North Dakota Const. art. 8, § 6 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 8 / Section 6
1.
Status: in_force

Section 6.
1.
A board of higher education, to be officially known as the state board of higher 
education, is hereby created for the control and administration of the following state 
educational institutions, to wit:
a.
The state university and school of mines, at Grand Forks, with their substations.
b.
The  state  agricultural  college  and  experiment  station,  at  Fargo,  with  their 
substations.
c.
The school of science, at Wahpeton.
d.
The state normal schools and teachers colleges, at Valley City, Mayville, Minot, 
and Dickinson.
e.
The school of forestry, at Bottineau.
f.
And  such  other  state  institutions  of  higher  education  as  may hereafter  be 
established.
2.
a.
The state board of higher education consists of eight members. The governor 
shall appoint seven members who are qualified electors and taxpayers of the 
state, and who have resided in this state for not less than five years immediately 
preceding  their  appointments.  These  seven  appointments  are  subject  to 
confirmation by the senate.
The governor shall appoint as the eighth member of the board a full-time 
resident  student  in  good  academic  standing  at  an  institution  under  the 
jurisdiction of the state board. Except for the student member, no more than two 
Page No. 1

persons  holding a  bachelor's  degree from a  particular institution  under the 
jurisdiction of the state board of higher education may serve on the board at any 
one time. Except for the student member, no person employed by any institution 
under the control of the board shall serve as a member of the board and no 
employee of any such institution may be eligible for membership on the state 
board of higher education for a period of two years following the termination of 
employment.
The governor shall nominate from a list of three names for each position, 
selected by action of four of the following five persons: the president of the North 
Dakota  education  association,  the  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court,  the 
superintendent of public instruction, the president pro tempore of the senate, 
and the speaker of the house of representatives and, with the consent of a 
majority of the members-elect of the senate, shall appoint from the list to the 
state board of higher education seven members. The governor shall ensure that 
the board membership is maintained in a balanced and representative manner. 
The term of office of members appointed to fill vacancies at the expiration of 
said terms shall be for four years, and in the case of vacancies otherwise 
arising, appointments shall be made only for the balance of the term of the 
members whose places are to be filled. A member may not be appointed to 
serve for more than two terms. If a member is appointed to fill a vacancy and 
serves two or more years of that term, the member is deemed to have served 
one full term.
b.
In the event any nomination made by the governor is not consented to and 
confirmed  by  the  senate,  the  governor  shall  again  nominate  a  candidate 
selected from a new list. The nomination shall be submitted to the senate for 
confirmation and the proceedings shall continue until an appointee has been 
confirmed by the senate or the session of the legislature has adjourned.
c.
If a term expires or a vacancy occurs when the legislature is not in session, the 
governor may appoint from a list selected as provided, a member who shall 
serve until the opening of the next session of the legislature, at which time the 
appointment must be certified to the senate for confirmation. If the appointee is 
not confirmed by the thirtieth legislative day of the session, the office shall be 
deemed vacant and the governor shall nominate another candidate for the 
office. The same proceedings shall be followed as are set forth in this section. If 
the legislature is in session at any time within six months prior to the date of the 
expiration of the term of any member, the governor shall nominate a successor 
from a list selected as above set forth, within the first thirty days of the session 
and upon confirmation by the senate the successor shall take office at the 
expiration of the incumbent's term. No person who has been nominated and 
whose nomination the senate has failed to confirm is eligible for an interim 
appointment.  On  or  before  July  first  of  each  year,  beginning  in  1995,  the 
governor shall appoint a student member from a list of names recommended by 
the executive board of the North Dakota student association for a term of one 
year, beginning on July first. A student member may not serve more than two 
consecutive terms.
3.
The members of the state board of higher education may only be removed by 
impeachment for the offenses and in the manner and according to the procedure 
provided for the removal of the governor by impeachment proceedings.
4.
Each appointive member of the state board of higher education, except the student 
member, shall receive compensation set by the legislative assembly for the time 
actually spent devoted to the duties of the member's office. All members shall receive 
necessary expenses in the same manner and amounts as other state officials for 
attending meetings and performing other functions of their office.
Page No. 2

5.
The  legislature  shall  provide  adequate  funds  for  the proper  carrying  out of  the 
functions and duties of the state board of higher education.
6.
a.
The state board of higher education shall hold its first meeting at the office of the 
state board of administration at Bismarck, on the 6th day of July, 1939, and shall 
organize and elect one of its members as president of such board for a term of 
one  year.  It  shall  also  at  said  meeting,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  may be 
practicable, elect a competent person as secretary, who shall reside during his 
term of office in the city of Bismarck, North Dakota. Said secretary shall hold 
office  at  the  will  of  the  board.  As  soon  as  said  board  is  established  and 
organized,  it  shall  assume  all  the  powers  and  perform  all  the  duties  now 
conferred by law upon the board of administration in connection with the several 
institutions hereinbefore mentioned, and the said board of administration shall 
immediately upon the organization of said state board of higher education, 
surrender and transfer to said state board of higher education all duties, rights, 
and powers granted to it under the existing laws of this state concerning the 
institutions hereinbefore mentioned, together with all property, deeds, records, 
reports, and appurtenances of every kind belonging or appertaining to said 
institutions.
b.
The said state board of higher education shall have full authority over the 
institutions under its control with the right, among its other powers, to prescribe, 
limit, or modify the courses offered at the several institutions. In furtherance of 
its powers, the state board of higher education shall have the power to delegate 
to its employees details of the administration of the institutions under its control. 
The said state board of higher education shall have full authority to organize or 
reorganize  within  constitutional  and  statutory  limitations,  the  work  of  each 
institution under its control, and do each and everything necessary and proper 
for  the  efficient  and  economic  administration  of  said  state  educational 
institutions.
c.
Said  board  shall  prescribe  for  all  of  said  institutions  standard  systems  of 
accounts and records and shall biennially, and within six (6) months immediately 
preceding the regular session of the legislature, make a report to the governor, 
covering in detail the operations of the educational institutions under its control.
d.
It shall be the duty of the heads of the several state institutions hereinbefore 
mentioned, to submit the budget requests for the biennial appropriations for said 
institutions to said state board of higher education; and said state board of 
higher education shall consider said budgets and shall revise the same as in its 
judgment shall be for the best interests of the educational system of the state; 
and thereafter the state board of higher education shall prepare and present to 
the state budget board and to the legislature a single unified budget covering the 
needs of all the institutions under its control. "Said budget shall be prepared and 
presented  by  the  board  of  administration  until  the  state  board  of  higher 
education organizes as provided in subsection 6a."  The appropriations for all of 
said institutions shall be contained in one legislative measure. The budgets and 
appropriation  measures  for  the  agricultural  experiment  stations  and  their 
substations and the extension division of the North Dakota state university of 
agriculture and applied science may be separate from those of state educational 
institutions.
e.
The  said  state  board  of  higher  education  shall  have  the  control  of  the 
expenditure of the funds belonging to, and allocated to such institutions and also 
those appropriated by the legislature, for the institutions of higher education in 
this state; provided, however, that funds appropriated by the legislature and 
specifically designated for any one or more of such institutions, shall not be 
used for any other institution.
Page No. 3

7.
a.
The state board of higher education shall, as soon as practicable, appoint for a 
term of not to exceed three (3) years, a state commissioner of higher education, 
whose principal office shall be at the state capitol, in the city of Bismarck. Said 
commissioner of higher education shall be responsible to the state board of 
higher education and shall be removable by said board for cause.
b.
The  state  commissioner  of  higher  education  shall  be  a  graduate  of  some 
reputable college or university, and who by training and experience is familiar 
with the problems peculiar to higher education.
c.
Such commissioner of higher education shall be the chief executive officer of 
said state board of higher education, and shall perform such duties as shall be 
prescribed by the board.
8.
This  constitutional  provision  shall  be  self-executing  and  shall  become  effective 
without the necessity of legislative action.
Page No. 4