Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 15a - Public Education
Section 15b - Budget Cycle; Preparation and Submission of Budget Requests; Comments and Recommendations

Section 15B. There shall be established a two year budget cycle for the public system of higher education which shall be instituted beginning in fiscal year nineteen hundred and ninety-four and shall be repeated every even numbered fiscal year thereafter.
In preparing for the even numbered fiscal year of said two year budget cycle each board of trustees shall prepare and submit to the secretary and the council a budget request for the ordinary maintenance of its institution; said budget request shall include the salary of all officers and employees of said institution and all revenues therefrom and any other such information as the secretary and the council may require or as provided in section three of chapter twenty-nine. Each board of trustees shall make requests to the secretary and the council under the provisions of chapter twenty-nine. The boards of trustees shall attach to said even numbered fiscal year budget request a budget request for the following odd numbered fiscal year; said odd numbered fiscal year budget request shall include the salary of all officers and employees of said institution and all revenues therefrom and any other such information as the secretary and the council may require or as provided in section three of chapter twenty-nine.
Boards of trustees in each segment of the higher education system shall prepare their budget request in accordance with funding formulas. The board of higher education shall develop the formulas for the institutions within the state university and community college segments in consultation with the boards of trustees and the secretary. The university trustees shall develop funding formulas for the university campuses in consultation with the campus administrations and the board of higher education and the secretary. All funding formulas shall be periodically reviewed and revised as needed.
Each board of trustees shall prepare their estimates and requests according to the funding formulas prescribed in section fifteen A of this chapter.
The council shall review the institutional budget requests prepared by each board of trustees and shall submit comments and recommendations concerning those requests to the secretary. The secretary shall then prepare a comprehensive budget request for the public higher education system, with comments and recommendations, for use by the secretary of administration and finance, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on higher education. In the case of the university, it shall be the responsibility of the trustees to submit comments and recommendations regarding the budget requests of individual campuses within the university system to the secretary and the board of higher education. In the case of any institution, or the university, having failed to submit data according to the schedule established under clause (s) of the first paragraph of section 9, the secretary may withhold transmittal of the budget request from that board of trustees to the secretary of administration and finance and committees. The comments and recommendations attached by the secretary and the board of higher education for each state and community college and by the board of trustees of the university for each university campus, shall be consistent with the funding formulas, statewide needs, performance measurement standards, as well as the mission statements and 5–year plans for individual campuses and the public higher education system as a whole. They shall also reflect analysis by the respective boards for each campus regarding progress made by the campuses in fulfilling strategic plans including, but not limited to, significant achievements and progress in addressing any previously identified deficiencies. The comments and recommendations shall be made available to the individual institutions and campuses before submission to the secretary of administration and finance and legislative committees with sufficient time allowed to provide opportunity for comment and response by those institutions and campuses. In reviewing the various estimates and requests, the secretary and the council may comment on the overall level of funding for the system of public higher education and may comment regarding funding priorities among segments of the system of public higher education and among the various institutions. The secretary shall submit her recommendations and comments to the secretary of administration and finance, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on higher education. The secretary shall include in addition to the information provided by the boards of trustees all program costs which are to be borne by any other source other than the commonwealth, including such sources as federal financing or federal research demonstration or training grants, community contributions and other grants, endowments or trusts.

Structure Massachusetts General Laws

Massachusetts General Laws

Part I - Administration of the Government

Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth

Chapter 15a - Public Education

Section 1 - Policy and Goals

Section 3a - Statewide Educational Technology Plan; Goals; Development and Implementation

Section 4 - Board of Higher Education; Membership

Section 5 - Public Institutions of Higher Education System

Section 5a - Governor Foster Furcolo Community Colleges

Section 6 - Department of Higher Education; Commissioner; Other Employees; Appointments; Salaries; Powers and Duties

Section 7 - Mission Statements; Development, Approval and Adoption

Section 7a - Board of Higher Education; Performance Measurement System

Section 9 - Powers and Duties of Council

Section 9a - American Sign Language

Section 9b - Needs-Based Financial Assistance Program; Scholarships; Guidelines

Section 10 - Definitions

Section 11 - Council Actions Permitted to Aid and Contribute to Performances of Educational and Other Purposes of Community Colleges

Section 12 - Council Actions Permitted to Provide for Hefa Expenses and for Payments of Indebtedness Incurred on Behalf of Community Colleges or Affiliates

Section 13 - Hefa; Sale or Lease of Buildings, Lands or Other Property; Proceeds

Section 14 - Powers Under Secs. 11 and 12 Exercised on Behalf of University of Massachusetts and Affiliates

Section 15 - Estimate of Ordinary Maintenance and Revenues; Capital Outlay Requests; Allocation of Appropriations

Section 15b - Budget Cycle; Preparation and Submission of Budget Requests; Comments and Recommendations

Section 15c - Expenditures and Revenues; Management and Accounting Reporting System

Section 15d - Personnel Administrative Reporting and Information System

Section 15e - Public Higher Education Endowment Incentive and Capital Outlay Contribution Program; Matching Formula; Termination of Program

Section 15f - Community College Workforce Training Incentive Program

Section 15g - Stackable Credentials

Section 16 - Scholarship Programs; Guidelines

Section 17 - Teaching Learning Corps Program

Section 18 - Qualifying Student Health Insurance Programs; Participation; Compliance Procedures Report; Penalties for Noncompliance

Section 19 - Tuition and Fee Waiver Program; Guidelines; Annual Report

Section 191/2 - Tuition, Fees and Room and Board Waiver for Surviving Child of Parent Who Died as a Result of Injuries Sustained During Active and Full-Time Military Service While Outside the United States

Section 19a - Student Loan Repayment Program; Guidelines; Expenses for Administration

Section 19b - Teacher Signing Bonus Program; Regulations

Section 19c - Master Teacher Corps Program; Regulations

Section 19d - Scholarship Program Known as Tomorrow's Teachers Program; Guidelines

Section 19e - Principal and Superintendent Recruitment Program

Section 20 - Educational Opportunities Information Center

Section 21 - Board of Trustees for Sec. 5 Institutions; Membership; Qualifications; Tenure; Vacancies

Section 22 - Board of Trustees of Community Colleges or State Universities; Powers and Duties

Section 22a - Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center; Establishment; Powers and Duties of Board

Section 23 - Board of Trustees; Estimate for Institution's Ordinary Maintenance and Revenues

Section 24 - Board of Trustees; Authorized Purchases

Section 24a - Cooperative Purchasing; Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium

Section 25 - Refusal to Elect and Contract With Blind Teaching Candidates

Section 26 - Summer Sessions; Evening Classes

Section 27 - Dormitories; Nonsmoking Rooms; Rules and Regulations

Section 28 - Establishment and Maintenance of Bank Branch on Grounds of Public Higher Education Institutions

Section 29 - Definitions; Use of Student Fee Funds for Legislative Agents' Costs

Section 31 - Administrative Expenses; Determination of Qualifying Expenditures

Section 32 - Student Assessment System

Section 33 - Report Assessing Overall Faculty Productivity and Teacher Effectiveness

Section 34 - Benchmark Study of Public Higher Education System

Section 35 - Professional Development Schools Grant Program

Section 36 - Public Schools' Eligibility for Funds Through Professional Development Schools Grant Program

Section 37 - Foundations Created for Public Institutions of Higher Education; Governing Boards; Annual Reports; Audits

Section 38 - Military Recruiters; On-Campus Recruiting

Section 39 - Secondary Education Students Qualified to Enroll in Higher Education Institutions

Section 40 - Optional Retirement System; Providers; Regulations; Participation; Funds

Section 41 - Fees for Approval of Articles or Certificates; Revenue

Section 42 - Award of Academic Credit for Student's Military Occupation, Training, Coursework and Experience; Educational Credit for Exams Funded Through Department of Defense

Section 43 - Immunity From Academic or Financial Penalties for Postsecondary Students Performing Military Service on Behalf of the United States

Section 44 - Readmission Protections, Privileges and Immunities for Members of Armed Forces Attending Educational Institutions Within the Commonwealth; Calculation of Cumulative Length of Absence; Exemption From Academic or Financial Penalty

Section 45 - Establishment and Implementation of Comprehensive Training Program