A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to direct the board of governors of the university of north carolina to study the feasibility of implementing a trimester system for most of the State's public universities and to design a pilot program to be implemented at selected public universities to help determine whether such a conversion would be beneficial.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina shall study the feasibility of converting the academic calendar for most of the State's university system from a semester system to a trimester system.  The study shall include the following universities:  the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of North Carolina at Asheville, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, North Carolina Central University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Western Carolina University, and Winston‑Salem State University.  The study shall not include either the University of North Carolina School of the Arts or the constituent high school, the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.
The goal of the study is to evaluate whether switching to a trimester system would better enable a university to use more fully its campus facilities during the summer while still maintaining the academic and programmatic integrity of the institution.  The Board of Governors shall consider how a conversion to a trimester system could change campus culture at each university that is included in the study, the challenges of enticing people to participate, particularly in a summer trimester, and the issues related to workload distribution and student support.  In its study the Board of Governors shall also analyze and evaluate how converting to a trimester system would affect all of the following at each university included in the study:  student life; financial aid; athletic programs; student government; student learning; the need, if any, for additional faculty, and if additional faculty are needed, then the academic areas in which they would be needed; faculty research; registration; housing; maintenance; and utilities.
SECTION 2.  As part of the study set out in Section 1 of this act, the Board of Governors shall also design a pilot program to explore the advantages and disadvantages to different types of campuses in switching to an academic year based on trimesters.  The Board of Governors shall identify four of the universities included in the study with different types of campuses to participate in the pilot program.  The Board of Governors shall determine the time‑frame for implementing the pilot program and the length of time that the pilot program shall be maintained in order to analyze fully the advantages and disadvantages of switching to a trimester system.  The Board of Governors shall also determine what incentives, if any, may be offered to encourage students and faculty to participate in the summer trimester.  The pilot program shall not be implemented until after the Board of Governors reports to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee pursuant to Section 3 of this act and funds are appropriated to implement the pilot program.
SECTION 3.  The Board of Governors shall report its findings and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by October 1, 2009.
SECTION 4.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina the sum of twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000) for the 2009‑2010 fiscal year to conduct the study described in Section 1 of this act.  The funds appropriated by this section shall not be used for the pilot program described in Section 2 of this act.
SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law.