COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2635
(By Delegates L. White, Beane, Facemyer,
Doyle and Mezzatesta)
(Originating in the Committee on Education)
[February 12, 1999]
A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article one, chapter
eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to governing
boards of state institutions of higher education; board
powers and duties; and providing that all course work
credits taken at a state institution of higher education are
transferable to other state institutions of higher
education.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article one, chapter eighteen-b of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GOVERNANCE.
§18B-1-8. Powers and duties of governing boards generally.
(a) Each governing board
shall separately have separately
has the power and duty to:
(1) Determine, control, supervise and manage the financial,
business and educational policies and affairs of the state
institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction;
(2) Prepare a master plan for the state institutions of
higher education under its jurisdiction, setting forth the goals,
missions, degree offerings, resource requirements, physical plant
needs, state personnel needs, enrollment levels and other
planning determinates and projections necessary in such a plan to
assure that the needs of the state for a quality system of higher
education are addressed:
Provided, That the master plan for
post-secondary vocational education is subject to approval by the
joint commission for vocational-technical-occupational
education. The plan shall also address the roles and missions of
private post-secondary education providers in the state. Each
board shall involve the executive and legislative branches of
state government and the general public in the development of all
segments of the plan for post-secondary education in the state.
The plan shall be established for periods of not less than five
nor more than ten years and shall be periodically revised as
necessary, including the addition or deletion of degree programs
as, in the discretion of the boards, may be necessary. Whenever
a state institution of higher education desires to establish a
new degree program,
such the program proposal
shall may not be
implemented until
the same it is filed with both governing boards. Upon objection thereto within sixty days by either
governing board,
such the program proposal shall be filed with
the secretary of education and the arts, who shall approve or
disapprove
such the proposal within one year of
the filing of
said program proposal its filing;
(3) Prescribe and allocate among the state institutions of
higher education under its jurisdiction, in accordance with its
master plan, specific functions and responsibilities to meet the
higher education needs of the state and to avoid unnecessary
duplication;
(4) Consult with the executive branch and the Legislature in
the establishment of establishing funding parameters, priorities
and goals;
(5) Establish guidelines for and direct the preparation of
budget requests for each of the state institutions of higher
education under its jurisdiction, such requests to relate
directly to missions, goals and projections in its state master
plan;
(6) Consider, revise and submit to the appropriate agencies
of the executive and legislative branches of state government
separate budget requests on behalf of the state institutions of
higher education under its jurisdiction or a single budget for
the state institutions of higher education under its
jurisdiction:
Provided, That when a single budget is submitted, that budget shall be accompanied by a tentative schedule of
proposed allocations of funds to the separate state institutions
of higher education under its jurisdiction;
(7) Prepare and submit to the speaker of the House of
Delegates and the president of the Senate, no later than the
first day of each regular session of the Legislature and to any
member of the Legislature upon request, an analysis of the budget
request submitted under subdivision (6) of this subsection. The
analysis shall summarize all amounts and sources of funds outside
of the general revenue fund anticipated to be received by each
state institution of higher education under its jurisdiction and
the effect of
such those funds on the budget request;
(8) Prepare and submit to the legislative auditor, no later
than the first day of July of each year, the approved operating
budgets of each state institution of higher education under its
jurisdiction for the fiscal year beginning on that date and, no
later than the first day of August, a summary of federal and
other external funds received at each such institution during the
previous fiscal year;
(9) Establish a system of information and data management
that can be effectively utilized in the development and
management of higher education policy, mission and goals;
(10) Review, at least every five years, all academic
programs offered at the state institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction. The review shall address the viability,
adequacy and necessity of the programs in relation to its master
plan and the educational and work force needs of the state. As
a part of
such the review, each governing board shall require
each of its institutions to conduct periodic studies of its
graduates and their employers to determine placement patterns and
the effectiveness of the educational experience. Where
appropriate, these studies should make use of the studies
required of many academic disciplines by their accrediting
bodies. The governing boards shall also ensure that the sequence
and availability of academic programs and courses is such that
students have the maximum opportunity to complete programs in the
time frame normally associated with program completion, that the
needs of nontraditional college age students are appropriately
addressed, and that
core all course work completed at any state
institution of higher education is transferable to
another any
other state institution of higher education for credit with the
grade earned. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code
to the contrary, after the effective date of this section the
appropriate governing board
shall have has the exclusive
authority to approve the teacher education programs offered in
the institutions under their control. In order to permit
graduates of teacher education programs to receive a degree from
a nationally accredited program and in order to prevent expensive duplication of program accreditation, the boards may select and
utilize one nationally recognized teacher education program
accreditation standard as the appropriate standard for program
evaluation;
(11) Utilize faculty, students and classified staff in
institutional level planning and decision making when those
groups are affected;
(12) Administer a uniform system of personnel classification
and compensation for all employees other than faculty and policy
level administrators;
(13) Establish a uniform system for
the hearing
of employee
grievances and appeals therefrom, so that aggrieved parties may
be assured of timely and objective review;
(14) Solicit and utilize or expend voluntary support,
including financial contributions and support services, for the
state institutions of higher education;
(15) Appoint a president or other administrative head for
each institution of higher education from candidates submitted by
the search and screening committees of the institutional boards
of advisors pursuant to section one, article six of this chapter;
(16) Conduct written performance evaluations of each
institution's president in every fourth year of employment as
president, recognizing unique characteristics of the institution
and utilizing institutional personnel, institutional boards of advisors, staff of the appropriate governing board and persons
knowledgeable in higher education matters who are not otherwise
employed by a governing board;
(17) Submit to the joint committee on government and
finance, no later than the first day of December of each year, an
annual report of the performance of the system of higher
education under its jurisdiction during the previous fiscal year
as compared to stated goals in its master plan and budget
appropriations for that fiscal year; and
(18) The governing boards
shall have the power and authority
to enter into contracts or consortium agreements with the public
schools, private schools or private industry to provide
technical, vocational, college preparatory, remedial and
customized training courses at locations either on campuses of
public institutions of higher education or at off-campus
locations in
such the institutions' regional educational service
areas. To accomplish this goal, the boards are permitted to
share resources among the various groups in the community. The
governing boards shall promulgate uniform legislative rules
providing for entering into said contracts and consortium
agreements and for determining and granting credit for work
experience for courses offered by the consortium.
(b) The power, herein given to each governing board to
prescribe and allocate among the state institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction specific functions and
responsibilities to meet the higher educational needs of the
state and avoid unnecessary duplication,
shall may not be
restricted by any provision of law assigning specified functions
and responsibilities to designated state institutions of higher
education, and
such power shall supersede that power supersedes
any such provision of law:
Provided, That each governing board
may delegate, with prescribed standards and limitations,
such any
part of its power and control over the business affairs of a
particular state institution of higher education to the president
or other administrative head of
such state institution of higher
education the institution in any case where it
deems such
considers delegation necessary and prudent in order to enable
such the institution to function in a proper and expeditious
manner:
Provided, however, That
such delegation
shall may not be
interpreted to include classification of employees, lawful
appeals made by students in accordance with the appropriate
governing board's policy, lawful appeals made by faculty or staff
or final review of new or established academic or other programs.
Any
such delegation of power and control may be rescinded by the
appropriate governing board at any time, in whole or in part.
(c) The governing boards shall promulgate uniform
legislative rules
by the first day of September, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-three setting forth standards for acceptance of advanced placement credit for their respective institutions.
Individual departments at institutions of higher education may,
upon approval of the institutional faculty senate, require higher
scores on the advanced placement test than scores designated by
the appropriate governing board when the credit is to be used
toward meeting a requirement of the core curriculum for a major
in that department.
(d) Each governing board and/or an individual appointed by
the president of each institution shall consult, cooperate and
work with the state treasurer and the state auditor to develop an
efficient and cost-effective system for the financial management
and expenditure of special revenue and appropriated state funds
for higher education that ensures that properly submitted
requests for payment be paid on or before due date, but in any
event, within fifteen days of receipt in the state auditor's
office. The system shall be established and implemented as soon
as practical.
and the governing boards shall report to the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability
prior to the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-four, regarding the efficacy of the system
(e) The governing boards in consultation with the secretary
of the department of administration shall develop a plan.
and
report such plan to the legislative oversight commission on
education accountability by the first day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five. Such The plan shall
establish a consistent method of conducting personnel
transactions including, but not limited to, hiring, dismissal,
promotions and transfers at all institutions under their
jurisdiction. Each such personnel transaction shall be
accompanied by the appropriate standardized system or forms which
will be submitted to the respective governing boards, and the
department of finance and administration.
Such plan shall be
developed with a contemplated target implementation date of the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the governing boards and the secretary of education and
the arts
shall have the authority to transfer funds from any
account specifically appropriated for their use to any
corresponding line item in a general revenue account at any
agency or institution under their jurisdiction as long as
such
the transferred funds are used for the purposes appropriated.
The governing boards also
shall have the authority to transfer
funds from appropriated special revenue accounts for capital
improvements under their jurisdiction to special revenue accounts
at agencies or institutions under their jurisdiction as long as
such the transferred funds are used for the purposes
appropriated.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the governing boards or senior administrator may
acquire
such legal services as are deemed any legal services
necessary, including representation of the governing boards,
their institutions, employees and officers before any court or
administrative body.
Such Counsel may be employed either on a
salaried basis or on a reasonable fee basis. In addition, the
governing boards or senior administrator may, but are not
required to, call upon the attorney general for legal assistance
and representation as provided by law.