Section 5. There shall be, for the purposes of this chapter, a system of public institutions of higher education, hereinafter called the system, which shall consist of the following segments: (i) the university of Massachusetts segment, which shall consist of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell and Worcester; (ii) the state university segment, which shall consist of Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Salem State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University; and (iii) the community college segment, which shall consist of Berkshire Community College, Bristol Community College, Bunker Hill Community College, Cape Cod Community College, Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, Massachusetts Bay Community College, Massasoit Community College, Middlesex Community College, Mount Wachusett Community College, Northern Essex Community College, North Shore Community College, Quinsigamond Community College, Roxbury Community College and Springfield Technical Community College.

The board shall coordinate activities among the public institutions of higher education and shall engage in advocacy on their behalf, which advocacy shall include a sustained program to inform the public of the needs, importance, and accomplishments of the public institutions of higher education in the commonwealth.