§ 15-1401 — Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Accredited" means accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by the United States department of education or by the council on postsecondary accreditation.

2. "Additional short-term classes" means those classes that are not in session on the forty-fifth day of the fall or spring semester, that commence at various times during the fiscal year and that are offered over a period of less than sixteen weeks.

3. "Budget year" means the fiscal year for which the community college district is budgeting and that immediately follows the current year.

4. "Community college" means an educational institution that is operated by a district board and that provides a program of not more than four years' training in the arts, sciences and humanities beyond the twelfth grade of the public or private high school course of study or vocational education, including terminal courses of a technical and vocational nature and basic adult education courses.

5. "Community college tuition financing district" means a district that is organized pursuant to section 15-1409.

6. "Current year" means the fiscal year in which the community college district is operating.

7. "District" means a community college district that is established pursuant to sections 15-1402 and 15-1403 or section 15-1402.01 and that is a political subdivision of this state and, unless otherwise specified, includes community college tuition financing districts established pursuant to section 15-1409.

8. "District board" means the community college district governing board.

9. "Full-time equivalent student" means student enrollment for fifteen community college semester credit units per semester.

10. "Open entry, open exit classes" means those classes in which students enter or exit based on mastery of specified competencies and that commence at various times during the fiscal year.

11. "Operational expense budget" means the budget as adopted by the district board pursuant to section 15-1461.

12. "Operational expenses" means the administration, instruction, operation of community college plant, maintenance of community college plant, fixed charges and contingencies incurred in the operation of a district, excluding all capital outlay items, special levies, auxiliary enterprise funds, restricted funds and bond service items.

13. "Provisional community college district" means a community college district that was organized pursuant to section 15-1409 and that began operations before January 1, 2015.