Michigan Legislative Website

Sec. 289.

(1) The auditor general shall review higher education institutional data inventory (HEIDI) enrollment data submitted by all public universities under section 241 and may perform audits of selected public universities if determined necessary. The review and audits shall be based upon the definitions, requirements, and uniform reporting categories established by the state budget director in consultation with the HEIDI advisory committee. The auditor general shall submit a report of findings to the house and senate appropriations committees and the state budget director no later than July 1 of each year.

(2) Student credit hours reports shall not include the following:

(a) Student credit hours generated through instructional activity by faculty or staff in classrooms located outside Michigan, with the exception of instructional activity related to study-abroad programs or field programs.

(b) Student credit hours generated through distance learning instruction for students not eligible for the public university's in-state main campus resident tuition rate. However, in instances where a student is enrolled in distance education and non-distance education credit hours in a given term and the student's non-distance education enrollment is at a campus or site located within Michigan, student credit hours per the student's eligibility for in-state or out-of-state tuition rates may be reported.

(c) Student credit hours generated through credit by examination.

(d) Student credit hours generated through inmate prison programs regardless of teaching location.

(e) Student credit hours generated in new degree programs after January 1, 1975, that have not been specifically authorized for funding by the legislature, except spin-off programs converted from existing core programs that do all of the following:

(i) Represent new options, fields, or concentrations within existing programs.

(ii) Are consistent with the current institutional role and mission.

(iii) Are accommodated within the continuing funding base of the public university.

(iv) Do not require a new degree level beyond that which the public university is currently authorized to grant within that discipline or field.

(v) Do not require funding from the state other than that provided by the student credit hours generated within the program, either before program initiation or within the first 3 years of program operation.

(3) The auditor general shall periodically audit higher education institutional data inventory (HEIDI) data as submitted by the public universities under section 241 for compliance with the definitions established by the state budget director in consultation with the HEIDI advisory committee for the HEIDI database.

(4) "Distance learning instruction" as used in subsection (2) means instruction that occurs solely in other than a traditional classroom setting where the student and instructor are in the same physical location and for which a student receives course credits and is charged tuition and fees. Examples of distance learning instruction are instruction delivered solely through the internet, cable television, teleconference, or mail.