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St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

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Revised Statutes of Newfoundland 1990


CHAPTER C-27

AN ACT RESPECTING THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM IN THE PROVINCE

Analysis

1. Short title

2. Definitions

3. Colleges continued

4. College departments

5. Chief executive officer

6. Member of committees

7. Title to and management of properties

8. Municipalities Act

9. Exemption from taxation

10. Board of governors

11. Tenure of appointment

12. Chairperson and vice-chairperson

13. Expenses of board members

14. Powers of board

15. Duties of board

16. Protection against liability

17. Trust funds of board

18. Investment of trust funds

19. Financial year

20. Expenditure

21. Financial statement

22. General funds of board

23. Annual budget

24. Report

25. Audit

26. Bonding of board

27. Pensions

28. Regulations


Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Community Colleges Act.

1987 c17 s1

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Definitions

2. In this Act

(a) "board" means the board of governors of each community college;

(b) "college" means a community college established under this Act;

(c) "certificate" means the document which certifies that a certain number of hours of study have been completed;

(d) "diploma" means the document which certifies that a program of applied arts and technology has been completed;

(e) "minister" means the Minister of Education;

(f) "president" means the president of a college;

(g) "provincial program" means a program so designated by the minister, and includes a program which is governed by an Act or regulation;

(h) "region" means an area of the province designated by the minister as the area in which a college is responsible for providing its educational programs; and

(i) "vice-president" means the vice-president of a college.

1987 c17 s2; 1990 c26 Sch B

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Colleges continued

3. (1) The community college regions in the province are continued as follows:

(a) the Avalon Community College region with headquarters in Carbonear;

(b) the Eastern Community College region with headquarters in Burin;

(c) the Central Community College region with headquarters in Grand Falls;

(d) the Western Community College region with headquarters in Stephenville;

(e) the Labrador Community College region with headquarters in Happy Valley; and

(f) other regions that the minister may by order designate.

(2) A college shall

(a) operate facilities which, in order to meet the needs of the adults in the region, shall provide programs of instruction leading to a certificate from the college and shall provide, in co-operation with an institute established under the Provincial Institutes Act, courses culminating in a diploma, and in co-operation with Memorial University of Newfoundland, courses culminating in a degree;

(b) provide facilities where educational courses and programs may be offered to adults in the region in respect of which a college is responsible for its educational programs;

(c) identify the educational needs of adults in the region and provide educational programs to meet those needs; and

(d) carry out those additional courses or programs that a board determines to be in the public interest.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a provincial educational program may not be undertaken by a college until it has been approved by the minister.

(4) A program regulated by statute may not be undertaken by a college until it has been approved by the minister.

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College departments

4. A college may be divided into those departments of instruction and divisions that a board, with the approval of the minister, prescribes.

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Chief executive officer

5. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint a president, who is the chief executive officer of a college, and who, under the general direction of a board, has responsibility for the supervision and administration of a college and of the instructional staff and other employees of a college, in the performance of their duties.

(2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint 1 or more vice-presidents who shall perform the duties that may be assigned to them by the president, and during the absence of the president or if that office is vacant, a vice-president designated by the president or the minister, shall perform the duties of the president.

(3) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may remove a president or vice-president.

(4) The salaries and other remuneration of a president and vice-president shall be fixed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

1987 c17 s5

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Member of committees

6. A president is by virtue of his or her office a member of all committees constituted by a board, and shall perform the duties and may exercise the powers that may be assigned to a president by a board.

1987 c17 s6

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Title to and management of properties

7. (1) All property necessary for the purposes of a college shall be acquired whether by deed, lease or otherwise by and in the name of the Crown.

(2) The right of management and control of

(a) the property referred to in subsection (1); and

(b) all property that is required by a college and is presently under the control of the Department of Education

is vested in the respective board of the appropriate college, which shall, on behalf of the college, control, manage and administer the properties, revenues, expenditures, business and affairs of that college.

1987 c17 s7; 1990 c26 Sch B

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Municipalities Act

8. The Municipalities Act or another Act in force relating to municipalities that permits the taking of land either for streets or for another purpose does not apply to a property the management and control of which is vested in a board.

1987 c17 s8

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Exemption from taxation

9. All real property under the control and management of, or held in trust by, a board is exempt from provincial, municipal or other local taxation while being used for the purposes of this Act.

1988 c54 s9

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Board of governors

10. (1) The board of governors of each college is continued as a corporation.

(2) The president shall be a non-voting member of the board of a college.

(3) A board shall include 1 member appointed by the minister who shall

(a) be a full-time student of the college nominated by the executive body of the student association of that college; and

(b) hold office for a period of 1 year only.

(4) A board shall also include not less than 4 or more than 10 other members appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council of whom 1 shall be a representative of the Department of Education nominated by the minister.

(5) Except in the case of persons mentioned in subsection (3), a person shall not be appointed to a board or remain a member of that board unless he or she is living in the region in respect of which a college is responsible for providing its educational programs and has been living there for at least 6 months before appointment to a board.

1987 c17 s10; 1990 c26 Sch B

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Tenure of appointment

11. (1) Members of a board, except the student member, hold office during pleasure for a term of 3 years.

(2) An appointed member of a board, if qualified under this section, is eligible for reappointment to the board, but after 2 consecutive terms on the board that person stops being qualified for reappointment until the end of 3 years from the time he or she last stopped being a member of the board.

(3) An appointed member of a board whose term of office has ended continues to be a member of that board until a successor is appointed.

1987 c17 s11

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Chairperson and vice-chairperson

12. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall designate 1 of the members of a board to be chairperson and another to be vice-chairperson.

(2) Where after the expiration of 20 minutes from the time for a meeting of a board neither the chairperson nor vice-chairperson is present, the remaining members, if there is a quorum present, may elect a chairperson to preside at that meeting in the absence of the chairperson and vice-chairperson.

1987 c17 s12

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Expenses of board members

13. The members of a board, including the chairperson, shall be reimbursed by the board for expenses incurred in relation to meetings and the work of the board in accordance with a scale for expenses that may be approved by the Lieutenant- Governor in Council.

1987 c17 s13

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Powers of board

14. A board may, after consultation with the president and subject to the regulations,

(a) appoint, promote or remove administrative, instructional and secretarial staff and all other officers or employees except the president and vice-president;

(b) accept grants, gifts and bequests to a college and receive payments for services and research;

(c) establish committees of the board that may be necessary or desirable and appoint advisory and other committees necessary to achieve the purposes of this Act;

(d) fix standards of admission of students to a college and set the standards to be maintained by students during courses of study;

(e) establish a code of discipline for the students of a college with power to expel students, and delegate to the president the right to impose those fines that may be prescribed in the code;

(f) select a seal for a college and retain sole custody and use of it;

(g) co-operate and enter into agreements with other educational institutions for the establishment, maintenance and conduct of programs of instruction leading to certification in a training or discipline; and

(h) perform other functions consistent with this Act that a board may consider advisable for the proper administration and advancement of a college.

1987 c17 s14

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Duties of board

15. It is the duty of a board

(a) to make the general policies of a college that will govern its organization, administration and operation;

(b) to assess the adult educational needs of the region in respect of which a college is responsible for providing its educational programs as those needs are perceived by community committees, local organizations, private citizens or other groups;

(c) to authorize and make provision for the various programs of instruction and other educational activities of a college subject to the approval of the minister where required;

(d) to make provision for the keeping of full and accurate records of its proceedings and transactions;

(e) to account for the receipts and disbursements of a college in the manner and form that are consistent with accepted accounting principles;

(f) to fix and collect fees and charges to be paid to a college;

(g) to assess the need for new buildings and repairs or alterations to existing buildings or premises administered by a board and to make recommendations to the appropriate government department;

(h) to provide furniture, equipment and the apparatus necessary for the purposes of a college;

(i) to prescribe the procedure at meetings and to make rules relating to the conduct of the affairs of a board;

(j) to maintain a plant ledger that lists the buildings, equipment and other chattels appertaining to a college;

(k) to grant certificates for courses and programs of study;

(l) to sell or otherwise dispose of worn out or obsolete equipment in the most judicious way and adjust the accounting records of a college accordingly;

(m) to co-operate and enter into agreements with

(i) a government,

(ii) a person who carries on a trade, business or commercial activity, or

(iii) another educational institution

for the establishment, maintenance and conduct of programs of instruction leading to degrees, diplomas and certificates; and

(n) to co-operate and enter into agreements with another educational institution in order to provide to the adults in the community college regions programs of instruction, from the other educational institution, leading to degrees, diplomas and certificates.

1987 c17 s15

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Protection against liability

16. (1) Without affecting section 20 of the Interpretation Act, a member of a board is not personally liable for loss or damage suffered by a person because of anything done or omitted to be done by the member in the execution of that member's office or under, or in the exercise of or supposed exercise of, the powers given to a board or to a member of a board.

(2) An action or proceeding may not be brought against a college in respect of an act or omission of a member of its board unless the act or omission would, apart from this section, have given rise to a cause of action against that member of the board.

(3) A college, board, a member of a board, an officer or servant of a college, is not liable because of an act or omission of either of them in respect of an activity of students or on account of an act or omission of a student.

1987 c17 s16

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Trust funds of board

17. (1) With the exception of money and property received from the public revenue, a board shall in its corporate capacity be trustee of money and property given or bequeathed for the purposes of a college, its staff or students, except where some other trustee is appointed by the donor or testator.

(2) Where property or money are given or bequeathed to a board in trust for special purposes, a board shall, as the trust may require, hold and maintain the property and invest the money and hold it in trust for the purposes for which it was bequeathed or given, or spend the money for the purposes indicated by the testator or donor, and the money shall not form part of the general funds of a board.

1987 c17 s17

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Investment of trust funds

18. A board may invest trust money and alter the investments as it considers appropriate, subject to the general law governing trustees and the provisions of a will, trust deed or other document governing a special trust.

1987 c17 s18

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Financial year

19. The financial year of a board begins on April 1 in a year and ends on March 31 in the following year.

1987 c17 s19

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Expenditure

20. A board may pay all necessary expenses of its operations out of its general funds.

1987 c17 s20

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Financial statement

21. (1) A board shall, not later than May 31 in each calendar year, prepare and submit to the minister a financial statement setting out its assets and liabilities and its receipts and expenditures for the financial year immediately preceding that date, together with a report concerning the work of the board during the financial year.

(2) The financial statement referred to in subsection (1) shall be signed by the chairperson and 1 other member of the board.

(3) The auditor general shall examine the financial statement submitted to the minister under subsection (1) and before August 31 following the financial year covered by that statement forward to the minister a copy of a report on the statement that the auditor general may have made to the board, together with a statement that he or she has examined the financial statement.

1987 c17 s21

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General funds of board

22. (1) The general funds of a board shall consist of

(a) the funds that may be appropriated by the Legislature for the college or for the purposes of a board;

(b) fees, gifts, bequests, grants or other money received by a board for its general purposes and not subject to special trusts or conditions;

(c) money that a board may collect for the use of a college or its facilities; and

(d) other money received by a board for its general purposes.

(2) All payments required to be made from the funds of a board shall be made by cheque or order signed by either the person employed as treasurer of a college, or the chairperson of a board and another person who a board may designate.

1987 c17 s22

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Annual budget

23. (1) A board shall, not later than a day to be set by the minister in respect of each year, prepare, adopt and submit to the minister a budget containing estimates of amounts required during the next financial year for the purposes of the board.

(2) In each budget prepared under subsection (1), there shall be set out, in the detail and in the form that the minister may prescribe, the estimated revenue and expenditures of the board in respect of a financial year for which the budget is prepared.

(3) The minister may approve or disapprove a budget submitted by a board.

(4) Except with the approval of the minister, a board shall not in a year incur, enter upon or contract, or become liable for, an expenditure or indebtedness beyond or in excess of the estimated amount of expenditure set out in the approved budget.

1987 c17 s23

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Report

24. A board shall provide to the minister other reports relating to a college that the minister may request covering the matters that the minister may indicate in the request.

1987 c17 s24

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Audit

25. The auditor general shall audit the accounts of a board in respect of all its affairs and trusts and a board shall supply the books, vouchers and other records and documents of the board that the auditor general considers necessary for an audit.

1987 c17 s25

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Bonding of board

26. (1) A board shall acquire and maintain a bond with a bonding or insurance company to indemnify a board against loss because of a fraudulent or criminal act of its employees.

(2) The bond required under subsection (1) shall be in the amount and contain the assurances that the auditor general considers desirable.

(3) It is a condition of the employment of a person by a board as a treasurer or other office that the auditor general may designate that the person be bonded in the same manner as a board is required to be bonded under subsection (1) but in the amount that the auditor general may prescribe.

1987 c17 s26

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Pensions

27. The Public Service Pensions Act applies to a president, vice-president, instructional and secretarial staff and other officers and employees of a board as if they were employees of the government of the province, within the meaning of that Act, and subject to the exceptions and conditions prescribed in that Act, those persons shall pay contributions to and participate in the pension plan established by that Act.

1987 c17 s27

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Regulations

28. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) for the conduct, management and control of a college or a division of a college;

(b) for the administration of the properties, revenues, expenditures, business and affairs of a board;

(c) respecting agreements or contracts that a board may enter into;

(d) regulating the powers of a board under this Act; and

(e) generally, to give effect to the purpose of this Act.

1987 c17 s28

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