Postsecondary Education

Urge the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville to explore opportunities to participate in the United States Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy University Program and to extend their curricula to offer courses and degree paths to train the workforce that will construct and operate the next generation of nuclear energy facilities; encourage the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville to collaborate with the United States Department of War to explore possible nuclear energy-related grant funding and research opportunities.

Amend KRS 164.7874, relating to KEES awards, to define terms; amend KRS 164.7879 to establish the use of a specified equivalent grade point average for eligible graduates of certain private, parochial, or church schools based on the Advanced Placement exam score, dual credit courses grade point average, or a combination of both; amend KRS 164.7881 and 164.7884 to conform.

Amend KRS 164.2951 to require the Council on Postsecondary Education to develop, implement, and maintain statewide transfer pathways available between the public postsecondary education institutions in selected baccalaureate programs; require the council to publish on its website a list of the available transfer pathways; require participating postsecondary education institutions to accept transfer credit, earned or accepted at the prior institution within pathways as general education or program-specific general education credit before applying credit as elective; require the council to provide written notification to public postsecondary education institutions and coordinate credit transfer discussions upon receiving notification of an institution seeking to make changes to curricula impacting lower-division courses.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to prohibit public postsecondary education institutions from requiring a student who is within 6 months of turning 18 years of age or older to reside in student housing; provide exceptions.

Amend KRS 164.321 to increase the membership of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) board of regents to a total of 17; reduce the terms of membership on a board of regents to 4 years; reduce the number of members allowed to reside in 1 county to 1 member; specify that the nonteaching member of a board of regents shall not be an employee who supervises more than 2 employees or reports directly to the president; specify that a member of a board of regents may be removed if the member does not attend 3 consecutive regularly scheduled meetings and the president requests the member's removal; amend KRS 164.350 to authorize the board of the KCTCS review the president's biennial budget and the budget planning and implementation processes; amend KRS164.365 to make technical corrections; amend KRS 164.580 to distinguish the responsibilities of the president of the KCTCS; create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to require the president of the KCTCS to employ a chief financial officer and to specify the responsibilities of the chief financial officer; amend KRS 164.583 to make technical corrections; amend KRS 164.591 to require the president of the KCTCS to present a plan for review by the board of regents when considering the reduction, expansion, or creation of colleges, campuses, or programs, allow the president to conditionally implement the plan upon approval of the Council on Postsecondary Education; require KCTCS to submit a report to the appropriate committees of the General Assembly regarding the plan; require final approval of the plan by the General Assembly; require the KCTCS to submit a report to the Legislative Research Commission for referral to the appropriate committees regarding the properties utilized by the KCTCS; amend KRS 164.600 to define "campus" and "chancellor"; create a board of advisors for the KCTCS made up of the chancellor of each college of the system and others as appointed by the president; specify the responsibilities of the chancellor of each college; amend other sections of KRS Chapter 164 to conform; repeal KRS 164.586, 164.587, 164.594, 164.602, and 164.5833; provide for staggering of initial appointments.