Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 15a - Public Education
Section 7 - Mission Statements; Development, Approval and Adoption

Section 7. With regard to the overall system of public higher education, and each of the three segments of the system, as defined in section 5, the council shall develop and submit mission statements for review and approval by the secretary. Said segmental mission statements shall include, but not be limited to, the goals and purpose of each type of institution within the system and how they relate to each other in fulfilling the mission of the entire system.
The board of trustees of the university of Massachusetts, shall develop and submit to the secretary and the council mission statements for the university and each of its campuses. The board of trustees of each state university and community college shall develop and submit to the secretary and the council a mission statement for each such institution. All institutional mission statements, as developed and submitted by boards of trustees, shall be subject to approval by the secretary, in consultation with the council. Said approval shall take into consideration how well the institution's mission statement correlates with the mission statements as set forth in the preceding paragraph.
The council shall be responsible for making public said mission statements. The secretary, in consultation with the council, may, as she deems necessary, undertake or cause to be undertaken revisions of said statements.
The board of trustees of a state university or community college with the potential to expand its mission, profile, and orientation to a more regional or national focus may submit to the secretary and the board of higher education a five-year plan embracing an entrepreneurial model which leverages that potential in order to achieve higher levels of excellence. Such plans shall include, but not be limited to, budget and enrollment projections for each year, projections for total student charges for each year, projections for in-state and out-of-state enrollments for each year, and plans to insure continuing access to the institution by residents of the commonwealth and affirmative action policies and programs that affirm the need for and a commitment to maintaining and increasing access for economically disadvantaged and minority students. Said proposal, upon its receipt, shall be transmitted to the secretary of administration and finance, the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means, and the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on higher education. The secretary, in consultation with the council, shall have the authority to approve, reject, or propose amendments to said plan. Proposed amendments shall be returned to the institutions's board of trustees. If the board of trustees approves said amendments, the plan shall be considered adopted. If the institution's board of trustees rejects the proposed changes, it may submit a redrafted plan, which will be treated as a new plan under the provisions of this section.

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