A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to add nonprofit virtual postsecondary institutions as eligible private postsecondary institutions for the purposes of the need‑based scholarship program for STUDENTS ATTENDING private institutions of higher education.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 116‑280(3) reads as rewritten:
"(3)	Eligible private postsecondary institution. – A school that is any of the following:
a.	A nonprofit postsecondary educational institution with a main permanent campus located in this State that is not owned or operated by the State of North Carolina or by an agency or political subdivision of the State or by any combination thereof that satisfies all of the following:
1.	Is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools under the standards of the College Delegate Assembly of the Association or by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.
2.	Awards a postsecondary degree as defined in G.S. 116‑15.
b.	A postsecondary institution owned or operated by a hospital authority as defined in G.S. 131E‑16(14) or school of nursing affiliated with a nonprofit postsecondary educational institution as defined in sub‑subdivision a. of this subsection.
c.	A nonprofit virtual postsecondary institution that is not owned or operated by the State of North Carolina or by an agency or political subdivision of the State or by any combination thereof that meets all of the following:
1.	Is accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.
2.	Has established and continuously maintains a physical campus or location of operation in this State.
3.	Maintains a governing body or advisory board in this State with oversight of the institution's operations in North Carolina."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2019, and applies to the award of need‑based scholarships on or after that date.