A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to Allow eligible private postsecondary Institutions with campuses accredited prior to JANUARY 1, 2014, to meet the definition of main permanent campus for the purposes of the need‑based scholarship program by providing classrooms with full‑time faculty members and administration on the campus and to appropriate funds to expand the availability of need‑based scholarships under the program.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 116‑280 reads as rewritten:
"§ 116‑280.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply to this Article:
(1)	Academic year. – A period of time in which a student is expected to complete the equivalent of at least two semesters' or three quarters' academic work.
(2)	Authority. – The State Education Assistance Authority created by Article 23 of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes.
(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.
(4)	Main permanent campus. – A campus owned by the eligible private postsecondary institution that engages in postsecondary degree activity, as defined in G.S. 116‑15, and meets at least one of the following:
a.	Provides permanent on premises housing, food services, and classrooms with full‑time faculty members and administration.
b.	Provides classrooms with full‑time faculty members and administration if the campus of the eligible private postsecondary institution was 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 prior to January 1, 2014.
(5)	Matriculated status. – Being recognized as a student in a defined program of study leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate at an eligible private postsecondary institution.
(6)	Scholarship. – A scholarship for education awarded under this Article.
(7)	Title IV. – Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. § 1070, et seq."
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) in additional recurring funds for the 2018‑2019 fiscal year to be allocated to the State Education Assistance Authority for the award of scholarships pursuant to the North Carolina Need‑Based Scholarships for Students Attending Private Institutions of Higher Education established by Article 34 of Chapter 116 of the General Statutes.
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2018, and applies to the award of scholarships beginning with the 2018‑2019 academic year.