 3333.122, 3333.21 to 3333.28, 3702.71 to 3702.81, and 5120.55, and Chapter 5910. of the Revised Code. The board chancellor shall not enter into a contract under this division unless the proposed contractor demonstrates that its primary purpose is to promote access to higher education by providing student financial assistance through loans, grants, or scholarships, and by providing high quality support services and information to students and their families with regard to such financial assistance.

Chapter 125. of the Revised Code does not apply to contracts entered into pursuant to this section. In awarding contracts under this division, the board chancellor shall consider factors such as the cost of the administration of the contract, the experience of the contractor, and the contractor's ability to properly execute the contract.

Sec. 3333.045.  As used in this section, "state university or college" means any state university listed in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, the northeastern Ohio universities college of medicine, any community college under Chapter 3354. of the Revised Code, any university branch district under Chapter 3355. of the Revised Code, any technical college under Chapter 3357. of the Revised Code, and any state community college under Chapter 3358. of the Revised Code.

The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall work with the attorney general, the auditor of state, and the Ohio ethics commission to develop a model for training members of the boards of trustees of all state universities and colleges and members of the board of regents regarding the authority and responsibilities of a board of trustees or the board of regents. This model shall include a review of fiduciary responsibilities, ethics, and fiscal management. Use of this model by members of boards of trustees and the board of regents shall be voluntary.

This section does not apply to the three members of the board of trustees of the northeastern Ohio universities college of medicine who are presidents of state universities.

Sec. 3333.046.  Any institution authorized to grant on the effective date of this section February 20, 2002, baccalaureate or master's degrees, for which the board of regents has issued certificates of authorization have been issued under Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code; that is accredited by the appropriate regional and, when appropriate, professional accrediting associations within whose jurisdiction it falls; and that is operated by a for-profit corporation shall cease to be subject to any regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code but shall continue to be subject to the provisions for approval of degree programs set forth in Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code, including approval of any additional associate, baccalaureate, or master's degree programs offered by the institution.

Sec. 3333.047. With regard to any state student financial aid program established in this chapter, Chapter 5910., or section 5919.34 of the Revised Code, the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall conduct audits to:

(A) Determine the validity of information provided by students and parents regarding eligibility for state student financial aid. If the board chancellor determines that eligibility data has been reported incorrectly or inaccurately, and where the board chancellor determines an adjustment to be appropriate, the institution of higher education shall adjust the financial aid awarded to the student.

(B) Ensure that institutions of higher education are in compliance with the board's rules governing state student financial aid programs. An institution that fails to comply with the board's rules in the administration of any state student financial aid program shall be fully liable to reimburse the board state for the unauthorized use of student financial aid funds.

Sec. 3333.05.  The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall approve or disapprove proposed official plans of community college districts, prepared and submitted pursuant to sections 3354.01 to 3354.18, inclusive, of the Revised Code, and issue or decline to issue charters for operation of community colleges, pursuant to section 3354.07 of the Revised Code.

The board chancellor shall approve an official plan, and issue a charter, only upon the following findings:

(A) That the official plan and all past and proposed actions of the community college district are in conformity to law;

(B) That the proposed community college will not unreasonably and wastefully duplicate existing educational services available to students and prospective students residing in the community college district;

(C) That there is reasonable prospect of adequate current operating revenue for the proposed community college from its proposed opening date of operation;

(D) That the proposed lands and facilities of the community colleges will be adequate and efficient for the purposes of the proposed community college;

(E) That the proposed curricular programs defined in section 3354.01 of the Revised Code as "arts and sciences" and "technical," or either, are the programs for which there is substantial need in the territory of the district.

The employment and separation of individual personnel in a community college, and the establishing or abolishing of individual courses of instruction, shall not be subject to the specific and individual approval or disapproval of the Ohio board of regents chancellor, but shall occur in the discretion of the local management of such college within the limitations of law, the official plan, and the charter of such college.

Sec. 3333.06.  The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall prepare a state plan and do all other things necessary for participation in federal acts relative to the construction of higher educational academic facilities.

Such plan shall provide for objective standards and methods of determining the relative priorities for eligible projects for the construction of academic facilities submitted by institutions of higher education within the state and for determining the federal share of the development for each such project.

The board chancellor shall provide for assigning priorities in accordance with such criteria, standards, and methods to eligible projects submitted to the board and approved by it the chancellor, shall recommend to the United States secretary of education, in the order of such priority, applications covering such eligible projects, and shall certify to the secretary the federal share of the development cost of such projects.

The board chancellor shall provide a fair hearing to each institution which has submitted a project as to the priority assigned to such project by the board chancellor or as to any other determination of the board chancellor adversely affecting such institution.

The board chancellor shall receive federal grants for the proper and efficient administration of the state plan, and shall provide for such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures as may be necessary to ensure proper disbursement of, and accounting for, federal funds paid to the board chancellor.

The board chancellor shall make such reports in such form and containing such information as may be reasonably required by the secretary in the performance of his the secretary's functions under federal law relating to grants for the construction of academic facilities.

Each federal grant received by the board chancellor shall be paid into the state treasury.

Sec. 3333.07.  (A) Colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education which receive state assistance, but are not supported primarily by the state, shall submit to the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents such accounting of the expenditure of state funds at such time and in such form as the board chancellor prescribes.

(B) No state institution of higher education shall establish a new branch or academic center without the approval of the board chancellor.

(C) No state institution of higher education shall offer a new degree or establish a new degree program without the approval of the board chancellor. No degree approval shall be given for a technical education program unless such program is offered by a state assisted university, a university branch, a technical college, or a community college.

(D) Any state college, university, or other state assisted institution of higher education not complying with a recommendation of the board chancellor pursuant to division (F) or (G) of section 3333.04 of the Revised Code shall so notify the board chancellor in writing within one hundred twenty days after receipt of the recommendation, stating the reasons why it cannot or should not comply.

(E) The officers, trustees, and employees of all institutions of higher education which are state supported or state assisted shall cooperate with the board chancellor in supplying information regarding their institutions, and advising and assisting the board chancellor on matters of higher education in this state in every way possible when so requested by the board chancellor.

(F) Persons associated with the public school systems in this state, personnel of the state department of education, and members of the state board of education shall provide such data about high school students as are requested by the board of regents chancellor to aid in the development of state higher education plans.

Sec. 3333.071.  Notwithstanding section 3345.16 of the Revised Code, no expenditure shall be made for land for higher education purposes by public institutions of higher education or agents of such institutions from any fund without the approval of the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents and the controlling board. No state appropriation for capital improvements shall be released by the controlling board for the purchase of land or buildings from any organization or corporation which has been established to benefit or assist the institution, except that such releases may be made if the land is to be used for a currently state-financed improvement.

Sec. 3333.072. The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents, after consulting with the state colleges and universities and with the office of budget and management, shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to govern the allocation of state capital appropriations to state colleges and universities. In drafting the rules, the board chancellor shall incorporate the recommendations of the final report of the commission to study higher education debt service, issued June 28, 1994, as these recommendations have been utilized and modified in procedures developed by the board chancellor and the office of budget and management since the report was issued.

Sec. 3333.08.  It is the declared policy of this state that the availability of eminent domain on behalf of educational institutions of higher education is in the public welfare. A private college, university, or other institution of higher education may therefore apply to the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents for the right to appropriate property when such institution is unable to agree with the owner or owners of the subject property upon the price to be paid for the property. The institution shall be one that any educationally qualified member of the public who desires to attend has, or can acquire, a right to be admitted upon equal terms without discrimination. The institution shall certify to the board chancellor, in its application, that the use of the property to be appropriated is to be for educational purposes, including student housing and dining facilities, that reasonable efforts have been made to purchase the property, and that it will be used without discrimination against any person or group and be equally available to all qualified persons. The institution also shall submit to the board chancellor its plans for the use of the property and such other information as the board chancellor may require. The board chancellor may, thereafter, and upon a determination that the intended use is in the public interest, approve the application by resolution. Upon such approval, the institution may appropriate the property in the same manner as is provided for the appropriation of property in Chapter 163. of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3333.09.  "Public university or college," as used in this section, means any non-profit university or college situated within this state which is open to the public on equal terms and which is not affiliated with or controlled by an organization which is not primarily educational in nature. Any such university or college shall be considered to be serving a public purpose.

The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents may, upon a the chancellor's determination by it that such action would serve the interests of higher education in this state, in terms of expansion of educational opportunity in a major urban area and in terms of expansion of educational service to a major urban community, accept conveyances of land, situated within this state, from any public university or college and enter into an agreement before or after such conveyance to lease to such public university or college, upon terms as may be prescribed by the board of regents chancellor, such land together with buildings constructed thereon and furniture, fixtures, and equipment therein for use as an educational facility. The lease shall be for a period not to exceed fifty years, renewable for a like term, and shall provide that such buildings be used solely for educational purposes and that the Ohio board of regents chancellor may cancel such lease if such buildings are used for other purposes. Such lease may contain provisions for the sale of such property to the lessee, upon the consent of the Ohio board of regents chancellor, for a purchase price not less than the actual cost to the Ohio board of regents chancellor, less depreciation, computed at the rate customarily applied to similar structures. The Ohio board of regents chancellor, through the department of administrative services, may construct, equip, or remodel buildings on lands accepted by it the chancellor in the name of the state pursuant to this section. Title to lands acquired under this section shall be taken in the name of the state.

Responsibility for the proper use, maintenance, and repair of leased buildings shall rest upon the lessee.

Sec. 3333.10.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Qualified institution of higher education" or "institution" means a nonprofit educational institution, holding an effective certificate of authorization issued by the Ohio board of regents under section 1713.02 of the Revised Code, operating in the state an eligible program, and admitting students without discrimination by reason of race, creed, color, or national origin.

(2) "School of dentistry" means an accredited dental college as defined under section 4715.10 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Eligible program" means a medical school accredited by the liaison committee on medical education or an osteopathic medical school accredited by the American osteopathic association, or such a school together with a school of dentistry.

(B) In order to provide better for the public health and the necessary enhancement of instruction in medicine and dentistry in the state, and to encourage the means of such instruction with the least economic cost to the people of the state, the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents may enter into agreements with qualified institutions of higher education providing for the continued operation by the institution of eligible programs, conditioned upon continued payments by the state to such institution for the purposes of such eligible programs of amounts determined in the manner provided for the state subsidy from time to time afforded to state universities on the basis of comparable programs. Before entering into such agreement, the Ohio board of regents chancellor shall determine that the institution is a qualified institution of higher education as defined in division (A) of this section, and that the operation of such eligible programs as provided for in such agreement and such payments will contribute to the objectives stated in this section and to the objectives of the master plan of higher education formulated under section 3333.04 of the Revised Code.

(C) Agreements under this section shall contain provisions to the effect that:

(1) The institution shall submit to the Ohio board of regents chancellor accountings for the expenditure of state payments in the manner and at the times as are requested for state-assisted institutions of higher education pursuant to division (A) of section 3333.07 of the Revised Code.

(2) The institution shall notify the Ohio board of regents chancellor in the manner provided for state-assisted institutions under division (D) of section 3333.07 of the Revised Code with regard to program recommendations by the Ohio board of regents chancellor in the nature of those provided for in divisions (F) and (G) of section 3333.04 of the Revised Code.

(3) The agreement shall terminate if the institution ceases to be a qualified institution of higher education as determined by the Ohio board of regents chancellor in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

(D) Agreements under this section may make further provision for any one or more of the following as the parties determine:

(1) The duration of any such agreement, or additional provision for terminating the agreement;

(2) Additional conditions for the effectiveness or continued effectiveness of such agreement;

(3) Procedures for the amendment or supplementation of the agreement, including designation of the parties to approve or execute such amendments or supplements;

(4) Such other provisions as may be deemed necessary or appropriate.

(E) In case any provision or part of this section or any provision, agreement, covenant, stipulation, obligation, act or action, or part thereof, made, assumed, or taken under or pursuant to this section, or any application thereof, is for any reason held to be illegal or invalid, such illegality or invalidity shall not affect the remainder thereof or any other provision of this section or any other provision, agreement, covenant, stipulation, obligation, action, or part thereof, made, assumed, or taken under or pursuant to this section, which shall be construed and enforced as if such illegal or invalid portion were not contained therein, nor shall such illegality or invalidity of any application thereof affect any legal and valid application thereof, and each such provision, agreement, covenant, stipulation, obligation, act, or action, or part thereof, shall be deemed to be effective, operative, made, done, or entered into in the manner and to the full extent permitted by law to accomplish most nearly the intention thereof.

(F) No agreement shall be entered into under this section with any institution which is not in compliance with section 3333.11 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3333.11.  Each school or college of medicine supported in whole or in part by the state shall create a curriculum for and maintain a department of family practice, the purpose of which shall be to acquaint undergraduates with and to train postgraduate physicians for the practice of family medicine. The minimum requirements for the department shall include courses of study in family care, including clinical experience, a program of preceptorships, and a program of family practice residencies in university or other hospital settings.

Each program of family practice shall:

(A) Be designated to advance the field of family practice;

(B) Educate all medical students in family practice and encourage students to enter it as a career;

(C) Provide students an opportunity to study family practice in various situations through preceptorships, seminars, model family practice units within the medical school, classroom work, hospital programs, or other means;

(D) Develop residency and other training programs for family practice in public and private hospitals, including those in nonmetropolitan areas of the state;

(E) The department shall be a full department co-equal with all other major clinical departments and headed by a qualified experienced family practitioner serving as chairman chairperson of the department of family practice and director of the family practice residency program.

Funds appropriated by the general assembly in support of family practice programs shall not be disbursed until the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents has certified that the intent and requirements of this section are being met.

Sec. 3333.12.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Eligible student" means an undergraduate student who is:

(a) An Ohio resident enrolled in an undergraduate program before the 2006-2007 academic year;

(b) Enrolled in either of the following:

(i) An accredited institution of higher education in this state that meets the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and is state-assisted, is nonprofit and has a certificate of authorization from the Ohio board of regents pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code, has a certificate of registration from the state board of career colleges and schools and program authorization to award an associate or bachelor's degree, or is a private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code. Students who attend an institution that holds a certificate of registration shall be enrolled in a program leading to an associate or bachelor's degree for which associate or bachelor's degree program the institution has program authorization issued under section 3332.05 of the Revised Code.

(ii) A technical education program of at least two years duration sponsored by a private institution of higher education in this state that meets the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

(c) Enrolled as a full-time student or enrolled as a less than full-time student for the term expected to be the student's final term of enrollment and is enrolled for the number of credit hours necessary to complete the requirements of the program in which the student is enrolled.

(2) "Gross income" includes all taxable and nontaxable income of the parents, the student, and the student's spouse, except income derived from an Ohio academic scholarship, income earned by the student between the last day of the spring term and the first day of the fall term, and other income exclusions designated by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents. Gross income may be verified to the board chancellor by the institution in which the student is enrolled using the federal financial aid eligibility verification process or by other means satisfactory to the board chancellor.

(3) "Resident," "full-time student," "dependent," "financially independent," and "accredited" shall be defined by rules adopted by the board chancellor.

(B) The Ohio board of regents chancellor shall establish and administer an instructional grant program and may adopt rules to carry out this section. The general assembly shall support the instructional grant program by such sums and in such manner as it may provide, but the board chancellor may also receive funds from other sources to support the program. If the amounts available for support of the program are inadequate to provide grants to all eligible students, preference in the payment of grants shall be given in terms of income, beginning with the lowest income category of gross income and proceeding upward by category to the highest gross income category.

An instructional grant shall be paid to an eligible student through the institution in which the student is enrolled, except that no instructional grant shall be paid to any person serving a term of imprisonment. Applications for such grants shall be made as prescribed by the board chancellor, and such applications may be made in conjunction with and upon the basis of information provided in conjunction with student assistance programs funded by agencies of the United States government or from financial resources of the institution of higher education. The institution shall certify that the student applicant meets the requirements set forth in divisions (A)(1)(b) and (c) of this section. Instructional grants shall be provided to an eligible student only as long as the student is making appropriate progress toward a nursing diploma or an associate or bachelor's degree. No student shall be eligible to receive a grant for more than ten semesters, fifteen quarters, or the equivalent of five academic years. A grant made to an eligible student on the basis of less than full-time enrollment shall be based on the number of credit hours for which the student is enrolled and shall be computed in accordance with a formula adopted by the board chancellor. No student shall receive more than one grant on the basis of less than full-time enrollment.

An instructional grant shall not exceed the total instructional and general charges of the institution.

(C) The tables in this division prescribe the maximum grant amounts covering two semesters, three quarters, or a comparable portion of one academic year. Grant amounts for additional terms in the same academic year shall be determined under division (D) of this section.

For a full-time student who is a dependent and enrolled in a nonprofit educational institution that is not a state-assisted institution and that has a certificate of authorization issued pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code, the amount of the instructional grant for two semesters, three quarters, or a comparable portion of the academic year shall be determined in accordance with the following table:

For a full-time student who is financially independent and enrolled in a nonprofit educational institution that is not a state-assisted institution and that has a certificate of authorization issued pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code, the amount of the instructional grant for two semesters, three quarters, or a comparable portion of the academic year shall be determined in accordance with the following table:

For a full-time student who is a dependent and enrolled in an educational institution that holds a certificate of registration from the state board of career colleges and schools or a private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code, the amount of the instructional grant for two semesters, three quarters, or a comparable portion of the academic year shall be determined in accordance with the following table:

For a full-time student who is financially independent and enrolled in an educational institution that holds a certificate of registration from the state board of career colleges and schools or a private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code, the amount of the instructional grant for two semesters, three quarters, or a comparable portion of the academic year shall be determined in accordance with the following table:

For a full-time student who is a dependent and enrolled in a state-assisted educational institution, the amount of the instructional grant for two semesters, three quarters, or a comparable portion of the academic year shall be determined in accordance with the following table:

For a full-time student who is financially independent and enrolled in a state-assisted educational institution, the amount of the instructional grant for two semesters, three quarters, or a comparable portion of the academic year shall be determined in accordance with the following table:

(D) For a full-time student enrolled in an eligible institution for a semester or quarter in addition to the portion of the academic year covered by a grant determined under division (C) of this section, the maximum grant amount shall be a percentage of the maximum prescribed in the applicable table of that division. The maximum grant for a fourth quarter shall be one-third of the maximum amount prescribed under that division. The maximum grant for a third semester shall be one-half of the maximum amount prescribed under that division.

(E) No grant shall be made to any student in a course of study in theology, religion, or other field of preparation for a religious profession unless such course of study leads to an accredited bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, associate of arts, or associate of science degree.

(F)(1) Except as provided in division (F)(2) of this section, no grant shall be made to any student for enrollment during a fiscal year in an institution with a cohort default rate determined by the United States secretary of education pursuant to the "Higher Education Amendments of 1986," 100 Stat. 1278, 1408, 20 U.S.C.A. 1085, as amended, as of the fifteenth day of June preceding the fiscal year, equal to or greater than thirty per cent for each of the preceding two fiscal years.

(2) Division (F)(1) of this section does not apply to the following:

(a) Any student enrolled in an institution that under the federal law appeals its loss of eligibility for federal financial aid and the United States secretary of education determines its cohort default rate after recalculation is lower than the rate specified in division (F)(1) of this section or the secretary determines due to mitigating circumstances the institution may continue to participate in federal financial aid programs. The board chancellor shall adopt rules requiring institutions to provide information regarding an appeal to the board chancellor.

(b) Any student who has previously received a grant under this section who meets all other requirements of this section.

(3) The board chancellor shall adopt rules for the notification of all institutions whose students will be ineligible to participate in the grant program pursuant to division (F)(1) of this section.

(4) A student's attendance at an institution whose students lose eligibility for grants under division (F)(1) of this section shall not affect that student's eligibility to receive a grant when enrolled in another institution.

(G) Institutions of higher education that enroll students receiving instructional grants under this section shall report to the board chancellor all students who have received instructional grants but are no longer eligible for all or part of such grants and shall refund any moneys due the state within thirty days after the beginning of the quarter or term immediately following the quarter or term in which the student was no longer eligible to receive all or part of the student's grant. There shall be an interest charge of one per cent per month on all moneys due and payable after such thirty-day period. The board chancellor shall immediately notify the office of budget and management and the legislative service commission of all refunds so received.

Sec. 3333.121.  There is hereby established in the state treasury the state need-based financial aid reconciliation fund, which shall consist of refunds of instructional grant payments made pursuant to section 3333.12 of the Revised Code and refunds of state need-based financial aid payments made pursuant to section 3333.122 of the Revised Code. Revenues credited to the fund shall be used by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents to pay to higher education institutions any outstanding obligations from the prior year owed for the Ohio instructional grant program and the Ohio college opportunity grant program that are identified through the annual reconciliation and financial audit. Any amount in the fund that is in excess of the amount certified to the director of budget and management by the board of regents chancellor as necessary to reconcile prior year payments under the program shall be transferred to the general revenue fund.

Sec. 3333.122.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Eligible student" means a student who is:

(a) An Ohio resident who first enrolls in an undergraduate program in the 2006-2007 academic year or thereafter;

(b) Enrolled in either of the following:

(i) An accredited institution of higher education in this state that meets the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and is state-assisted, is nonprofit and has a certificate of authorization from the Ohio board of regents pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code, has a certificate of registration from the state board of career colleges and schools and program authorization to award an associate or bachelor's degree, or is a private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code. Students who attend an institution that holds a certificate of registration shall be enrolled in a program leading to an associate or bachelor's degree for which associate or bachelor's degree program the institution has program authorization issued under section 3332.05 of the Revised Code.

(ii) A technical education program of at least two years duration sponsored by a private institution of higher education in this state that meets the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

(2) A student who participated in either the early college high school program administered by the department of education or in the post-secondary enrollment options program pursuant to Chapter 3365. of the Revised Code before the 2006-2007 academic year shall not be excluded from eligibility for a need based needs-based financial aid grant under this section.

(3) "Resident," "expected family contribution" or "EFC," "full-time student," "three-quarters-time student," "half-time student," "one-quarter-time student," and "accredited" shall be defined by rules adopted by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents.

(B) The Ohio board of regents chancellor shall establish and administer a needs-based financial aid program based on the United States department of education's method of determining financial need and may adopt rules to carry out this section. The program shall be known as the Ohio college opportunity grant program. The general assembly shall support the needs-based financial aid program by such sums and in such manner as it may provide, but the board chancellor may also receive funds from other sources to support the program. If the amounts available for support of the program are inadequate to provide grants to all eligible students, preference in the payment of grants shall be given in terms of expected family contribution, beginning with the lowest expected family contribution category and proceeding upward by category to the highest expected family contribution category.

A needs-based financial aid grant shall be paid to an eligible student through the institution in which the student is enrolled, except that no needs-based financial aid grant shall be paid to any person serving a term of imprisonment. Applications for such grants shall be made as prescribed by the board chancellor, and such applications may be made in conjunction with and upon the basis of information provided in conjunction with student assistance programs funded by agencies of the United States government or from financial resources of the institution of higher education. The institution shall certify that the student applicant meets the requirements set forth in divisions (A)(1)(a) and (b) of this section. Needs-based financial aid grants shall be provided to an eligible student only as long as the student is making appropriate progress toward a nursing diploma or an associate or bachelor's degree. No student shall be eligible to receive a grant for more than ten semesters, fifteen quarters, or the equivalent of five academic years. A grant made to an eligible student on the basis of less than full-time enrollment shall be based on the number of credit hours for which the student is enrolled and shall be computed in accordance with a formula adopted by the board chancellor. No student shall receive more than one grant on the basis of less than full-time enrollment.

A needs-based financial aid grant shall not exceed the total instructional and general charges of the institution.

(C) The tables in this division prescribe the maximum grant amounts covering two semesters, three quarters, or a comparable portion of one academic year. Grant amounts for additional terms in the same academic year shall be determined under division (D) of this section.

As used in the tables in division (C) of this section:

(1) "Private institution" means an institution that is nonprofit and has a certificate of authorization from the Ohio board of regents pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code.

(2) "Career college" means either an institution that holds a certificate of registration from the state board of career colleges and schools or a private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code.

Full-time students shall be eligible to receive awards according to the following table:

Three-quarters-time students shall be eligible to receive awards according to the following table:

Half-time students shall be eligible to receive awards according to the following table:

One-quarter-time students shall be eligible to receive awards according to the following table:

(D) For a full-time student enrolled in an eligible institution for a semester or quarter in addition to the portion of the academic year covered by a grant determined under division (C) of this section, the maximum grant amount shall be a percentage of the maximum prescribed in the applicable table of that division. The maximum grant for a fourth quarter shall be one-third of the maximum amount prescribed under that division. The maximum grant for a third semester shall be one-half of the maximum amount prescribed under that division.

(E) No grant shall be made to any student in a course of study in theology, religion, or other field of preparation for a religious profession unless such course of study leads to an accredited bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, associate of arts, or associate of science degree.

(F)(1) Except as provided in division (F)(2) of this section, no grant shall be made to any student for enrollment during a fiscal year in an institution with a cohort default rate determined by the United States secretary of education pursuant to the "Higher Education Amendments of 1986," 100 Stat. 1278, 1408, 20 U.S.C.A. 1085, as amended, as of the fifteenth day of June preceding the fiscal year, equal to or greater than thirty per cent for each of the preceding two fiscal years.

(2) Division (F)(1) of this section does not apply to the following:

(a) Any student enrolled in an institution that under the federal law appeals its loss of eligibility for federal financial aid and the United States secretary of education determines its cohort default rate after recalculation is lower than the rate specified in division (F)(1) of this section or the secretary determines due to mitigating circumstances the institution may continue to participate in federal financial aid programs. The board chancellor shall adopt rules requiring institutions to provide information regarding an appeal to the board chancellor.

(b) Any student who has previously received a grant under this section who meets all other requirements of this section.

(3) The board chancellor shall adopt rules for the notification of all institutions whose students will be ineligible to participate in the grant program pursuant to division (F)(1) of this section.

(4) A student's attendance at an institution whose students lose eligibility for grants under division (F)(1) of this section shall not affect that student's eligibility to receive a grant when enrolled in another institution.

(G) Institutions of higher education that enroll students receiving needs-based financial aid grants under this section shall report to the board chancellor all students who have received needs-based financial aid grants but are no longer eligible for all or part of such grants and shall refund any moneys due the state within thirty days after the beginning of the quarter or term immediately following the quarter or term in which the student was no longer eligible to receive all or part of the student's grant. There shall be an interest charge of one per cent per month on all moneys due and payable after such thirty-day period. The board chancellor shall immediately notify the office of budget and management and the legislative service commission of all refunds so received.

Sec. 3333.123.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "The Ohio college opportunity grant program" means the program established under section 3333.122 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Rules for the Ohio college opportunity grant program" means the rules authorized in division (S) of section 3333.04 of the Revised Code for the implementation of the program.

(B) In adopting rules for the Ohio college opportunity grant program, the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents may include provisions that give preferential or priority funding to low-income students who in their primary and secondary school work participate in or complete rigorous academic coursework, attain passing scores on the tests prescribed in section 3301.0710 of the Revised Code, or meet other high academic performance standards determined by the board chancellor to reduce the need for remediation and ensure academic success at the postsecondary education level. Any such rules shall include a specification of procedures needed to certify student achievement of primary and secondary standards as well as the timeline for implementation of the provisions authorized by this section.

Sec. 3333.13.  (A) Money appropriated to the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents for the purposes of this division shall be paid at the times and in the amounts necessary to meet all payments required to be made by the board chancellor to the Ohio public facilities commission pursuant to leases or agreements made under division (B) of section 154.21 of the Revised Code, as certified under division (C) of this section, including supplements to such certifications.

(B) The board chancellor shall include in its the estimate of proposed expenses submitted pursuant to section 126.02 of the Revised Code the estimated amounts of all such payments to be made by it the chancellor. The board chancellor shall include the estimated amounts of all such payments to be made by it the chancellor in recommendations for appropriation required by division (J) of section 3333.04 of the Revised Code. The director of budget and management shall include in the state budget estimates provided for in section 126.02 of the Revised Code the estimated amount of all such payments to be made during the next biennium, and this amount shall be included in the state budget to be submitted by the governor to the general assembly pursuant to section 107.03 of the Revised Code.

(C) On the first day of July of each year, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, the chancellor or a vice-chancellor of the board shall certify to the director the payments contracted to be made, during the period of the then current appropriations made for the purposes of division (A) of this section, to the commission by the board chancellor pursuant to leases and agreements made under division (B) of section 154.21 of the Revised Code. The certification shall state the amounts and dates of payment required therefor and the amounts to be credited pursuant to such leases and agreements to the higher education bond service trust fund and other special funds established pursuant to Chapter 154. of the Revised Code. If the director finds such certification to be correct, the director shall promptly add the director's certification thereto and submit it to the treasurer of state. Such annual certification shall be supplemented in similar manner upon the execution of each new lease or agreement, any supplement to an existing lease or agreement, or any amendment thereof, affecting the amounts of those payments.

Sec. 3333.14.  Effective July 1, 1971, all public post high school technical education programs shall be operated by technical colleges, community colleges, university branches, state colleges, state-affiliated universities and state universities. Subject to rules and regulations adopted by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents, the board of trustees or directors of one of the above such institutions shall adopt a plan of transition governing each public post high school technical education program not specifically identified or included in this section which is located in the geographic region of such institution as defined by the board of regents chancellor. The plan of transition shall provide for the dissolution of such technical education programs either by transfer of a program's lands, buildings, and equipment to one of the above such institutions or by complete termination of the technical education program.

Sec. 3333.15.  If the board of trustees of a state university fails to undertake appropriate action to establish a university branch campus within one year from the enactment of a capital improvement appropriation for the development of such university branch facility, the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents may act as it the chancellor deems necessary in place of the board of trustees, including securing the release of construction planning and construction contract funds from the state controlling board. If the board of regents chancellor takes action to plan and construct a university branch in accordance with this section, the officers and staff of such university shall perform all necessary functions incident to the planning and construction of such university branch as directed by the board of regents chancellor.

Sec. 3333.16.  As used in this section "state institution of higher education" means an institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.12 of the Revised Code.

(A) By April 15, 2005, The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall do all of the following:

(1) Establish policies and procedures applicable to all state institutions of higher education that ensure that students can begin higher education at any state institution of higher education and transfer coursework and degrees to any other state institution of higher education without unnecessary duplication or institutional barriers. The purpose of this requirement is to allow students to attain their highest educational aspirations in the most efficient and effective manner for the students and the state. These policies and procedures shall require state institutions of higher education to make changes or modifications, as needed, to strengthen course content so as to ensure equivalency for that course at any state institution of higher education.

(2) Develop and implement a universal course equivalency classification system for state institutions of higher education so that the transfer of students and the transfer and articulation of equivalent courses or specified learning modules or units completed by students are not inhibited by inconsistent judgment about the application of transfer credits. Coursework completed within such a system at one state institution of higher education and transferred to another institution shall be applied to the student's degree objective in the same manner as equivalent coursework completed at the receiving institution.

(3) Develop a system of transfer policies that ensure that graduates with associate degrees which include completion of approved transfer modules shall be admitted to a state institution of higher education, shall be able to compete for admission to specific programs on the same basis as students native to the institution, and shall have priority over out-of-state associate degree graduates and transfer students. To assist a student in advising and transferring, all state institutions of higher education shall fully implement the course applicability system.

(4) Examine the feasibility of developing a transfer marketing agenda that includes materials and interactive technology to inform the citizens of Ohio about the availability of transfer options at state institutions of higher education and to encourage adults to return to colleges and universities for additional education;

(5) Study, in consultation with the state board of career colleges and schools, and in light of existing criteria and any other criteria developed by the articulation and transfer advisory council, the feasibility of credit recognition and transferability to state institutions of higher education for graduates who have received associate degrees from a career college or school with a certificate of registration from the state board of career colleges and schools under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code.

(B) By April 15, 2004, the board shall report to the general assembly on its progress in attaining completion of the actions prescribed in division (A) of this section.

(C) All provisions of the existing articulation and transfer policy developed by the Ohio board of regents shall remain in effect except where amended by this act section.

Sec. 3333.161. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Articulation agreement" means an agreement between two or more state institutions of higher education to facilitate the transfer of students and credits between such institutions.

(2) "State institution of higher education" and "state university" have the same meanings as in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Two year college" includes a community college, state community college, technical college, and university branch.

(B) Not later than April 15, 2005, The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall adopt rules establishing a statewide system for articulation agreements among state institutions of higher education for transfer students pursuing teacher education programs. The rules shall require an articulation agreement between institutions to include all of the following:

(1) The development of a transfer module for teacher education that includes introductory level courses that are evaluated as appropriate by faculty employed by the state institutions of higher education that are parties to the articulation agreement;

(2) A foundation of general studies courses that have been identified as part of the transfer module for teacher education and have been evaluated as appropriate for the preparation of teachers and consistent with the academic content standards adopted under section 3301.079 of the Revised Code;

(3) A clear identification of university faculty who are partnered with two year college faculty;

(4) The publication of the articulation agreement that is available to all students, faculty, and staff.

Sec. 3333.162.  (A) As used in this section, "state institution of higher education" means an institution of higher education as defined in section 3345.12 of the Revised Code.

(B) By April 15, 2007, the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents, in consultation with the department of education, public adult and secondary career-technical education institutions, and state institutions of higher education, shall establish criteria, policies, and procedures that enable students to transfer agreed upon technical courses completed through an adult career-technical education institution, a public secondary career-technical institution, or a state institution of higher education to a state institution of higher education without unnecessary duplication or institutional barriers. The courses to which the criteria, policies, and procedures apply shall be those that adhere to recognized industry standards and equivalent coursework common to the secondary career pathway and adult career-technical education system and regionally accredited state institutions of higher education. Where applicable, the policies and procedures shall build upon the articulation agreement and transfer initiative course equivalency system required by section 3333.16 of the Revised Code.

(C) By April 15, 2006, the board shall report to the general assembly on its progress in establishing these policies and procedures.

Sec. 3333.163. (A) As used in this section, "state institution of higher education" has the same meaning as in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code.

(B) Not later than April 15, 2008, the articulation and transfer advisory council of the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall recommend to the board chancellor standards for awarding course credit toward degree requirements at state institutions of higher education based on scores attained on advanced placement examinations. The recommended standards shall include a score on each advanced placement examination that the council considers to be a passing score for which course credit may be awarded. Upon adoption of the standards by the board of regents chancellor, each state institution of higher education shall comply with the standards in awarding course credit to any student enrolled in the institution who has attained a passing score on an advanced placement examination.

Sec. 3333.17.  The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents may enter into contracts with the appropriate agency in a contiguous state whereby the agency provides for charging Ohio residents enrolled in state-assisted post-secondary educational institutions in the contiguous state, tuition and fees at rates no higher than the rates charged to students who are residents of that state, and whereby the Ohio board of regents chancellor, as part of such contracts, may provide that rates for tuition and fees charged to residents of the contiguous state who are enrolled in state-assisted post-secondary educational institutions in Ohio shall not exceed those charged Ohio residents.

State-assisted post-secondary educational institutions in Ohio may enter into contracts with appropriate state-assisted post-secondary educational institutions in a contiguous state whereby the state-assisted post-secondary educational institution provides for charging Ohio residents enrolled in the institution in the contiguous state, tuition and fees at rates no higher than the rates charged to students who are residents of that state, and whereby the Ohio state-assisted post-secondary institution, as part of such contracts, may provide that rates for tuition and fees charged to residents of the contiguous state who are enrolled in the state-assisted post-secondary educational institutions in Ohio shall not exceed those charged Ohio residents.

The contracts entered into by the board of regents chancellor or a state-assisted post-secondary educational institution may limit the type of academic program offered at the reciprocal rates. Residents of contiguous states enrolled in for credit courses taught at the main campus and identified off-campus sites at state-assisted post-secondary educational institutions in Ohio under such contracts shall be included in calculating the number of full-time equivalent students for state subsidy purposes. The board of regents chancellor and each state-assisted post-secondary educational institution shall periodically assess the costs and benefits of each such contract and the extent to which parity is achieved between Ohio and the contiguous state with respect to students benefiting from the contract. All Ohio state-assisted post-secondary educational institutions participating in these contracts shall report enrollments and other information annually to the Ohio board of regents chancellor. No contract shall be entered into under this section without the approval of the Ohio board of regents chancellor. The Ohio board of regents chancellor shall report the status of these contracts to the controlling board annually.

Sec. 3333.18.  The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents may enter into contracts with the appropriate agency in a contiguous state whereby financial aids from the funds of each state may be used by qualified student recipients to attend approved post-secondary educational institutions in the other state. Approved institutions in Ohio are those that are state-assisted or are nonprofit and have received certificates of authorization from the Ohio board of regents pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code, or are private institutions exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code. Eligible post-secondary educational institutions in the contiguous state shall be similarly approved by the appropriate agency of that state. In formulating and executing such contracts with a contiguous state, the board chancellor shall assure that the total cost to this state approximates the total cost to the contiguous state. Any contract entered into under this section shall be subject to the periodic review of, and approval by, the controlling board.

Sec. 3333.19.  The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents may enter into agreements with the appropriate agency in a foreign country or with an agency or organization sponsoring foreign student exchanges under which the agency or organization ensures that Ohio residents enrolled in post-secondary educational institutions in the foreign country will pay tuition and fees at rates no higher than the rates charged to students who are residents of that country and under which the board of regents chancellor provides that rates for tuition and fees charged to a comparable number of students from the foreign country who are enrolled in state-assisted institutions of higher education in Ohio are to be no higher than the rates charged to students who are Ohio residents. Notwithstanding that an Ohio resident is enrolled in a post-secondary educational institution in a foreign country under one of these agreements, any such student who was previously enrolled in a state-assisted institution shall be counted as enrolled in such institution for state subsidy purposes in a manner prescribed by rules the board of regents chancellor shall adopt.

Sec. 3333.20.  (A) On or before September 1, 1993, The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall adopt educational service standards that shall apply to all community colleges, university branches, technical colleges, and state community colleges established under Chapters 3354., 3355., 3357., and 3358. of the Revised Code, respectively. These standards shall provide for such institutions to offer or demonstrate at least the following:

(1) An appropriate range of career or technical programs designed to prepare individuals for employment in specific careers at the technical or paraprofessional level;

(2) Commitment to an effective array of developmental education services providing opportunities for academic skill enhancement;

(3) Partnerships with industry, business, government, and labor for the retraining of the workforce and the economic development of the community;

(4) Noncredit continuing education opportunities;

(5) College transfer programs or the initial two years of a baccalaureate degree for students planning to transfer to institutions offering baccalaureate programs;

(6) Linkages with high schools to ensure that graduates are adequately prepared for post-secondary instruction;

(7) Student access provided according to a convenient schedule and program quality provided at an affordable price;

(8) That student fees charged by any institution are as low as possible, especially if the institution is being supported by a local tax levy;

(9) A high level of community involvement in the decision-making process in such critical areas as course delivery, range of services, fees and budgets, and administrative personnel.

(B) The board of regents chancellor shall consult with representatives of state-assisted colleges and universities, as defined in section 3333.041 of the Revised Code, in developing appropriate methods for achieving or maintaining the standards adopted pursuant to division (A) of this section.

(C) In considering institutions that are co-located, the board of regents chancellor shall apply the standards to them in two manners:

(1) As a whole entity;

(2) As separate entities, applying the standards separately to each.

When distributing any state funds among institutions based on the degree to which they meet the standards, the board of regents chancellor shall provide to institutions that are co-located the higher amount produced by the two judgments under divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section.

Sec. 3333.21.  As used in sections 3333.21 to 3333.23 of the Revised Code, "term" and "academic year" mean "term" and "academic year" as defined by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents.

The board chancellor shall establish and administer an academic scholarship program. Under the program, a total of one thousand new scholarships shall be awarded annually in the amount of not less than two thousand dollars per award. At least one such new scholarship shall be awarded annually to a student in each public high school and joint vocational school and each nonpublic high school for which the state board of education prescribes minimum standards in accordance with section 3301.07 of the Revised Code.

To be eligible for the award of a scholarship, a student shall be a resident of Ohio and shall be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student in an Ohio institution of higher education that meets the requirements of Title VI of the "Civil Rights Act of 1964" and is state-assisted, is nonprofit and holds a certificate of authorization issued under section 1713.02 of the Revised Code, is a private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code, or holds a certificate of registration and program authorization issued under section 3332.05 of the Revised Code and awards an associate or bachelor's degree. Students who attend an institution holding a certificate of registration shall be enrolled in a program leading to an associate or bachelor's degree for which associate or bachelor's degree program the institution has program authorization to offer the program issued under section 3332.05 of the Revised Code.

"Resident" and "full-time student" shall be defined by board rule in rules adopted by the chancellor.

The board chancellor shall award the scholarships on the basis of a formula designed by it the chancellor to identify students with the highest capability for successful college study. The formula shall weigh the factor of achievement, as measured by grade point average, and the factor of ability, as measured by performance on a competitive examination specified by the board chancellor. Students receiving scholarships shall be known as "Ohio academic scholars." Annually, not later than the thirty-first day of July, the board chancellor shall report to the governor and the general assembly on the performance of current Ohio academic scholars and the effectiveness of its the formula.

Sec. 3333.22.  Each Ohio academic scholarship shall be awarded for an academic year and may be renewed for each of three additional academic years. The scholarship amount awarded to a scholar for an academic year shall be not less than two thousand dollars. A scholarship shall be renewed if the scholar maintains an academic record satisfactory to the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents and meets any of the following conditions:

(A) The scholar is enrolled as a full-time undergraduate;

(B) The scholar was awarded an undergraduate degree in less than four academic years and is enrolled as a full-time graduate or professional student in an Ohio institution of higher education that meets the requirements of Title VI of the "Civil Rights Act of 1964" and is state-assisted or is nonprofit and holds a certificate of authorization issued under section 1713.02 of the Revised Code;

(C) The scholar is a full-time student concurrently enrolled as an undergraduate student and as a graduate or professional student in an Ohio institution of higher education that meets the requirements of division (B) of this section.

Each amount awarded shall be paid in equal installments to the scholar at the time of enrollment for each term of the academic year for which the scholarship is awarded or renewed. No scholar is eligible to receive an Ohio academic scholarship for more than the equivalent of four academic years.

If an Ohio academic scholar is temporarily unable to attend school because of illness or other cause satisfactory to the board chancellor, the board chancellor may grant a leave of absence for a designated period of time. If a scholar discontinues full-time attendance at the scholar's school during a term because of illness or other cause satisfactory to the board chancellor, the scholar may either claim a prorated payment for the period of actual attendance or waive payment for that term. A term for which prorated payment is made shall be considered a full term for which a scholarship was received. A term for which payment is waived shall not be considered a term for which a scholarship was received.

Receipt of an Ohio academic scholarship shall not affect a scholar's eligibility for the Ohio instructional grant program.

Sec. 3333.23.  At the end of each term, each Ohio academic scholar shall request the registrar of the school to send a copy of the scholar's scholastic record to the chancellor of the Ohio board or of regents. If the scholar's record fails to meet the standards established by the board chancellor, further payments shall be suspended until the scholar demonstrates promise of successful progress in the academic program for which the award was made. The board chancellor may revoke the scholarship if the scholar does not resume successful academic progress within a reasonable time.

Sec. 3333.25.  There is hereby created the Ohio academic scholarship payment fund, which shall be in the custody of the treasurer of state but shall not be a part of the state treasury. The fund shall consist of all moneys appropriated for the fund by the general assembly and other moneys otherwise made available to the fund. The payment fund shall be used for the payment of Ohio academic scholarships or for additional scholarships to recognize outstanding academic achievement and ability. The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall administer this section and establish rules for the distribution and awarding of any additional scholarships.

The board chancellor may direct the treasurer of state to invest any moneys in the payment fund not currently needed for scholarship payments, in any kinds of investments in which moneys of the public employees retirement system may be invested.

The instruments of title of all investments shall be delivered to the treasurer of state or to a qualified trustee designated by the treasurer of state as provided in section 135.18 of the Revised Code. The treasurer of state shall collect both principal and investment earnings on all investments as they become due and pay them into the fund.

All deposits to the fund shall be made in financial institutions of this state secured as provided in section 135.18 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3333.26.  (A) Any citizen of this state who has resided within the state for one year, who was in the active service of the United States as a soldier, sailor, nurse, or marine between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918, and who has been honorably discharged from that service, shall be admitted to any school, college, or university that receives state funds in support thereof, without being required to pay any tuition or matriculation fee, but is not relieved from the payment of laboratory or similar fees.

(B)(1) As used in this division:

(a) "Volunteer firefighter" has the meaning as in division (B)(1) of section 146.01 of the Revised Code.

(b) "Public service officer" means an Ohio firefighter, volunteer firefighter, police officer, member of the state highway patrol, employee designated to exercise the powers of police officers pursuant to section 1545.13 of the Revised Code, or other peace officer as defined by division (B) of section 2935.01 of the Revised Code, or a person holding any equivalent position in another state.

(c) "Qualified former spouse" means the former spouse of a public service officer, or of a member of the armed services of the United States, who is the custodial parent of a minor child of that marriage pursuant to an order allocating the parental rights and responsibilities for care of the child issued pursuant to section 3109.04 of the Revised Code.

(d) "Operation enduring freedom" means that period of conflict which began October 7, 2001, and ends on a date declared by the president of the United States or the congress.

(e) "Operation Iraqi freedom" means that period of conflict which began March 20, 2003, and ends on a date declared by the president of the United States or the congress.

(f) "Combat zone" means an area that the president of the United States by executive order designates, for purposes of 26 U.S.C. 112, as an area in which armed forces of the United States are or have engaged in combat.

(2) Any resident of this state who is under twenty-six years of age, or under thirty years of age if the resident has been honorably discharged from the armed services of the United States, who is the child of a public service officer killed in the line of duty or of a member of the armed services of the United States killed in the line of duty during operation enduring freedom or operation Iraqi freedom, and who is admitted to any state university or college as defined in division (A)(1) of section 3345.12 of the Revised Code, community college, state community college, university branch, or technical college shall not be required to pay any tuition or any student fee for up to four academic years of education, which shall be at the undergraduate level.

A child of a member of the armed services of the United States killed in the line of duty during operation enduring freedom or operation Iraqi freedom is eligible for a waiver of tuition and student fees under this division only if the student is not eligible for a war orphans scholarship authorized by Chapter 5910. of the Revised Code. In any year in which the war orphans scholarship board reduces the percentage of tuition covered by a war orphans scholarship below one hundred per cent pursuant to division (A) of section 5910.04 of the Revised Code, the waiver of tuition and student fees under this division for a child of a member of the armed services of the United States killed in the line of duty during operation enduring freedom or operation Iraqi freedom shall be reduced by the same percentage.

(3) Any resident of this state who is the spouse or qualified former spouse of a public service officer killed in the line of duty, and who is admitted to any state university or college as defined in division (A)(1) of section 3345.12 of the Revised Code, community college, state community college, university branch, or technical college, shall not be required to pay any tuition or any student fee for up to four academic years of education, which shall be at the undergraduate level.

(4) Any resident of this state who is the spouse or qualified former spouse of a member of the armed services of the United States killed in the line of duty while serving in a combat zone after May 7, 1975, and who is admitted to any state university or college as defined in division (A)(1) of section 3345.12 of the Revised Code, community college, state community college, university branch, or technical college, shall not be required to pay any tuition or any student fee for up to four years of academic education, which shall be at the undergraduate level. In order to qualify under division (B)(4) of this section, the spouse or qualified former spouse shall have been a resident of this state at the time the member was killed in the line of duty.

(C) Any institution that is not subject to division (B) of this section and that holds a valid certificate of registration issued under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code, a valid certificate issued under Chapter 4709. of the Revised Code, or a valid license issued under Chapter 4713. of the Revised Code, or that is nonprofit and has a certificate of authorization issued under section 1713.02 of the Revised Code, or that is a private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code, which reduces tuition and student fees of a student who is eligible to attend an institution of higher education under the provisions of division (B) of this section by an amount indicated by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall be eligible to receive a grant in that amount from the board chancellor.

Each institution that enrolls students under division (B) of this section shall report to the board chancellor, by the first day of July of each year, the number of students who were so enrolled and the average amount of all such tuition and student fees waived during the preceding year. The board chancellor shall determine the average amount of all such tuition and student fees waived during the preceding year. The average amount of the tuition and student fees waived under division (B) of this section during the preceding year shall be the amount of grants that participating institutions shall receive under this division during the current year, but no grant under this division shall exceed the tuition and student fees due and payable by the student prior to the reduction referred to in this division. The grants shall be made for four years of undergraduate education of an eligible student.

Sec. 3333.27.  As used in this section:

(A) "Eligible institution" means a nonprofit Ohio institution of higher education that holds a certificate of authorization issued under section 1713.02 of the Revised Code and meets the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

(B) "Resident" and "full-time student" have the meanings established for purposes of this section by rule of the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents.

The board chancellor shall establish and administer a student choice grant program and shall adopt rules for the administration of the program.

The board chancellor may make a grant to any resident of this state who is enrolled as a full-time student in a bachelor's degree program at an eligible institution and maintains an academic record that meets or exceeds the standard established pursuant to this section by rule of the board chancellor, except that no grant shall be made to any individual who was enrolled as a student in an institution of higher education on or before July 1, 1984, or is serving a term of imprisonment. The grant shall not exceed the lesser of the total instructional and general charges of the institution in which the student is enrolled, or an amount equal to one-fourth of the total of any state instructional subsidy amount distributed by the board chancellor in the second fiscal year of the preceding biennium for all full-time students enrolled in bachelor's degree programs at four-year state-assisted institutions of higher education divided by the sum of the actual number of full-time students enrolled in bachelor's degree programs at four-year state-assisted institutions of higher education reported to the board chancellor for such year by the institutions to which the subsidy was distributed.

The board chancellor shall prescribe the form and manner of application for grants including the manner of certification by eligible institutions that each applicant from such institution is enrolled in a bachelor's degree program as a full-time student and has an academic record that meets or exceeds the standard established by the board chancellor.

A grant awarded to an eligible student shall be paid to the institution in which the student is enrolled, and the institution shall reduce the student's instructional and general charges by the amount of the grant. Each grant awarded shall be prorated and paid in equal installments at the time of enrollment for each term of the academic year for which the grant is awarded. No student shall be eligible to receive a grant for more than ten semesters, fifteen quarters, or the equivalent of five academic years.

The receipt of an Ohio student choice grant shall not affect a student's eligibility for assistance, or the amount of such assistance, granted under section 3315.33, 3333.12, 3333.122, 3333.22, 3333.26, 5910.03, 5910.032, or 5919.34 of the Revised Code. If a student receives assistance under one or more of such sections, the student choice grant made to the student shall not exceed the difference between the amount of assistance received under such sections and the total instructional and general charges of the institution in which the student is enrolled.

The general assembly shall support the student choice grant program by such sums and in such manner as it may provide, but the board chancellor may also receive funds from other sources to support the program.

No grant shall be made to any student enrolled in a course of study leading to a degree in theology, religion, or other field of preparation for a religious profession unless the course of study leads to an accredited bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree.

Institutions of higher education that enroll students receiving grants under this section shall report to the board chancellor the name of each student who has received such a grant but who is no longer eligible for all or part of such grant and shall refund all moneys due to the state within thirty days after the beginning of the term immediately following the term in which the student was no longer eligible to receive all or part of the grant. There shall be an interest charge of one per cent per month on all moneys due and payable after such thirty-day period. The board chancellor shall immediately notify the office of budget and management and the legislative service commission of all refunds received.

Sec. 3333.28.  (A) The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall establish the nurse education assistance program, the purpose of which shall be to make loans to students enrolled in prelicensure nurse education programs at institutions approved by the board of nursing under section 4723.06 of the Revised Code and postlicensure nurse education programs approved by the board of regents chancellor under section 3333.04 of the Revised Code or offered by an institution holding a certificate of authorization issued by the board of regents under Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code. The board of nursing shall assist the board of regents chancellor in administering the program.

(B) There is hereby created in the state treasury the nurse education assistance fund, which shall consist of all money transferred to it pursuant to section 4743.05 of the Revised Code. The fund shall be used by the board of regents chancellor for loans made under division (A) of this section and for expenses of administering the loan program.

(C) Between July 1, 2005, and January 1, 2012, the board of regents chancellor shall distribute money in the nurse education assistance fund in the following manner:

(1)(a) Fifty per cent of available funds shall be awarded as loans to registered nurses enrolled in postlicensure nurse education programs described in division (A) of this section. To be eligible for a loan, the applicant shall provide the board chancellor with a letter of intent to practice as a faculty member at a prelicensure or postlicensure program for nursing in this state upon completion of the applicant's academic program.

(b) If the borrower of a loan under division (C)(1)(a) of this section secures employment as a faculty member of an approved nursing education program in this state within six months following graduation from an approved nurse education program, the board chancellor may forgive the principal and interest of the student's loans received under division (C)(1)(a) of this section at a rate of twenty-five per cent per year, for a maximum of four years, for each year in which the borrower is so employed. A deferment of the service obligation, and other conditions regarding the forgiveness of loans may be granted as provided by the rules adopted under division (D)(7) of this section.

(c) Loans awarded under division (C)(1)(a) of this section shall be awarded on the basis of the student's expected family contribution, with preference given to those applicants with the lowest expected family contribution. However, the board of regents chancellor may consider other factors it the chancellor determines relevant in ranking the applications.

(d) Each loan awarded to a student under division (C)(1)(a) of this section shall be not less than five thousand dollars per year.

(2) Twenty-five per cent of available funds shall be awarded to students enrolled in prelicensure nurse education programs for registered nurses, as defined in section 4723.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) Twenty-five per cent of available funds shall be awarded to students enrolled in prelicensure professional nurse education programs for licensed practical nurses, as defined in section 4723.01 of the Revised Code.

After January 1, 2012, the board of regents chancellor shall determine the manner in which to distribute loans under this section.

(D) Subject to the requirements specified in division (C) of this section, the board of regents chancellor shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing:

(1) Eligibility criteria for receipt of a loan;

(2) Loan application procedures;

(3) The amounts in which loans may be made and the total amount that may be loaned to an individual;

(4) The total amount of loans that can be made each year;

(5) The percentage of the money in the fund that must remain in the fund at all times as a fund balance;

(6) Interest and principal repayment schedules;

(7) Conditions under which a portion of principal and interest obligations incurred by an individual under the program will be forgiven;

(8) Ways that the program may be used to encourage individuals who are members of minority groups to enter the nursing profession;

(9) Any other matters incidental to the operation of the program.

(E) The obligation to repay a portion of the principal and interest on a loan made under this section shall be forgiven if the recipient of the loan meets the criteria for forgiveness established by division (C)(1)(b) of this section, in the case of loans awarded under division (C)(1)(a) of this section, or by the board of regents by chancellor under the rule adopted under division (D)(7) of this section, in the case of other loans awarded under this section.

(F) The receipt of a loan under this section shall not affect a student's eligibility for assistance, or the amount of that assistance, granted under section 3333.12, 3333.122, 3333.22, 3333.26, 3333.27, 5910.03, 5910.032, or 5919.34 of the Revised Code, but the rules of the board of regents chancellor may provide for taking assistance received under those sections into consideration when determining a student's eligibility for a loan under this section.

Sec. 3333.29.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Resident" has the meaning established for purposes of this section by rule of the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents.

(2) "Eligible institution" means either:

(a) A private career school registered in accordance with section 3332.05 of the Revised Code;

(b) A private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code.

(B) The Ohio board of regents chancellor shall establish and administer the student workforce development grant program and shall adopt rules for the administration of the program. Such rules shall be similar to the rules the Ohio board of regents adopts adopted under section 3333.27 of the Revised Code.

(C) The Ohio board of regents chancellor may make a grant to any resident of this state who is enrolled as a full-time student in an authorized baccalaureate degree or associate degree program at an eligible institution and who maintains an academic record that meets or exceeds a standard established by rule of the state board of career colleges and schools. The size of an annual grant award shall be determined by the Ohio board of regents chancellor based on the amount of funds available for the program. The grant shall be prorated and paid in equal installments per academic term in accordance with division (E) of this section.

(D) The Ohio board of regents chancellor shall prescribe the form and manner of application for grants and shall provide a method for eligible institutions to certify applicants who are enrolled in authorized baccalaureate degree or associate degree programs and have academic records meeting or exceeding the standard established by the state board of career colleges and schools.

(E) A grant awarded to an eligible student shall be paid to the eligible institution in which the student is enrolled, and the institution shall reduce the student's instructional and general charges by the amount of the grant. Each grant awarded shall be paid in accordance with division (C) of this section within thirty days after the start of each term of the academic year for which the grant is awarded. No student shall be eligible to receive grants for more than the equivalent of five academic years.

(F) The receipt of a workforce development grant shall not affect a student's eligibility for assistance or the amount of such assistance granted under any other provision of state law. If a student receives assistance under one or more other provisions of state law, the grant made to the student under this section shall not exceed the difference between the total instructional and general charges assessed to the student by the eligible institution and the amount of total assistance the student receives under other provisions of state law.

(G) The general assembly shall support the workforce development grant program with such appropriations as the general assembly sees fit. The Ohio board of regents chancellor may also receive funds from other sources to support the program.

(H) Eligible institutions that enroll students receiving grants under this section shall report to the Ohio board of regents chancellor the name of each student who has received such a grant but who is no longer eligible for such a grant. In the event that an eligible student who has been awarded a grant under this section withdraws from enrollment at an institution during any term, the institution shall refund a prorated amount of the student's grant for that term to the Ohio board of regents chancellor in accordance with the school's refund policy.

(I) The state board of career colleges and schools shall report to the Ohio board of regents chancellor each degree granting private career school's job placement rate for the immediately preceding academic year. No grant awarded to an eligible student under this section shall be paid to a registered private career school if the school's job placement rate for baccalaureate degree and associate degree programs for the preceding academic year was less than seventy-five per cent.

Sec. 3333.31.  (A) For state subsidy and tuition surcharge purposes, status as a resident of Ohio shall be defined by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents by rule promulgated pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. No adjudication as to the status of any person under such rule, however, shall be required to be made pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The term "resident" for these purposes shall not be equated with the definition of that term as it is employed elsewhere under the laws of this state and other states, and shall not carry with it any of the legal connotations appurtenant thereto. Rather, for such purposes, the rule promulgated by the Ohio board of regents under this section shall have the objective of excluding from treatment as residents those who are present in the state primarily for the purpose of attending a state-supported or state-assisted institution of higher education, and may prescribe presumptive rules, rebuttable or conclusive, as to such purpose based upon the source or sources of support of the student, residence prior to first enrollment, evidence of intention to remain in the state after completion of studies, or such other factors as the Ohio board of regents may deem chancellor deems relevant.

(B) The rules of the Ohio board of regents chancellor for determining student residency shall not deny residency status to a student who is either a dependent child of a parent, or the spouse of a person who, as of the first day of a term of enrollment in an institution of higher education, has accepted full-time employment and established domicile in this state for reasons other than gaining the benefit of favorable tuition rates.

Documentation of full-time employment and domicile shall include both of the following documents:

(1) A sworn statement from the employer or the employer's representative on the letterhead of the employer or the employer's representative certifying that the parent or spouse of the student is employed full-time in Ohio;

(2) A copy of the lease under which the parent or spouse is the lessee and occupant of rented residential property in the state, a copy of the closing statement on residential real property of which the parent or spouse is the owner and occupant in this state or, if the parent or spouse is not the lessee or owner of the residence in which he the parent or spouse has established domicile, a letter from the owner of the residence certifying that the parent or spouse resides at that residence.

Residency officers may also evaluate, in accordance with board the chancellor's rule, requests for immediate residency status from dependent students whose parents are not living and whose domicile follows that of a legal guardian who has accepted full-time employment and established domicile in the state for reasons other than gaining the benefit of favorable tuition rates.

(C) "Dependent," "domicile," "institution of higher education," and "residency officer" have the meanings ascribed in the board's chancellor's rules adopted under this section.

Sec. 3333.33.  The chancellor of the Ohio board of regents, in collaboration with the state board of education, shall publish an annual report describing dual enrollment programs, as defined in section 3313.6013 of the Revised Code, that are offered by school districts, community schools established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, and chartered nonpublic high schools. The board of regents chancellor shall submit the report to the governor, the speaker and minority leader of the house of representatives, the president and minority leader of the senate, the chairpersons and ranking minority members of the standing committees of the house of representatives and the senate that consider education legislation, the superintendent of public instruction, and the president of the state board of education. The board of regents chancellor also shall post the report on its the chancellor's web site.

Sec. 3333.34. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Pre-college stackable certificate" means a certificate earned before an adult is enrolled in an institution of higher education that can be transferred to college credit based on standards established by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents and the department of education.

(2) "College-level certificate" means a certificate earned while an adult is enrolled in an institution of higher education that can be transferred to college credit based on standards established by the board of regents chancellor and the department of education.

(B) The board of regents chancellor and the department of education shall create a system of pre-college stackable certificates to provide a clear and accessible path for adults seeking to advance their education. The system shall do all of the following:

(1) Be uniform across the state;

(2) Be available from an array of providers, including adult career centers, institutions of higher education, and employers;

(3) Be structured to respond to the expectations of both the workplace and higher education;

(4) Be articulated in a way that ensures the most effective interconnection of competencies offered in specialized training programs;

(5) Establish standards for earning pre-college certificates;

(6) Establish transferability of pre-college certificates to college credit.

(C) The board chancellor shall develop college-level certificates that can be transferred to college credit in different subject competencies. The certificates shall be based on competencies and experience and not on classroom seat time.

Sec. 3333.35.  The state board of education and the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall strive to reduce unnecessary student remediation costs incurred by colleges and universities in this state, increase overall access for students to higher education, enhance the post-secondary enrollment options program in accordance with Chapter 3365. of the Revised Code, and enhance the alternative educator licensure program in accordance with section 3319.26 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3333.36.  Provided that sufficient unencumbered and unexpended funds are available from general revenue fund appropriations made to the Ohio board of regents or to the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents, the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall allocate up to seventy thousand dollars in each fiscal year to make payments to the Columbus program in intergovernmental issues, an Ohio internship program at Kent state university, for scholarships of up to two thousand dollars for each student enrolled in the program. The chancellor may utilize any general revenue funds appropriated to the board of regents or to the chancellor that the chancellor determines to be available for purposes of this section.

Sec. 3333.37.  As used in sections 3333.37 to 3333.375 of the Revised Code, the following words and terms have the following meanings unless the context indicates a different meaning or intent:

(A) "Cost of attendance" means all costs of a student incurred in connection with a program of study at an eligible institution, as determined by the institution, including tuition; instructional fees; room and board; books, computers, and supplies; and other related fees, charges, and expenses.

(B) "Eligible institution" means one of the following:

(1) A state-assisted post-secondary educational institution within the state;

(2) A nonprofit institution of higher education within the state that holds a certificate of authorization from the Ohio board of regents pursuant to issued under Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code, that is accredited by the appropriate regional and, when appropriate, professional accrediting associations within whose jurisdiction it falls, is authorized to grant a bachelor's degree or higher, and satisfies other conditions as set forth in the policy guidelines;

(3) A private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code.

(C) "Eligible student" means either of the following:

(1) An undergraduate student who meets all of the following:

(a) Is a resident of this state;

(b) Has graduated from any Ohio secondary school for which the state board of education prescribes minimum standards in accordance with section 3301.07 of the Revised Code;

(c) Is attending and in good standing, or has been accepted for attendance, at any eligible institution as a full-time student to pursue a bachelor's degree.

(2) A graduate student who is a resident of this state, and is attending and in good standing, or has been accepted for attendance, at any eligible institution.

(D) "Fellowship" or "fellowship program" means the Ohio priority needs fellowship created by sections 3333.37 to 3333.375 of the Revised Code.

(E) "Full-time student" has the meaning as defined by rule of the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents.

(F) "Ohio outstanding scholar" means a student who is the recipient of a scholarship under sections 3333.37 to 3333.375 of the Revised Code.

(G) "Policy guidelines" means the rules adopted by the Ohio board of regents chancellor pursuant to section 3333.374 of the Revised Code.

(H) "Priority needs fellow" means a student who is the recipient of a fellowship under sections 3333.37 to 3333.375 of the Revised Code.

(I) "Priority needs field of study" means those academic majors and disciplines as determined by the Ohio board of regents chancellor that support the purposes and intent of sections 3333.37 to 3333.375 of the Revised Code as described in section 3333.371 of the Revised Code.

(J) "Scholarship" or "scholarship program" means the Ohio outstanding scholarship created by sections 3333.37 to 3333.375 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3333.372.  (A) There is are hereby authorized the "Ohio outstanding scholarship" and the "Ohio priority needs fellowship" programs, which shall be established and administered by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents for eligible students. The programs shall provide scholarships to eligible undergraduate students and fellowships to eligible graduate students, equal to the annual cost of attendance at eligible institutions, to pursue baccalaureate degrees and post-baccalaureate degrees in priority needs field of study consistent with section 3333.371 of the Revised Code.

(B) The scholarship and fellowship programs created under sections 3333.37 to 3333.375 of the Revised Code and any necessary administrative expenses shall be funded solely from the Ohio outstanding scholarship and the Ohio priority needs fellowship programs payment funds established pursuant to section 3333.375 of the Revised Code.

(C) The scholarships shall be renewable for each of three additional years for undergraduate study, and the fellowships shall be renewable for each of two additional years for graduate study, provided the Ohio outstanding scholar or priority needs fellow remains an eligible student at an eligible institution.

Sec. 3333.373.  (A) The board of regents shall establish the scholarship rules advisory committee, which is hereby established. The committee shall consist of the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents or the chancellor's designee, the treasurer of state or the treasurer of state's designee, the director of development or the director's designee, one state senator appointed by the president of the senate, one state representative appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, and two public members appointed by the chancellor representing the interests of the state-assisted eligible institutions and private nonprofit eligible institutions, respectively.

(B) The committee, within one hundred twenty days after June 8, 2000, shall provide recommendations to the Ohio board of regents chancellor as to rules, criteria, and guidelines necessary and appropriate to implement the scholarship and fellowship programs created by sections 3333.37 to 3333.375 of the Revised Code.

(C) The committee shall meet at least annually to review the scholarship and fellowship programs guidelines; make recommendations to amend, rescind, or modify the policy guidelines; and approve scholarship and fellowship awards to eligible students.

(D) Sections 101.82 to 101.87 of the Revised Code do not apply to this section.

Sec. 3333.374.  (A) After receipt of recommendations from the scholarship rules advisory committee or if no recommendations are received, the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents, not later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this section and with the approval of the treasurer of state, shall adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, establishing such policy guidelines as the board considers necessary and appropriate to provide for the implementation of the scholarship and fellowship programs.

(B) Nothing in this section or section 3333.373 of the Revised Code shall prevent the board chancellor, with the approval of the treasurer of state, from amending or rescinding rules adopted pursuant to division (A) of this section, or from adopting new rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, from time to time as are necessary to further the purposes of sections 3333.37 to 3333.375 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3333.375.  (A)(1) There is are hereby created the Ohio outstanding scholarship and the Ohio priority needs fellowship programs payment funds, which shall be in the custody of the treasurer of state, but shall not be a part of the state treasury.

(2) The payment funds shall consist solely of all moneys returned to the treasurer of state, as issuer of certain tax-exempt student loan revenue bonds, from all indentures of trust, both presently existing and future, created as a result of tax-exempt student loan revenue bonds issued under Chapter 3366. of the Revised Code, and any moneys earned from allowable investments of the payment funds under division (B) of this section.

(3) The payment funds shall be used solely for scholarship and fellowships awarded under sections 3333.37 to 3333.375 of the Revised Code by the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents and for any necessary administrative expenses incurred by the board chancellor in administering the scholarship and fellowship programs.

(B) The treasurer of state may invest any moneys in the payment funds not currently needed for scholarship and fellowship payments in any kind of investments in which moneys of the public employees retirement system may be invested under Chapter 145. of the Revised Code.

(C)(1) The instruments of title of all investments shall be delivered to the treasurer of state or to a qualified trustee designated by the treasurer of state as provided in section 135.18 of the Revised Code.

(2) The treasurer of state shall collect both principal and investment earnings on all investments as they become due and pay them into the payment funds.

(3) All deposits to the payment funds shall be made in public depositories of this state and secured as provided in section 135.18 of the Revised Code.

(D) On or before March 1, 2001, and on or before the first day of March in each subsequent year, the treasurer of state shall provide to the chancellor of the Ohio board of regents a statement indicating the moneys in the Ohio outstanding scholarship and the Ohio priority needs fellowship programs payment funds that are available for the upcoming academic year to award scholarships and fellowships under sections 3333.37 to 3333.375 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3333.38.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Institution of higher education" includes all of the following:

(a) A state institution of higher education, as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code;

(b) A nonprofit institution issued a certificate of authorization by the Ohio board of regents under Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code;

(c) A private institution exempt from regulation under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code, as prescribed in section 3333.046 of the Revised Code;

(d) An institution of higher education with a certificate of registration from the state board of career colleges and schools under Chapter 3332. of the Revised Code.

(2) "Student financial assistance supported by state funds" includes assistance granted under sections 3315.33, 3333.12, 3333.122, 3333.21, 3333.26, 3333.27, 3333.28, 3333.29, 3333.372, 5910.03, 5910.032, and 5919.34 of the Revised Code and any other post-secondary student financial assistance supported by state funds.

(B) An individual who is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or is adjudicated a delinquent child for one of the following violations shall be ineligible to receive any student financial assistance supported by state funds at an institution of higher education for two calendar years from the time the individual applies for assistance of that nature:

(1) A violation of section 2917.02 or 2917.03 of the Revised Code;

(2) A violation of section 2917.04 of the Revised Code that is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree;

(3) A violation of section 2917.13 of the Revised Code that is a misdemeanor of the fourth or first degree and occurs within the proximate area where four or more others are acting in a course of conduct in violation of section 2917.11 of the Revised Code.

(C) If an individual is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or is adjudicated a delinquent child for committing a violation of section 2917.02 or 2917.03 of the Revised Code, and if the individual is enrolled in a state-supported institution of higher education, the institution in which the individual is enrolled shall immediately dismiss the individual. No state-supported institution of higher education shall admit an individual of that nature for one academic year after the individual applies for admission to a state-supported institution of higher education. This division does not limit or affect the ability of a state-supported institution of higher education to suspend or otherwise discipline its students.

SECTION 2.  That existing sections 3333.01, 3333.02, 3333.021, 3333.03, 3333.04, 3333.041, 3333.042, 3333.043, 3333.044, 3333.045, 3333.046, 3333.047, 3333.05, 3333.06, 3333.07, 3333.071, 3333.072, 3333.08, 3333.09, 3333.10, 3333.11, 3333.12, 3333.121, 3333.122, 3333.123, 3333.13, 3333.14, 3333.15, 3333.16, 3333.161, 3333.162, 3333.163, 3333.17, 3333.18, 3333.19, 3333.20, 3333.21, 3333.22, 3333.23, 3333.25, 3333.26, 3333.27, 3333.28, 3333.29, 3333.31, 3333.33, 3333.34, 3333.35, 3333.36, 3333.37, 3333.372, 3333.373, 3333.374, 3333.375, and 3333.38 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

SECTION 3. (A) On and after the effective date of this section:

(1) The Ohio Board of Regents, as established by section 3333.01 of the Revised Code, shall be an advisory board charged with the duty to advise the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents in carrying out the Chancellor's duties.

(2) The Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents shall have the powers and duties formerly prescribed as powers and duties of the Ohio Board of Regents and any other powers and duties granted to the Chancellor by law enacted after the effective date of this section.

(3) The Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents is thereupon and thereafter successor to, assumes the obligations of, and otherwise constitutes the continuation of the Ohio Board of Regents.

(4) Any business commenced but not completed by the Ohio Board of Regents shall be completed by the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents in the same manner, and with the same effect, as if completed by the Board. No validation, cure, right, privilege, remedy, obligation, or liability is lost or impaired by reason of the change in powers and duties prescribed in the provisions amended and enacted in Sections 1 and 2 of this act.

(5) All of the rules of the Ohio Board of Regents continue in effect as rules of the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, until amended or rescinded by the Chancellor.

(6) Except as otherwise specified in section 3333.031 of the Revised Code or another provision of law on point enacted after the effective date of this section, when the Ohio Board of Regents is referred to in any statute, rule, contract, grant, or other document, the reference shall be construed to refer to the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.

(B) No judicial or administrative action or proceeding in which the Ohio Board of Regents is a party that is pending on the effective date of this section, is affected by the change in powers and duties prescribed in the provisions amended and enacted in Sections 1 and 2 of this act. Such action or proceeding shall be prosecuted or defended in the name of the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. On application to the court or other tribunal, the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents shall be substituted for the Ohio Board of Regents as a party to such action or proceeding.

(C) As prescribed in division (C) of section 3333.03 of the Revised Code, professional, administrative, and clerical employees and staff of the Ohio Board of Regents remain subject to the appointment by and continue to serve at the pleasure of the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.

(D) On the effective date of this section, all books, records, documents, files, transcripts, equipment, furniture, supplies and other materials assigned to or in the possession of the Ohio Board of Regents shall be transferred to the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.

SECTION 4. Not later than September 28, 2007, the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents shall report to the General Assembly, in accordance with division (B) of section 101.68 of the Revised Code, and to the Governor, recommendations to accomplish the following:

(A) Make college more affordable and accessible for all Ohioans;

(B) Encourage Ohio graduates to remain in Ohio after earning their degrees;

(C) Maximize higher education as a driver of the state's economy.

The report also shall include a plan as to how to appropriately utilize the Board of Regents to enhance higher education in Ohio.

SECTION 5. Within thirty days after the effective date of this section, the Governor shall appoint the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents in accordance with section 3333.03 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act. The Chancellor in office on the effective date of this section shall remain in office and, notwithstanding anything in that section to the contrary, shall exercise all powers prescribed by law on and after the effective date of this section until the Senate consents to the Governor's appointment. The date on which the Senate consents to the Governor's appointment shall be the first day of the five-year term specified for the Chancellor under division (B) of section 3333.03 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act.

SECTION 6. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is that higher education needs heightened attention and accountability to improve the quality of Ohio's workforce and secure a strong economic future for the state. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect.