GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001

SESSION LAW 2001-312
HOUSE BILL 1246

AN ACT TO DIRECT THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, IN COOPERATION WITH THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE STATE BOARD OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES, TO STUDY THE MEASURES USED FOR ADMISSIONS, PLACEMENT, AND ADVANCED PLACEMENT DECISIONS BY THE CONSTITUENT INSTITUTIONS OF THE STATE'S UNIVERSITY SYSTEM, TO ALLOW INTELLECTUALLY GIFTED YOUTHS TO ATTEND COMMUNITY COLLEGES, AND TO ALLOW CERTAIN YOUTHS TO BE EMPLOYED BY INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, in cooperation with the State Board of Education and the State Board of Community Colleges, shall study the measures used by the constituent institutions to make admissions, placement, and advanced placement decisions regarding incoming freshmen and shall assess the various uses made of those measures and the validity of those measures with regard to a student's academic performance and as predictors of a student's future academic performance.  They shall also assess whether other alternative measures may be equally valid or more accurate as indicators of a student's academic performance.  In the study, particular consideration should be given to whether or not to eliminate, continue, or change the emphasis placed on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and ACT Assessment for North Carolina students as a mandatory university admissions measure. The study should review incorporating the State's testing program into admissions, placement, and advanced placement decisions.  Based on its findings, the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, in cooperation with the State Board of Education and the State Board of Community Colleges, may develop recommendations to improve the measures used to assess a student's academic performance, to adopt alternative measures, or to use various combinations of both to determine more accurately a student's academic knowledge and performance.
SECTION 1.(b)  The study required by subsection 1(a) of this act may address all of the following:
(1)	Admissions. – The Board of Governors may examine the key elements used for making admissions decisions in the State's University System. Included in the factors to be studied are grade point average, class rank, and the SAT and ACT Assessment. Each element may be studied for reliability and validity independently and as used together. The Board of Governors may also compare the State's end‑of‑course testing with the SAT and ACT Assessment, assess how each reflects a student's academic performance, and consider shifting the emphasis currently placed on the SAT and ACT Assessment as an admissions measure to the State's end‑of‑course tests or other available tests as an admissions measure. In its study, the Board of Governors may consider eliminating, continuing, or changing the emphasis placed on the SAT and ACT Assessment as an admissions measure for North Carolina students applying to the State's constituent institutions. The Board of Governors may also consider methods for accurately comparing the academic performance of applicants who do not have the benefit of the State's end‑of‑course testing program with  applicants who do have the State's testing program.
Recommendations should be made to improve the consistency and fairness of each measure independently and as used together for admissions decisions. These recommendations may include the use of North Carolina end‑of‑course tests as an element in admissions decisions alone or in combination with a change of the weight of emphasis on the SAT and ACT Assessment. The recommendations may also include maintaining the current process.
The Board of Governors may review with the State Board of Education recommendations that incorporate end‑of‑course testing as part of the admissions process. The State Board of Education may develop recommendations to improve the alignment of end‑of‑course tests and secondary coursework with the expectations of the constituent institutions and the State Board of Community Colleges.
(2)	Placement. – The Board of Governors may consider reviewing the assessment methods currently used by constituent institutions for remediation placement decisions. Recommendations may be developed to provide greater consistency, reliability, and validity for remediation decisions. North Carolina end‑of‑course tests may be considered for use in these decisions.
(3)	Advanced placement testing. – The Board of Governors may review the use of test scores in granting college‑level course credit by constituent institutions.
(4)	Other relevant issues. – The Board of Governors may study any other issues relevant to college and university admissions, placement, and advanced placement measures.
SECTION 1.(c)  The Board of Governors may make an interim report regarding its studies and plans to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee no later than March 1, 2002, and shall submit a final report to that Committee by December 1, 2003. It is recommended that the study continue beyond the final report date. Interim and final reports of the Committee may include recommended legislation.
SECTION 2.  Article 1 of Chapter 115D of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115D-1.1. Discretion in admissions.
(a)	Notwithstanding G.S. 115D-1, a student under the age of 16 may enroll in a community college if the following conditions are met:
(1)	The president of the community college or the president's designee finds, based on criteria established by the State Board of Community Colleges, that the student is intellectually gifted and that the student has the maturity to justify admission to the community college; and
(2)	One of the following persons approves the student's enrollment in a community college:
a.	The local board of education, or the board's designee, for the public school administrative unit in which the student is enrolled.
b.	The administrator, or the administrator's designee, of the nonpublic school in which the student is enrolled.
c.	The person who provides the academic instruction in the home school in which the student is enrolled.
d.	The designee of the board of directors of the charter school in which the student is enrolled.
(b)	The State Board of Community Colleges, in consultation with the Department 
of Public Instruction, shall adopt rules to implement this section." 
SECTION 3.  G.S. 95‑25.5 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(m)	Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, youths who are enrolled at an institution of higher education may be employed by the institution provided the employment is not hazardous. As used in this subsection, "institution of higher education" means any constituent institution of The University of North Carolina, any North Carolina community college, or any college or university that awards postsecondary degrees."
SECTION 4.  Section 2 of this act is effective when it becomes law, and shall apply to the 2001‑2002 academic year. Section 2 of this act expires September 1, 2004. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 18th day of July, 2001.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 12:21 p.m. this 28th day of July, 2001