Tuition Retention Waivers Study
SECTION 162.
There shall be established a special commission to make an investigation and study relative to higher education in-state tuition retention. The commission shall consist of the commissioner of higher education who shall be the chair; the secretary of education or a designee; the chair of the board of higher education or a designee; the chair of the University of Massachusetts board of trustees or a designee; the president of the University of Massachusetts system or a designee; 1 state college president to be appointed by the governor; 4 state or community college presidents or their designees, 1 each to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, the minority leader of the house of representatives, the senate president, and the minority leader of the senate; and 1 member of a state or community college board of trustees to be appointed by the governor. The commission shall convene its first official meeting not later than September 1, 2010.
The commission shall make a comprehensive study of in-state tuition retention for all institutions of higher education in the commonwealth. The study shall include, but not be limited to, the feasibility of implementing a cost-neutral tuition retention program at higher education institutions; providing Massachusetts public colleges and universities with the authority to set both tuition and fee levels and retain the revenue from both, including, but not limited to, the potential costs, savings or benefits related to: allowing campuses to set and retain tuition; fringe benefits; fee waivers; the effects of tuition retention on campus appropriations; and the cost of any recommendations the commission may make.
The commission shall report to the general court the results of its investigation and study and its recommendations together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry its recommendations into effect by filing the same with the clerk of the senate and house of representatives, who shall forward the same to the e house and senate committee on ways and means and the joint committee on higher education on or before February 1, 2011.