AN ACT to require the state board of community colleges to Grant multicampus center status to off‑campus instructional sites meeting certain criteria.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  The State Board of Community Colleges shall approve an application from a community college requesting that an off‑campus instructional site be recognized as a multicampus center if the off‑campus instructional site meets the following criteria:

(1)        The community college has owned and operated the site for more than 10 years.

(2)        The site is recognized as an off‑campus instructional site by the community college's accrediting agency.

(3)        The community college provides a program unique to the service area that offers an associate degree, a diploma, and at least one certificate through a day or evening program with courses offered in English and Spanish at the site.

(4)        The site serves an economically challenged and mobility‑limited community with a higher percentage of African American and Hispanic or Latino population than the county‑wide percentage.

(5)        The site is located in the largest city in the community college's service area and within 2.5 miles of a public transportation hub.

(6)        The community college has been supported by local general obligation bonds of greater than thirty‑five million dollars ($35,000,000).

(7)        The site has averaged more than 300 budget FTE annually over the past five academic years.

(8)        The site is located at least 15 miles from a community college site serving a county contiguous to the applicant community college's service area.

SECTION 1.(b)  A community college seeking to have an off‑campus instructional site meeting the criteria established in subsection (a) of this section recognized as a multicampus center shall submit an application to the State Board of Community Colleges no later than September 1, 2023. The State Board of Community Colleges shall approve an application meeting the criteria established in subsection (a) of this section no later than January 31, 2024.

SECTION 1.(c)  An off‑campus instructional site recognized as a multicampus center pursuant to this section shall continue to be recognized as a multicampus center as long as the site meets the criteria established in subsection (a) of this section.

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.