The primary purposes of the regional universities shall be to offer undergraduate and graduate education programs through the master's degree, including programs of a practical and applied nature, directed to the educational and professional needs of the residents of the regions they serve; to act as receiving institutions for transferring community college students; and to provide extended occupational and complementary studies programs that continue or are otherwise integrated with the educational services of the region's community colleges.
No college shall be eligible for designation as a regional university until it has been in operation for at least twenty years and has been authorized to offer master's degree programs in more than three fields.