As the information was gathered either from interviews or correspondence, each response was rewritten in text form and sent to the respondent for his approval or correction. Chapter III reviews the findings from this phase of the inquiry.

In order to have a background of present practice to use for comparison with opinions and recommendations, a review was also made of State laws and State regulations. These laws and regulations were arranged in chart form and sent to each State. In some States, where several approval agencies were involved, copies were sent to each. A review of the findings of statutory and regulatory criteria will be found in chapter II.

While the opinions of 2-year college administrators and State supervisors and directors were being received, checked, and collated, an examination was also made of statewide studies of higher education published since 1946. Ninety-five studies were reviewed, 28 of which contained a reference to recommend criteria for the establishment of 2-year colleges. The report of this examination will be found in chapter III.

Can Success Be Assured for a Proposed College?

The primary purpose of this study, then, is to provide a guide to understanding the conditions necessary to assure success in a new 2-year college. In solving problems in mathematics, there usually are "necessary and sufficient conditions." When these prevail, the solution is assured, provided that specific sequential steps are followed. This degree of positiveness certainly cannot be assured for any listed criteria for establishing a 2-year college, although the new institutions should have a good chance for success if these minimum criteria are used and careful planning is done. Guidelines for legislative action and suggestions for minimum criteria for various types of 2-year colleges are presented in chapter IV.

CHAPTER II

Statutory and Regulatory Criteria in Use in 1959

THE HE ESTABLISHMENT of either a public or a private 2-year college generally requires some official authorization. For public colleges this can be a general enabling act authorizing local school districts, municipalities, or other jurisdictions to establish such an institution under the regulations of a State agency. A special act 'of a State legislature creating specifically designated institutions can also be the starting point of a public 2-year college. Private 2-year colleges begin as a result of special authorizing statutes, the granting of a charter by the State legislature, or by the incorporation of the board of trustees of a proposed institution under the laws of a State. Usually, 2-year branches or extension centers of 4-year colleges are established under the authority already held by the parent institution. Requirements found in State laws and regulations governing establishment of 2-year colleges are summarized in this chapter. Statutory provisions which serve as criteria and regulatory criteria are described with a minimum of comment and interpretation in, the first two sections. The concluding section is an analysis and summary of these laws and regulations. A complete summary of statutory and regulatory criteria in effect in 1959 for the establishment of 2-year colleges in each of the 50 States is presented as appendix A of this bulletin. Appendix A is organized to show statutory and regulatory criteria by States, and the analysis of the information and discussion of its significance in this chapter is in terms of the relationships found among the various criteria. Thus, readers of the report will be able to utilize both or either of the two approaches.

The information presented in this chapter was obtained from a variety of sources. One of the most important was the series of publications of the American Association of Junior Colleges which have

appeared biennially in the Junior College Journal,1 and quadriennially in American Junior Colleges. The three annual surveys of State legislation relating to higher education completed by the Office of Education were also consulted.3 Another publication, The State and Education, was used as a basic source. The State laws were also surveyed for content pertinent to criteria. Regulatory criteria were extracted from various pamphlets available in the Office of Education and provided by State departments of education, State boards of higher education, or individual institutions.

After refining the applicable data, compilations of criteria thus obtained were mailed to selected individuals and agencies in each of the States for verification. A check was thus obtained from every one of the 50 States. The changes and corrections received from the individuals and agencies asked to cooperate were adapted in preparing the final report.

Statutory Criteria

The majority of States have now recognized public 2-year colleges by general legislative authorizations. There were 32 States in 1959 which had general statutory criteria in operation for the establishment of 2-year colleges. These included: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Although Maryland is included in this list, it does not have a general enabling law for public 2-year colleges. Here, such institutions are founded by county school boards under their authority to provide "public school" programs. New Jersey has a similar legal basis for public junior colleges. This interpretation, in effect, places Maryland and New Jersey among the States with general enabling legislation for 2-year colleges. The remaining 18 States make no general legislative provisions for

Junior College

1 S. V. Martorana. Recent State Legislation Affecting Junior Colleges. Journal, 20:5, January 1950, p. 241-252; 24: 8, April 1954, p. 459-471; 26: 6, February 1956, p. 328-341; and 28: 6, February 1958, p. 307–321.

2 S. V. Martorana. The Legal Status of American Public Junior Colleges. American Junior Colleges (5th ed.), Chapter V. Edmund J. Gleazer, Jr. (editor). Washington, D.C. American Council on Education, 1960, p. 33-47.

3 E. V. Hollis, William G. Land, and S. V. Martorana. Survey of State Legislation Relating to Higher Education, July 1, 1956, to June 30, 1957; July 1, 1957, to June 30, 1958; and July 1, 1958, to December 31, 1959. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, Division of Higher Education (Circular Nos. 511, 552, and 618). Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

The State and Education. Compiled by Fred F. Beach and Robert F. Will. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education (Misc. No. 23). Washington U.S. Government Printing Office, 1958.

the establishment of 2-year colleges. A number of States, however, have by special legislative enactment created 2-year institutions either as autonomous colleges or as branches of existing 4-year institutions. Examples of these are Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Utah, Virgina, and West Virginia.

Most of the statutory criteria identified in this study appear in the laws of the States having general enabling legislation. However, those which were found in States requiring specific legislative action in order to establish a 2-year college are also included in the discussion which follows.

Action for Initiating 2-Year Colleges

Considerable variation exists among the States in the action for initiating 2-year colleges. Careful analysis reveals that for the most part, there are three broad ways by which action for initiating 2-year colleges is authorized. These are petitions, elections, and autonomous action by local boards. Of the 32 States with general enabling legislation, 8 provide for initiating action for 2-year colleges by petition, 3 by eiection, and 15 by autonomous government agencies.

States requiring local board initiating action include: Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia (proper political subdivision), 'Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York (agency representing the sponsoring district or political subdivision), North Dakota, and Oklahoma. The States requiring petitions as the means of initiating action include: California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, and Texas. Elections are required as initiating action in Kansas (called by local school board), South Carolina, and Wyoming.

Illinois and Washington generally require local board initiating action. In Illinois, a petition is needed to establish an area junior college, in Washington a petition of 100 qualified voters may be substituted for the requirement that the local board of education initiate action.

Massachusetts permits junior colleges to be established at the discretion of the Board of Regional Community Colleges; Utah requires the recommendation of the Coordinating Council of Higher Education. Arizona and Maryland do not indicate the legal procedure for initiating a 2-year college.

State Agency Approval

There are 23 States which require State agency approval in establishing 2-year colleges. Of this total, 12 require approval by the State

Board of Education. These are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah. The remaining nine States and their approving agency for 2-year colleges are shown below:

Montana and Washington have joint approval agencies. The State Board of Education and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction serve in Montana, whereas the joint approving agencies in Washington include the State Board of Education and the State Board for Vocational Education.

Vote of the People

Voting by the people for the establishment of 2-year colleges is required in 19 States. Among these, there are six which specify that a majority of the votes cast is needed. These are Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, New York, and Texas.

Among the other 13 States, a variety of terms is used to designate the vote to authorize new institutions. In California the approving vote must be "favorable to such establishment," whereas in Connecticut an approval on the referendum by a majority of the electors is required. "At least 60 percent of the total votes cast for and against it at a given election" determines the result in Iowa; in Michigan an "affirmative vote of the majority of the electors present and voting" is required. In Minnesota and North Dakota, two-thirds of the vote of the electors is necessary. In Montana a "favorable vote of the majority of all qualified voters" is required; and in Nebraska a "minimum of 55 percent of the votes cast" is set to authorize establishment.

Variations in the requirement of a vote are often found when special types of districts or taxing procedures are involved. Kentucky and North Carolina require a vote to authorize a tax levy; Oregon requires a popular vote for formation of area education districts. A three-quarters vote in an independent or special school district and a majority vote in a school district whose limits are coextensive with the limits of any city of 5,000 or more will authorize establishment in South Carolina.