The Council on University Planning and Budgeting will discuss legislative bills that are affecting higher education at its meeting Friday.

Derek Markley, the special assistant to the president, will be discussing House Bills 1503, 1349, 149 and Senate Bill 1318.

One of the most important bills that will be brought forward deals with outcome-based funding for public universities.

Beginning fiscal year 2013, the annual budget request must incorporate performance-based funding. This is the result of the Board’s Higher Education Finance Study Commission, according to House Bill 1503. The board will have two fiscal years to implement this performance-based funding. Once the deadline passes, the board must update how the funding is calculated every six months and report to the governor and the General Assembly.

The other bills will detail debt collection, tuition waivers and state pensions.

“I believe that each bill I discuss has the opportunity to impact either students, employees, or the university as a whole,” Markley said. “We just have to see how the session progresses in order to determine which bills have a realistic chance of becoming law.”

Blair Lord, the vice president for academic affairs, will speak about the spring 2011 enrollment numbers and the revenue projections for the fall of 2011.

Also, Lord will discuss the cost of the Center for Energy Research and Education.

Eastern’s Board of Trustees approved the center on Jan. 14, which will be integrated into the Master Plan.

This center will be funded largely internally along with the support from the community, including $56,500 pledged by the Charleston Area Charitable Foundation.

Technology professor Peter Ping Liu and Robert Chesnut, the director of research and sponsored programs, developed the plan for the center.

There will also be an update of present names of positions and departments, said the CUPB Chairwoman Karla Evans, the executive director of philanthropy.

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812

or [email protected].