ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 448
(By Senators Plymale, Edgell,
Boley, Bowman, Caldwell, Dempsey, Hunter,
Oliverio, Sprouse, Unger and White)
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[Passed March 13, 2004; in effect from passage.]
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AN ACT to repeal §18B-1A-8 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; to repeal §18B-1B-7 of said code; to repeal §18B-3C-7
of said code; to repeal §18B-6-2a, §18B-6-3a, §18B-6-4a and
§18B-6-4b of said code; to amend and reenact §18-2-1 of said
code; to amend and reenact §18B-1-1a, §18B-1-2, §18B-1-3 and
§18B-1-6 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-1A-2,
§18B-1A-3, §18B-1A-4, §18B-1A-5 and §18B-1A-6 of said code; to
amend and reenact §18B-1B-1, §18B-1B-2, §18B-1B-4, §18B-1B-5
and §18B-1B-6 of said code; to amend said code by adding
thereto a new section, designated §18B-1B-11; to amend and
reenact §18B-2A-1 and §18B-2A-4 of said code; to amend said
code by adding thereto a new section, designated §18B-2A-6; to
amend and reenact §18B-2B-1, §18B-2B-2, §18B-2B-3, §18B-2B-4,
§18B-2B-5, §18B-2B-6, §18B-2B-7 and §18B-2B-8 of said code; to
amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated
§18B-2B-6a; to
amend and reenact §18B-2C-3 and §18B-2C-4 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-3C-2, §18B-3C-3,
§18B-3C-4, §18B-3C-5, §18B-3C-6, §18B-3C-8, §18B-3C-9,
§18B-3C-10 and §18B-3C-12 of said code; to amend and reenact
§18B-4-1, §18B-4-2 and §18B-4-7 of said code; to amend and
reenact §18B-5-4 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-6-1
and
§18B-6-1a
of said code; to amend said code by adding
thereto five new sections, designated §18B-6-2, §18B-6-3,
§18B-6-4, §18B-6-5 and §18B-6-6;
to amend and reenact §18B-7-1
of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a new
section, designated §18B-7-12; to amend and reenact §18B-9-1
and §18B-9-2 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-10-2 of
said code; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new
section, designated
§18B-10-1b, all relating to education
generally; higher education; community and technical college
education; post-secondary education; state board membership;
powers and duties of higher education policy commission and
council for community and technical college education; goals
for post-secondary education; definitions; transferring
certain rules and expanding and clarifying rule-making
authority; developing and approving institutional compacts and
master plans; establishing benchmarks and indicators;
authorizing emergency rule; selecting peer institutions;
legislative financing goals; budget authority of commission
and council; provision of baccalaureate and graduate education; reducing duration of certain grants; higher
education personnel; developing public policy agenda;
commission membership; consistency and cooperation among
commission, council and certain boards and groups;
establishing priorities and distributing funds for capital
projects; employment of staff; appointments to boards and
commissions; transfer of certain course credits; approval of
new institutions, programs and courses; employment of
chancellor for higher education; powers and duties;
evaluations and contracts; appointment of institutional
presidents; evaluations; role of governing and advisory
boards, commission and council in appointments; requiring
study of certain institutions providing post-secondary
education; requiring reports to legislative oversight
commission on education accountability; powers and duties of
governing boards and institutional boards of advisors;
authority of governing board in determining institutional
status; changing status of certain baccalaureate institutions;
establishing or continuing governing and advisory boards for
certain institutions; membership; terms of office; legislative
findings; employment of chancellor for community and technical
college education; evaluations and contracts; maintenance of
employee benefits; council membership and terms of office;
qualifications; jurisdiction and authority of council; employment of staff; tuition and fees; certain fee transfer;
developing standards for remedial and developmental courses;
higher education report card; authorization to withdraw
certain powers from a governing board; transfer and expansion
of certain administrative, programmatic and budgetary control;
establishing certain deadlines for commission and council;
transferring certain fund and authorizing expenditures;
employee transfer; powers and duties of chancellor;
establishing and conforming structure of certain advisory
groups; membership and terms of office; exceptions; meetings;
development of search and screening guidelines; establishing
certain advisory groups; clarifying certain expenses;
modifying deadline for attaining independent accreditation;
exceptions; council options; district consortia elimination;
community and technical college consortia districts
established; consortia powers, duties, responsibilities and
operation; modifying title of certain employees; continuation
in office; council authority over certain degree programs;
service and fee requirement modification and limitation;
employee reorganization; supervision of certain employees;
essential services; employment of vice chancellor for
administration; deadline for employment; modifying certain
purchasing and competitive bidding requirements; certain
employee seniority and displacement authority modification; duty of council regarding personnel classification system;
creation, collection and use of certain fees; and eliminating
certain obsolete provisions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18B-1A-8 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be repealed; that §18B-1B-7 of said code be repealed; that
§18B-3C-7 of said code be repealed; that §18B-6-2a, §18B-6-3a,
§18B-6-4a and §18B-6-4b of said code be repealed; that §18-2-1 of
said code be amended and reenacted; that §18B-1-1a, §18B-1-2,
§18B-1-3 and §18B-1-6 of said code be amended and reenacted; that
§18B-1A-2, §18B-1A-3, §18B-1A-4, §18B-1A-5 and §18B-1A-6 of said
code be amended and reenacted; that §18B-1B-1, §18B-1B-2,
§18B-1B-4, §18B-1B-5 and §18B-1B-6 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §18B-1B-11; that §18B-2A-1 and §18B-2A-4 of
said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by
adding thereto a new section, designated §18B-2A-6; that §18B-2B-1,
§18B-2B-2, §18B-2B-3, §18B-2B-4, §18B-2B-5, §18B-2B-6, §18B-2B-7
and §18B-2B-8 of said code be amended and reenacted;
that
said code
be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §18B-2B-6a;
that §18B-2C-3 and §18B-2C-4 of said code be amended and reenacted;
that §18B-3C-2, §18B-3C-3, §18B-3C-4, §18B-3C-5, §18B-3C-6,
§18B-3C-8, §18B-3C-9, §18B-3C-10 and §18B-3C-12 of said code be
amended and reenacted; that §18B-4-1, §18B-4-2 and §18B-4-7 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18B-5-4 of said code be
amended and reenacted; that §18B-6-1 and §18B-6-1a
of said code be
amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto
five new sections, designated §18B-6-2, §18B-6-3,
§18B-6-4,
§18B-6-5 and §18B-6-6; that §18B-7-1 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §18B-7-12; that §18B-9-1 and §18B-9-2 of said
code be amended and reenacted; that §18B-10-2 of said code be
amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding
thereto a new section, designated §18B-10-1b, all to read as
follows:
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-1. Creation; composition; appointment, qualifications, terms
and removal of members; offices.
There is a state board of education, to be known as the West
Virginia board of education, which is a corporation and as such may
contract and be contracted with, plead and be impleaded, sue and be
sued, and have and use a common seal. The state board consists of
twelve members, of whom one is the state superintendent of schools,
ex officio; one of whom is the chancellor of the higher education
policy commission, ex officio; and one of whom is the chancellor of
the West Virginia council for community and technical college
education, ex officio, none of whom is entitled to vote. The other nine members are citizens of the state, appointed by the governor,
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for overlapping
terms of nine years. Terms of office begin on the fifth day of
November of the appropriate year and end on the fourth day of
November of the appropriate year. At least two, but not more than
three, members are appointed from each congressional district.
No more than five of the appointive members may belong to the
same political party and no person is eligible for appointment to
membership on the state board who is a member of any political
party executive committee or holds any other public office or
public employment under the federal government or under the
government of this state or any of its political subdivisions, or
who is an appointee or employee of the board. Members are eligible
for reappointment. Any vacancy on the board shall be filled by the
governor by appointment for the unexpired term.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section four, article six,
chapter six of this code, a member of the state board may not be
removed from office by the governor except for official misconduct,
incompetence, neglect of duty or gross immorality and then only in
the manner prescribed by law for the removal by the governor of
state elective officers.
Before exercising any authority or performing any duties as a
member of the state board, each member shall qualify as such by
taking and subscribing to the oath of office prescribed by section five, article IV of the constitution of West Virginia, the
certificate whereof shall be filed with the secretary of state. A
suitable office in the state department of education at the state
capitol shall be provided for use by the state board.
CHAPTER 18B. HIGHER EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 1. GOVERNANCE.
§18B-1-1a. Goals for post-secondary education.
(a) Findings. -- The Legislature finds that post-secondary
education is vital to the future of West Virginia. For the state
to realize its considerable potential in the twenty-first century,
it must have a system for the delivery of post-secondary education
which is competitive in the changing national and global
environment, is affordable within the fiscal constraints of the
state and for the state's residents to participate and has the
capacity to deliver the programs and services necessary to meet
regional and statewide needs.
(1) West Virginia leads a national trend toward an aging
population wherein a declining percentage of working-age adults
will be expected to support a growing percentage of retirees.
Public school enrollments statewide have declined and will continue
to do so for the foreseeable future with a few notable exceptions
in growing areas of the state. As the state works to expand and
diversify its economy, it is vitally important that young people
entering the workforce from our education systems have the knowledge and skills to succeed in the economy of the twenty-first
century. It is equally important, however, that working-age adults
who are the large majority of the current and potential workforce
also possess the requisite knowledge and skills and the ability to
continue learning throughout their lifetimes. The reality for West
Virginia is that its future rests not only on how well its youth
are educated, but also on how well it educates its entire
population of any age.
(2) Post-secondary education is changing throughout the
nation. Place-bound adults, employers and communities are
demanding education and student services that are accessible at any
time, at any place and at any pace. Institutions are seizing the
opportunity to provide academic content and support services on a
global scale by designing new courseware, increasing information
technology-based delivery, increasing access to library and other
information resources and developing new methods to assess student
competency rather than "seat time" as the basis for recognizing
learning, allocating resources and ensuring accountability. In
this changing environment, the state must take into account the
continuing decline in the public school-age population, the limits
of its fiscal resources and the imperative need to serve the
educational needs of working-age adults. West Virginia cannot
afford to finance quality higher education systems that aspire to
offer a full array of programs while competing among themselves for a dwindling pool of traditional applicants. The competitive
position of the state and its institutions will depend
fundamentally on its capacity to reinforce the quality and
differentiation of its institutions through policies that encourage
focus and collaboration.
(3) The accountability system in West Virginia must be well
equipped to address cross-cutting issues such as regional economic
and workforce development, community and technical college
services, collaboration with the public schools to improve quality
and student participation rates, access to graduate education and
other broad issues of state interest. Severe fiscal constraints
require West Virginia to make maximum use of existing assets to
meet new demands. New investments must be targeted to those
initiatives designed to enhance and reorient existing capacity,
provide incentives for collaboration and focus on the new demands.
It must have a single accountability point for developing, building
consensus around and sustaining attention to the public policy
agenda and for allocating resources consistent with this policy
agenda.
(4) The state should make the best use of the expertise that
private institutions of higher education can offer and recognize
the importance of their contributions to the economic, social and
cultural well-being of their communities.
(5) The system of public higher education should be open and accessible to all persons, including persons with disabilities and
other persons with special needs.
(b) Compact with higher education. -- In pursuance of these
findings, it is the intent of the Legislature to engage higher
education in a statewide compact for the future of West Virginia,
as provided in article one-a of this chapter, that focuses on a
public policy agenda that includes, but is not limited to, the
following:
(1) Diversifying and expanding the economy of the state;
(2) Increasing the competitiveness of the state's workforce
and the availability of professional expertise by increasing the
number of college degrees produced to the level of the national
average and significantly improving the level of adult functional
literacy; and
(3) Creating a system of higher education that is equipped to
succeed at producing these results.
(c) Elements of the compact with higher education. -- It is
the intent of the Legislature that the compact with higher
education include the following elements:
(1) A step-by-step process, as provided in articles one-b and
three-c of this chapter, which will enable the state to achieve its
public policy agenda through a system of higher education equipped
to assist in producing the needed results. This process includes,
but is not limited to, separate institutional compacts with state institutions of higher education that describe changes in
institutional missions in the areas of research, graduate
education, admission standards, community and technical college
education and geographical areas of responsibility to accomplish
the following:
(A) A capacity within higher education to conduct research to
enhance West Virginia in the eyes of the larger economic and
educational community and to provide a basis for West Virginia's
improved capacity to compete in the new economy through research
oriented to state needs;
(B) Access to stable and continuing graduate-level programs in
every region of the state, particularly in teacher education
related to teaching within a subject area to improve teacher
quality;
(C) Universities, colleges and community and technical
colleges that have focused missions, individual points of
distinction and quality and strong links with the educational,
economic and social revitalization of their regions and the state
of West Virginia;
(D) Greater access and capacity to deliver technical
education, workforce development and other higher education
services to place-bound adults, thus improving the general levels
of post-secondary educational attainment and literacy;
(E) Independently accredited community and technical colleges in every region of the state that:
(i) Assess regional needs;
(ii) Ensure access to comprehensive community and technical
college and workforce development services within each of their
respective regions;
(iii) Convene and serve as a catalyst for local action in
collaboration with regional leaders, employers and other
educational institutions;
(iv) Provide and, as necessary, broker educational services;
(v) Provide necessary student services;
(vi) Fulfill such other aspects of the community and technical
college mission and general provisions for community and technical
colleges as provided for in article three-c of this chapter; and
(vii) Maximize use of existing infrastructure and resources
within their regions to increase access, including, but not limited
to, vocational technical centers, schools, libraries, industrial
parks and work sites.
(2) Providing additional resources, subject to availability
and appropriation by the Legislature as provided in article one-a
of this chapter, to make the state institutions of higher education
more competitive with their peers, to assist them in accomplishing
the elements of the public policy agenda and to ensure the
continuity of academic programs and services to students.
(3) Establishing a process for the allocation of additional resources which focuses on achieving the elements of the public
policy agenda and streamlines accountability for the step-by-step
progress toward achieving these elements within a reasonable time
frame as provided in article one-a of this chapter.
(4) Providing additional flexibility to the state institutions
of higher education by making permanent the exceptions granted to
higher education relating to travel rules and vehicles pursuant to
sections forty-eight through fifty-three, inclusive, article three,
chapter five-a of this code and section eleven, article three,
chapter twelve of this code.
(5) Revising the higher education governance structure to make
it more responsive to state and regional needs.
(d) General goals for post-secondary education. -- In
pursuance of the findings and the development of institutional
compacts with higher education for the future of West Virginia
pursuant to article one-a of this chapter, it is the intent of the
Legislature to establish general goals for post-secondary education
and to have the commission and council report the progress toward
achieving these goals in the higher education report card required
pursuant to section eight, article one-b of this chapter and, where
applicable, have the goals made a part of the institutional
compacts. The Legislature establishes the general goals as
follows:
(1) The overall focus of education is on a lifelong process which is to be as seamless as possible at all levels and is to
encourage citizens of all ages to increase their knowledge and
skills. Efforts in pursuit of this goal include, but are not
limited to, the following:
(A) Collaboration, coordination and interaction between public
and post-secondary education to:
(i) Improve the quality of public education, particularly with
respect to ensuring that the needs of public schools for teachers
and administrators are met;
(ii) Inform public school students, their parents and teachers
of the academic preparation that students need to be prepared
adequately to succeed in their selected fields of study and career
plans, including academic career fairs; and
(iii) Improve instructional programs in the public schools so
that the students enrolling in post-secondary education are
adequately prepared;
(B) Collaboration, coordination and interaction among public
and post-secondary education, the governor's council on literacy
and the governor's workforce investment office to promote the
effective and efficient utilization of workforce investment and
other funds to:
(i) Provide to individuals and employers greatly improved
access to information and services on education and training
programs, financial assistance, labor markets and job placement;
(ii) Increase awareness among the state's citizens of the
opportunities available to them to improve their basic literacy,
workforce and post-secondary skills and credentials; and
(iii) Improve citizens' motivation to take advantage of
available opportunities by making the system more seamless and user
friendly;
(C) Collaboration, coordination and interaction between public
and post-secondary education on the development of seamless
curriculum in technical preparation programs of study between the
secondary and post-secondary levels; and
(D) Opportunities for advanced high school students to obtain
college credit prior to high school graduation.
(2) The number of degrees produced per capita by West Virginia
institutions of higher education is at the national average.
Efforts in pursuit of this goal include, but are not limited to,
the following:
(A) Collaboration, coordination and interaction between public
and post-secondary education, the governor's council on literacy
and the governor's workforce investment office to promote to
individuals of all ages the benefits of increased post-secondary
educational attainment;
(B) Assistance in overcoming the financial barriers to
post-secondary education for both traditional and nontraditional
students;
(C) An environment within post-secondary education that is
student-friendly and that encourages and assists students in the
completion of degree requirements within a reasonable time frame.
The environment also should expand participation for the
increasingly diverse student population;
(D) A spirit of entrepreneurship and flexibility within
post-secondary education that is responsive to the needs of the
current workforce and other nontraditional students for upgrading
and retraining college-level skills; and
(E) The expanded use of technology for instructional delivery
and distance learning.
(3) All West Virginians, whether traditional or nontraditional
students, displaced workers or those currently employed, have
access to post-secondary educational opportunities through their
community and technical colleges, colleges and universities which:
(A) Are relevant and affordable;
(B) Allow them to gain transferrable credits and associate or
higher level degrees;
(C) Provide quality technical education and skill training;
and
(D) Are responsive to business, industry, labor and community
needs.
(4) State institutions of higher education prepare students to
practice good citizenship and to compete in a global economy in which good jobs require an advanced level of education and skill
which far surpasses former requirements. Efforts in pursuit of
this goal include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) The development of entrepreneurial skills through programs
such as the rural entrepreneurship through action learning (REAL)
program, which include practical experience in market analysis,
business plan development and operations;
(B) Elements of citizenship development are included across
the curriculum in core areas, including practical applications such
as community service, civic involvement and participation in
charitable organizations and in the many opportunities for the
responsible exercise of citizenship that higher education
institutions provide;
(C) Students are provided opportunities for internships,
externships, work study and other methods to increase their
knowledge and skills through practical application in a work
environment;
(D) College graduates meet or exceed national and
international standards for skill levels in reading, oral and
written communications, mathematics, critical thinking, science and
technology, research and human relations;
(E) College graduates meet or exceed national and
international standards for performance in their fields through
national accreditation of programs and through outcomes assessment of graduates; and
(F) Admission and exit standards for students, professional
staff development, program assessment and evaluation and other
incentives are used to improve teaching and learning.
(5) State institutions of higher education exceed peer
institutions in other states in measures of institutional
productivity and administrative efficiency. Efforts in pursuit of
this goal include, but are not limited to:
(A) The establishment of systematic ongoing mechanisms for
each state institution of higher education to set goals, to measure
the extent to which those goals are met and to use the results of
quantitative evaluation processes to improve institutional
effectiveness;
(B) The combination and use of resources, technology and
faculty to their maximum potential in a way that makes West
Virginia higher education more productive than its peer
institutions in other states while maintaining educational quality;
and
(C) The use of systemic program review to determine how much
duplication is necessary to maintain geographic access and to
eliminate unnecessary duplication.
(6) Post-secondary education enhances state efforts to
diversify and expand the economy of the state. Efforts in pursuit
of this goal include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) The focus of resources on programs and courses which offer
the greatest opportunities for students and the greatest
opportunity for job creation and retention in the state;
(B) The focus of resources on programs supportive of West
Virginia employment opportunities and the emerging high-technology
industries;
(C) Closer linkages among higher education and business,
labor, government and community and economic development
organizations; and
(D) Clarification of institutional missions and shifting of
resources to programs which meet the current and future workforce
needs of the state.
(7) Faculty and administrators are compensated at a level
competitive with peer institutions to attract and keep quality
personnel at state institutions of higher education.
(8) The tuition and fee levels for in-state students are
competitive with those of peer institutions and the tuition and fee
levels for out-of-state students are set at a level which at least
covers the full cost of instruction.
§18B-1-2. Definitions.
The following words when used in this chapter and chapter
eighteen-c of this code have the meaning hereinafter ascribed to
them unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
(a) Effective the first day of July, two thousand five, "regional campus" means West Virginia university at Parkersburg and
West Virginia university institute of technology.
(b)"Governing boards" or "boards" means the institutional
boards of governors created pursuant to section one, article two-a
of this chapter;
(c) "Freestanding community and technical colleges" means
southern West Virginia community and technical college, West
Virginia northern community and technical college and eastern West
Virginia community and technical college which may not be operated
as branches or off-campus locations of any other state institution
of higher education;
(d) "Community college" or "community colleges" means community
and technical college or colleges as those terms are defined in this
section;
(e) "Community and technical college", in the singular or
plural, means the freestanding community and technical colleges and
other state institutions of higher education which deliver community
and technical college education. This definition includes southern
West Virginia community and technical college, West Virginia
northern community and technical college, eastern West Virginia
community and technical college, New River community and technical
college, West Virginia university at Parkersburg, the community and
technical college at West Virginia university institute of
technology, the community and technical college of Shepherd, Fairmont state community and technical college, Marshall community
and technical college and West Virginia state community and
technical college;
(f) "Community and technical college education" means the
programs, faculty, administration and funding associated with the
mission of community and technical colleges as provided in article
three-c of this chapter;
(g) "Essential conditions" means those conditions which shall
be met by community and technical colleges as provided in section
three, article three-c of this chapter;
(h) "Higher education institution" means any institution as
defined by Sections 401(f), (g) and (h) of the federal Higher
Education Facilities Act of 1963, as amended;
(i) "Higher education policy commission", "policy commission"
or "commission" means the commission created pursuant to section
one, article one-b of this chapter;
(j) "Chancellor for higher education" means the chief executive
officer of the higher education policy commission employed pursuant
to section five, article one-b of this chapter;
(k) "Chancellor for community and technical college education"
means the chief executive officer of the West Virginia council for
community and technical college education employed pursuant to
section three, article two-b of this chapter;
(l) "Chancellor" means the chancellor for higher education where the context refers to a function of the higher education
policy commission. "Chancellor" means chancellor for community and
technical college education where the context refers to a function
of the West Virginia council for community and technical college
education;
(m) "Institutional operating budget" or "operating budget"
means for any fiscal year an institution's total unrestricted
education and general funding from all sources in the prior fiscal
year, including, but not limited to, tuition and fees and
legislative appropriation, and any adjustments to that funding as
approved by the commission or council based on comparisons with peer
institutions or to reflect consistent components of peer operating
budgets;
(n) "Community and technical college education program" means
any college-level course or program beyond the high school level
provided through a public institution of higher education resulting
in or which may result in a two-year associate degree award
including an associate of arts, an associate of science and an
associate of applied science; certificate programs and skill sets;
developmental education; continuing education; collegiate credit and
noncredit workforce development programs; and transfer and
baccalaureate parallel programs. All such programs are under the
jurisdiction of the council. Any reference to "post-secondary
vocational education programs" means community and technical college education programs as defined in this subsection;
(o) "Rule" or "rules" means a regulation, standard, policy or
interpretation of general application and future effect;
(p) For the purposes of this chapter and chapter eighteen-c of
this code, "senior administrator" means the vice chancellor for
administration employed by the commission with the advice and
consent of the council in accordance with section two, article four
of this chapter;
(q) "State college" means Bluefield state college, Concord
college, Fairmont state college, Glenville state college, Shepherd
college, West Liberty state college or West Virginia state college;
(r) "State institution of higher education" means any
university, college or community and technical college under the
jurisdiction of a governing board as that term is defined in this
section;
(s) Until the first day of July, two thousand five, "regional
campus" means West Virginia university at Parkersburg, Potomac state
college of West Virginia university and West Virginia university
institute of technology;
(t) The advisory board previously appointed for the West
Virginia graduate college is known as the "board of visitors" and
shall provide guidance to the Marshall university graduate college;
(u) "Institutional compact" means the compact between the
commission or council and a state institution of higher education under its jurisdiction, as described in section two, article one-a
of this chapter;
(v) "Peer institutions", "peer group" or "peers" means public
institutions of higher education used for comparison purposes and
selected by the commission pursuant to section three, article one-a
of this chapter;
(w) "Administratively linked community and technical college"
means a community and technical college created pursuant to section
eight, article three-c of this chapter;
(x) "Sponsoring institution" means a state institution of
higher education that maintains an administrative link to a
community and technical college pursuant to section eight, article
three-c of this chapter;
(y) "Collaboration" means entering into an agreement with one
or more providers of education services in order to enhance the
scope, quality or efficiency of education services;
(z) "Broker" or "brokering" means serving as an agent on behalf
of students, employers, communities or responsibility areas to
obtain education services not offered at that institution. These
services include courses, degree programs or other services
contracted through an agreement with a provider of education
services either in-state or out-of-state; and
(aa) "Council" means the West Virginia council for community
and technical college education created pursuant to article two-b of this chapter.
§18B-1-3. Transfer of powers, duties, property, obligations, etc.
(a) All powers, duties and authorities transferred to the board
of regents pursuant to former provisions of chapter eighteen of this
code and transferred to the board of trustees and board of directors
which were created as the governing boards pursuant to the former
provisions of this chapter and all powers, duties and authorities
of the board of trustees and board of directors, to the extent they
are in effect on the seventeenth day of June, two thousand, are
hereby transferred to the interim governing board created in article
one-c of this chapter and shall be exercised and performed by the
interim governing board until the first day of July, two thousand
one, as such powers, duties and authorities may apply to the
institutions under its jurisdiction.
(b) Title to all property previously transferred to or vested
in the board of trustees and the board of directors and property
vested in either of the boards separately, formerly existing under
the provisions of this chapter, are hereby transferred to the
interim governing board created in article one-c of this chapter
until the first day of July, two thousand one. Property transferred
to or vested in the board of trustees and board of directors shall
include:
(1) All property vested in the board of governors of West
Virginia university and transferred to and vested in the West Virginia board of regents;
(2) All property acquired in the name of the state board of
control or the West Virginia board of education and used by or for
the state colleges and universities and transferred to and vested
in the West Virginia board of regents;
(3) All property acquired in the name of the state commission
on higher education and transferred to and vested in the West
Virginia board of regents; and
(4) All property acquired in the name of the board of regents
and transferred to and vested in the respective board of trustees
and board of directors.
(c) Each valid agreement and obligation previously transferred
to or vested in the board of trustees and board of directors
formerly existing under the provisions of this chapter is hereby
transferred to the interim governing board until the first day of
July, two thousand one, as those agreements and obligations may
apply to the institutions under its jurisdiction. Valid agreements
and obligations transferred to the board of trustees and board of
directors shall include:
(1) Each valid agreement and obligation of the board of
governors of West Virginia university transferred to and deemed the
agreement and obligation of the West Virginia board of regents;
(2) Each valid agreement and obligation of the state board of
education with respect to the state colleges and universities transferred to and deemed the agreement and obligation of the West
Virginia board of regents;
(3) Each valid agreement and obligation of the state commission
on higher education transferred to and deemed the agreement and
obligation of the West Virginia board of regents; and
(4) Each valid agreement and obligation of the board of regents
transferred to and deemed the agreement and obligation of the
respective board of trustees and board of directors.
(d) All orders, resolutions and rules adopted or promulgated
by the respective board of trustees and board of directors and in
effect immediately prior to the first day of July, two thousand, are
hereby transferred to the interim governing board until the first
day of July, two thousand one, and shall continue in effect and
shall be deemed the orders, resolutions and rules of the interim
governing board until rescinded, revised, altered or amended by the
commission or the governing boards in the manner and to the extent
authorized and permitted by law. Such orders, resolutions and rules
shall include:
(1) Those adopted or promulgated by the board of governors of
West Virginia university and in effect immediately prior to the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred sixty-nine, unless and
until rescinded, revised, altered or amended by the board of regents
in the manner and to the extent authorized and permitted by law;
(2) Those respecting state colleges and universities adopted or promulgated by the West Virginia board of education and in effect
immediately prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred sixty-nine, unless and until rescinded, revised, altered or
amended by the board of regents in the manner and to the extent
authorized and permitted by law;
(3) Those adopted or promulgated by the state commission on
higher education and in effect immediately prior to the first day
of July, one thousand nine hundred sixty-nine, unless and until
rescinded, revised, altered or amended by the board of regents in
the manner and to the extent authorized and permitted by law; and
(4) Those adopted or promulgated by the board of regents prior
to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine,
unless and until rescinded, revised, altered or amended by the
respective board of trustees or board of directors in the manner and
to the extent authorized and permitted by law.
(e) Title to all real property transferred to or vested in the
interim governing board pursuant to this section of the code is
hereby transferred to the commission effective the first day of
July, two thousand one. The board of governors for each institution
may request that the commission transfer title to the board of
governors of any real property specifically identifiable with that
institution or the commission may initiate the transfer. Any such
request must be made within two years of the effective date of this
section and be accompanied by an adequate legal description of the property.
The title to any real property that is jointly utilized by
institutions or for statewide programs under the jurisdiction of the
commission shall be retained by the commission.
(f) Ownership of or title to any other property, materials,
equipment or supplies obtained or purchased by the interim governing
board or the previous governing boards on behalf of an institution
is hereby transferred to the board of governors of that institution
effective the first day of July, two thousand one.
(g) Each valid agreement and obligation previously transferred
or vested in the interim governing board and which was undertaken
or agreed to on behalf of an institution or institutions is hereby
transferred to the board of governors of the institution or
institutions for whose benefit the agreement was entered into or the
obligation undertaken effective the first day of July, two thousand
one.
(1) The obligations contained in revenue bonds issued by the
previous governing boards under the provisions of section eight,
article ten of this chapter and article twelve-b, chapter eighteen
of this code are hereby transferred to the commission and each
institution shall transfer to the commission those funds the
commission determines are necessary to pay that institution's share
of bonded indebtedness.
(2) The obligations contained in revenue bonds issued on behalf of a state institution of higher education pursuant to any other
section of this code is hereby transferred to the board of governors
of the institution on whose behalf the bonds were issued.
(h) All orders, resolutions, policies and rules:
(1) Adopted or promulgated by the respective board of trustees,
board of directors or interim governing board and in effect
immediately prior to the first day of July, two thousand one, are
hereby transferred to the commission effective the first day of
July, two thousand one, and continue in effect until rescinded,
revised, altered, amended or transferred to the governing boards by
the commission as provided in this section and in section six of
this article.
(2) Adopted or promulgated by the commission relating solely
to community and technical colleges or community and technical
college education, or rules which the council finds necessary for
the exercise of its lawful powers and duties pursuant to the
provisions of this chapter, may be adopted by the council and
continue in effect until rescinded, revised, altered, amended or
transferred to the governing boards under the jurisdiction of the
council pursuant to section six of this article. Nothing in this
section requires the initial rules of the commission that are
adopted by the council to be promulgated again under the procedure
set forth in article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
unless such rules are rescinded, revised, altered or amended.
(3) Adopted or promulgated by the commission relating to
multiple types of public institutions of higher education or
community and technical college education as well as baccalaureate
and post-baccalaureate education are transferred to the council in
part as follows:
(A) That portion of the rule relating solely to community and
technical colleges or community and technical college education is
transferred to the council and continues in effect until rescinded,
revised, altered, amended or transferred to the governing boards by
the council as provided in this section and in section six of this
article;
(B) That portion of the rule relating to institutions or
education other than community and technical colleges is retained
by the commission and continues in effect until rescinded, revised,
altered, amended or transferred to the governing boards by the
commission as provided in this section and in section six of this
article.
(i) The commission may, in its sole discretion, transfer any
rule, other than a legislative rule, to the jurisdiction of the
governing boards of the institutions under its jurisdiction who may
rescind, revise, alter or amend any rule so transferred pursuant to
rules adopted by the commission pursuant to section six of this
article.
The council may, in its sole discretion, transfer any rule, other than a legislative rule, to the jurisdiction of the governing
boards of the institutions under its jurisdiction who may rescind,
revise, alter or amend any rule so transferred pursuant to rules
adopted by the council pursuant to section six of this article.
(j) As to any title, agreement, obligation, order, resolution,
rule or any other matter about which there is some uncertainty,
misunderstanding or question, the matter shall be summarized in
writing and sent to the commission which shall make a determination
regarding such matter within thirty days of receipt thereof.
(k) Rules or provisions of law which refer to other provisions
of law which were repealed, rendered inoperative or superseded by
the provisions of this section shall remain in full force and effect
to such extent as may still be applicable to higher education and
may be so interpreted. Such references include, but are not limited
to, references to sections and prior enactments of article
twenty-six, chapter eighteen of this code and code provisions
relating to retirement, health insurance, grievance procedures,
purchasing, student loans and savings plans. Any determination
which needs to be made regarding applicability of any provision of
law shall first be made by the commission.
§18B-1-6. Rulemaking.
(a) The commission is hereby empowered to promulgate, adopt,
amend or repeal rules, in accordance with the provisions of article
three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, subject to the provisions of section three of this article.
(b) The council is hereby empowered to promulgate, adopt, amend
or repeal rules, in accordance with the provisions of article
three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code and subject to the
provisions of section three of this article. This grant of rule-
making power extends only to those areas over which the council has
been granted specific authority and jurisdiction by law.
(c) The commission and council each shall promulgate a rule to
guide the development and approval of rules, guidelines and other
policy statements made by their respective governing boards. The
rules promulgated by the commission and council shall include, but
are not limited to, the following provisions:
(1) A procedure to ensure that public notice is given and that
the right of interested parties to have a fair and adequate
opportunity to respond is protected;
(2) Designation of a single location where all proposed and
approved rules, guidelines and other policy statements can be
accessed by the public;
(3) A procedure to maximize internet access to all proposed and
approved rules, guidelines and other policy statements to the extent
technically and financially feasible.
(d) On and after the effective date of this section, and
notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary,
any rule heretofore required by law to be promulgated as a legislative rule prior to the first day of July, two thousand one,
may not be considered to be a legislative rule for the purposes of
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code except for the
following:
(1) The legislative rule required by subsection (c), section
eight of this article;
(2) The legislative rule required by section eight-a of this
article;
(3) The legislative rule required by section two, article one-a
of this chapter;
(4) The legislative rule required by section four, article
one-b of this chapter;
(5) The legislative rule required by section one, article
three, chapter eighteen-c of this code;
(6) The legislative rule required by section one, article four,
chapter eighteen-c of this code;
(7) The legislative rule required by section seven, article
five, chapter eighteen-c of this code; and
(8) The legislative rule required by section one, article six,
chapter eighteen-c of this code.
(e) Nothing in this section requires that any rule
reclassified or transferred under this section be promulgated again
under the procedures set out in article three-a, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code unless the rule is amended or modified.
(f) The commission and council each shall file with the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability any
rule it proposes to promulgate, adopt, amend or repeal under the
authority of this article.
ARTICLE 1A. COMPACT WITH HIGHER EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE OF WEST
VIRGINIA.
§18B-1A-2. Institutional compacts with state institutions of
higher education; establishment and review process.
(a) Each state college and university shall prepare an
institutional compact for submission to the commission. Each
community and technical college shall prepare an institutional
compact for submission to the council. When the process herein
provided is completed, the institutional compacts shall form the
agreements between the institutions of higher education and the
commission or council, respectively, and, ultimately, between the
institutions of higher education and the people of West Virginia on
how the institutions will use their resources to address the intent
of the Legislature and the goals set forth in section one-a, article
one of this chapter. The compacts shall contain the following:
(1) A step-by-step process to accomplish the intent of the
Legislature and the goals set forth in section one-a, article one
of this chapter as organized by the commission and council. The
step-by-step process shall be delineated by objectives and shall set
forth a time line for achieving the objectives which shall, where applicable, include benchmarks to measure institutional progress as
defined in subsection (e) of this section.
(2) A determination of the mission of the institution which
specifically addresses changes, as applicable, in the areas of
research, graduate education, baccalaureate education, revised
admission requirements, community and technical colleges and such
other areas as the commission or council determines appropriate.
In the determination of mission, the institutions and the commission
or council shall consider the report completed by the national
center for higher education management systems pursuant to the
legislative study as provided in section seven, article three of
this chapter;
(3) A plan which is calculated to make any changes in
institutional mission and structure within a six-year period;
(4) A statement of the geographic areas of responsibility,
where applicable, for each goal to be accomplished as provided in
subsection (d) of this section;
(5) A detailed statement of how the compact is aligned with and
will be implemented in conjunction with the master plan of the
institution;
(6) Such other items, requirements or initiatives, required by
the commission or council, designed to accomplish the intent of the
Legislature and the goals set forth in section one-a, article one
of this chapter or other public policy goals established by the commission or council.
(b) Each institutional compact shall be updated annually and
shall follow the same general guidelines contained in subsection (a)
of this section.
(c) Development and updating of the institutional compacts is
subject to the following:
(1) The ultimate responsibility for developing and updating the
institutional compacts at the institutional level resides with the
institutional board of advisors or the board of governors, as
appropriate;
(2) The ultimate responsibility for developing and adopting the
final version of the state college and university institutional
compacts resides with the commission. The ultimate responsibility
for developing and adopting the final version of the community and
technical college institutional compacts resides with the council;
(3) Each institution shall submit its compact to the commission
or council annually by the fifteenth day of November;
(4) The commission and council shall review each compact of the
institutions under their respective jurisdictions and either adopt
the compact or return it with specific comments for change or
improvement. The commission and council shall continue this process
as long as each considers advisable;
(5) By the first day of May annually, if the institutional
compact of any institution as presented by that institution is not adopted by the commission or council, then the commission or council
is empowered and directed to develop and adopt the institutional
compact for the institution and the institution is bound by the
compact so adopted; and
(6) As far as practicable, the commission and council each
shall establish uniform processes and forms for the development and
submission of the institutional compacts by the institutions under
their respective jurisdictions. As a part of this function, the
commission and council shall organize the statements of legislative
intent and goals contained in section one-a, article one of this
chapter in a manner that facilitates the purposes of this
subdivision and the purposes of this section.
(d) The commission and council shall assign geographic areas
of responsibility to the state institutions of higher education
under their respective jurisdictions as a part of their
institutional compacts to ensure that all areas of the state are
provided necessary programs and services to achieve the public
policy agenda. The benchmarks established in the institutional
compacts shall include measures of programs and services by
geographic area throughout the assigned geographic area of
responsibility.
(e) The compacts shall contain benchmarks used to determine
progress toward meeting the goals established in the compacts. The
benchmarks shall meet the following criteria:
(1) They shall be as objective as possible;
(2) They shall be directly linked to the goals in the compacts;
(3) They shall be measured by the indicators described in
subsection (f) of this section; and
(4) Where applicable, they shall be used to measure progress
in geographic areas of responsibility.
(f) The commission and council each shall establish by
legislative rule indicators which measure the degree to which the
goals and objectives set forth in section one-a, article one of this
chapter are being addressed and met by the institutions under their
respective jurisdictions. The benchmarks established in subsection
(e) of this section shall be measured by the indicators.
(1) The Legislature finds that an emergency exists; therefore,
not later than the first day of October, two thousand four, the
council shall file as an emergency rule a legislative rule
pertaining to benchmarks and indicators in accordance with the
provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
The rule pertaining to benchmarks and indicators in effect for the
commission at the time of the effective date of this section remains
in effect for the institutions under its jurisdiction.
(2) The legislative rules shall set forth at the least the
following as pertains to all state institutions of higher education:
(A) The indicators used to measure the degree to which the
goals and objectives are being met;
(B) Uniform definitions for the various data elements to be
used in establishing the indicators;
(C) Guidelines for the collection and reporting of data; and
(D) Sufficient detail within the benchmarks and indicators to:
(i) Provide measurable evidence that the pursuits of the
institution are targeting the educational needs of the citizens of
the state and the components of the compacts and master plans;
(ii) Delineate the goals and benchmarks for an institution so
that the commission or council can precisely measure the degree to
which progress is being made toward achieving the goals for
post-secondary education provided in section one-a, article one of
this chapter; and
(iii) Distinctly identify specific goals within the master plan
or compact of an institution that are not being met or toward which
sufficient progress is not being made.
(3) In addition to any other requirement, the legislative rule
established by the council shall set forth at the least the
following as pertains to community and technical college education:
(A) Benchmarks and indicators which are targeted to identify:
(i) The degree to which progress is being made by institutions
toward meeting the goals for post-secondary education and the
essential conditions provided in section three, article three-c of
this chapter;
(ii) Information and data necessary to be considered by the council in making the determination required by section three,
article two-c of this chapter;
(iii) The degree to which progress is being made in the areas
considered by the council for the purpose of making the
determination required by section three, article two-c of this
chapter; and
(B) Sufficient detail within the benchmarks and indicators to
provide clear evidence to support an objective determination by the
council that an institution's progress toward achieving the goals
for post-secondary education and the essential conditions is so
deficient that implementation of the provisions of section four,
article two-c of this chapter is warranted and necessary.
(g) The commission or the council, as appropriate, shall
approve the master plans developed by the boards of governors and
the institutional boards of advisors pursuant to section four,
article two-a of this chapter or section one, article six of this
chapter, as appropriate.
§18B-1A-3. Peer institutions.
(a) The commission shall select not fewer than ten peer
institutions for each state institution of higher education in West
Virginia, including, but not limited to, independently accredited
community and technical colleges.
(b) When selecting peers, the commission shall abide by the
following conditions:
(1) The peer institutions shall be selected from among
institutions throughout the United States and not solely from the
states that are members of the southern regional education board.
(2) The peer institutions for community and technical colleges
shall be selected in collaboration with the council.
(3) The peer institutions, as selected by the commission, shall
be used as benchmarks for comparison purposes only and are not
intended to reflect funding goals for West Virginia institutions of
higher education. Such a use is inappropriate since institutions
selected as peers for a state institution may be located in an area
of high per capita income or have their funding subject to other
factors that make its use unrealistic for setting funding goals in
West Virginia. The peer institutions shall be used for comparison
in the following areas:
(A) To determine adjustments to base operating budgets as
described in section five of this article;
(B) To determine comparable levels of tuition;
(C) To determine comparable faculty and staff teaching
requirements and other workloads; and
(D) For such other purposes as the law may require or the
commission may find useful or necessary.
(4) The commission shall contract with a national, independent
education consulting firm to assist in the unbiased selection of
peer institutions for each West Virginia institution.
(5) The commission shall select peer institutions for each
institution through an open, deliberative, objective process and in
consultation with the institutional boards of governors or boards
of advisors, as appropriate, intended to achieve broad understanding
of the basis for this selection in the higher education community
and the Legislature.
(6) Final peer selection is subject to the approval of the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability.
(7) In selecting peer institutions, the commission shall use
criteria such as, but not limited to:
(A) Institutional mission;
(B) Institutional size related to full-time equivalent
students;
(C) The proportions of full-time and part-time students;
(D) The level of academic programs, including, but not limited
to, number of degrees granted at the associate, baccalaureate,
masters, doctoral and first-professional level;
(E) The characteristics of academic programs such as health
sciences, professional, technical or liberal arts and sciences; and
(F) The level of research funding from federal competitive
funding sources.
(8) Subject to the approval of the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability, the commission shall review
and make necessary adjustments to peer institutions at least every six years or as necessary based on changes in institutional missions
as approved in institutional compacts or in changes at peer
institutions. The commission shall review and make adjustments to
peer institutions for community and technical colleges in
collaboration with the council.
(9) Nothing herein prevents the commission from using the same
peers or peer groups for more than one institution of higher
education.
§18B-1A-4. Legislative financing goals.
(a) The Legislature recognizes that the higher education goals
set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter are of
utmost importance. The Legislature further recognizes that meeting
the goals may require the appropriation of funds above the current
operating budgets of the institutions.
(b) It is, therefore, the desire of the Legislature to increase
funding annually for higher education at a rate not less than the
annual percentage increase in the overall general revenue budget.
(c) If the commission or council, or both, determines that
appropriations are insufficient to fund the requirements of the
institutional compacts under its jurisdiction, the commission or
council first shall consider extending the length of the compacts
or otherwise modifying the compacts to allow the institutions to
achieve the benchmarks in the compacts. If modifications to the
institutional compacts are not sufficient to allow the institutions to meet their benchmarks, the commission or council, or both, shall
recommend to the Legislature methods of making the higher education
system more efficient. The methods may include, but are not limited
to, the following:
(1) Administrative efficiencies;
(2) Consolidation of services;
(3) Elimination of programs;
(4) Consolidating institutions; and
(5) Closing institutions.
§18B-1A-5. Financing; institutional operating budgets, additional
funding.
(a) Budget request and appropriations. -- The commission and
council each has the responsibility to develop a budget for the
state system of higher education under its respective jurisdiction.
The commission submits the budget request for higher education,
including the budget request as developed by the council, to the
governor before the first day of September annually. The budget
requests of the commission and the council specifically shall
include the amount of the institutional operating budgets, as
defined in section two, article one of this chapter, required for
all state institutions of higher education under their respective
jurisdictions. The budget appropriation for the state systems of
higher education under this chapter and other provisions of the law
shall consist of separate control accounts or institutional control accounts, or some combination of such accounts, for appropriation
of institutional operating budgets and other funds. The commission
and council each is responsible for allocating state appropriations
to supplement institutional operating budgets in accordance with
this section. In addition to the institutional operating budget and
incentive funding, however, the commission and council each is
responsible for allocating funds that are appropriated to it for
other purposes. In order to determine institutional allocations,
it is the responsibility of the institutions and their respective
institutional boards of governors or advisors, as appropriate to
provide to the commission or council documentation on institutional
progress toward mission enhancement, preliminary peer comparison
calculations, performance of increased productivity and academic
quality and measurable attainment in fulfilling state priorities as
set forth in this article. The documentation shall be provided to
the commission or council no later than the first day of October
annually.
(b) Legislative funding priorities. --
(1) The Legislature recognizes the current funding model has
not moved all state institutions equitably towards comparable peer
funding levels. The model has left West Virginia institutions at
a competitive disadvantage to their national peers.
(2) The Legislature acknowledges that the resource allocation
model used to comply with enrolled committee substitute for Senate bill no. 547, passed during the legislative session of one thousand
nine hundred ninety-five, alleviated some of the disparity that
exists among state institutions' operating budgets, but left
significant differences between the institutions and their national
peers.
(3) The Legislature recognizes that a system of independently
accredited community and technical colleges is essential to the
economic vitality of the state.
(4) The Legislature places great importance on achieving the
priority goals outlined in the public policy agenda and believes the
state institutions of higher education should play a vital role in
facilitating the attainment of these goals.
(5) The Legislature also believes it is imperative that the
state make progress on narrowing the peer inequity while balancing
the need for sustaining the quality of our institutions.
(6) It is the charge of the commission and council to allocate
all funds appropriated in excess of the fiscal year two thousand one
general revenue appropriations in alignment with the legislative
funding priorities listed below. The commission and council shall
consider the priorities and assign a percentage of the total
appropriation of new funds to each priority.
(A) Peer equity. -- Funds appropriated for this purpose
increase the level of the institutional operating budget for state
institutions of higher education comparable to their peer institutions. The allocation shall provide, subject to the
availability of funds and legislative appropriations, for a
systematic adjustment of the institutional operating budgets to move
all institutions' funding in the direction of levels comparable with
their peers. Institutional allocations shall be calculated as
follows:
(i) A calculation shall be made of the deficiency in per
student funding of each institution in comparison with the mean per
student funding of the peer institutions as defined by the
commission pursuant to section three of this article;
(ii) For all institutions that are deficient in comparison with
peer institutions, the amounts of the deficiencies shall be totaled;
(iii) A ratio of the amount of the deficiency for an
institution divided by the total amounts of deficiency for all West
Virginia institutions shall be established for each institution; and
(iv) The allocation to each institution shall be calculated by
multiplying the ratio by the total amount of money in the account;
(B) Independently accredited community and technical colleges
development. -- Funds appropriated for this purpose will ensure a
smooth transition, where required, from "component" community and
technical colleges to independently accredited community and
technical colleges as defined in section two, article one of this
chapter. Appropriations for this purpose are to be allocated only
to those institutions having approved compacts with the council that expressly include the transition of their component community
colleges to independently accredited status and have demonstrated
measurable progress towards this goal. By the first day of July,
two thousand five, or when all required community and technical
colleges are independently accredited, whichever first occurs, funds
for this purpose shall be allocated to the incentives for
institutional contributions to state priorities;
(C) Research challenge. -- Funds appropriated for this purpose
shall assist public colleges and universities in West Virginia to
compete on a national and international basis by providing
incentives to increase their capacity to compete successfully for
research funding. The Legislature intends for institutions to
collaborate in the development and execution of research projects
to the extent practicable and to target research to the needs of the
state as established in the public policy agenda and linked to the
future competitiveness of this state.
(i) The commission shall develop criteria for awarding grants
to institutions under this account, which may include, but are not
limited to, the following:
(I) Grants to be used to match externally funded, peer-reviewed
research;
(II) Grants to be used to match funds for strategic
institutional investments in faculty and other resources to increase
research capacity;
(III) Grants to support funding for new research centers and
projects that will foster economic development and workforce
investment within the state. These grants shall be limited to five
years and each research center or project funded shall receive a
decreasing award each year and shall be required to be supported
solely by external funding within five years;
(ii) The commission may establish an advisory council
consisting of nationally prominent researchers and scientists,
including representatives from outside the state, to assist in
developing the criteria for awarding grants under this account.
(iii) For the purposes of making the distributions from this
account, the commission shall establish the definition for research,
research funds and any other terms as may be necessary to implement
this subdivision; and
(D) Incentives for institutional contributions to state
priorities. -- Funds appropriated for this purpose provide
incentives to institutions which demonstrate success toward
advancing the goals of the public policy agenda as set forth in
section one-a, article one of this chapter and to provide incentives
for mission enhancement as set forth in section two of this article.
(E) Sustained quality support. -- The commission and council
shall provide additional operating funds to institutions under their
respective jurisdictions with approved compacts. The commission and
council shall allocate these funds on an equal percentage basis to all institutions. The commission or council may delay distribution
of these funds to any institution which does not demonstrate
measurable progress towards the goals provided in its compact with
the commission or council.
(c) Allocations to institutional operating budgets. -- For the
purposes of this subsection, the commission and council each shall
establish by rule pursuant to subsection (f), section two of this
article the method for measuring the progress of each institution
towards meeting the benchmarks of its institutional compact.
(d) Allocation of appropriations to the institutions. --
Appropriations in this section shall be allocated to the state
institutions of higher education in the following manner:
(1) Each fiscal year appropriations from the funds shall be
allocated only to institutions which have:
(A) Approved compacts, pursuant to section two of this article;
and
(B) Achieved their annual benchmarks for accomplishing the
goals of their compacts, as approved by the commission or council.
(2) If an institution has not achieved all of its annual
benchmarks, the commission or council may distribute a portion of
the funds to the institution based on its progress as the commission
or council determines appropriate. The commission and council each
shall establish by rule, pursuant to subsection (f), section two of
this article, the method for measuring the progress of each institution toward meeting the benchmarks of its institutional
compact.
(e) Nothing in this section limits the appropriation or
collection of fees necessary to effectuate the operation and purpose
of the commission or council.
§18B-1A-6. Graduate education.
(a) Intent. -- It is the intent of the Legislature to address
the need for high quality graduate education programs to be
available throughout the state.
(b) Findings. -- The Legislature makes the following findings:
(1) Since West Virginia ranks below its competitor states in
graduate degree production, particularly in the areas that are
important to the state's competitive position in the new economy of
the twenty-first century, there is a considerable need for greater
access to graduate education, especially at the master's degree
level;
(2) There is a significant disparity in access to part-time
graduate degree programs among the different regions of the state
and part-time graduate enrollments are heavily concentrated in the
counties immediately surrounding Marshall university and West
Virginia university;
(3) There is a particular need for increased access to graduate
programs linked directly to the revitalization of the regional
economies of the state; and
(4) There is a particular need for improved quality and
accessibility of preservice and in-service programs for teachers in
subject matter fields.
(c) In order to meet the need for graduate education, the
commission shall be responsible for accomplishing the following:
(1) Ensuring that West Virginia university and Marshall
university expand access to master's degree programs throughout West
Virginia, with a strong emphasis on collaboration with the
baccalaureate colleges and community and technical colleges in each
region;
(2) Ensuring that any institution providing a master's degree
program under the provisions of this section provides a meaningful,
coherent program by offering courses in such a way that students,
including place-bound adults, have ample opportunity to complete a
degree in a reasonable period of time;
(3) Focusing on providing courses that enhance the professional
skills of teachers in their subject areas; and
(4) Ensuring that programs are offered in the most
cost-effective manner to expand access throughout the region and the
state.
(d) Concord college, Fairmont state college, Glenville state
college, Shepherd college, West Liberty state college and West
Virginia state college shall meet the need for graduate education
in their regions by following the procedures outlined below.
(1) The institutions shall develop as graduate centers for
their regions to broker access to graduate programs by contracting
with accredited colleges and universities in and out of the state.
These programs shall be related directly to each region's education
and economic needs.
(2) The institutions may begin collaborative programs with
other institutions leading to the granting of master's degrees in
selected areas that are demonstrated to be related directly to the
needs of their regions and that draw on faculty strengths. An
institution may continue to offer collaborative programs aimed at
meeting the documented needs with the approval of the commission or,
if a sustained need still exists, the institution may move to the
next level.
(3) If the graduate education needs of the region have not been
met through brokering and collaborative programs, the institution
may explore the option of beginning its own graduate-level program
leading to the granting of a master's degree. The institution may
begin its own master's degree program if it can meet the following
conditions as determined by the commission:
(A) Demonstrate that the institution has successfully completed
each of the steps required before exploring development of its own
master's degree program;
(B) Provide evidence based on experience gained in the
brokering and collaborative arrangements that a sustained demand exists for the program;
(C) Demonstrate that the baccalaureate institution has the
capacity to provide the program;
(D) Demonstrate that the core mission of the baccalaureate
institution will not be impaired by offering the graduate program;
(E) Provide evidence that the graduate program has a reasonable
expectation of being accredited;
(F) Demonstrate that the need documented in subdivision (B) of
this subsection is not currently being met by any other state
institution of higher education; and
(G)
The commission may designate one of the institutions listed
in subsection (d) of this section to develop and implement no more
than four of its own masters level programs as a pilot project:
Provided, That the selected institution shall move toward and
achieve regional accreditation of the masters program within a
reasonable time as determined by the commission. The institution
shall be selected based on the following:
(i) Sufficient credentialed faculty to offer quality programs
in the areas selected;
(ii) Sufficient unmet demand for the programs; and
(iii) Sustainable unmet demand based on generally accepted
projections for population growth in the region served by the
institution.
The programs authorized by this clause may not be restricted by the provisions of subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of this
subsection nor by the provisions of subsection (e) of this section.
(e) There is an urgent need for master's degree programs for
teachers in disciplines or subject areas, such as mathematics,
science, history, literature, foreign languages and the arts.
Currently, master's-level courses in education that are offered in
the regions served by the state universities are primarily in areas
such as guidance and counseling, administration, special education
and other disciplines unrelated to teaching in subject areas. If
this need is not being met in a region through the procedure
established in subsection (d) of this section, then the graduate
center in that region may plan a master's degree program in
education focused on teaching in subject area fields in which the
demand is not being met. No institution may begin a graduate
program under the provisions of this section until the program has
been reviewed and approved by the commission. The commission shall
approve only those programs, as authorized by this subsection, that
emphasize serving the needs of teachers and schools in the colleges'
immediate regions. In determining whether a program should be
approved, the commission also shall rely upon the recommendations
of the statewide task force on teacher quality provided for in
section eight, article fourteen of this chapter.
(f) The commission shall review all graduate programs being
offered under the provisions of this section and, using the criteria established for program startup in subsection (d) of this section,
determine which programs should be discontinued.
(g) At least annually, the governing boards shall evaluate
graduate programs developed pursuant to the provisions of this
section and report to the commission on the following:
(1) The number of programs being offered and the courses
offered within each program;
(2) The disciplines in which programs are being offered;
(3) The locations and times at which courses are offered;
(4) The number of students enrolled in the program; and
(5) The number of students who have obtained master's degrees
through each program.
The governing boards shall provide the commission with any
additional information the commission requests in order to make a
determination on the viability of a program.
(h) In developing any graduate program under the provisions of
this section, institutions shall consider delivering courses at
times and places convenient to adult students who are employed full
time. Institutions shall place an emphasis on extended degree
programs, distance learning and off-campus centers which utilize the
cost-effective nature of extending existing university capacity to
serve the state rather than duplicating the core university capacity
and incurring the increased cost of developing master's degree
programs at other institutions throughout the state.
(i) Brokering institutions shall invite proposals from other
public institutions of higher education for service provision prior
to contracting with other institutions: Provided, That if
institutions propose providing graduate programs in service areas
other than in their responsibility district, the institution seeking
to establish a program shall work through the district's lead
institution in providing those services.
(j) In addition to the approval required by the commission,
authorization for any institution to offer a master's degree program
under the provisions of this section is subject to the formal
approval processes established by the governing boards.
ARTICLE 1B. HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION.
§18B-1B-1. Higher education policy commission established;
development of public policy agenda.
There is hereby created the "higher education policy
commission", hereinafter referred to as the "commission". It is the
intent of the Legislature that the commission be responsible to
develop, gain consensus around and oversee the public policy agenda
for higher education and other statewide issues pursuant to section
one-a, article one of this chapter under the following conditions:
(a) It is the responsibility of the commission to work
collaboratively with the council to develop and gain consensus
around the public policy agenda for community and technical
colleges.
(b) It is the responsibility of the council to oversee the
implementation of the public policy agenda for the institutions
under its jurisdiction.
(c) All matters of governance not specifically assigned to the
commission or council by law are the duty and responsibility of the
governing boards.
§18B-1B-2. Composition of commission; terms and qualifications of
members; vacancies; eligibility for reappointment;
oath of office; removal from office.
(a) The commission is comprised of ten members. One is the
secretary of education and the arts, ex officio. One is the state
superintendent of schools, ex officio. One is the chair of the West
Virginia council for community and technical college education who
is an ex officio, nonvoting member.
(b) The other seven members of the commission are citizens of
the state, appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate. Prior to appointment, the governor shall
interview each candidate to assure that the person selected
understands and is committed to achieving the goals and objectives
as set forth in the institutional compacts and in section one-a,
article one of this chapter. The governor shall invite the
president of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Delegates, the
chairs of the Senate and House of Delegates committees on finance
and education and such other legislative leaders as the governor may determine to participate in interviewing potential candidates. Each
member appointed to the commission by the governor shall represent
the public interest and shall be committed to the legislative intent
and goals set forth in said section.
(c) The governor may not appoint any person to be a member of
the commission who is an officer, employee or member of the council
or an advisory board of any state college or university; an officer
or member of any political party executive committee; the holder of
any other public office or public employment under the government
of this state or any of its political subdivisions; an appointee or
employee of any governing board; or an immediate family member of
any employee under the jurisdiction of the commission, the council
or any governing board. Of the members appointed by the governor
from the public at large, no more than four thereof may belong to
the same political party and at least two shall be appointed from
each congressional district.
(d) The terms of the members appointed by the governor are for
overlapping terms of four years.
(e) The governor shall appoint a member to fill any vacancy
among the seven members appointed by the governor, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate. Any member appointed to fill a
vacancy serves for the unexpired term of the vacating member. The
governor shall fill the vacancy within thirty days of the occurrence
of the vacancy.
(f) A member appointed by the governor may not serve more than
two consecutive terms.
(g) Before exercising any authority or performing any duties
as a member of the commission, each member shall qualify as such by
taking and subscribing to the oath of office prescribed by section
five, article IV of the constitution of West Virginia and the
certificate thereof shall be filed with the secretary of state.
(h) A member of the commission appointed by the governor may
not be removed from office by the governor except for official
misconduct, incompetence, neglect of duty or gross immorality and
then only in the manner prescribed by law for the removal of the
state elective officers by the governor.
§18B-1B-4. Powers and duties of higher education policy
commission.
(a) The primary responsibility of the commission is to develop,
establish and implement policy that will achieve the goals and
objectives found in section one-a, article one of this chapter. The
commission shall exercise its authority and carry out its
responsibilities in a manner that is consistent and not in conflict
with the powers and duties assigned by law to the West Virginia
council for community and technical college education. To that end,
the commission has the following powers and duties relating to the
institutions under its jurisdiction:
(1) Develop, oversee and advance the public policy agenda pursuant to section one, article one-a of this chapter to address
major challenges facing the state, including, but not limited to,
the goals and objectives found in section one-a, article one of this
chapter and including specifically those goals and objectives
pertaining to the compacts created pursuant to section two, article
one-a of this chapter and to develop and implement the master plan
described in section nine of this article for the purpose of
accomplishing the mandates of this section;
(2) Develop, oversee and advance the implementation jointly
with the council of a financing policy for higher education in West
Virginia. The policy shall meet the following criteria:
(A) Provide an adequate level of education and general funding
for institutions pursuant to section five, article one-a of this
chapter;
(B) Serve to maintain institutional assets, including, but not
limited to, human and physical resources and deferred maintenance;
(C) Invest and provide incentives for achieving the priority
goals in the public policy agenda, including, but not limited to,
those found in section one-a, article one of this chapter; and
(D) Incorporate the plan for strategic funding to strengthen
capacity for support of community and technical college education
established by the West Virginia council for community and technical
college education pursuant to the provisions of section six, article
two-b of this chapter;
(3) In collaboration with the council, create a policy
leadership structure capable of the following actions:
(A) Developing, building public consensus around and sustaining
attention to a long-range public policy agenda. In developing the
agenda, the commission and council shall seek input from the
Legislature and the governor and specifically from the state board
of education and local school districts in order to create the
necessary linkages to assure smooth, effective and seamless movement
of students through the public education and post-secondary
education systems and to ensure that the needs of public school
courses and programs can be fulfilled by the graduates produced and
the programs offered;
(B) Ensuring that the governing boards carry out their duty
effectively to govern the individual institutions of higher
education; and
(C) Holding the higher education institutions and the higher
education systems as a whole accountable for accomplishing their
missions and implementing the provisions of the compacts;
(4) Develop and adopt each institutional compact;
(5) Review and adopt the annual updates of the institutional
compacts;
(6) Serve as the accountability point to:
(A) The governor for implementation of the public policy
agenda; and
(B) The Legislature by maintaining a close working relationship
with the legislative leadership and the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability;
(7) Jointly with the council, promulgate legislative rules
pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to
fulfill the purposes of section five, article one-a of this chapter;
(8) Establish and implement a peer group for each institution
as described in section three, article one-a of this chapter;
(9) Establish and implement the benchmarks and performance
indicators necessary to measure institutional achievement towards
state policy priorities and institutional missions pursuant to
section two, article one-a of this chapter;
(10) Annually report to the Legislature and to the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability during the January
interim meetings on a date and at a time and location to be
determined by the president of the Senate and the speaker of the
House of Delegates. The report shall address at least the
following:
(A) The performance of its system of higher education during
the previous fiscal year, including, but not limited to, progress
in meeting goals stated in the compacts and progress of the
institutions and the higher education system as a whole in meeting
the goals and objectives set forth in section one-a, article one of
this chapter;
(B) An analysis of enrollment data collected pursuant to
section one, article ten of this chapter and recommendations for any
changes necessary to assure access to high-quality, high-demand
education programs for West Virginia residents;
(C) The priorities established for capital investment needs
pursuant to subdivision (11) of this subsection and the
justification for such priority;
(D) Recommendations of the commission for statutory changes
needed to further the goals and objectives set forth in section
one-a, article one of this chapter;
(11) Establish a formal process for identifying needs for
capital investments and for determining priorities for these
investments. It is the responsibility of the commission to assure
a fair distribution of funds for capital projects between the
commission and the council. To that end the commission shall take
the following steps:
(A) Receive the list of priorities developed by the council for
capital investment for the institutions under the council's
jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (b), section six, article two-b
of this chapter;
(B) Place the ranked list of projects on the agenda for action
within sixty days of the date on which the list was received;
(C) Select a minimum of three projects from the list submitted
by the council to be included on the ranked list established by the commission. At least one of the three projects selected must come
from the top two priorities established by the council.
(12) Maintain guidelines for institutions to follow concerning
extensive capital projects. The guidelines shall provide a process
for developing capital projects, including, but not limited to, the
notification by an institution to the commission of any proposed
capital project which has the potential to exceed one million
dollars in cost. Such a project may not be pursued by an
institution without the approval of the commission. An institution
may not participate directly or indirectly with any public or
private entity in any capital project which has the potential to
exceed one million dollars in cost;
(13) Acquire legal services as are considered necessary,
including representation of the commission, its institutions,
employees and officers before any court or administrative body,
notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary.
The counsel may be employed either on a salaried basis or on a
reasonable fee basis. In addition, the commission may, but is not
required to, call upon the attorney general for legal assistance and
representation as provided by law;
(14) Employ a chancellor for higher education pursuant to
section five of this article;
(15) Employ other staff as necessary and appropriate to carry
out the duties and responsibilities of the commission and the council, in accordance with the provisions of article four of this
chapter;
(16) Provide suitable offices in Charleston for the chancellor,
vice chancellors and other staff;
(17) Advise and consent in the appointment of the presidents
of the institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction
pursuant to section six of this article. The role of the commission
in approving an institutional president is to assure through
personal interview that the person selected understands and is
committed to achieving the goals and objectives as set forth in the
institutional compact and in section one-a, article one of this
chapter;
(18) Approve the total compensation package from all sources
for presidents of institutions under its jurisdiction, as proposed
by the governing boards. The governing boards must obtain approval
from the commission of the total compensation package both when
institutional presidents are employed initially and afterward when
any change is made in the amount of the total compensation package;
(19) Establish and implement the policy of the state to assure
that parents and students have sufficient information at the
earliest possible age on which to base academic decisions about what
is required for students to be successful in college, other
post-secondary education and careers related, as far as possible,
to results from current assessment tools in use in West Virginia;
(20) Approve and implement a uniform standard jointly with the
council to determine which students shall be placed in remedial or
developmental courses. The standard shall be aligned with college
admission tests and assessment tools used in West Virginia and shall
be applied uniformly by the governing boards throughout the public
higher education system. The chancellors shall develop a clear,
concise explanation of the standard which they shall communicate to
the state board of education and the state superintendent of
schools;
(21) Review and approve or disapprove capital projects as
described in subdivision (11) of this subsection;
(22) Jointly with the council, develop and implement an
oversight plan to manage systemwide technology such as the
following:
(A) Expanding distance learning and technology networks to
enhance teaching and learning, promote access to quality educational
offerings with minimum duplication of effort; and
(B) Increasing the delivery of instruction to nontraditional
students, to provide services to business and industry and increase
the management capabilities of the higher education system;
(23) Establish and implement policies and procedures to ensure
that students may transfer and apply toward the requirements for a
bachelor's degree the maximum number of credits earned at any
regionally accredited in-state or out-of-state community and technical college with as few requirements to repeat courses or to
incur additional costs as is consistent with sound academic policy;
(24) Establish and implement policies and procedures to ensure
that students may transfer and apply toward the requirements for a
degree the maximum number of credits earned at any regionally
accredited in-state or out-of-state higher education institution
with as few requirements to repeat courses or to incur additional
costs as is consistent with sound academic policy;
(25) Establish and implement policies and procedures to ensure
that students may transfer and apply toward the requirements for a
master's degree the maximum number of credits earned at any
regionally accredited in-state or out-of-state higher education
institution with as few requirements to repeat courses or to incur
additional costs as is consistent with sound academic policy;
(26) Establish and implement policies and programs, in
cooperation with the council and the institutions of higher
education, through which students who have gained knowledge and
skills through employment, participation in education and training
at vocational schools or other education institutions, or
internet-based education programs, may demonstrate by
competency-based assessment that they have the necessary knowledge
and skills to be granted academic credit or advanced placement
standing toward the requirements of an associate degree or a
bachelor's degree at a state institution of higher education;
(27) Seek out and attend regional, national and international
meetings and forums on education and workforce development-related
topics, as in the commission's discretion is critical for the
performance of their duties as members, for the purpose of keeping
abreast of education trends and policies to aid it in developing the
policies for this state to meet the established education goals and
objectives pursuant to section one-a, article one of this chapter;
(28) Develop, establish and implement guidelines for higher
education governing boards and institutions to follow when
considering capital projects. The guidelines shall include, but not
be limited to, the following:
(A) That the governing boards and institutions not approve or
promote projects that give competitive advantage to new private
sector projects over existing West Virginia businesses, unless the
commission determines such private sector projects are in the best
interest of the students, the institution and the community to be
served; and
(B) That the governing boards and institutions not approve or
promote projects involving private sector businesses which would
have the effect of reducing property taxes on existing properties
or avoiding, in whole or in part, the full amount of taxes which
would be due on newly developed or future properties;
(29) Consider and submit to the appropriate agencies of the
executive and legislative branches of state government a budget that reflects recommended appropriations from the commission and the
institutions under its jurisdiction. The commission shall submit
as part of its budget proposal the separate recommended
appropriations it received from the council both for the council and
the institutions under the council's jurisdiction. The commission
annually shall submit the proposed institutional allocations based
on each institution's progress toward meeting the goals of its
institutional compact;
(30) The commission has the authority to assess institutions
under its jurisdiction for the payment of expenses of the commission
or for the funding of statewide higher education services,
obligations or initiatives related to the goals set forth for the
provision of public higher education in the state;
(31) Promulgate rules allocating reimbursement of
appropriations, if made available by the Legislature, to
institutions of higher education for qualifying noncapital
expenditures incurred in the provision of services to students with
physical, learning or severe sensory disabilities;
(32) Make appointments to boards and commissions where this
code requires appointments from the state college system board of
directors or the university of West Virginia system board of
trustees which were abolished effective the thirtieth day of June,
two thousand, except in those cases where the required appointment
has a specific and direct connection to the provision of community and technical college education, the appointment shall be made by
the council. Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the
contrary, the commission or the council may appoint one of its own
members or any other citizen of the state as its designee. The
commission and council shall appoint the total number of persons in
the aggregate required to be appointed by these previous governing
boards;
(33) Pursuant to the provisions of article three-a, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code and section six, article one of this
chapter, promulgate rules as necessary or expedient to fulfill the
purposes of this chapter. The commission and the council shall
promulgate a uniform joint legislative rule for the purpose of
standardizing, as much as possible, the administration of personnel
matters among the institutions of higher education;
(34) Determine when a joint rule among the governing boards of
the institutions under its jurisdiction is necessary or required by
law and, in those instances and in consultation with the governing
boards, promulgate the joint rule;
(35) Implement a policy jointly with the council whereby course
credit earned at a community and technical college transfers for
program credit at any other state institution of higher education
and is not limited to fulfilling a general education requirement;
and
(36) Promulgate a joint rule with the council establishing tuition and fee policy for all institutions of higher education.
The rule shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
(A) Comparisons with peer institutions;
(B) Differences among institutional missions;
(C) Strategies for promoting student access;
(D) Consideration of charges to out-of-state students; and
(E) Such other policies as the commission and council consider
appropriate.
(b) In addition to the powers and duties listed in subsection
(a) of this section, the commission has the following general powers
and duties related to its role in developing, articulating and
overseeing the implementation of the public policy agenda:
(1) Planning and policy leadership including a distinct and
visible role in setting the state's policy agenda and in serving as
an agent of change;
(2) Policy analysis and research focused on issues affecting
the system as a whole or a geographical region thereof;
(3) Development and implementation of institutional mission
definitions including use of incentive funds to influence
institutional behavior in ways that are consistent with public
priorities;
(4) Academic program review and approval for institutions under
its jurisdiction including the use of institutional missions as a
template to judge the appropriateness of both new and existing programs and the authority to implement needed changes;
(5) Development of budget and allocation of resources,
including reviewing and approving institutional operating and
capital budgets and distributing incentive and performance-based
funding;
(6) Administration of state and federal student aid programs
under the supervision of the vice chancellor for administration,
including promulgation of any rules necessary to administer those
programs;
(7) Serving as the agent to receive and disburse public funds
when a governmental entity requires designation of a statewide
higher education agency for this purpose;
(8) Development, establishment and implementation of
information, assessment and accountability systems, including
maintenance of statewide data systems that facilitate long-term
planning and accurate measurement of strategic outcomes and
performance indicators;
(9) Jointly with the council, developing, establishing and
implementing policies for licensing and oversight for both public
and private degree-granting and nondegree-granting institutions that
provide post-secondary education courses or programs in the state
pursuant to the findings and policy recommendations to be determined
as set forth in section eleven of this article;
(10) Development, implementation and oversight of statewide and regionwide projects and initiatives related to providing
post-secondary education at the baccalaureate level and above such
as those using funds from federal categorical programs or those
using incentive and performance-based funding from any source; and
(11) Quality assurance that intersects with all other duties
of the commission particularly in the areas of planning, policy
analysis, program review and approval, budgeting and information and
accountability systems.
(c) In addition to the powers and duties provided for in
subsections (a) and (b) of this section and any other powers and
duties as may be assigned to it by law, the commission has such
other powers and duties as may be necessary or expedient to
accomplish the purposes of this article.
(d) The commission is authorized to withdraw specific powers
of any governing board of an institution under its jurisdiction for
a period not to exceed two years if the commission makes a
determination that:
(1) The governing board has failed for two consecutive years
to develop an institutional compact as required in article one of
this chapter;
(2) The commission has received information, substantiated by
independent audit, of significant mismanagement or failure to carry
out the powers and duties of the board of governors according to
state law; or
(3) Other circumstances which, in the view of the commission,
severely limit the capacity of the board of governors to carry out
its duties and responsibilities.
(4) The period of withdrawal of specific powers may not exceed
two years during which time the commission is authorized to take
steps necessary to reestablish the conditions for restoration of
sound, stable and responsible institutional governance.
§18B-1B-5. Employment of chancellor for higher education; office;
powers and duties generally; employment of vice
chancellors.
(a) The commission, created pursuant to section one of this
article, shall employ a chancellor for higher education who is the
chief executive officer of the commission and who serves at its will
and pleasure.
(b) The commission shall set the qualifications for the
position of chancellor and shall conduct a thorough nationwide
search for qualified candidates. A qualified candidate is one who
meets at least the following criteria:
(1) Possesses an excellent academic and administrative
background;
(2) Demonstrates strong communication skills;
(3) Has significant experience and an established national
reputation as a professional in the field of higher education;
(4) Is free of institutional or regional biases; and
(5) Holds or retains no other administrative position within
a system of higher education while employed as chancellor.
(c) The commission shall conduct written performance
evaluations of the chancellor annually and may offer the chancellor
a contract not to exceed three years. At the end of each contract
period, the commission shall review the evaluations and make a
determination by vote of its members on continuing employment and
compensation level.
(d) When filling a vacancy in the position of chancellor, the
commission shall enter into an initial employment contract for one
year with the candidate selected. At the end of the initial
contract period, and each contract period thereafter, the commission
shall review the evaluations and make a determination by vote of its
members on continuing employment and compensation level for the
chancellor.
(e) The chancellor shall be compensated on a basis in excess
of, but not to exceed twenty percent greater than, the base salary
of any president of a state institution of higher education or the
administrative head of a governing board.
(f) The commission may employ a vice chancellor for health
sciences who serves at the will and pleasure of the commission. The
vice chancellor for health sciences shall coordinate the West
Virginia university school of medicine, the Marshall university
school of medicine and the West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine and also shall provide assistance to the governing boards
on matters related to medical education and health sciences. The
vice chancellor for health sciences shall perform all duties
assigned by the chancellor, the commission and state law. In the
case of a vacancy in the office of vice chancellor of health
sciences, the duties assigned to this office by law are the
responsibility of the chancellor or a designee.
(g) The commission shall employ a vice chancellor for
administration pursuant to section two, article four of this
chapter.
(h) The commission may employ a vice chancellor for state
colleges who serves at the will and pleasure of the commission. It
is the duty and responsibility of the vice chancellor for state
colleges to:
(1) Provide assistance to the commission, the chancellor and
the state colleges on matters related to or of interest and concern
to these institutions;
(2) Advise, assist and consult regularly with the institutional
presidents and institutional boards of governors of each state
college;
(3) Serve as an advocate and spokesperson for the state
colleges to represent them and to make their interests, views and
issues known to the chancellor, the commission and governmental
agencies;
(4) Perform all duties assigned by the chancellor, the
commission and state law.
In addition, the vice chancellor for state colleges has the
responsibility and the duty to provide staff assistance to the
institutional presidents and governing boards to the extent
practicable.
(i) On behalf of the commission, the chancellor may enter into
agreements with any state agency or political subdivision of the
state, any state higher education institution or any other person
or entity to enlist staff assistance to implement the powers and
duties assigned by the commission or by state law.
(j) The chancellor is responsible for the daily operations of
the commission and has the following responsibilities relating to
the commission and the institutions under its jurisdiction:
(1) To carry out policy and program directives of the
commission;
(2) To develop and submit annual reports on the implementation
plan to achieve the goals and objectives set forth in section one-a,
article one of this chapter and in the institutional compacts;
(3) To prepare and submit to the commission for its approval
the proposed budget of the commission including the offices of the
chancellor and the vice chancellors;
(4) To assist the governing boards in developing rules, subject
to the provisions of section six, article one of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter requires the rules of the governing boards
to be filed pursuant to the rule-making procedures provided in
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The chancellor
is responsible for ensuring that any policy which is required to be
uniform across the institutions is applied in a uniform manner;
(5) To perform all other duties and responsibilities assigned
by the commission or by state law.
(k) The chancellor shall be reimbursed for all actual and
necessary expenses incurred in the performance of all assigned
duties and responsibilities.
(l) The chancellor, with the commission, advises the
Legislature on matters of higher education in West Virginia. The
chancellor shall work closely with the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability and with the elected
leadership of the state to ensure that they are fully informed about
higher education issues and that the commission fully understands
the goals for higher education that the Legislature has established
by law.
(m) The chancellor may design and develop for consideration by
the commission new statewide or regional initiatives in accordance
with the goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this
chapter and the public policy agenda articulated by the commission.
In those instances where the initiatives to be proposed have a
direct and specific impact or connection to community and technical college education as well as to baccalaureate and graduate
education, the chancellor for higher education and the chancellor
for community and technical college education shall design and
develop the initiatives jointly for consideration by the commission
and the council.
(n) The chancellor shall work closely with members of the state
board of education and with the state superintendent of schools to
assure that the following goals are met:
(1) Development and implementation of a seamless
kindergarten-through-college system of education; and
(2) Appropriate coordination of missions and programs. To
further the goals of cooperation and coordination between the
commission and the state board of education, the chancellor serves
as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the state board of education.
§18B-1B-6. Appointment of institutional presidents; evaluation.
(a) Appointment of institutional presidents. -- Appointment of
presidents of the public institutions of higher education shall be
made as follows:
(1) Subject to the approval of the commission, the governing
board of the institution appoints a president for Bluefield state
college, Concord college, Fairmont state college, Glenville state
college, Marshall university, Shepherd college, West Liberty state
college, West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine, West Virginia
state college and West Virginia university.
(2) Subject to the approval of the council and to the
provisions of article three-c of this chapter, the governing board
of West Virginia University appoints the president of the regional
campus known as West Virginia university at Parkersburg. When
selecting candidates for consideration to fill the office of
president, the governing board shall use the search and screening
process provided for in section one, article six of this chapter.
Subject to the approval of the commission, the governing board
of West Virginia University appoints the president of the regional
campus known as West Virginia university institute of technology.
The president of each regional campus serves at the will and
pleasure of the appointing governing board.
(3) Subject to the approval of the council, the governing board
of the community and technical college appoints a president for
eastern West Virginia community and technical college, southern West
Virginia community and technical college and West Virginia northern
community and technical college.
(4) Subject to the approval of the council, the governing board
of the sponsoring institution appoints a president for each
administratively linked community and technical colleges which
shares a physical campus location with the sponsoring institution,
including Fairmont state community and technical college, Marshall
community and technical college, the community and technical college
at West Virginia university institute of technology and West Virginia state community and technical college.
(5) Subject to the approval of the council, the governing board
of the community and technical college appoints a president for each
administratively linked community and technical college which does
not share a physical campus location with the sponsoring
institution, including New River community and technical college and
the community and technical college of Shepherd.
Subject to the approval of the council, the governing board of
the sponsoring institution appoints a president for each of these
two community and technical colleges until the institution gains
independent accreditation.
(b) Other appointments. -- Effective the first day of July, two
thousand five, the institutional president shall appoint a provost
to be the administrative head of the Potomac campus of West Virginia
university.
(c) Evaluation of presidents. -- The appointing governing board
shall conduct written performance evaluations of each institution's
president, including the presidents of administratively linked
community and technical colleges. Evaluations shall be done in
every fourth year of employment as president, recognizing unique
characteristics of the institution and utilizing institutional
personnel, institutional boards of advisors as appropriate, staff
of the appropriate governing board and persons knowledgeable in
higher education matters who are not otherwise employed by a governing board. A part of the evaluation shall be a determination
of the success of the institution in meeting the requirements of its
institutional compact.
§18B-1B-11. Study of licensing and oversight of certain
institutions providing post-secondary education.
(a) The commission and the council shall conduct a joint study
of current policies relating to licensing and oversight of both
public and private degree-granting and nondegree-granting entities
providing post-secondary education programs or courses within the
state or from locations outside this state through distance learning
or any technology methods.
(b) The study shall include, but is not limited to, the
following:
(1) The strengths and weaknesses of current state and higher
education policies including a determination of how well the
policies protect consumers and whether such protection should be
expanded;
(2) The appropriate entity within public higher education to
assume licensing and oversight of each type of institution;
(3) The standards to be used for program approval or a method
to develop such standards; and
(4) The requirements for fees and bonding.
The commission and the council shall report their findings,
conclusions and recommendations,
together with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate the recommendations
, to the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability by the
first day of December, two thousand four.
ARTICLE 2A. INSTITUTIONAL BOARDS OF GOVERNORS.
§18B-2A-1. Composition of boards; terms and qualifications of
members; vacancies; eligibility for reappointment.
(a) A board of governors is continued at each of the following
institutions: Bluefield state college, Concord college, eastern West
Virginia community and technical college, Fairmont state college,
Glenville state college, Marshall university, Shepherd college,
southern West Virginia community and technical college, West Liberty
state college, West Virginia northern community and technical
college, the West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine, West
Virginia state college and West Virginia university.
(b) For the community and technical college of Shepherd and New
River community and technical college the institutional board of
advisors remains in place until the institution achieves independent
accreditation as provided in section eight, article three-c of this
chapter.
(1) As long as the institutional board of advisors remains in
place, the chairperson of the board of advisors serves as an ex
officio, voting member of the board of governors of the sponsoring
institution;
(2) When the community and technical college achieves independent accreditation, the board of advisors is abolished and
a board of governors is established with members appointed pursuant
to this section;
(3) When a board of governors is established for the community
and technical college:
(A) The chairperson of the governing board of the sponsoring
institution serves as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the
governing board of the community and technical college board of
governors; and
(B) The chairperson of the governing board of the community and
technical college serves as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the
governing board of the sponsoring institution.
(4) In making the initial appointments to these boards of
governors, the governor shall appoint those persons who are lay
members of the institutional boards of advisors, except in the case
of death, resignation or failure to be confirmed by the Senate.
(c) The institutional board of governors for Marshall
university consists of sixteen persons and the institutional board
of governors for West Virginia university consists of seventeen
persons. Each other board of governors consists of twelve persons.
(d) Each board of governors includes the following members:
(1) A full-time member of the faculty with the rank of
instructor or above duly elected by the faculty of the respective
institution;
(2) A member of the student body in good academic standing,
enrolled for college credit work and duly elected by the student
body of the respective institution;
(3) A member from the institutional classified employees duly
elected by the classified employees of the respective institution;
and
(4) For the institutional board of governors at Marshall
university, twelve lay members appointed by the governor, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, pursuant to this section
and, additionally, the chairperson of the institutional board of
advisors of Marshall community and technical college serving as an
ex officio, voting member.
(5) For the institutional board of governors at West Virginia
university, twelve lay members appointed by the governor by and with
the advice and consent of the senate pursuant to this section and,
additionally, the chairperson of the institutional board of advisors
of the community and technical college at West Virginia university
institute of technology and West Virginia university at Parkersburg.
(6) For each institutional board of governors of an institution
that does not have an administratively linked community and
technical college under its jurisdiction, nine lay members appointed
by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
pursuant to this section.
(7) For each institutional board of governors which has an administratively linked community and technical college under its
jurisdiction:
(A) Eight lay members appointed by the governor, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate, pursuant to this section and,
additionally, the chairperson of the institutional board of advisors
of the administratively linked community and technical college; and
(B) Of the eight lay members appointed by the governor, one
shall be the superintendent of a county board of education from the
area served by the institution.
(e) Of the eight or nine members appointed by the governor, no
more than five may be of the same political party. Of the twelve
members appointed by the governor to the governing boards of
Marshall university and West Virginia university, no more than seven
may be of the same political party. Of the eight or nine members
appointed by the governor, at least six shall be residents of the
state. Of the twelve members appointed by the governor to the
governing boards of Marshall university and West Virginia
university, at least eight shall be residents of the state.
(f) The student member serves for a term of one year. Each
term begins on the first day of July.
(g) The faculty member serves for a term of two years. Each
term begins on the first day of July. Faculty members are eligible
to succeed themselves for three additional terms, not to exceed a
total of eight consecutive years.
(h) The member representing classified employees serves for a
term of two years. Each term begins on the first day of July.
Members representing classified employees are eligible to succeed
themselves for three additional terms, not to exceed a total of
eight consecutive years.
(i) The appointed lay citizen members serve terms of four years
each and are eligible to succeed themselves for no more than one
additional term.
(j) A vacancy in an unexpired term of a member shall be filled
for the unexpired term within thirty days of the occurrence of the
vacancy in the same manner as the original appointment or election.
Except in the case of a vacancy, all elections shall be held and all
appointments shall be made no later than the thirtieth day of June
preceding the commencement of the term. Each board of governors
shall elect one of its appointed lay members to be chairperson in
June of each year. A member may not serve as chairperson for more
than two consecutive years.
(k) The appointed members of the institutional boards of
governors serve staggered terms of four years.
(l) A person is ineligible for appointment to membership on a
board of governors of a state institution of higher education under
the following conditions:
(1) For a baccalaureate institution or university, a person is
ineligible for appointment who is an officer, employee or member of any other board of governors, a member of an institutional board of
advisors of any public institution of higher education, an employee
of any institution of higher education, an officer or member of any
political party executive committee, the holder of any other public
office or public employment under the government of this state or
any of its political subdivisions or a member of the council or
commission. This subsection does not prevent the representative
from the faculty, classified employees, students or chairpersons of
the boards of advisors or the superintendent of a county board of
education from being members of the governing boards.
(2) For a community and technical college, a person is
ineligible for appointment who is an officer, employee or member of
any other board of governors; a member of an institutional board of
advisors of any public institution of higher education; an employee
of any institution of higher education; an officer or member of any
political party executive committee; the holder of any other public
office, other than an elected county office, or public employment,
other than employment by the county board of education, under the
government of this state or any of its political subdivisions; or
a member of the council or commission. This subsection does not
prevent the representative from the faculty, classified employees,
students or chairpersons of the boards of advisors from being
members of the governing boards.
(m) Before exercising any authority or performing any duties as a member of a governing board, each member shall qualify as such
by taking and subscribing to the oath of office prescribed by
section five, article IV of the constitution of West Virginia and
the certificate thereof shall be filed with the secretary of state.
(n) A member of a governing board appointed by the governor may
not be removed from office by the governor except for official
misconduct, incompetence, neglect of duty or gross immorality and
then only in the manner prescribed by law for the removal of the
state elective officers by the governor.
(o) The president of the institution shall make available
resources of the institution for conducting the business of its
board of governors. The members of the board of governors serve
without compensation, but are reimbursed for all reasonable and
necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of official
duties under this article upon presentation of an itemized sworn
statement of expenses. All expenses incurred by the board of
governors and the institution under this section are paid from funds
allocated to the institution for that purpose.
§18B-2A-4. Powers and duties of governing boards generally.
Each governing board separately has the following powers and
duties:
(a) Determine, control, supervise and manage the financial,
business and education policies and affairs of the state
institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction;
(b) Develop a master plan for the institutions under its
jurisdiction except the administratively linked community and
technical colleges which retain an institutional board of advisors
shall develop their master plans subject to the provisions of
section one, article six of this chapter. The ultimate
responsibility for developing and updating the master plans at the
institutional level resides with the board of governors, or board
of advisors, as applicable, but the ultimate responsibility for
approving the final version of the institutional master plans,
including periodic updates, resides with the commission or council,
as appropriate. Each master plan shall include, but not be limited
to, the following:
(1) A detailed demonstration of how the master plan will be
used to meet the goals and objectives of the institutional compact;
(2) A well-developed set of goals outlining missions, degree
offerings, resource requirements, physical plant needs, personnel
needs, enrollment levels and other planning determinates and
projections necessary in such a plan to assure that the needs of the
institution's area of responsibility for a quality system of higher
education are addressed;
(3) Documentation of the involvement of the commission or
council, as appropriate, institutional constituency groups,
clientele of the institution and the general public in the
development of all segments of the institutional master plan.
The plan shall be established for periods of not less than
three nor more than six years and shall be revised periodically as
necessary, including the addition or deletion of degree programs as,
in the discretion of the appropriate governing board, may be
necessary;
(c) Prescribe for the institutions under its jurisdiction, in
accordance with its master plan and the compact for each
institution, specific functions and responsibilities to meet the
higher education needs of its area of responsibility and to avoid
unnecessary duplication;
(d) Direct the preparation of a budget request for the
institutions under its jurisdiction, such request to relate directly
to missions, goals and projections as found in the institutional
master plans and the institutional compacts;
(e) Consider, revise and submit to the commission or council,
as appropriate, a budget request on behalf of the institutions under
its jurisdiction;
(f) Review, at least every five years, all academic programs
offered at the institutions under its jurisdiction. The review
shall address the viability, adequacy and necessity of the programs
in relation to its institutional master plan, the institutional
compact and the education and workforce needs of its responsibility
district. As a part of the review, each governing board shall
require the institutions under its jurisdiction to conduct periodic studies of its graduates and their employers to determine placement
patterns and the effectiveness of the education experience. Where
appropriate, these studies should coincide with the studies required
of many academic disciplines by their accrediting bodies;
(g) The governing boards shall ensure that the sequence and
availability of academic programs and courses offered by the
institutions under their jurisdiction is such that students have the
maximum opportunity to complete programs in the time frame normally
associated with program completion. Each governing board is
responsible to see that the needs of nontraditional college-age
students are appropriately addressed and, to the extent it is
possible for the individual governing board to control, to assure
core course work completed at institutions under its jurisdiction
is transferable to any other state institution of higher education
for credit with the grade earned;
(h) Subject to the provisions of article one-b of this chapter,
the appropriate governing board has the exclusive authority to
approve the teacher education programs offered in the institution
under its 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 commission may select and utilize one nationally
recognized teacher education program accreditation standard as the
appropriate standard for program evaluation;
(i) Utilize faculty, students and classified employees in
institutional-level planning and decisionmaking when those groups
are affected;
(j) Subject to the provisions of federal law and pursuant to
the provisions of article nine of this chapter and to rules adopted
by the commission and the council, administer a system for the
management of personnel matters, including, but not limited to,
personnel classification, compensation and discipline for employees
at the institutions under their jurisdiction;
(k) Administer a system for hearing employee grievances and
appeals. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the procedure established in article six-a, chapter
twenty-nine of this code is the exclusive mechanism for hearing
prospective employee grievances and appeals. In construing the
application of said article to grievances of higher education
employees, the following apply:
(1) "Chief administrator" means the president of a state
institution of higher education as to those employees employed by
the institution and the appropriate chancellor as to those employees
employed by the commission or council;
(2) The state division of personnel may not be a party to nor
have any authority regarding a grievance initiated by a higher
education employee; and
(3) The provisions of this section supersede and replace the grievance procedure set out in article twenty-nine, chapter eighteen
of this code for any grievance initiated by a higher education
employee after the first day of July, two thousand one;
(l) Solicit and utilize or expend voluntary support, including
financial contributions and support services, for the institutions
under its jurisdiction;
(m) Appoint a president for the institutions under its
jurisdiction subject to the provisions of section six, article one-b
of this chapter;
(n) Conduct written performance evaluations of the president
pursuant to section six, article one-b of this chapter;
(o) Employ all faculty and staff at the institution under its
jurisdiction. Such employees operate under the supervision of the
president, but are employees of the governing board;
(p) Submit to the commission or council, as appropriate, no
later than the first day of November of each year an annual report
of the performance of the institution under its jurisdiction during
the previous fiscal year as compared to stated goals in its master
plan and institutional compact;
(q) 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 the public
institution of higher education or at off-campus locations in the institution's responsibility district. To accomplish this goal, the
boards are permitted to share resources among the various groups in
the community;
(r) Provide and transfer funding and property to certain
corporations pursuant to section ten, article twelve of this
chapter;
(s) Delegate, with prescribed standards and limitations, the
part of its power and control over the business affairs of the
institution to the president in any case where it considers the
delegation necessary and prudent in order to enable the institution
to function in a proper and expeditious manner and to meet the
requirements of its institutional compact. If a governing board
elects to delegate any of its power and control under the provisions
of this subsection, it shall notify the appropriate chancellor. Any
such delegation of power and control may be rescinded by the
appropriate governing board or the chancellor at any time, in whole
or in part;
(t) Unless changed by the commission or the council, as
appropriate, the governing boards shall continue to abide by
existing rules 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;
(u) Each governing board, or its designee, shall consult,
cooperate and work with the state treasurer and the state auditor
to update as necessary and maintain an efficient and cost-effective
system for the financial management and expenditure of special
revenue and appropriated state funds at the institutions under its
jurisdiction 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;
(v) The governing boards in consultation with the appropriate
chancellor and the secretary of the department of administration
shall develop, update as necessary and maintain a plan to administer
a consistent method of conducting personnel transactions, including,
but not limited to, hiring, dismissal, promotions and transfers at
the 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
board and the department of finance and administration;
(w) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the governing boards may 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 transferred funds are used for the purposes appropriated. The governing boards may 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 transferred
funds are used for the purposes appropriated;
(x) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the governing boards may acquire legal services as are
considered necessary, including representation of the governing
boards, their institutions, employees and officers before any court
or administrative body. The counsel may be employed either on a
salaried basis or on a reasonable fee basis. In addition, the
governing boards may, but are not required to, call upon the
attorney general for legal assistance and representation as provided
by law; and
(y) Each governing board which has under its jurisdiction an
administratively linked community and technical college or a
regional campus offering community and technical college education
programs shall create within the administrative structure of its
governing board a subcommittee for community and technical college
education. The subcommittee shall have at least four members, one
of whom is the chairperson of the board of advisors of the community
and technical college or, in the case of the governing board of West
Virginia university, both the member representing the community and
technical college and the member representing the regional campus;
§18B-2A-6. University status for public baccalaureate institutions
of higher education.
(a) The purpose of this section is to redesignate certain
existing public baccalaureate institutions as universities and to
provide a mechanism for other public baccalaureate institutions to
become universities. The change in name is based on each
institution's ability to meet minimum standards developed and
adopted by the commission.
(b) Each governing board of a public baccalaureate institution
is authorized to make changes which would further its eligibility
to attain university status:
(1) If the college meets the eligibility requirements
established by the commission to attain university status and if the
commission grants university status, then the governing board shall
determine the effective date on which the public baccalaureate
institution becomes a university; and
(2) On and after the effective date designated by the governing
board, the baccalaureate institution shall be designated a
university.
(c) Concord college, Fairmont state college
, Shepherd college
and West Virginia state college
, having met the eligibility
requirements established by the commission to attain university
status, are hereby designated as universities on the effective date
of this section.
(d) An institution may not request or seek additional state
appropriations as a result of the redesignation provided for in this
section. No consequences, including the need to meet future
accreditation requirements in order to maintain university status,
which arise as a result of designating an existing state college as
a university, provide sufficient justification for an institution
to request or in any way seek additional state funds.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary,
Marshall university and West Virginia university are, and remain,
the only research and doctoral degree-granting public institutions
of higher education in this state.
ARTICLE 2B. WEST VIRGINIA COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL
COLLEGE EDUCATION.
§18B-2B-1. Legislative findings; intent; purpose.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds that:
(1) The goals, objectives and purposes contained in enrolled
Senate bill no. 653, passed during the two thousand regular
legislative session, reflected the research findings available to
the Legislature at the time; since then, however, additional
research indicates that, while enrolled Senate bill no. 653 moves
in the appropriate direction of independent accreditation and
meeting essential conditions for public community and technical
colleges, the legislation does not take the final steps that are
considered to be necessary by independent researchers. This position is clearly demonstrated by the recent research findings and
recommendations cited below:
(A) "West Virginia: A Vision Shared! Economic Development: A
Plan for West Virginia's Future", hereinafter cited in this article
and article two-c of this chapter as the Market Street Report, is
a research document commissioned by the West Virginia council for
community and economic development to assess the economic
competitiveness of the state. The report makes a number of findings
and recommendations important to public community and technical
college education:
(i) The state needs to adopt and implement a specific focus on
technical education; in particular, it needs to move away from the
traditionally isolated and limited vocational programming towards
a systematic approach of teaching technical skills that employers
need today;
(ii) The state needs to establish a strong technical education
system that is separate from the university system and is responsive
to the needs of business throughout the state;
(iii) The state needs to establish as a high-level priority the
training and retraining of its working-age adults to help them
acquire and maintain the competitive skills they need to succeed in
today's economy; and
(iv) The state needs to emphasize the role of lifelong learning
as a critical piece of its overall education and training system if the state is to make the transition to the new economy.
(B) The Report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on
Education Accountability, hereinafter cited in this article and
article two-c as the McClenney Report, is a study required by
provisions of enrolled Senate bill no. 653 and conducted by Dr. Kay
McClenney. The research found that:
(i) The participation rate in West Virginia community and
technical college education is substantially lower than will be
necessary if the state is to achieve its goals for economic
development and prosperity for its citizens;
(ii) The low visibility of the component community and
technical colleges effectively restricts access for the West
Virginians who most need encouragement to participate in
post-secondary education and training;
(iii) It is not clear that the parent institutions of the
component community colleges actually embrace the community college
mission;
(iv) The community and technical college developmental
education programs are underserving by far the evident needs of the
population, especially as that service relates to nontraditional
students;
(v) Adults over age twenty-five are under represented in the
community and technical college student populations;
(vi) Technical education program development and enrollment are not at the levels necessary to serve the needs of the state;
(vii) Independent accreditation and the essential conditions
required by enrolled Senate bill no. 653 are necessary, but not
sufficient alone to provide a strong enough tool to accomplish the
state's goal to strengthen community and technical college
education;
(viii) The community and technical college will not be able to
operate optimally until they move out of the shadow of their
"parent" institutions, with the flexibility and autonomy to
establish a uniquely community college identity, culture, program
mix, outreach capacity and approach to teaching and learning;
(ix) The development of stronger support mechanisms for the
community and technical colleges should be an extension of the
ongoing step-by-step process for achieving the goals for post
secondary education in the state;
(x) Building on the foundations laid in enrolled committee
substitute for Senate bill no. 547 and enrolled Senate bill no.
653, the Legislature should now establish the further systemic and
policy supports that are needed for the community and technical
college to thrive, perform and meet state goals;
(xi) Implementation will necessarily be incremental;
(xii) The consistent focus at the state level should be on the
statewide mission of raising educational attainment, increasing
adult literacy, promoting workforce and economic development and ensuring access to advanced education for the citizens of West
Virginia;
(xiii) The solution must ensure a high degree of flexibility
and autonomy at the local level, preserving the ability of community
and technical colleges to respond rapidly and effectively to local
needs;
(xiv) At the same time, there is serious and recognized need
for statewide leadership, coordination and support for the work of
the community and technical colleges and the advocacy for the public
priorities that these institutions are charged to address;
and therefore
(xv) The state needs to create a community college support
capacity at the state level that will bring leadership,
coordination, technical support, advocacy and critical mass to a
statewide network of local community and technical college campuses.
(C) The Report and Recommendations of the Implementation Board
to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, hereinafter
cited in this article and article two-c of this chapter as the
Implementation Board Report, is a study required by enrolled Senate
bill no. 653 to determine the most effective and efficient method
to deliver community and technical college services in the former
responsibility areas of Marshall university, West Virginia state
college and West Virginia university institute of technology. The
Implementation Board Report states its goals and vision for community and technical college education in the advantage valley
region as one of a dynamic, vital and vibrant community college
network which offers:
(i) Affordable, quality training and education to students;
(ii) Represents a recognized path of choice to success in the
knowledge economy for thousands of West Virginians; and
(iii) Provides West Virginia businesses with the highly skilled
workforce necessary to meet their evolving needs in the global
knowledge economy.
(D) In furtherance of their goals, the Implementation Board
Report recommended formation of the advantage valley community
college network:
(i) To enhance economic development through coordinated
leadership and a delivery system for education and training
initiatives;
(ii) To provide accountability through a separate compact and
through independent accreditation of each of the affected community
and technical colleges; and
(iii) To enhance education opportunities for the citizens of
the area and assist in overcoming the barrier of accessibility in
higher education.
(b) Based on the recent research cited above, the Legislature
further finds that:
(1) The recommendations of the Market Street Report clearly point out the shortcomings of the state's current approach to
providing post-secondary education and programs and show the
consequences of failing to change appropriately;
(2) The research, findings, vision and goals set forth in the
McClenney Report and the Implementation Board Report are noteworthy
and, although written, in part, to address specific institutions,
have broad application statewide for community and technical
colleges;
(3) The research shows that:
(A) A need exists to enhance community and technical college
education in West Virginia through the delivery of services that
meet the goals of this chapter and that are delivered pursuant to
the process for meeting the essential conditions established in
section three, article three-c of this chapter;
(B) A need exists for statewide leadership, coordination and
support for the work of the community and technical colleges and for
advocacy for the public priorities these institutions are charged
to address;
(C) Community and technical colleges need to be efficient,
avoiding duplication and the burden of bureaucracy while recognizing
fiscal realities;
(D) Community and technical colleges need a high degree of
flexibility and local autonomy to preserve and expand their ability
to respond rapidly and effectively to local or regional needs;
(E) Community and technical colleges need state-level support
and leadership that recognize differences among regions of the state
and among institutions and accept the reality that institutions are
at different stages in their development and have different
challenges and capabilities;
(F) Clear benchmarks and regular monitoring are required to
assess the progress of community and technical colleges toward
meeting the established goals and for meeting the essential
conditions, including independent accreditation, established in this
chapter;
(G) Implementation will necessarily be incremental;
(4) Certain acts to streamline accountability, to make maximum
use of existing assets to meet new demands and target funding to
initiatives designed to enhance and reorient existing capacity and
to provide incentives for brokering and collaboration require that
the role of the joint commission for vocational-technical-
occupational education be reexamined.
(c) Legislative intent. -- The intent of the Legislature in
enacting this article is to address the research findings cited
above by reconstituting the joint commission for vocational-
technical-occupational education as the West Virginia council for
community and technical college education in order to reorient the
mission, role and responsibilities consistent with and supportive
of the mission, role and responsibilities of the commission, the goals for post-secondary education and accountability for assisting
the public community and technical colleges, branches, centers,
regional centers and other delivery sites with a community and
technical college mission in achieving the state's public policy
agenda.
(d) Purpose. -- The purpose of this article is to provide for
the development of a leadership and support mechanism for the
community and technical colleges, branches, centers, regional
centers and other delivery sites with a community and technical
college mission to assist them in meeting the essential conditions
and in the step-by-step implementation process for achieving the
goals for community and technical college education as provided for
in article three-c of this chapter and to promote coordination and
collaboration among secondary and post-secondary vocational-
technical-occupational and adult basic education programs as
provided for in this chapter and chapter eighteen of this code. The
focus of this leadership and support mechanism is to encourage
development of a statewide mission to raise education attainment,
increase adult literacy, promote workforce and economic development
and ensure access to secondary and post-secondary education for the
citizens of the state while maintaining the local autonomy and
flexibility necessary to the success of community and technical
education.
§18B-2B-2. Definitions.
The following words when used in this article have the meaning
hereinafter ascribed to them unless the context clearly indicates
a different meaning:
(a) "Adult basic education" means adult basic skills education
designed to improve the basic literacy needs of adults, including
information processing skills, communication skills and
computational skills, leading to a high school equivalency diploma
under the jurisdiction of the state board of education.
(b) "Post-secondary vocational-technical-occupational
education" means any course or program beyond the high school level
that results in, or may result in, the awarding of a two-year
associate degree, certificate or other credential from an
institution under the jurisdiction of a governing board or other
public or private education provider.
(c) "Secondary vocational-technical-occupational education"
means any course or program at the high school level that results
in, or may result in, a high school diploma or its equivalent under
the jurisdiction of the state board of education.
(d) "Chancellor for community and technical college education"
means the chief executive officer of the West Virginia council for
community and technical college education employed pursuant to
section three, article two-b of this chapter. Any reference in this
code to the vice chancellor for community and technical college
education and workforce development means the chancellor for community and technical college education.
(e) "West Virginia council for community and technical college
education" or "council" means the council established pursuant to
section three of this article. Any reference in this code to the
joint commission for vocational-technical-occupational education
means the West Virginia council for community and technical college
education.
§18B-2B-3. West Virginia council for community and technical
college education; supervision of chancellor; chief executive
officer.
(a) There is continued the West Virginia council for community
and technical college education. The council has all the powers and
duties assigned by law to the joint commission for
vocational-technical-occupational education prior to the effective
date of this section and such other powers and duties as may be
assigned by law.
(b) The council shall employ a chancellor for community and
technical college education. The chancellor serves as chief
executive officer of the council at the will and pleasure of the
council. The chancellor shall be compensated at a level set by the
council not to exceed eighty percent of the annual salary of the
chancellor for higher education.
(1) The vice chancellor for community and technical college
education and workforce development, as the current chief executive officer of the council, shall continue in such capacity upon the
effective date of this section, and shall be the chancellor for
community and technical college education.
(A) The council shall conduct a written performance evaluation
of the chancellor one year after the effective date of this section.
The council shall report the results of the evaluation to the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability during
the legislative interim meeting period following the evaluation.
(B) After reviewing the evaluation, the council shall make a
determination by vote of its members on continuing employment and
compensation level for the chancellor.
(C) After the initial contract period, the council shall
conduct written performance evaluations of the chancellor annually
and may offer the chancellor a contract of longer term, but not to
exceed three years. At the end of each contract period, the council
shall review the evaluations and make a determination by vote of its
members on continuing employment and level of compensation.
(D) When a vacancy occurs in the position of chancellor, the
council shall enter into an initial employment contract for one year
with the candidate selected to fill the vacancy. At the end of the
initial period, the council shall make a determination by vote of
its members on continuing employment and compensation level for the
chancellor and shall continue thereafter as set forth in paragraph
(C) of this subdivision.
(2) The chancellor maintains all benefits of employment held,
accrued and afforded as the vice chancellor for community and
technical college education and workforce development. Such
benefits include, but are not limited to, retirement benefits,
continued membership in the same retirement system, any insurance
coverage and sick and annual leave. For the purposes of leave
conversion established in section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter
five of this code, the chancellor is not a new employee, and the
prohibition on conversion does not apply if the chancellor was
eligible for leave conversion while serving as vice chancellor on
the day preceding the effective date of this section. On the
effective date of this section, for the purpose of section thirteen,
article sixteen, chapter five of this code, the chancellor:
(A) Maintains all sick and annual leave accrued, and all rights
to convert the leave that had been accrued as vice chancellor; and
(B) Continues to maintain his or her status for eligibility
under the provisions and application of said section as applied
while serving as vice chancellor on the day preceding the effective
date of this section.
§18B-2B-4. Appointment, composition and terms of council.
(a) The council is comprised of thirteen members selected as
follows:
(1) Eight members appointed by the governor, with the advice
and consent of the Senate:
(A) One member shall be appointed from each community and
technical college consortia district as established in this section.
(B) Prior to appointment, the governor shall interview each
candidate to assure that the person selected understands and is
committed to achieving the goals and objectives as set forth in the
institutional compacts and in section one-a, article one of this
chapter. The governor shall invite the president of the Senate, the
speaker of the House of Delegates, the chairs of the Senate and
House of Delegates committees on finance and education and such
other legislative leaders as the governor may determine to
participate in interviewing potential candidates. Each member
appointed to the council by the governor shall represent the public
interest and shall be committed to the legislative intent and goals
set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter.
(2) The chairperson of the West Virginia workforce investment
council;
(3) The executive director of the West Virginia development
office, or designee;
(4) The president of the West Virginia AFL-CIO, or a designee;
(5) The chair of the higher education policy commission who
serves as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the council; and
(6) The assistant superintendent for technical and adult
education of the state department of education who serves as an ex
officio, nonvoting member of the council;
(b) Any appointed member shall be a citizen of the state, shall
represent the public interest and shall understand and be committed
to achieving the goals and objectives set forth in section one-a,
article one of this chapter, the essential conditions set forth in
article three-c of this chapter, and the goals for secondary and
post-secondary vocational-technical-occupational and adult basic
education in the state. Any appointed member shall represent the
interests of the business, labor and employer communities and
demonstrate knowledge of the education needs of the various regions,
attainment levels and age groups within the state.
(c) The governor may not appoint any person to be a member of
the council who is an officer, employee or member of an advisory
board of any state college or university, the holder of any other
public office or public employment under the government of this
state or any of its political subdivisions, an appointee or employee
of any governing board or an immediate family member of any employee
under the jurisdiction of the commission or any governing board.
An individual may not serve on the council who is engaged in
providing, or employed by a person or company whose primary function
is to provide, workforce development services and activities.
(d) Members of the council serve for staggered terms of four
years. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1),
subsection (a) of this section, on the effective date of this
section any current member of the council maintains his or her appointment to the council and continues to serve for the remainder
of the term for which originally appointed. Any additional
appointment required by the provisions of said subdivision shall
represent a consortia district not otherwise represented on the
council.
§18B-2B-5. Meetings and compensation.
(a) The council shall hold at least eight meetings annually and
may meet more often at the call of the chairperson. One such
meeting shall be a public forum for the discussion of the goals and
standards for workforce development, economic development and
vocational education in the state.
(b) The council shall hold an annual meeting each June for the
purpose of electing officers for the next fiscal year. At the
annual meeting, the council shall elect from its appointed members
a chairperson and other officers as it may consider necessary or
desirable. The chairperson and other officers are elected for
two-year terms commencing on the first day of July following the
annual meeting. The chairperson of the board may serve no more than
two consecutive two-year terms as chair, except that the member
serving as chairperson of the council on the effective date of this
section is eligible to serve a two-year term regardless of the
number of consecutive terms already served.
(c) Members of the council serve without compensation. Members
shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of official duties under this
article upon presentation of an itemized sworn statement of their
expenses. An ex officio member of the council who is an employee
of the state is reimbursed by the employing agency.
(d) A majority of the members appointed constitutes a quorum
for conducting the business of the council. All action taken by the
council shall be by majority vote of the members present.
§18B-2B-6. Powers and duties of the council.
(a) The council is the sole agency responsible for
administration of vocational-technical-occupational education and
community and technical college education in the state. The council
has jurisdiction and authority over the community and technical
colleges and the system of community and technical college education
as a whole, including community and technical college education
programs as defined in section two, article one of this chapter.
(b) As relates to the authority established in subsection (a)
of this section, the council has the following powers and duties:
(1) Develop, oversee and advance the public policy agenda as
it relates to community and technical college education to address
major challenges facing the state, including, but not limited to,
the goals and objectives found in section one-a, article one of this
chapter and including specifically those goals and objectives
pertaining to the compacts created pursuant to section two, article
one-a of this chapter and to develop and implement the master plan described in section nine of this article for the purpose of
accomplishing the mandates of this section;
(2) Jointly with the commission, develop, oversee and advance
the implementation of a financing policy for higher education in
West Virginia. The policy shall meet the following criteria:
(A) Provide an adequate level of education and general funding
for institutions pursuant to section five, article one-a of this
chapter;
(B) Serve to maintain institutional assets, including, but not
limited to, human and physical resources and deferred maintenance;
(C) Invest and provide incentives for achieving the priority
goals in the public policy agenda, including, but not limited to,
those found in section one-a, article one of this chapter; and
(D) Establish for incorporation into the financing policy for
higher education in West Virginia a plan for strategic funding to
strengthen capacity for support of community and technical college
education;
(3) Create a policy leadership structure relating to community
and technical college education capable of the following actions:
(A) Developing, building public consensus around and sustaining
attention to a long-range public policy agenda. In developing the
agenda, the council shall seek input from the Legislature and the
governor and specifically from the state board of education and
local school districts in order to create the necessary linkages to assure smooth, effective and seamless movement of students through
the public education and post-secondary education systems and to
ensure that the needs of public school courses and programs can be
fulfilled by the graduates produced and the programs offered;
(B) Ensuring that the governing boards of the institutions
under the council's jurisdiction carry out their duty effectively
to govern the individual institutions of higher education; and
(C) Holding the community and technical college institutions
and the community and technical college system as a whole
accountable for accomplishing their missions and implementing the
provisions of the compacts;
(4) To develop for inclusion in the statewide public agenda,
a plan for raising education attainment, increasing adult literacy,
promoting workforce and economic development and ensuring access to
advanced education for the citizens of West Virginia;
(5) To provide statewide leadership, coordination, support, and
technical assistance to the community and technical colleges and to
provide a focal point for visible and effective advocacy for their
work and for the public policy agenda approved by the commission and
council. For the institutions under their jurisdiction, this
responsibility includes, but is not limited to:
(A) Ensuring that the governing boards carry out their duty
effectively to govern the individual institutions of higher
education; and
(B) Holding the institutions and the system as a whole
accountable for accomplishing their missions and implementing the
provisions of the compacts;
(6) To review and adopt annually all institutional compacts for
the community and technical colleges pursuant to the provisions of
section two, article one-a of this chapter;
(7) Serve as the accountability point to:
(A) The governor for implementation by the community and
technical colleges of their role in advancing the public policy
agenda; and
(B) The Legislature by maintaining a close working relationship
with the legislative leadership and the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability;
(8) Jointly with the commission, promulgate a legislative rule
pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to
fulfill the purposes of section five, article one-a of this chapter;
(9) Establish and implement the benchmarks and performance
indicators necessary to measure institutional achievement towards
state policy priorities and institutional missions;
(10) Review the progress of community and technical colleges
in every region of West Virginia. The review includes, but is not
limited to, evaluating and reporting annually to the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability on the step-by-step
implementation required in article three-c of this chapter;
(11) Annually report to the Legislature and to the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability during the January
interim meetings on a date and at a time and location to be
determined by the president of the Senate and the speaker of the
House of Delegates. The report shall address at least the
following:
(A) The performance of the community and technical college
system during the previous fiscal year, including, but not limited
to, progress in meeting goals stated in the compacts and progress
of the institutions and the system as a whole in meeting the goals
and objectives set forth in section one-a, article one of this
chapter;
(B) The priorities established for capital investment needs
pursuant to subdivision (12) of this subsection and the
justification for such priority;
(C) Recommendations of the council for statutory changes
necessary to further the goals and objectives set forth in section
one-a, article one of this chapter;
(12) Establish a formal process for identifying needs for
capital investments and for determining priorities for these
investments. When the needs have been determined, the council shall
take the following steps:
(A) Develop a ranked list of the top ten projects for capital
investment for the institutions under its jurisdiction;
(B) Convey the ranked list to the commission for its
consideration pursuant to section four, article one-b of this
chapter;
(13) Draw upon the expertise available within the governor's
workforce investment office and the West Virginia development office
as a resource in the area of workforce development and training;
(14) Acquire legal services as are considered necessary,
including representation of the council, its institutions, employees
and officers before any court or administrative body,
notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary.
The counsel may be employed either on a salaried basis or on a
reasonable fee basis. In addition, the council may, but is not
required to, call upon the attorney general for legal assistance and
representation as provided by law;
(15) Employ a chancellor for community and technical college
education pursuant to section three of this article;
(16) Employ other staff as necessary and appropriate to carry
out the duties and responsibilities of the council consistent with
the provisions of section two, article four of this chapter;
(17) Employ other staff as necessary and appropriate to carry
out the duties and responsibilities of the council who are employed
solely by the council;
(18) Provide suitable offices in Charleston for the chancellor
and other staff;
(19) Approve the total compensation package from all sources
for presidents of community and technical colleges, as proposed by
the governing boards. The governing boards must obtain approval
from the council of the total compensation package both when
presidents are employed initially and subsequently when any change
is made in the amount of the total compensation package;
(20) Establish and implement policies and procedures to ensure
that students may transfer and apply toward the requirements for a
degree the maximum number of credits earned at any regionally
accredited in-state or out-of-state higher education institution
with as few requirements to repeat courses or to incur additional
costs as is consistent with sound academic policy;
(21) Establish and implement policies and programs, jointly
with the community and technical colleges, through which students
who have gained knowledge and skills through employment,
participation in education and training at vocational schools or
other education institutions, or internet-based education programs,
may demonstrate by competency-based assessment that they have the
necessary knowledge and skills to be granted academic credit or
advanced placement standing toward the requirements of an associate
degree or a bachelor's degree at a state institution of higher
education;
(22) Seek out and attend regional and national meetings and
forums on education and workforce development-related topics, as in the council's discretion is critical for the performance of their
duties as members for the purpose of keeping abreast of community
and technical college education trends and policies to aid it in
developing the policies for this state to meet the established
education goals and objectives pursuant to section one-a, article
one of this chapter;
(23) Assess community and technical colleges for the payment
of expenses of the council or for the funding of statewide services,
obligations or initiatives related specifically to the provision of
community and technical college education;
(24) Promulgate rules allocating reimbursement of
appropriations, if made available by the Legislature, to community
and technical colleges for qualifying noncapital expenditures
incurred in the provision of services to students with physical,
learning or severe sensory disabilities;
(25) Assume the prior authority of the commission in examining
and approving tuition and fee increase proposals submitted by
community and technical college governing boards as provided in
section one, article ten of this chapter.
(26) Consider and submit to the commission, a single budget for
community and technical college education that reflects recommended
appropriations for community and technical colleges and that:
(A) Considers the progress of each institution toward meeting
the essential conditions set forth in section three, article three-c of this chapter, including independent accreditation; and
(B) Considers the progress of each institution toward meeting
the goals established in its institutional compact;
(27) Administer and distribute the independently accredited
community and technical college development account;
(28) Establish a plan of strategic funding to strengthen
capacity for support of community and technical college education
in all areas of the state;
(29) Foster coordination among all state-level, regional and
local entities providing post-secondary vocational education or
workforce development and coordinate all public institutions and
entities that have a community and technical college mission;
(30) Assume the principal responsibility for overseeing the
implementation of the step-by-step process for achieving independent
accreditation and for meeting the essential conditions pursuant to
article three-c of this chapter;
(31) Advise and consent in the appointment of the presidents
of the community and technical colleges pursuant to section six,
article one-b of this chapter. The role of the council in approving
a president is to assure through personal interview that the person
selected understands and is committed to achieving the goals and
objectives as set forth in the institutional compact and in section
one-a, article one of this chapter;
(32) Provide a single, statewide link for current and prospective employers whose needs extend beyond one locality;
(33) Provide a mechanism that serves two or more institutions
to facilitate joint problem-solving in areas including, but not
limited to:
(A) Defining faculty roles and personnel policies;
(B) Delivering high-cost technical education programs across
the state;
(C) Providing one-stop service for workforce training to be
delivered by multiple institutions; and
(D) Providing opportunities for resource-sharing and
collaborative ventures;
(34) Provide support and technical assistance to develop,
coordinate, and deliver effective and efficient community and
technical college education programs and services in the state;
(35) Assist the community and technical colleges in
establishing and promoting links with business, industry and labor
in the geographic areas for which each of the community and
technical colleges is responsible;
(36) Develop alliances among the community and technical
colleges for resource sharing, joint development of courses and
courseware, and sharing of expertise and staff development;
(37) Serve aggressively as an advocate for development of a
seamless curriculum;
(38) Cooperate with the governor's P-20 council of West Virginia to remove barriers relating to transfer and articulation
between and among community and technical colleges, state colleges
and universities and public education, preschool through grade
twelve;
(39) Encourage the most efficient utilization of available
resources;
(40) Coordinate with the commission in informing public school
students, their parents and teachers of the academic preparation
that students need in order to be prepared adequately to succeed in
their selected fields of study and career plans, including
presentation of academic career fairs;
(41) Jointly with the commission, approve and implement a
uniform standard, as developed by the chancellors, to determine
which students shall be placed in remedial or developmental courses.
The standard shall be aligned with college admission tests and
assessment tools used in West Virginia and shall be applied
uniformly by the governing boards throughout the public higher
education system. The chancellors shall develop a clear, concise
explanation of the standard which the governing boards shall
communicate to the state board of education and the state
superintendent of schools;
(42) Develop and implement strategies and curriculum for
providing developmental education which shall be applied by any
state institution of higher education providing developmental education.
(43) Develop a statewide system of community and technical
college programs and services in every region of West Virginia for
competency-based certification of knowledge and skills, including
a statewide competency-based associate degree program;
(44) Review and approve all institutional master plans for the
community and technical colleges;
(45) Establish policies or rules for promulgation that are
necessary or expedient for the effective and efficient performance
of community and technical colleges in the state;
(46) In its sole discretion, transfer any rule under its
jurisdiction, other than a legislative rule, to the jurisdiction of
the governing boards who may rescind, revise, alter or amend any
rule so transferred pursuant to rules adopted by the council;
(47) Establish benchmarks and performance indicators for
community and technical colleges to measure institutional progress
toward meeting the goals as outlined in section one-a, article one
of this chapter and in meeting the essential conditions established
in article three-c of this chapter;
(48) Develop for inclusion in the higher education report card,
as defined in section eight, article one-b of this chapter, a
separate section on community and technical colleges. This section
shall include, but is not limited to, evaluation of the institutions
based upon the benchmarks and indicators developed in subdivision (47) of this subsection;
(49) Facilitate continuation of the advantage valley community
college network under the leadership and direction of Marshall
community and technical college;
(50) Initiate and facilitate creation of other regional
networks of affiliated community and technical colleges that the
council finds to be appropriate and in the best interests of the
citizens to be served;
(51) Develop with the state board of education state plans for
secondary and post-secondary vocational-technical-occupational and
adult basic education, including, but not limited to:
(A) Policies to strengthen vocational-technical-occupational
and adult basic education; and
(B) Programs and methods to assist in the improvement,
modernization and expanded delivery of vocational-
technical-occupational and adult basic education programs;
(52) Distribute federal vocational education funding provided
under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act
of 1998, PL 105-332, with an emphasis on distributing financial
assistance among secondary and post-secondary
vocational-technical-occupational and adult basic education programs
to help meet the public policy agenda.
In distributing funds the council shall use the following
guidelines:
(A) The board of education shall continue to be the fiscal
agent for federal vocational education funding;
(B) The percentage split between the board of education and the
council shall be determined by rule promulgated by the council under
the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code. The council shall first obtain the approval of the board of
education before proposing a rule;
(53) Collaborate, cooperate and interact with all secondary and
post-secondary vocational-technical-occupational and adult basic
education programs in the state, including the programs assisted
under the federal Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical
Education Act of 1998, PL 105-332, and the Workforce Investment Act
of 1998, to promote the development of seamless curriculum and the
elimination of duplicative programs;
(54) Coordinate the delivery of vocational-
technical-occupational and adult basic education in a manner
designed to make the most effective use of available public funds
to increase accessibility for students;
(55) Analyze and report to the West Virginia board of education
on the distribution of spending for
vocational-technical-occupational and adult basic education in the
state and on the availability of vocational-technical-occupational
and adult basic education activities and services within the state;
(56) Promote the delivery of vocational-technical-occupational
education, adult basic education and community and technical college
education programs in the state which emphasize the involvement of
business, industry and labor organizations;
(57) Promote public participation in the provision of
vocational-technical-occupational education, adult basic education
and community and technical education at the local level,
emphasizing programs which involve the participation of local
employers and labor organizations;
(58) Promote equal access to quality
vocational-technical-occupational education, adult basic education
and community and technical college education programs to
handicapped and disadvantaged individuals, adults in need of
training and retraining, single parents, homemakers, participants
in programs designed to eliminate sexual bias and stereotyping and
criminal offenders serving in correctional institutions;
(59) Meet annually between the months of October and December
with the advisory committee of community and technical college
presidents created pursuant to section eight of this article to
discuss those matters relating to community and technical college
education in which advisory committee members or the council may
have an interest;
(60) Accept and expend any gift, grant, contribution, bequest,
endowment or other money for the purposes of this article;
(61) Assume the powers set out in section five, article three
of this chapter. The rules previously promulgated by the state
college system board of directors pursuant to that section and
transferred to the commission are hereby transferred to the council
and shall continue in effect until rescinded, revised, altered or
amended by the council;
(62) Pursuant to the provisions of article three-a, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code and section six, article one of this
chapter, promulgate rules as necessary or expedient to fulfill the
purposes of this chapter. The council and commission shall
promulgate a uniform joint legislative rule for the purpose of
standardizing, as much as possible, the administration of personnel
matters among the institutions of higher education;
(63) Determine when a joint rule among the governing boards of
the community and technical colleges is necessary or required by law
and, in those instances and in consultation with the governing
boards, promulgate the joint rule;
(64) Promulgate a joint rule with the commission establishing
tuition and fee policy for all institutions of higher education.
The rule shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
(A) Comparisons with peer institutions;
(B) Differences among institutional missions;
(C) Strategies for promoting student access;
(D) Consideration of charges to out-of-state students; and
(E) Such other policies as the commission and council consider
appropriate;
(65) In cooperation with the West Virginia division of
highways, study a method for increasing the signage signifying
community and technical college locations along the state interstate
highways, and report to the legislative oversight commission on
education accountability regarding any recommendations and required
costs; and
(66) Implement a policy jointly with the commission whereby any
course credit earned at a community and technical college transfers
for program credit at any other state institution of higher
education and is not limited to fulfilling a general education
requirement.
(c) In addition to the powers and duties listed in subsections
(a) and (b) of this section, the council has the following general
powers and duties related to its role in developing, articulating
and overseeing the implementation of the public policy agenda for
community and technical colleges:
(1) Planning and policy leadership including a distinct and
visible role in setting the state's policy agenda for the delivery
of community and technical college education and in serving as an
agent of change;
(2) Policy analysis and research focused on issues affecting
the community and technical college system as a whole or a geographical region thereof;
(3) Development and implementation of each community and
technical college mission definition including use of incentive
funds to influence institutional behavior in ways that are
consistent with public priorities;
(4) Academic program review and approval for the institutions
under its jurisdiction, including the use of institutional missions
as a template to judge the appropriateness of both new and existing
programs and the authority to implement needed changes;
(5) Development of budget and allocation of resources for
institutions delivering community and technical college education,
including reviewing and approving institutional operating and
capital budgets and distributing incentive and performance-based
funding;
(6) Acting as the agent to receive and disburse public funds
related to community and technical college education when a
governmental entity requires designation of a statewide higher
education agency for this purpose;
(7) Development, establishment and implementation of
information, assessment and accountability systems, including
maintenance of statewide data systems that facilitate long-term
planning and accurate measurement of strategic outcomes and
performance indicators for community and technical colleges;
(8) Jointly with the commission, development, establishment and implementation of policies for licensing and oversight of both
public and private degree-granting and nondegree-granting
institutions that provide post-secondary education courses or
programs pursuant to the findings and policy recommendations to be
determined as set forth in section eleven, article one-b of this
chapter;
(9) Development, implementation and oversight of statewide and
regionwide projects and initiatives related specifically to
providing community and technical college education such as those
using funds from federal categorical programs or those using
incentive and performance-based funding from any source; and
(10) Quality assurance that intersects with all other duties
of the council particularly in the areas of planning, policy
analysis, program review and approval, budgeting and information and
accountability systems.
(d) The council is authorized to withdraw specific powers of
a governing board under its jurisdiction for a period not to exceed
two years if the council makes a determination that:
(1) The governing board has failed for two consecutive years
to develop an institutional compact as required in article one of
this chapter;
(2) The council has received information, substantiated by
independent audit, of significant mismanagement or failure to carry
out the powers and duties of the board of governors according to state law; or
(3) Other circumstances which, in the view of the council,
severely limit the capacity of the board of governors to carry out
its duties and responsibilities.
The period of withdrawal of specific powers may not exceed two
years during which time the council is authorized to take steps
necessary to reestablish the conditions for restoration of sound,
stable and responsible institutional governance.
(e) In addition to the powers and duties provided for in
subsections (a) and (b), (c) and (d) of this section and any other
powers and duties as may be assigned to it by law, the council has:
(1) Such other powers and duties as may be necessary or
expedient to accomplish the purposes of this article; and
(2) All powers, duties and responsibilities directly related
to community and technical colleges and community and technical
college education that were vested in the commission prior to the
effective date of this section.
(f) When the council and commission, each, is required to
consent, cooperate, collaborate or provide input into the actions
of the other:
(1) The body acting first shall convey its decision in the
matter to the other body with a request for concurrence in the
action;
(2) The commission or the council, as the receiving body, shall place the proposal on its agenda and shall take final action within
sixty days of the date when the request for concurrence is received;
and
(3) If the receiving body fails to take final action within
sixty days, the original proposal stands and is binding on both the
commission and the council.
§18B-2B-6a. Transfer of funds; council authority to expend
funds.
On the effective date of this section, the unexpended balance
remaining in the appropriation for the West Virginia council for
community and technical education is transferred from the commission
to the authority of the council to be expended by the council to
carry out the purposes of this article.
§18B-2B-7. Powers and duties of the chief executive officer.
The chancellor for community and technical college education
is the chief executive officer of the council and as such may
exercise the powers and duties assigned by the council. The
chancellor has the following powers and duties:
(1) To serve as the principal accountability point for the
council for implementation of the public policy agenda as it relates
to community and technical colleges;
(2) To assume principal responsibility for directing and
assisting the work of the council; and
(3) To supervise and direct staff of the council as necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties and responsibilities of this
article.
(A) On the effective date of this section, all personnel
employed by the commission and under the supervision of the vice
chancellor for community and technical college education and
workforce development on the first day of January, two thousand
four, are transferred to the jurisdiction of the council and are
under the direct supervision of the chancellor for community and
technical college education.
(B) Prior to the first day of October, two thousand four, any
such employee, including the chief executive officer of the council,
may not be terminated or have his or her salary or benefit level
reduced as the result of the governance reorganization set forth in
this article.
(4) On behalf of the council, the chancellor may enter into
agreements with any state agency or political subdivision of the
state, any state higher education institution or any other person
or entity to enlist staff assistance to implement the powers and
duties assigned to the council by state law.
(5) The chancellor is responsible for the day-to-day operations
of the council and has the following responsibilities:
(A) To carry out policy and program directives of the council;
(B) To develop and submit annual reports on the implementation
plan to achieve the goals and objectives set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter and in the institutional compacts;
(C) To prepare and submit to the council for its approval the
proposed budget of the council including the office of the
chancellor and necessary staff;
(D) To assist the governing boards in developing rules, subject
to the provisions of section six, article one of this chapter.
Nothing in this chapter requires the rules of the governing boards
to be filed pursuant to the rule-making procedures provided in
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The chancellor
is responsible for ensuring that any policy which is required to be
uniform across the institutions under the jurisdiction of the
council is applied in a uniform manner; and
(E) To perform all other duties and responsibilities assigned
by the council or by state law.
(6) The chancellor shall be reimbursed for all actual and
necessary expenses incurred in the performance of all assigned
duties and responsibilities.
(7) The council is the primary advocate for community and
technical college education and, with the chancellor, advises the
Legislature on matters of community and technical college education
in West Virginia. The chancellor shall work closely with the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability and
with the elected leadership of the state to ensure that they are
fully informed about community and technical college education issues and that the council fully understands the goals for higher
education that the Legislature has established by law.
(8) The chancellor may design and develop for consideration by
the council new statewide or regional initiatives directly related
to community and technical college education and in accordance with
the goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter
and the public policy agenda.
(9) The chancellor shall work closely with members of the state
board of education and with the state superintendent of schools to
assure that the following goals are met:
(A) Development and implementation of a seamless
kindergarten-through-college system of education; and
(B) Appropriate coordination of missions and programs. To
further the goals of cooperation and coordination between the
council and the state board of education, the chancellor serves as
an ex officio, nonvoting member of the state board of education.
§18B-2B-8. State advisory committee of community and technical
college presidents.
(a) There is continued the state advisory committee of
community and technical college presidents. For the purposes of
this section, the state advisory committee of community and
technical college presidents is referred to as the "advisory
committee".
(b) Each president of a public community and technical college, as defined in section one, article six of this chapter, is a member
of the advisory committee. An administrative head of a component,
branch, center, regional center or other delivery site with a
community and technical college mission may be a member if
considered appropriate.
(c) The chancellor serves as chair of the advisory committee.
The advisory committee shall meet at least once each quarter and may
meet at such other times as called by the chair or by a majority of
the members.
(d) The advisory committee shall communicate to the council on
matters of importance to the group. It shall meet annually between
the months of October and December with the council to discuss those
matters relating to community and technical college education in
which advisory committee members or the council may have an
interest.
(e) The chancellor shall prepare meeting minutes which shall
be made available, upon request, to the public.
ARTICLE 2C. WEST VIRGINIA COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE.
§18B-2C-3. Authority and duty of council to determine progress of
community and technical colleges; conditions;
authority to create West Virginia community and
technical college.
(a) The council annually shall review and analyze all the
public community and technical colleges, and any branches, centers, regional centers or other delivery sites with a community and
technical college mission, to determine their progress toward
meeting the goals and objectives set forth in section one-a, article
one of this chapter and toward advancing the purposes, goals and
objectives set forth in article three-c of this chapter.
(b) The analysis required in subsection (a) of this section
shall be based, in whole or in part, upon the findings made pursuant
to the rule establishing benchmarks and indicators required to be
promulgated by the council in section six, article two-b of this
chapter.
(c) Based upon their analysis in subsections (a) and (b) of
this section, the council shall make a determination whether any one
or more of the following conditions exists:
(1) One or more of the component community and technical
colleges required to do so has not achieved or is not making
sufficient, satisfactory progress toward achieving the essential
conditions, including independent accreditation;
(2) One or more of the public community and technical colleges,
branches, centers, regional centers and other delivery sites with
a community and technical college mission requires financial
assistance or other support to meet the goals and essential
conditions set forth in this chapter;
(3) It is in the best interests of the people of the state or
a region within the state to have a single, accredited institution which can provide an umbrella of statewide accreditation;
(4) It is in the best interests of the people of the state or
a region of the state to have one accredited institution able to
extend accreditation to institutions and entities required to seek
independent accreditation;
(5) One or more of the public community and technical colleges,
branches, centers, regional centers or other delivery sites with a
community and technical college mission requests from the council
the type of assistance which can best be delivered through
implementation of the provisions of section four of this article.
Institutional requests that may be considered by the council
include, but are not limited to, assistance in seeking and/or
attaining independent accreditation, in meeting the goals for
post-secondary education established in section one-a, article one
of this chapter, in meeting the essential conditions set forth in
section three, article three-c of this chapter, or in establishing
and implementing regional networks.
(6) One or more public community and technical colleges,
branches, centers, regional centers or other delivery sites with a
community and technical college mission has not met, or is not
making sufficient, satisfactory progress toward meeting, the goals
set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter; and
(7) The council determines that it is in the best interests of
the people of the state or a region of the state to create a statewide, independently accredited community and technical college.
(d) The council may not make a determination subject to the
provisions of subsection (c) of this section that a condition does
not exist based upon a finding that the higher education entity
lacks sufficient funds to make sufficient, satisfactory progress.
(e) By the first day of December annually, the council shall
prepare and file with the legislative oversight commission on
education accountability a written report on the findings and
determinations required by this section, together with a detailed
history of any actions taken by the council under the authority of
this article.
§18B-2C-4. Authority of council in creating West Virginia
community and technical college.
(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (c), section three
of this article, if the council makes a determination that one or
more of the conditions exists, then the council is authorized to
create the West Virginia community and technical college.
(b) As soon as practicable after the council determines that
the college should be created, the council shall notify the
governor, the president of the Senate, the speaker of the House of
Delegates and the legislative oversight commission on education
accountability of the proposed actions. The council shall conduct
a study regarding the procedures, findings and determinations
considered necessary prior to any creation of the college and shall report its findings to the legislative oversight commission on
education accountability. The council may not create the college
prior to the report being received by the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability.
(c) On or before the first day of December of the year in which
the college is created, the council shall certify to the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability proposed
legislation to accomplish the purposes of this article for those
matters requiring statutory change.
ARTICLE 3C. COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM.
§18B-3C-2. Purposes of article.
The general purposes of this article are the following:
(a) To establish community and technical college education that
is well articulated with the public schools and four-year colleges;
that makes maximum use of shared facilities, faculty, staff,
equipment and other resources; that encourages traditional and
nontraditional students and adult learners to pursue a lifetime of
learning; that serves as an instrument of economic development; and
that has the independence and flexibility to respond quickly to
changing needs;
(b) To charge the respective governing boards with providing
community and technical college education at state institutions of
higher education under their jurisdiction that has the
administrative, programmatic and budgetary control necessary to allow maximum flexibility and responsiveness to district and
community needs. Education services shall be provided consistent
with the goal of sharing facilities, faculty, staff, equipment and
other resources within and among the districts, the other systems
of public and higher education and other education and training
programs;
(c) To establish the essential conditions for community and
technical college programs and services, as defined in section three
of this article, necessary to ensure that each region of West
Virginia is served by a community and technical college meeting the
needs of the people of the region;
(d) To establish a mechanism for assuring that, where
applicable, a transition plan for meeting the essential conditions
is developed by each relevant community and technical college;
(e) To establish community and technical college consortia
districts for each of the community and technical colleges to ensure
accountability that the full range of community and technical
college education programs and services is provided in all areas of
the state, including the implementation of seamless curricula and
the West Virginia EDGE, "Earn a Degree Graduate Early" program;
(f) To define the full range of programs and services that each
community and technical college has the responsibility to provide;
and
(g) To establish such other policies and procedures necessary to ensure that the needs of West Virginia, its people and its
businesses are met for the programs and services that can be
provided through a comprehensive system of community and technical
colleges.
§18B-3C-3. Essential conditions for community and technical
college programs and services.
The Legislature hereby establishes the following essential
conditions for community and technical college programs and
services:
(a) Independent accreditation by the higher learning commission
of the north central association of colleges and schools (NCA), by
the first day of July, two thousand five, reflecting external
validation that academic programs, services, faculty, governance,
financing and other policies are aligned with the community and
technical college mission of the institution. An institution meets
this requirement if on such date the council determines that the
institution is on target to meet independent accreditation status.
A community and technical college continues to share the
accreditation of the sponsoring institution until such time as
independent accreditation is achieved;
(b) A full range of community and technical college services
offered as specified in section six of this article;
(c) Programmatic approval consistent with the provisions of
section nine of this article;
(d) A fee structure competitive with its peer institutions;
(e) Basic services, some of which may be obtained under
contract with existing institutions in the region. These basic
services shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Student services, including, but not limited to, advising,
academic counseling, financial aid and provision of the first line
of academic mentoring and mediation;
(2) Instructional support services;
(3) Access to information and library services;
(4) Physical space in which courses can be offered;
(5) Access to necessary technology for students, faculty and
mentors;
(6) Monitoring and assessment; and
(7) Administrative services, including, but not limited to,
registration, fee collection and bookstore and other services for
the distribution of learning materials;
(f) A president who is the chief executive officer of the
community and technical college appointed and serving pursuant to
the terms of section six, article one-b of this chapter. The
president reports directly to the institutional board of governors.
It is the responsibility of the board of governors to provide
sufficient time at each meeting for the president to discuss issues
relevant to the mission of the community and technical college;
(g) An institutional board of governors or an institutional board of advisors appointed and serving as required by law;
(h) A full-time core faculty, complemented by persons engaged
through contract or other arrangements, including:
(1) College and university faculty, to teach community college
courses; and
(2) Qualified business, industry and labor persons engaged as
adjunct faculty in technical areas;
(i) A faculty personnel policy, formally established to be
separate and distinct from that of other institutions, which
includes, but is not limited to, appointment, promotion, workload
and, if appropriate, tenure pursuant to section nine of this
article. These policies shall be appropriate for the community and
technical college mission and may not be linked to the policies of
any other institution;
(j) Community and technical colleges designed and operating as
open-provider centers with the authority and flexibility to draw on
the resources of the best and most appropriate provider to ensure
that community and technical college services are available and
delivered in the region in a highly responsive manner. A community
and technical college may contract with other institutions and
providers as necessary to obtain the academic programs and resources
to complement those available through a sponsoring college, where
applicable, in order to meet the region's needs;
(k) Separately identified state funding allocations for each of the community and technical colleges.
(l) Full budgetary authority for the president of the
institution, subject to accountability to its governing board,
including authority to retain all tuition and fees generated by the
community and technical college for use to carry out its mission.
§18B-3C-4. Community and technical college consortia planning
districts.
(a) Unless otherwise designated, the president of each
community and technical college facilitates the formation of
community and technical college consortia in the state, which
includes representatives of community and technical colleges, public
vocational-technical education centers, and public baccalaureate
institutions offering associate degrees. The community and
technical college consortium shall:
(1) Complete a comprehensive assessment of the district to
determine what education and training programs are necessary to meet
the short and long-term workforce development needs of the district;
(2) Coordinate efforts with regional labor market information
systems to identify the ongoing needs of business and industry, both
current and projected, and to provide information to assist in an
informed program of planning and decisionmaking;
(3) Plan and develop a unified effort between the community and
technical colleges and public vocational-technical education to meet
the documented workforce development needs of the district through individual and cooperative programs, shared facilities, faculty,
staff, equipment and other resources and the development and use of
distance learning and other education technologies;
(4) Regularly review and revise curricula to ensure that the
workforce needs are met, develop new programs and phase out or
modify existing programs as appropriate to meet such needs,
streamline procedures for designing and implementing customized
training programs;
(5) Increase the integration of secondary and post-secondary
curriculum and programs that are targeted to meet regional labor
market needs, including implementation of seamless curricula project
in all major career pathways and the West Virginia EDGE, "Earn a
Degree Graduate Early" program;
(6) Plan and implement integrated professional development
activities for secondary and post-secondary faculty, staff and
administrators;
(7) Ensure that program graduates have attained the
competencies required for successful employment through the
involvement of business, industry and labor in establishing student
credentialing;
(8) Performance assessment of student knowledge and skills
which may be gained from multiple sources so that students gain
credit toward program completion and advance more rapidly without
repeating course work in which they already possess competency;
(9) Cooperate with workforce investment boards in establishing
one-stop-shop career centers with integrated employment and training
and labor market information systems that enable job seekers to
assess their skills, identify and secure needed education training
and secure employment and employers to locate available workers;
(10) Increase the integration of adult literacy, adult basic
education, federal Work Force Investment Act and community and
technical college programs and services to expedite the transition
of adults from welfare to gainful employment; and
(11) Establish a single point of contact for employers and
potential employers to access education and training programs
throughout the district.
(b) The community and technical college education consortium
shall cooperate with the regional workforce investment board in the
district and shall participate in any development or amendment to
the regional workforce investment plan.
(c) To carry out the provisions of this section, community and
technical college consortia planning districts are established and
defined as follows:
(1) Northern panhandle community and technical college district
includes Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall and Wetzel counties.
(A) The facilitating institution is West Virginia northern
community and technical college.
(B) Participating institutions include West Virginia northern community and technical college; John Marshall high school; Cameron
high school; John D. Rockefeller center; and other public vocational
technical schools offering post-secondary programs.
(2) North central West Virginia community and technical college
district includes Monongalia, Marion, Preston, Taylor, Barbour,
Randolph, Doddridge, Harrison, Braxton, Lewis, Calhoun, Gilmer and
Upshur counties.
(A) The facilitating institution is Fairmont state community
and technical college.
(B) Participating institutions include Fairmont state community
and technical college; Glenville state college; Randolph county
vocational-technical center; Monongalia county technical education
center; united technical center; Marion county technical center;
Fred W. Eberly technical center; and other public vocational
technical schools offering post-secondary programs.
(3) Mid-Ohio valley community and technical college district
includes Tyler, Pleasants, Ritchie, Wood, Wirt, Jackson and Roane
counties.
(A) The facilitating institution is West Virginia university
at Parkersburg.
(B) Participating institutions includes West Virginia
university at Parkersburg; West Virginia northern community and
technical college; Roane-Jackson technical center; Gaston Caperton
center; Wood County technical center; and other public vocational technical schools offering post-secondary programs.
(4) Potomac highlands community and technical college district
includes Tucker, Pendleton, Grant, Hardy, Mineral and Hampshire
counties.
(A) The facilitating institution is eastern West Virginia
community and technical college.
(B) Participating institutions include eastern West Virginia
community and technical college; South Branch career and technical
center; Mineral County technical center; and other public vocational
technical schools offering post-secondary programs.
(5) Shenandoah valley community and technical college district
includes Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties.
(A) The facilitating institution is the community and technical
college of Shepherd.
(B) Participating institutions include the community and
technical college of Shepherd; James Rumsey technical institute; and
other public vocational technical schools offering post-secondary
programs.
(6) Advantage valley community and technical college district
includes Fayette, Kanawha, Clay, Putnam, Cabell, Mason and Wayne
counties.
(A) The facilitating institution is Marshall community and
technical college.
(B) Every five years the council shall:
(i) Evaluate the progress of the advantage valley consortia
toward achieving the goals and benchmarks of its compact;
(ii) Evaluate the progress of each community and technical
college in the district toward achieving the goals and benchmarks
of its institutional compact;
(iii) Determine which community and technical college in the
district would best serve the needs of the district for the
following five-year period if serving as the facilitating
institution; and
(iv) Designate the community and technical college selected
pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph to serve as the
facilitating institution for the following five-year period.
(C) Participating institutions include Marshall community and
technical college; the community and technology college at West
Virginia university institute of technology; West Virginia state
community and technical college; Carver career center; Garnet career
center; Ben Franklin career center; Putnam County
vocational-technical-occupational center; Cabell County
career-technical center; and other public vocational technical
schools offering post-secondary programs.
(7) Southern mountains community and technical college district
includes Lincoln, Boone, Logan, Mingo, Wyoming and McDowell
counties.
(A) The facilitating institution is southern West Virginia community and technical college.
(B) Participating institutions include southern West Virginia
community and technical college; New River community and technical
college; Boone County career and technical center; Wyoming County
vocational-technical center; Ralph R. Willis Career and technical
center; McDowell County career and technology center; Mingo County
vocation-technical center; Charles Yeager technical center; and
other public vocational technical schools offering post-secondary
programs.
(8) Southeastern community and technical college district
includes Raleigh, Summers, Fayette, Nicholas, Webster, Pocahontas,
Greenbrier, Monroe and Mercer counties.
(A) The facilitating institution is New River community and
technical college.
(B) Participating institutions include New River community and
technical college; southern West Virginia community and technical
college; the community and technical college at West Virginia
university institute of technology; Bluefield state college; academy
of careers and technology; Fayette plateau vocation-technology
center; Summers County high school; Monroe County technical center;
Mercer County technical center; and other public vocational
technical schools offering post-secondary programs.
(d) In the role of the facilitating institution of the
community and technical college district, the college:
(1) Communicates to the council;
(2) Facilitates the delivery of comprehensive community and
technical college education in the region, which includes the seven
areas of comprehensive community and technical college education
delivery as required by section six of this article; and
(3) Facilitates development of statement of commitment signed
by all participating institutions in the region as to how community
and technical college education will be delivered.
(e) Participating institutions are not subordinate to the
facilitating institution but will sign the statement of commitment
to participate.
(f) The council shall:
(1) Establish guidelines for community and technical college
consortia development;
(2) Set goals for each consortium based upon legislative goals
for the delivery of comprehensive community and technical college
education; and
(3) Establish a format for development of a consortium compact
outlining plans for achieving stated goals to be submitted to the
council for approval on or before the fifteenth day of November, two
thousand four.
(g) On or before the fifteenth day of November, two thousand
four, each consortium shall submit to the council for approval a
compact which outlines plans for obtaining the stated goals. Each compact shall include the implementation of seamless curricula and
the West Virginia EDGE, "Earn a Degree Graduate Early" program, and
be updated annually.
(h) The council annually shall evaluate the progress made in
meeting the compact goals for each community and technical college
consortia through the development and collection of performance
indicator data.
§18B-3C-5. Appointment of community and technical college
presidents.
The administrative head of a community and technical college
is the president who is chosen pursuant to the terms of section six,
article one-b of this chapter. Any individual employed as provost
of an administratively linked community and technical college on the
first day of January, two thousand four, continues as the
administrative head of the institution and becomes the community and
technical college president on the effective date of this section.
§18B-3C-6. Community and technical college programs.
(a) The mission of each community and technical college
includes the following programs which may be offered on or off
campus, at the work site, in the public schools and at other
locations and at times that are convenient for the intended
population:
(1) Career and technical education skill sets, certificates,
associate of applied science and selected associate of science degree programs for students seeking immediate employment,
individual entrepreneurship skills, occupational development, skill
enhancement and career mobility;
(2) Transfer education associate of arts and associate of
science degree programs for students whose education goal is to
transfer into a baccalaureate degree program;
(3) Developmental/remedial education courses, literacy
education, tutorials, skills development labs and other services for
students who need to improve their skills in mathematics, English,
reading, study skills, computers and other basic skill areas;
(4) Workforce training and retraining and contract education
with business and industry to train or retrain employees;
(5) Continuing development assistance and education credit and
noncredit courses for professional and self-development,
certification and licensure and literacy training;
(6) Community service workshops, lectures, seminars, clinics,
concerts, theatrical performances and other noncredit activities to
meet the cultural, civic and personal interests and needs of the
community; and
(7) Cooperative arrangements with the public school system for
the seamless progression of students through programs of study which
are calculated to begin at the secondary level and conclude at the
community and technical college level.
(b) All administrative, programmatic and budgetary control over community and technical college education within the institution is
vested in the president, subject to rules adopted by the council.
The president with the institutional board of governors or
institutional board of advisors, as appropriate, is responsible for
the regular review, revision, elimination and establishment of
programs within the institution to assure that the needs of the
community and technical college consortia district are met. It is
the intent of the Legislature that the program review and approval
process for community and technical college education be separate
and distinct from baccalaureate education and subject to the
provisions of section nine of this article.
(c) Independently accredited community and technical colleges
shall serve as higher education centers for their regions by
brokering with colleges, universities and other providers, in state
and out of state, to ensure the coordinated access of students,
employers and other clients to needed programs and services.
§18B-3C-8. Process for achieving independently accredited
community and technical colleges.
(a) By the first day of July, two thousand five, West Virginia
shall have a statewide network of independently accredited community
and technical colleges serving every region of the state. This
section does not apply to the freestanding community and technical
colleges or West Virginia university at Parkersburg.
(b) To be eligible for funds appropriated to develop independently accredited community and technical colleges, a state
institution of higher education shall demonstrate the following:
(1) That it has as a part of its institutional compact approved
by the council a step-by-step plan with measurable benchmarks for
developing an independently accredited community and technical
college that meets the essential conditions set forth in section
three of this article;
(2) That it is able to offer evidence to the satisfaction of
the council that it is making progress toward accomplishing the
benchmarks established in its institutional compact for developing
an independently accredited community and technical college; and
(3) That it has submitted an expenditure schedule approved by
the council which sets forth a proposed plan of expenditures for
funds allocated to it from the fund.
(c) The following are recommended strategies for moving from
the current arrangement of "component" community and technical
colleges to the legislatively mandated statewide network of
independently accredited community and technical colleges serving
every region of the state. The Legislature recognizes that there
may be other means to achieve this ultimate objective; however, it
is the intent of the Legislature that the move from the current
arrangement of "component" community and technical colleges to the
legislatively mandated statewide network of independently accredited
community and technical colleges serving every region of the state shall be accomplished. The following recommendations are designed
to reflect significant variations among regions and the potential
impacts on the sponsoring institutions.
(1) New River community and technical college. --
(A) There is continued the multicampus entity known as New
River community and technical college, administratively linked to
Bluefield state college. New River community and technical college
is headquartered in the Beckley higher education center and
incorporates the campuses of Greenbrier community college center of
New River community and technical college and Nicholas community
college center of New River community and technical college. New
River community and technical college shall be an independently
accredited community and technical college. The council shall
appoint an institutional board of advisors, pursuant to section one,
article six of this chapter, for New River community and technical
college which is separate from the institutional board of governors
of Bluefield state college. The board of advisors shall become the
board of governors pursuant to section one, article two-a of this
chapter when the institution achieves independent accreditation.
(B) Bluefield state college may continue associate degree
programs in areas of particular institutional strength which are
closely articulated to their baccalaureate programs and missions or
which are of a high-cost nature and can best be provided through
direct coordination with a baccalaureate institution. Any such program shall be delivered under the authority of the council and
through contract with the community and technical college. The
terms of the contract shall be negotiated between the council and
the governing board of the sponsoring institution. The final
contract is approved by the council. Such a program shall be
evaluated according to the benchmarks and indicators for community
and technical college education developed by the council. If the
council determines that the program is making insufficient progress
toward accomplishing the benchmarks, the program shall thereafter
be delivered by the community and technical college.
(C) Bluefield state college may continue the associate of
science degree in nursing which is an existing nationally accredited
associate degree program in an area of particular institutional
strength and which is closely articulated to the baccalaureate
program and mission. The program is of a high-cost nature and can
best be provided through direct administration by a baccalaureate
institution. This program may not be transferred to New River
community and technical college or any other community and technical
college as long as the program maintains national accreditation and
is seamlessly coordinated into the baccalaureate program at the
institution.
(D) By the first day of July, two thousand five, New River
community and technical college shall be independently accredited.
The president and the board of governors of Bluefield state college are responsible for obtaining independent accreditation of the
community and technical college. If the multicampus entity known
as New River community and technical college has not obtained
independent accreditation by this date, the council shall choose one
of the following options:
(i) Create New River as a freestanding community and technical
college; or
(ii) Assign the responsibility for obtaining independent
accreditation to another state institution of higher education.
(E) The president and the board of governors of Bluefield state
college also are accountable to the council for ensuring that the
full range of community and technical college services is available
throughout the region and that New River community and technical
college adheres to the essential conditions pursuant to section
three of this article.
(F) As an independently accredited community and technical
college, New River also shall serve as a higher education center for
its region by brokering with other colleges, universities and other
providers, in state and out of state, both public and private, to
ensure the coordinated access of students, employers and other
clients to needed programs and services.
(G) New River community and technical college shall participate
in the planning and development of a unified effort involving
multiple providers to meet the documented education and workforce development needs in the region. Nothing in this subdivision
prohibits or limits any existing, or the continuation of any
existing, affiliation between mountain state university, West
Virginia university institute of technology and West Virginia
university. The objective is to assure students and employers in
the area that there is coordination and efficient use of resources
among the separate programs and facilities, existing and planned,
in the Beckley area.
(2) Fairmont state community and technical college. -- Fairmont
state community and technical college is an independently accredited
community and technical college. The community and technical
college is developed on the base of the component community and
technical college of Fairmont state college. Subject to the
provisions of this section, the president and the governing board
of Fairmont state college are responsible, according to a plan
approved by the council, for step-by-step implementation of the
independently accredited community and technical college which
adheres to the essential conditions pursuant to section three of
this article. Subject to the provisions of section twelve of this
article, the community and technical college will remain
administratively linked to Fairmont state college. Fairmont state
college may continue associate degree programs in areas of
particular institutional strength which are closely articulated to
their baccalaureate programs and missions or which are of a high-cost nature and can best be provided in direct coordination
with a baccalaureate institution. Any such program shall be
delivered under the authority of the council and through contract
with the community and technical college. The terms of the contract
shall be negotiated between the council and the governing board of
the sponsoring institution. The final contract is approved by the
council. Such a program shall be evaluated according to the
benchmarks and indicators for community and technical college
education developed by the council. If the council determines that
the program is making insufficient progress toward accomplishing the
benchmarks, the program shall thereafter be delivered by the
community and technical college.
(3) Marshall community and technical college. -- Marshall
community and technical college is an independently accredited
community and technical college. The new community and technical
college is developed on the base of the component community and
technical college of Marshall university. Subject to the provisions
of this section, the president and the governing board of Marshall
university are responsible, according to a plan approved by the
council, for step-by-step implementation of the new independently
accredited community and technical college which adheres to the
essential conditions pursuant to section three of this article.
Subject to the provisions of section twelve of this article, the
community and technical college will remain administratively linked to Marshall university. Marshall university may continue associate
degree programs in areas of particular institutional strength which
are closely articulated to their baccalaureate programs and missions
or which are of a high-cost nature and can best be provided in
direct coordination with a baccalaureate institution. Any such
program shall be delivered under the authority of the council and
through contract with the community and technical college. The
terms of the contract shall be negotiated between the council and
the governing board of the sponsoring institution. The final
contract is approved by the council. Such a program shall be
evaluated according to the benchmarks and indicators for community
and technical college education developed by the council. If the
council determines that the program is making insufficient progress
toward accomplishing the benchmarks, the program shall thereafter
be delivered by the community and technical college.
(4) The community and technical college of Shepherd. -- The
community and technical college of Shepherd shall become an
independently accredited community and technical college. The new
community and technical college is developed on the base of the
component community and technical college of Shepherd college.
Subject to the provisions of this section, the president and the
governing board of Shepherd college are responsible, according to
a plan approved by the council, for step-by-step implementation of
the new independently accredited community and technical college which adheres to the essential conditions pursuant to section three
of this article. Subject to the provisions of section twelve of
this article, the community and technical college will remain
administratively linked to Shepherd college. Shepherd college may
continue associate degree programs in areas of particular
institutional strength which are closely articulated to their
baccalaureate programs and missions or which are of a high-cost
nature and can best be provided in direct coordination with a
baccalaureate institution. Any such program shall be delivered
under the authority of the council and through contract with the
community and technical college. The terms of the contract shall
be negotiated between the council and the governing board of the
sponsoring institution. The final contract is approved by the
council. Such a program shall be evaluated according to the
benchmarks and indicators for community and technical college
education developed by the council. If the council determines that
the program is making insufficient progress toward accomplishing the
benchmarks, the program shall thereafter be delivered by the
community and technical college.
(5) West Virginia state community and technical college. --
West Virginia state community and technical college shall become an
independently accredited community and technical college. The new
community and technical college is developed on the base of the
component community and technical college of West Virginia state college. Subject to the provisions of this section, the president
and the governing board of West Virginia state college are
responsible, according to a plan approved by the council, for
step-by-step implementation of the new independently accredited
community and technical college which adheres to the essential
conditions pursuant to section three of this article. Subject to
the provisions of section twelve of this article, the community and
technical college will remain administratively linked to West
Virginia state college. West Virginia state college may continue
associate degree programs in areas of particular institutional
strength which are closely articulated to their baccalaureate
programs and missions or which are of a high-cost nature and can
best be provided in direct coordination with a baccalaureate
institution. Any such program shall be delivered under the
authority of the council and through contract with the community and
technical college. The terms of the contract shall be negotiated
between the council and the governing board of the sponsoring
institution. The final contract is approved by the council. Such
a program shall be evaluated according to the benchmarks and
indicators for community and technical college education developed
by the council. If the council determines that the program is
making insufficient progress toward accomplishing the benchmarks,
the program shall thereafter be delivered by the community and
technical college.
(6) The community and technical college at West Virginia
university institute of technology. -- The community and technical
college at West Virginia university institute of technology is an
independently accredited community and technical college. The new
community and technical college is developed on the base of the
component community and technical college of West Virginia
university institute of technology. Subject to the provisions of
this section, the president and the governing board of West Virginia
university institute of technology are responsible, according to a
plan approved by the commission, for step-by-step implementation of
the new independently accredited community and technical college
which adheres to the essential conditions pursuant to section three
of this article. Subject to the provisions of section twelve of
this article, the community and technical college will remain
administratively linked to West Virginia university institute of
technology. West Virginia university institute of technology may
continue associate degree programs in areas of particular
institutional strength which are closely articulated to their
baccalaureate programs and missions or which are of a high-cost
nature and can best be provided in direct coordination with a
baccalaureate institution. Any such program shall be delivered
under the authority of the council and through contract with the
community and technical college. The terms of the contract shall
be negotiated between the council and the governing board of the sponsoring institution. The final contract is approved by the
council. Such a program shall be evaluated according to the
benchmarks and indicators for community and technical college
education developed by the council. If the council determines that
the program is making insufficient progress toward accomplishing the
benchmarks, the program shall thereafter be delivered by the
community and technical college.
(d) For each administratively linked community and technical
college which fails to achieve independent accreditation by the
first day of July, two thousand five, the council shall choose one
of the following options:
(1) Create the administratively linked institution as a
freestanding community and technical college; or
(2) Assign the responsibility for obtaining independent
accreditation to another state institution of higher education.
The president and the board of governors of each sponsoring
institution is accountable to the council for ensuring that the
community and technical college is able to meet the conditions for
independent accreditation and adheres to the essential conditions
pursuant to section three of this article.
§18B-3C-9. Increasing flexibility for community and technical
colleges.
(a) Notwithstanding any rules or procedures of the governing
boards to the contrary, the community and technical colleges have the authority and the duty to:
(1) Incorporate the most effective and efficient use of
technology in accessing and delivering courses and programs in order
to make the best use of available resources and to control costs;
(2) Incorporate a model to offer occupational program curricula
in smaller modules to accommodate specific student and employer
needs and to gain sufficient flexibility in formatting courses;
(3) Serve as a facilitator for education programs from outside
delivery sources to meet the needs of the residents and employers
of the district; and
(4) Employ faculty in the most effective manner to serve the
core mission of the community and technical college.
(A) To that end, the freestanding community and technical
colleges may employ faculty for an indefinite period without a grant
of tenure and shall work toward a staffing goal of no more than
twenty percent of the faculty holding tenure or being tenure-track
employees. Tenured faculty employed by the freestanding community
and technical colleges before the first day of July, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine, are not affected by this provision.
(B) All community and technical colleges, other than those set
forth in paragraph (A) of this subdivision, may employ faculty for
an indefinite period without a grant of tenure. The immediate goal
is to use this provision as a tool to assist the community and
technical colleges in meeting the essential conditions provided for in section three of this article and in gaining independent
accreditation status. The ultimate goal is to provide the
flexibility community and technical colleges need to meet the needs
of the state by working toward having no more than twenty percent
of the core faculty holding tenure or being tenure-track employees.
Tenured faculty employed by community and technical colleges other
than freestanding community and technical colleges on the thirtieth
day of June, two thousand, may not be affected by this provision.
Tenure may not be denied to a faculty member solely as a result of
change in employing institution necessitated by the change to
independently accredited community and technical colleges.
(b) The governing boards shall adopt a model of program
approval for the community and technical colleges that permits
occupational programs to be customized to meet needs without
requiring approval by any governing board or other agency of
government. The model shall incorporate a post-audit review of such
programs on a three-year cycle to determine the effectiveness of the
programs in meeting district needs.
(c) The council shall promulgate rules to implement the
provisions of this section and shall file these rules for review and
approval with the chancellor no later than the first day of
December, two thousand four.
§18B-3C-10. Freestanding community and technical colleges; tuition
and fees.
(a) Each governing board may fix tuition and establish and set
such other fees to be charged students at its community and
technical college as it considers appropriate, subject to the
provisions of this subsection and article ten of this chapter.
(1) The governing board, in consultation with the council, also
may establish special fees for such purposes as, including, but not
limited to, health services, student activities, student recreation,
athletics or any other extracurricular purposes. The council shall
determine which fees, if any, do not apply to the entire student
population and to which students such fees do not apply. Such
special fees may be used only for the purposes for which collected.
(2) A community and technical college may contract with any
other state institution of higher education for the participation
of its students in programs, activities or services of the other
institution and for the use of such fees collected.
(b) All tuition and fee charges in the total aggregate shall
comply with the terms of the institution's compact approved by the
council, based on peer comparisons or cost of instruction as set
forth in the goals for post-secondary education pursuant to section
one-a, article one of this chapter.
§18B-3C-12. Relationship between administratively linked community
and technical colleges and sponsoring institutions.
(a) Intent and purposes. --
(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish community and technical colleges in every region of the state that meet the
essential conditions of section three of this article.
(2) The Legislature finds that, in order to increase
efficiency, reduce costs and, generally, to facilitate the effective
transition from community and technical colleges which are
components of existing institutions of higher education to community
and technical colleges which meet the essential conditions, it is
appropriate to maintain an administrative link between the community
and technical colleges and the sponsoring institutions.
(3) This section defines the relationship between an
administratively linked community and technical college and its
sponsoring institution.
(b) Where an independently accredited community and technical
college is linked administratively to a sponsoring state college or
university in order to ensure efficient use of limited resources,
the following conditions apply:
(1) The community and technical college shall be accredited
separately from the sponsoring institution;
(2) All state funding allocations for the community and
technical college shall be transferred directly to the community and
technical college. The sponsoring institution may charge fees for
administrative overhead costs subject to a schedule approved by the
council.
(A) By the first day of December, two thousand four, the council shall develop a new model, or select an existing model, for
services to be provided by sponsoring institutions and the fees to
be charged administratively linked community and technical colleges
for the services. The fee schedule shall be based upon the
reasonable and customary fee for any service and shall bear a
rational relationship to the cost of providing the service. Nothing
in this paragraph requires the council to adopt a particular model
for service delivery.
(B) With the approval of the council, a community and technical
college and the sponsoring institution may customize the model to
fit their needs;
(3) Policies shall be formally established to ensure the
separation of academic and faculty personnel policies of the
community and technical college from those of the sponsoring
institution. These policies include, but are not limited to,
appointment, promotion, workload and, if appropriate, tenure; and
(4) The council may authorize a community and technical college
to decline any service of the sponsoring institution provided in
subsection (c) of this section if the council determines that the
service is not appropriate for the community and technical college,
or that declining the service is in the best interest of the
community and technical college. Any service declined may be
obtained from an alternate source with the approval of the council.
(c) The sponsoring institution which is administratively linked to a community and technical college shall provide the following
services:
(1) Personnel management;
(2) Recordkeeping;
(3) Payroll;
(4) Accounting;
(5) Legal services;
(6) Registration;
(7) Student aid;
(8) Student records; and
(9) Such other services as determined to be necessary and
appropriate by the council.
(d) The institutional governing board shall appoint the
president of the community and technical college, who serves at the
will and pleasure of the governing board.
(e) The governing board and the council are responsible for the
step-by-step development of the community and technical college and
for compliance with the essential conditions, all as required by
this article.
(f) The president of the community and technical college has
such responsibilities, powers and duties in the development of the
community and technical college and in compliance with the essential
conditions, as directed by the governing board or as are necessary
for the proper implementation of the provisions of this act.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the commission shall take necessary steps to ensure that
institutional bonded indebtedness is secure and that each
administratively linked community and technical college assumes its
fair share of any institutional debt acquired while it was part of
the baccalaureate institution.
(h) The community and technical college is encouraged to secure
academic services from the sponsoring institution when it is in the
best interests of the students to be served, the community and
technical college and the sponsoring institution. In determining
whether or not to secure services from the sponsoring institution,
the community and technical college shall consider the following:
(1) The cost of the academic services;
(2) The quality of the academic services;
(3) The availability, both as to time and place, of the
academic services; and
(4) Such other considerations as the community and technical
college finds appropriate taking into account the best interests of
the students to be served, the community and technical college, and
the sponsoring institution. Nothing in this article prohibits any
state institution of higher education from purchasing or brokering
remedial or developmental courses from a community and technical
college.
ARTICLE 4. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
§18B-4-1. Employment of chancellors; designation of staff; offices.
(a) The council and commission each shall employ a chancellor
to assist in the performance of their respective duties and
responsibilities subject to the following conditions:
(1) Each chancellor serves at the will and pleasure of the
hiring body.
(2) Neither chancellor may hold or retain any other
administrative position within the system of higher education while
employed as chancellor.
(3) Each chancellor is responsible for carrying out the
directives of the body by whom employed and shall work with that
body in developing policy options.
(4) The commission shall designate a limited number of
positions that are under the direct control and supervision of the
chancellor for higher education. These positions form the nuclear
staff of the chancellor's office and may equal no more than fifteen
percent of the total number of staff employed by the commission.
Nevertheless, regardless of the number or title of the
positions so designated, the commission is responsible to the
council and the chancellor for community and technical college
education for providing services in areas essential to exercising
the powers and duties assigned to the council by law. The
commission may not charge the council any fee for the provision of
these essential services. The service areas include, but are not limited to, legal services, research, technology, computing, finance
and facilities, academic affairs, telecommunications, human
resources, student services and any other general areas the council
considers to be essential to the exercise of its legal authority.
The services are provided under the general supervision of the vice
chancellor for administration.
(5) For the purpose of developing or evaluating policy options,
the chancellors may request the assistance of the presidents and
staff of the institutions under their respective jurisdictions.
(b) In addition to the staff positions designated in
subdivision (4), subsection (a) of this section, the vice chancellor
for administration, employed pursuant to section two of this
article, serves the offices of the chancellors to discharge jointly
the duties and responsibilities of the council and commission.
(c) The vice chancellor for health sciences shall coordinate
the West Virginia university school of medicine, the Marshall
university school of medicine and the West Virginia school of
osteopathic medicine.
(d) Suitable offices for the vice chancellor of administration
and other staff shall be provided in Charleston.
§18B-4-2. Employment of vice chancellor for administration;
office; powers and duties generally.
(a) By and with the advice and consent of the council, the
commission shall employ a vice chancellor for administration who may not be dismissed without the consent of the council:
(1) The individual serving as vice chancellor for
administration on the effective date of this section may continue
to serve on an interim basis until the commission and the council
have agreed, jointly, on a candidate to fill the position;
(2) The interim vice chancellor for administration may be
considered as a candidate for the position;
(3) The position shall be filled on a permanent basis no later
than the first day of October, two thousand four; and
(4) Any vacancy occurring in this position shall be filled
pursuant to the requirements of this section.
(b) Any reference in this chapter or chapter eighteen-c of this
code to the senior administrator means the vice chancellor for
administration.
(c) The vice chancellor for administration has a ministerial
duty, in consultation with and under direction of the chancellors,
to perform such functions, tasks and duties as may be necessary to
carry out the policy directives of the council and commission and
such other duties as may be prescribed by law.
(d) The vice chancellor for administration shall supervise such
professional, administrative, clerical and other employees as may
be necessary to these duties and shall delineate staff
responsibilities as considered desirable and appropriate. It is the
responsibility of the vice chancellor for administration, within the parameters of the total resources available, to supervise and direct
the staff in such a way that the staff and resource needs of the
council, the commission and the offices of the chancellors are met.
(e) Any employee of the commission or the council whose job
duties meet criteria listed in the system of job classifications as
stated in article nine of this chapter is accorded the job title,
compensation and rights established in the article as well as all
other rights and privileges accorded classified employees by the
provisions of this code.
(f) The office of the vice chancellor for administration and
all personnel, except for the chancellor for community and technical
college education and staff transferred to the jurisdiction of the
council pursuant to subsection (a), section seven, article two-b of
this chapter, who are employed on the first day of January, two
thousand four, within the higher education central office and the
West Virginia network for educational telecomputing remain under the
jurisdiction of the commission. Prior to the first day of October,
two thousand four, any such employee may not be terminated or have
his or her salary and benefit levels reduced as the result of the
higher education reorganization that occurs on the effective date
of this section.
(g) The vice chancellor for administration shall follow state
and national education trends and gather data on higher education
needs.
(h) The vice chancellor for administration, in accordance with
established guidelines and in consultation with and under the
direction of the chancellors, shall administer, oversee or monitor
all state and federal student assistance and support programs
administered on the state level, including those provided for in
chapter eighteen-c of this code.
(i) The vice chancellor for administration has a fiduciary
responsibility to administer the tuition and registration fee
capital improvement revenue bond accounts of the governing boards.
(j) The vice chancellor for administration shall administer the
purchasing system or systems of the council and commission, the
offices of the chancellors and the governing boards. By mutual
agreement, the commission and the council may delegate authority for
the purchasing systems or portions thereof to the institution
presidents.
(k) The vice chancellor for administration is responsible for
the management of the West Virginia network for educational
telecomputing (WVNET). The vice chancellor for administration shall
establish a computer advisory board, which shall be representative
of higher education and other users of the West Virginia network for
educational telecomputing as the commission and council determine
appropriate. It is the responsibility of the computer advisory
board to recommend to the commission and the council policies for
a statewide shared computer system.
(l) The central office, under the direction of the vice
chancellor for administration, shall provide necessary staff support
to the commission, the council and offices of the chancellors.
(m) The vice chancellor for administration may administer any
program or service authorized or required to be performed by the
board of trustees or the board of directors on the thirtieth day of
June, two thousand, and not specifically assigned to another agency.
In addition, the vice chancellor for administration may administer
any program or service authorized or required to be performed by the
commission, council or chancellors, but not assigned specifically
to the commission, council or chancellors. Any such program or
service may include, but is not limited to, telecommunications
activities and other programs and services provided for under grants
and contracts from federal and other external funding sources.
§18B-4-7. Accreditation of institutions of higher education;
standards for degrees.
The council shall make rules for the accreditation of community
and technical colleges in this state and shall determine the minimum
standards for conferring degrees. The commission shall make rules
for the accreditation of colleges and universities in this state and
shall determine the minimum standards for conferring degrees. An
institution of higher education may not confer any degree on any
basis of work or merit below the minimum standards prescribed by the
council or commission. Nothing in this section infringes upon the rights, including rights to award degrees, granted to any
institution by charter given according to law, or by actions of the
council or commission or their predecessors, prior to the effective
date of this section.
With the approval of the commission,
governing boards of institutions which currently offer substantial
undergraduate course offerings and a master's degree in a discipline
are authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees in that discipline.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, a charter or
other instrument containing the right to confer degrees of higher
education status may not be granted by the state of West Virginia
to any institution, association or organization within the state,
nor may any such degree be awarded, until the condition of
conferring the degree has first been approved in writing by the
council or commission.
ARTICLE 5. HIGHER EDUCATION BUDGETS AND EXPENDITURES.
§18B-5-4. Purchase or acquisition of materials, supplies,
equipment, services and printing.
(a) The council, commission and each governing board, through
the vice chancellor for administration, shall purchase or acquire
all materials, supplies, equipment, services and printing required
for that governing board or the council or commission, as
appropriate, and the state institutions of higher education under
their jurisdiction. The commission and council jointly shall adopt
rules governing and controlling acquisitions and purchases in accordance with the provisions of this section. The rules shall
assure that the council, commission and governing boards:
(1) Do not preclude any person from participating and making
sales thereof to the governing board or to the council or commission
except as otherwise provided in section five of this article.
Provision of consultant services such as strategic planning services
will not preclude or inhibit the governing boards, council or
commission from considering any qualified bid or response for
delivery of a product or a commodity because of the rendering of
those consultant services;
(2) Establish and prescribe specifications, in all proper
cases, for materials, supplies, equipment, services and printing to
be purchased;
(3) Adopt and prescribe such purchase order, requisition or
other forms as may be required;
(4) Negotiate for and make purchases and acquisitions in such
quantities, at such times and under contract, in the open market or
through other accepted methods of governmental purchasing as may be
practicable in accordance with general law;
(5) Advertise for bids on all purchases exceeding twenty-five
thousand dollars, to purchase by means of sealed bids and
competitive bidding or to effect advantageous purchases through
other accepted governmental methods and practices;
(6) Post notices of all acquisitions and purchases for which competitive bids are being solicited in the purchasing office of the
specified institution involved in the purchase, at least two weeks
prior to making such purchases and ensure that the notice is
available to the public during business hours;
(7) Provide for purchasing in the open market;
(8) Provide for vendor notification of bid solicitation and
emergency purchasing;
(9) Provide that competitive bids are not required for
purchases of twenty-five thousand dollars or less; and
(10) Provide for not fewer than three bids where bidding is
required. If fewer than three bids are submitted, an award may be
made from among those received.
(b) The council, commission or each governing board, through
the vice chancellor for administration, may issue a check in advance
to a company supplying postage meters for postage used by that
board, the council or commission and by the state institutions of
higher education under their jurisdiction.
(c) When a purchase is to be made by bid, any or all bids may
be rejected. However, all purchases based on advertised bid
requests shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder taking
into consideration the qualities of the articles to be supplied,
their conformity with specifications, their suitability to the
requirements of the governing boards, council or commission and
delivery terms. The preference for resident vendors as provided in section thirty-seven, article three, chapter five-a of this code
apply to the competitive bids made pursuant to this section.
(d) The governing boards, council and commission shall maintain
a purchase file, which shall be a public record and open for public
inspection. After the award of the order or contract, the governing
boards, council and commission shall indicate upon the successful
bid that it was the successful bid and shall further indicate why
bids are rejected and, if the mathematical low vendor is not awarded
the order or contract, the reason therefor. A record in the
purchase file may not be destroyed without the written consent of
the legislative auditor. Those files in which the original
documentation has been held for at least one year and in which the
original documents have been reproduced and archived on microfilm
or other equivalent method of duplication may be destroyed without
the written consent of the legislative auditor. All files, no
matter the storage method, shall be open for inspection by the
legislative auditor upon request.
(e) The commission and council also jointly shall adopt rules
to prescribe qualifications to be met by any person who is to be
employed as a buyer pursuant to this section. These rules shall
require that a person may not be employed as a buyer unless that
person, at the time of employment, either is:
(1) A graduate of an accredited college or university; or
(2) Has at least four years' experience in purchasing for any unit of government or for any business, commercial or industrial
enterprise.
(f) Any person making purchases and acquisitions pursuant to
this section shall execute a bond in the penalty of fifty thousand
dollars, payable to the state of West Virginia, with a corporate
bonding or surety company authorized to do business in this state
as surety thereon, in form prescribed by the attorney general and
conditioned upon the faithful performance of all duties in
accordance with this section and sections five through eight,
inclusive, of this article and the rules of the governing board and
the council and commission. In lieu of separate bonds for such
buyers, a blanket surety bond may be obtained. Any such bond shall
be filed with the secretary of state. The cost of any such bond
shall be paid from funds appropriated to the applicable governing
board or the council or commission.
(g) All purchases and acquisitions shall be made in
consideration and within limits of available appropriations and
funds and in accordance with applicable provisions of article two,
chapter five-a of this code relating to expenditure schedules and
quarterly allotments of funds.
(h) The governing boards, council and commission may make
requisitions upon the auditor for a sum to be known as an advance
allowance account, not to exceed five percent of the total of the
appropriations for the governing board, council or commission, and the auditor shall draw a warrant upon the treasurer for such
accounts. All advance allowance accounts shall be accounted for by
the applicable governing board or the council or commission once
every thirty days or more often if required by the state auditor.
(i) Contracts entered into pursuant to this section shall be
signed by the applicable governing board or the council or
commission in the name of the state and shall be approved as to form
by the attorney general. A contract which requires approval as to
form by the attorney general is considered approved if the attorney
general has not responded within fifteen days of presentation of the
contract. A contract or a change order for that contract and
notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary,
associated documents such as performance and labor/material
payments, bonds and certificates of insurance which use terms and
conditions or standardized forms previously approved by the attorney
general and do not make substantive changes in the terms and
conditions of the contract do not require approval by the attorney
general. The attorney general shall make a list of those changes
which he or she deems to be substantive and the list, and any
changes thereto, shall be published in the state register. A
contract that exceeds fifteen thousand dollars shall be filed with
the state auditor. If requested to do so, the governing boards,
council or commission shall make all contracts available for
inspection by the state auditor. The governing board, council or commission, as appropriate, shall prescribe the amount of deposit
or bond to be submitted with a bid or contract, if any, and the
amount of deposit or bond to be given for the faithful performance
of a contract.
(j) If the governing board, council or commission purchases or
contracts for materials, supplies, equipment, services and printing
contrary to the provisions of sections four through seven of this
article or the rules pursuant thereto, such purchase or contract is
void and of no effect.
(k) Any governing board or the council or commission, as
appropriate, may request the director of purchases to make
available, from time to time, the facilities and services of that
department to the governing boards, council or commission in the
purchase and acquisition of materials, supplies, equipment, services
and printing and the director of purchases shall cooperate with that
governing board, council or commission, as appropriate, in all such
purchases and acquisitions upon such request.
(l) Each governing board or the council or commission, as
appropriate, shall permit private institutions of higher education
to join as purchasers on purchase contracts for materials, supplies,
services and equipment entered into by that governing board or the
council or commission. Any private school desiring to join as
purchasers on such purchase contracts shall file with that governing
board or the council or commission an affidavit signed by the president of the institution of higher education or a designee
requesting that it be authorized to join as purchaser on purchase
contracts of that governing board or the council or commission, as
appropriate. The private school shall agree that it is bound by
such terms and conditions as that governing board or the council or
commission may prescribe and that it will be responsible for payment
directly to the vendor under each purchase contract.
(m) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the governing boards, council and commission, as
appropriate, may make purchases from cooperative buying groups,
consortia, the federal government or from federal government
contracts if the materials, supplies, services, equipment or
printing to be purchased is available from cooperative buying
groups, consortia, the federal government or from a federal contract
and purchasing from the cooperative buying groups, consortia,
federal government or from a federal government contract would be
the most financially advantageous manner of making the purchase.
(n) An independent performance audit of all purchasing
functions and duties which are performed at any institution of
higher education shall be performed each fiscal year. The joint
committee on government and finance shall conduct the performance
audit and the governing boards, council and commission, as
appropriate, are responsible for paying the cost of the audit from
funds appropriated to the governing boards, council or commission.
(o) The governing boards shall require each institution under
their respective jurisdictions to notify and inform every vendor
doing business with that institution of the provisions of section
fifty-four, article three, chapter five-a of this code, also known
as the "prompt pay act of 1990".
(p) Consultant services, such as strategic planning services,
may not preclude or inhibit the governing boards, council or
commission from considering any qualified bid or response for
delivery of a product or a commodity because of the rendering of
those consultant services.
(q) After the commission or council, as appropriate, has
granted approval for lease-purchase arrangements by the governing
boards, a governing board may enter into lease-purchase arrangements
for capital improvements, including equipment. Any lease-purchase
arrangement so entered shall constitute a special obligation of the
state of West Virginia. The obligation under a lease-purchase
arrangement so entered may be from any funds legally available to
the institution and must be cancelable at the option of the
governing board or institution at the end of any fiscal year. The
obligation, any assignment or securitization thereof, never
constitutes an indebtedness of the state of West Virginia or any
department, agency or political subdivision thereof, within the
meaning of any constitutional provision or statutory limitation, and
may not be a charge against the general credit or taxing powers of the state or any political subdivision thereof. Such facts shall
be plainly stated in any lease-purchase agreement. Further, the
lease-purchase agreement shall prohibit assignment or securitization
without consent of the lessee and the approval of the attorney
general of West Virginia. Proposals for any arrangement must be
requested in accordance with the requirements of this section and
any rules or guidelines of the commission and council. In addition,
any lease-purchase agreement which exceeds one hundred thousand
dollars total shall be approved by the attorney general of West
Virginia. The interest component of any lease-purchase obligation
is exempt from all taxation of the state of West Virginia, except
inheritance, estate and transfer taxes. It is the intent of the
Legislature that if the requirements set forth in the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any regulations promulgated
pursuant thereto are met, the interest component of any
lease-purchase obligation also is exempt from the gross income of
the recipient for purposes of federal income taxation and may be
designated by the governing board or the president of the
institution as a bank-qualified obligation.
(r) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the commission, council and governing boards have the
authority, in the name of the state, to lease, or offer to lease,
as lessee, any grounds, buildings, office or other space in
accordance with this paragraph and as provided below:
(1) The commission, council and governing boards have sole
authority to select and to acquire by contract or lease all grounds,
buildings, office space or other space, the rental of which is
necessarily required by the commission, council or governing boards
for the institutions under their jurisdiction. The chief executive
officer of the commission, council or an institution shall certify
the following:
(A) That the grounds, buildings, office space or other space
requested is necessarily required for the proper function of the
commission, council or institution;
(B) That the commission, council or institution will be
responsible for all rent and other necessary payments in connection
with the contract or lease; and
(C) That satisfactory grounds, buildings, office space or other
space is not available on grounds and in buildings currently owned
or leased by the commission, council or the institution.
Before executing any rental contract or lease, the commission,
council or a governing board shall determine the fair rental value
for the rental of the requested grounds, buildings, office space or
other space, in the condition in which they exist, and shall
contract for or lease the premises at a price not to exceed the fair
rental value.
(2) The commission, council and governing boards are authorized
to enter into long-term agreements for buildings, land and space for periods longer than one fiscal year but not to exceed forty years.
Any purchase of real estate, any lease-purchase agreement and any
construction of new buildings or other acquisition of buildings,
office space or grounds resulting therefrom, pursuant to the
provisions of this subsection shall be presented by the policy
commission or council, as appropriate, to the joint committee on
government and finance for prior review. Any such lease shall
contain, in substance, all the following provisions:
(A) That the commission, council or governing board, as lessee,
has the right to cancel the lease without further obligation on the
part of the lessee upon giving thirty days' written notice to the
lessor at least thirty days prior to the last day of the succeeding
month;
(B) That the lease is considered canceled without further
obligation on the part of the lessee if the Legislature or the
federal government fails to appropriate sufficient funds therefor
or otherwise acts to impair the lease or cause it to be canceled;
and
(C) That the lease is considered renewed for each ensuing
fiscal year during the term of the lease unless it is canceled by
the commission, council or governing board before the end of the
then-current fiscal year.
(3) The commission, council or institution which is granted any
grounds, buildings, office space or other space leased in accordance with this section may not order or make permanent changes of any
type thereto, unless the commission, council or governing board, as
appropriate, has first determined that the change is necessary for
the proper, efficient and economically sound operation of the
institution. For purposes of this section, a "permanent change"
means any addition, alteration, improvement, remodeling, repair or
other change involving the expenditure of state funds for the
installation of any tangible thing which cannot be economically
removed from the grounds, buildings, office space or other space
when vacated by the institution.
(4) Leases and other instruments for grounds, buildings, office
or other space, once approved by the commission, council or
governing board, may be signed by the chief executive officer of the
commission, council or institution. Any lease or instrument
exceeding one hundred thousand dollars annually shall be approved
as to form by the attorney general. A lease or other instrument for
grounds, buildings, office or other space that contains a term,
including any options, of more than six months for its fulfillment
shall be filed with the state auditor.
(5) The commission and council jointly may promulgate rules
they consider necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
ARTICLE 6. ADVISORY COUNCILS AND BOARDS.
§18B-6-1. Institutional boards of advisors for regional campuses
and certain administratively linked community and technical colleges.
(a) There is hereby continued or established institutional
boards of advisors as follows:
(1) For each regional campus. The chairperson of the board of
advisors of West Virginia university at Parkersburg serves as an ex
officio, voting member of the governing board of West Virginia
university;
(2) For administratively linked community and technical
colleges which share a physical location with the sponsoring
institution. This category includes Fairmont state community and
technical college, Marshall community and technical college, West
Virginia state community and technical college and the community and
technical college at West Virginia university institute of
technology. The chairperson of the board of advisors of each
administratively linked community and technical college serves as
an ex officio, voting member of the sponsoring institution's board
of governors or, in the case of the community and technical college
at West Virginia university institute of technology, the chairperson
of the board of advisors serves as an ex officio voting member of
the governing board of West Virginia university;
(3) For New River community and technical college and the
community and technical college of Shepherd, until these institutions achieve independent accreditation. As long as New
River community and technical college or the community and technical
college of Shepherd retains a board of advisors and remains
administratively linked to the baccalaureate institution, the
chairperson of that board of advisors serves as an ex officio,
voting member of the governing board of Bluefield state college or
Shepherd college, respectively.
(b) The lay members of the institutional boards of advisors for
the regional campuses are appointed by the board of governors.
(c) The lay members of the institutional boards of advisors
established for the administratively linked community and technical
colleges are appointed by the West Virginia council for community
and technical college education.
(d) The board of advisors consists of fifteen members,
including a full-time member of the faculty with the rank of
instructor or above duly elected by the faculty of the respective
institution; a member of the student body in good academic standing,
enrolled for college credit work and duly elected by the student
body of the respective institution; a member from the institutional
classified employees duly elected by the classified employees of the
respective institution; and twelve lay persons appointed pursuant
to this section who have demonstrated a sincere interest in and
concern for the welfare of that institution and who are
representative of the population of its responsibility district and fields of study. At least eight of the twelve lay persons appointed
shall be residents of the state. Of the lay members who are
residents of the state, at least two shall be alumni of the
respective institution and no more than a simple majority may be of
the same political party.
(e) The student member serves for a term of one year beginning
upon appointment in July, two thousand four, and ending on the
thirtieth day of April, two thousand five. Thereafter the term
shall begin on the first day of May. The member from the faculty
and the classified employees, respectively, serves for a term of two
years beginning upon appointment in July, two thousand four, and
ending on the thirtieth day of April, two thousand five. Thereafter
the term shall begin on the first day of May; and the twelve lay
members serve terms of four years each beginning upon appointment
in July, two thousand four. Thereafter, the term shall begin on the
first day of May. All members are eligible to succeed themselves
for no more than one additional term. A vacancy in an unexpired
term of a member shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired
term within thirty days of the occurrence thereof in the same manner
as the original appointment or election. Except in the case of a
vacancy:
(1) Commencing in two thousand five, all elections shall be
held and all appointments shall be made no later than the thirtieth
day of April preceding the commencement of the term; and
(2) Terms of members begin on the first day of May following
election, except for two thousand four only, terms begin upon
appointment in July.
(f) Each board of advisors shall hold a regular meeting at
least quarterly, commencing in May of each year. Additional
meetings may be held upon the call of the chairperson, president of
the institution or upon the written request of at least five
members. A majority of the members constitutes a quorum for
conducting the business of the board of advisors.
(g) One of the twelve lay members shall be elected as
chairperson by the board of advisors in May of each year, except
that the chairperson elected in two thousand four shall be elected
in July. No member may serve as chairperson for more than two
consecutive years.
(h) The president of the institution shall make available
resources of the institution for conducting the business of the
board of advisors. The members of the board of advisors shall be
reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually
incurred in the performance of their official duties under this
section upon presentation of an itemized sworn statement thereof.
All expenses incurred by the boards of advisors and the institutions
under this section shall be paid from funds allocated to the
institutions for that purpose.
(i) Prior to the submission by the president to its governing board, the board of advisors shall review all proposals of the
institution in the areas of mission, academic programs, budget,
capital facilities and such other matters as requested by the
president of the institution or its governing board or otherwise
assigned to it by law. The board of advisors shall comment on each
such proposal in writing, with such recommendations for concurrence
therein or revision or rejection thereof as it considers proper.
The written comments and recommendations shall accompany the
proposal to the governing board and the governing board shall
include the comments and recommendations in its consideration of and
action on the proposal. The governing board shall promptly
acknowledge receipt of the comments and recommendations and shall
notify the board of advisors in writing of any action taken thereon.
(j) Prior to their implementation by the president, the board
of advisors shall review all proposals regarding institution-wide
personnel policies. The board of advisors may comment on the
proposals in writing.
(k) The board of advisors shall provide advice and assistance
to the president and the governing board in areas including, but not
limited to, the following:
(1) Establishing closer connections between higher education
and business, labor, government and community and economic
development organizations to give students greater opportunities to
experience the world of work. Examples of such experiences include business and community service internships, apprenticeships and
cooperative programs;
(2) Communicating better and serving the current workforce and
workforce development needs of their service area, including the
needs of nontraditional students for college-level skills upgrading
and retraining and the needs of employers for specific programs of
limited duration; and
(3) Assessing the performance of the institution's graduates
and assisting in job placement.
(l) When a vacancy occurs in the office of president of the
institution, the board of advisors shall serve as a search and
screening committee for candidates to fill the vacancy under
guidelines established by the council. When serving as a search and
screening committee, the board of advisors and its governing board
are each authorized to appoint up to three additional persons to
serve on the committee as long as the search and screening process
is in effect. The three additional appointees of the board of
advisors shall be faculty members of the institution. For the
purposes of the search and screening process only, the additional
members shall possess the same powers and rights as the regular
members of the board of advisors, including reimbursement for all
reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred. Following the
search and screening process, the committee shall submit the names
of at least three candidates to the council, or to the governing board in the case of West Virginia university institute of
technology, for consideration. If the council or governing board
rejects all candidates submitted, the committee shall submit the
names of at least three additional candidates and this process shall
be repeated until the council or governing board approves one of the
candidates submitted. In all cases, the governing board shall make
the appointment with the approval of the council or the commission
in the case of West Virginia university institute of technology.
The governing board or the council shall provide all necessary staff
assistance to the board of advisors in its role as a search and
screening committee.
(m) The boards of advisors shall develop a master plan for
those administratively linked community and technical colleges which
retain boards of advisors. The ultimate responsibility for
developing and updating the master plans at the institutional level
resides with the institutional board of advisors, but the ultimate
responsibility for approving the final version of these
institutional master plans, including periodic updates, resides with
the council. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
(1) A detailed demonstration of how the master plan will be
used to meet the goals and objectives of the institutional compact;
(2) A well-developed set of goals outlining missions, degree
offerings, resource requirements, physical plant needs, personnel needs, enrollment levels and other planning determinates and
projections necessary in such a plan to assure that the needs of the
institution's area of responsibility for a quality system of higher
education are addressed;
(3) Documentation of the involvement of the commission,
institutional constituency groups, clientele of the institution and
the general public in the development of all segments of the
institutional master plan.
The plan shall be established for periods of not less than
three nor more than six years and shall be revised periodically as
necessary, including recommendations on the addition or deletion of
degree programs as, in the discretion of the board of advisors, may
be necessary.
§18B-6-1a. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, the following words have the
meanings specified unless the context clearly indicates a different
meaning:
(a) "Advisory council of classified employees" or "classified
council" means the state advisory organization of classified
employees created pursuant to section five of this article.
(b) "Advisory council of faculty" or "faculty council" means
the state advisory organization of faculty created pursuant to
section two of this article.
(c) "Advisory council of students" or "student advisory council" means the state advisory organization of students created
pursuant to section four of this article.
(d) "Classified employee", in the singular or plural, means any
regular full-time or regular part-time employee of a governing
board, the commission, the council or the West Virginia network for
educational telecomputing who holds a position that is assigned a
particular job title and pay grade in accordance with the personnel
classification system established by law.
(e) "Community and technical college" means eastern West
Virginia community and technical college, Fairmont state community
and technical college, Marshall community and technical college, New
River community and technical college, West Virginia northern
community and technical college, the community and technical college
of Shepherd, southern West Virginia community and technical college,
West Virginia state community and technical college, the community
and technical college at West Virginia university institute of
technology, West Virginia university at Parkersburg and any other
community and technical college so designated by the Legislature.
(f) "Council" means the West Virginia council for community and
technical college education created pursuant to section three,
article two-b of this chapter.
(g) "Institutional classified employee council" or "staff
council" means the advisory group of classified employees formed at
a state institution of higher education pursuant to section six of this article.
(h) "Institutional faculty senate", "faculty senate" or
"faculty assembly" means the advisory group of faculty formed at a
state institution of higher education pursuant to section three of
this article.
(i) "State institution of higher education", in the singular
or plural, means the institutions as defined in section two, article
one of this chapter and, additionally, Fairmont state community and
technical college, Marshall community and technical college, New
River community and technical college, Potomac state college of West
Virginia university, Robert C. Byrd health sciences Charleston
division of West Virginia university, the community and technical
college of Shepherd, West Virginia state community and technical
college, West Virginia university at Parkersburg, West Virginia
university institute of technology, the community and technical
college at West Virginia university institute of technology, the
higher education policy commission, the West Virginia council for
community and technical college education, the West Virginia network
for educational telecomputing and any other institution so
designated by the Legislature.
§18B-6-2. State advisory council of faculty.
(a) There is continued the state advisory council of faculty.
(b) Election of members and terms of office. --
(1) During the month of April of each odd-numbered year, each president of a state institution of higher education, at the
direction of the faculty council and in accordance with procedures
established by the faculty council, shall convene a meeting or
otherwise institute a balloting process to elect one faculty member
from each institution of higher education to serve on the faculty
council.
(2) Terms of the members are for two years and begin on the
first day of July of each odd-numbered year. Members are eligible
to succeed themselves.
(3) For the year two thousand four only, each president of an
administratively linked community and technical college shall
consult with the faculty council during the month of July to
establish procedures and convene a meeting or otherwise institute
a balloting process to elect one faculty member from that
institution to serve on the faculty council. Members so elected
shall take office upon election and serve until the next regularly
scheduled election held pursuant to this section; thereafter,
faculty members elected to represent administratively linked
community and technical colleges serve a regular two-year term.
(c) The faculty council shall meet at least once each quarter
and may meet at such other times as called by the chairperson or by
a majority of its members. One of the quarterly meetings shall be
during the month of July, at which meeting the faculty council shall
elect a chairperson from among its members. The chairperson may serve no more than two consecutive terms as chair. A member may not
vote by proxy at the election. In the event of a tie in the last
vote taken for such election, a member authorized by the faculty
council shall select the chairperson by lot from the names of those
persons tied. Immediately following the election of a chairperson,
and in the manner prescribed by this section for the election of a
chairperson, the faculty council shall elect a member to preside
over meetings in the absence of the chairperson. If the chairperson
vacates the position, the faculty council shall meet and elect a new
chairperson to fill the unexpired term within thirty days following
the vacancy.
(d) The faculty council, through its chairperson and in any
appropriate manner, shall communicate to the commission or the
council, as appropriate, matters of higher education in which the
faculty members have an interest.
(e) The commission and council each shall meet annually between
the months of October and December with the faculty council to
discuss matters of higher education in which the faculty members or
the commission or council may have an interest.
(f) Members of the faculty council serve without compensation.
Members are entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary
expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the performance of
their official duties. Expenses are paid from funds allocated to
the state institution of higher education which the member serves.
(g) The faculty council shall prepare minutes of its meetings,
which minutes shall be available, upon request, to any faculty
member of a state institution of higher education represented on the
faculty council.
§18B-6-3. Institutional faculty senate.
(a) Effective the first day of July, two thousand four, a
faculty senate is established at each institution of higher
education, except for those institutions which choose to establish
a faculty assembly. In the latter case, all faculty participate in
the faculty assembly and the requirements of subsections (b) and (c)
of this section do not apply. Members and officers of an organized,
campus-level advisory group of faculty who are serving prior to the
effective date of this section may continue to serve with all the
rights, privileges and responsibilities prescribed herein until the
time that members elected as set forth in subsection (b) of this
section assume office.
(b) Members of each faculty senate are elected as follows:
(1) During the month of April of each even-numbered year, each
president of a state institution of higher education, at the
direction of the faculty and in accordance with procedures
established by the faculty, shall convene a meeting or otherwise
institute a balloting process to elect the members of the faculty
senates, except that for two thousand four only, the election shall
take place in July.
(2) Selection procedures shall provide for appropriate
representation of all academic units within the institution.
(3) The faculty member who is elected to serve on the faculty
council is an ex officio, voting member of the faculty senate and
reports to the faculty senate on meetings of the faculty council and
the board of governors.
(c) Members serve a term of two years, which term begins on the
first day of July of each even-numbered year, except for the year
two thousand four when terms begin upon election. Members of the
faculty senate are eligible to succeed themselves.
(d) Each faculty senate shall elect a chairperson from among
its members. The chairperson serves a term of two years, and may
serve no more than two consecutive terms as chairperson.
(e) The faculty senate meets quarterly and may meet at such
other times as called by the chairperson or by a majority of the
members. With appropriate notification to the president of the
institution, the chairperson may convene a faculty senate meeting
for the purpose of sharing information and discussing issues
affecting faculty and the effective and efficient management of the
institution.
(f) The president of the institution shall meet at least
quarterly with the faculty senate to discuss matters affecting
faculty and the effective and efficient management of the
institution.
(g) The governing board of the institution shall meet at least
annually with the faculty senate to discuss matters affecting
faculty and the effective and efficient management of the
institution.
§18B-6-4. State advisory council of students.
(a) There is continued the state advisory council of students.
(b) During the month of April of each year, each student
government organization at each institution of higher education
shall elect a student to serve on the student advisory council.
Terms of the members of the student advisory council are for one
year and begin on the first day of September of each year. A duly
elected member currently serving on the advisory council of students
may continue to serve until a new member from that institution is
elected pursuant to the provisions of this section. Members of the
student advisory council are eligible to succeed themselves.
(c) The student advisory council shall meet at least once each
quarter. One of the quarterly meetings shall be during the month
of September, at which meeting the student advisory council shall
elect a chairperson. A member may not vote by proxy at the
election. In the event of a tie in the last vote taken for the
election, a member authorized by the student advisory council shall
select the chairperson by lot from the names of those persons tied.
Immediately following the election of a chairperson, the student
advisory council shall elect, in the manner prescribed by this section for the election of a chairperson, a member of the council
to preside over meetings in the absence of the chairperson. If the
chairperson vacates the position, the student advisory council shall
meet and elect a new chairperson to fill the unexpired term within
thirty days following the vacancy.
(d) The student advisory council, through its chairperson and
in any appropriate manner, shall communicate to the commission or
the council, as appropriate, matters of higher education in which
the student members have an interest.
(e) At the request of the chairperson of the student advisory
council, the commission and council each shall meet annually,
between the months of October and December, with the student
advisory council to discuss matters of higher education in which the
student members or the commission or council have an interest.
(f) Members of the student advisory council serve without
compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for actual and
necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the
performance of their official duties. Expenses are paid from funds
allocated to the state institution of higher education in which the
student is enrolled.
(g) The student advisory council shall prepare minutes of its
meetings. The minutes shall be available, upon request, to any
student of a state institution of higher education represented on
the council.
§18B-6-5. State advisory councils of classified employees.
(a) There is hereby continued the state advisory council of
classified employees.
(b) Election of members and terms of office. --
(1) During the month of April of each odd-numbered year, each
president of a state institution of higher education, at the
direction of the classified council and in accordance with
procedures established by the classified council, shall convene a
meeting or otherwise institute a balloting process to elect one
classified employee from each institution of higher education to
serve on the classified council.
(2) Terms of the members are for two years and begin on the
first day of July of each odd-numbered year. Members are eligible
to succeed themselves.
(3) For the year two thousand four only, each president of an
administratively linked community and technical college shall
consult with the classified council during the month of July to
establish procedures and convene a meeting or otherwise institute
a balloting process to elect one classified employee from that
institution to serve on the classified council. Members so elected
take office upon election and serve until the next regularly
scheduled election held pursuant to this section; thereafter,
classified employees elected to represent administratively linked
community and technical colleges serve a regular two-year term.
(c) The classified council shall meet at least once each
quarter and may meet at such other times as called by the
chairperson or by a majority of its members. One of the quarterly
meetings shall be during the month of July, at which meeting the
classified council shall elect a chairperson from among its members.
The chairperson may serve no more than two consecutive terms as
chairperson. A member may not vote by proxy at the election. In
the event of a tie in the last vote taken for the election, a member
authorized by the classified council shall select the chairperson
by lot from the names of those persons tied. Immediately following
the election of a chairperson, the classified council shall elect,
in the manner prescribed by this section for the election of a
chairperson, a member of the classified council to preside over
meetings in the absence of the chairperson. If the chairperson
vacates the position, the classified council shall meet and elect
a new chairperson to fill the unexpired term within thirty days
following the vacancy.
(d) The classified council, through its chairperson and in any
appropriate manner, shall communicate to the commission or the
council, as appropriate, matters of higher education in which the
classified employees have an interest.
(e) The commission and council each shall meet annually,
between the months of October and December, with the classified
council to discuss matters of higher education in which the classified employees or the commission or council have an interest.
(f) Members of the classified council serve without
compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for actual and
necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the
performance of their official duties. Expenses are paid from funds
allocated to the state institution of higher education which the
member serves.
(g) The classified council shall prepare minutes of its
meetings. The minutes shall be available, upon request, to any
classified employee of a state institution of higher education
represented on the classified council.
§18B-6-6. Institutional classified employee council.
(a) There is continued at each institution of higher education
an institutional classified employee advisory council to be known
as the staff council.
(b) During the month of April of each odd-numbered year, each
president of a state institution of higher education, at the
direction of the staff council and in accordance with procedures
established by the staff council, shall convene a meeting or
otherwise institute a balloting process to elect members of the
staff council, except that for two thousand four only, the election
shall take place in July. Members are elected as follows:
(1) Two classified employees from the administrative/managerial
sector;
(2) Two classified employees from the professional/nonteaching
sector;
(3) Two classified employees from the paraprofessional sector;
(4) Two classified employees from the secretarial/clerical
sector;
(5) Two classified employees from the physical
plant/maintenance sector;
(6) The classified employee who is elected to serve on the
advisory council of classified employees serves as an ex officio,
voting member of the staff council. This member shall report to the
staff council on meetings of the classified council and the board
of governors; and
(7) Classified employees at Marshall university and West
Virginia university may elect five classified employees from each
of the five sectors to serve on the staff council.
(c) Members serve a term of two years, which term begins on the
first day of July of each odd-numbered year. Members of the staff
council are eligible to succeed themselves.
(d) Classified employees shall select one of their members to
serve as chairperson. All classified employees at the institution
are eligible to vote for the chairperson by any method approved by
a majority of their members. The chairperson is eligible to succeed
himself or herself.
(e) The staff council shall meet at least monthly or at the call of the chairperson. With appropriate notification to the
president of the institution, the chairperson may convene staff
council meetings for the purpose of sharing information and
discussing issues affecting the classified employees or the
efficient and effective operations of the institution.
(f) The president of the institution shall meet at least
quarterly with the staff council to discuss matters affecting
classified employees.
(g) The governing board of the institution shall meet at least
annually with the staff council to discuss matters affecting
classified employees and the effective and efficient management of
the institution.
ARTICLE 7. PERSONNEL GENERALLY.
§18B-7-1. Seniority for full-time classified personnel; seniority
to be observed in reducing workforce; preferred recall
list; renewal of listing; notice of vacancies.
(a) Definitions for terms used in this section are in
accordance with those provided in section two, article nine of this
chapter, except that the provisions of this section apply only to
classified employees whose employment, if continued, accumulates to
a minimum total of one thousand forty hours during a calendar year
and extends over at least nine months of a calendar year. This
section also applies to any classified employee who is involuntarily
transferred to a position in nonclassified status for which he or she did not apply. Any classified employee involuntarily
transferred to a position in nonclassified status may only exercise
the rights set out in this section for positions equivalent to or
lower than the last job class the employee held.
(b) All decisions by the appropriate governing board, the
council or commission or its agents at state institutions of higher
education concerning reductions in workforce of full-time classified
personnel, whether by temporary furlough or permanent termination,
shall be made in accordance with this section. For layoffs by
classification for reason of lack of funds or work, or abolition of
position or material changes in duties or organization and for
recall of employees laid off, consideration shall be given to an
employee's seniority as measured by permanent employment in the
service of the state system of higher education. In the event that
the institution desires to lay off a more senior employee, the
institution shall demonstrate that the senior employee cannot
perform any other job duties held by less senior employees of that
institution in the same job class or any other equivalent or lower
job class for which the senior employee is qualified. If an
employee refuses to accept a position in a lower job class, the
employee retains all rights of recall provided in this section. If
two or more employees accumulate identical seniority, the priority
is determined by a random selection system established by the
employees and approved by the institution.
(c) Any employee laid off during a furlough or reduction in
workforce is placed upon a preferred recall list and is recalled to
employment by the institution on the basis of seniority. An
employee's listing with an institution remains active for a period
of one calendar year from the date of termination or furlough or
from the date of the most recent renewal. If an employee fails to
renew the listing with the institution, the employee's name may be
removed from the list. An employee placed upon the preferred list
shall be recalled to any position opening by the institution within
the classifications in which the employee had previously been
employed or to any lateral position for which the employee is
qualified. An employee on the preferred recall list does not
forfeit the right to recall by the institution if compelling reasons
require the employee to refuse an offer of reemployment by the
institution.
The institution shall notify all employees maintaining active
listings on the preferred recall list of all position openings that
periodically exist. The notice shall be sent by certified mail to
the last known address of the employee. It is the duty of each
employee listed to notify the institution of any change in address
and to timely renew the listing with the institution. A position
opening may not be filled by the institution, whether temporary or
permanent, until all employees on the preferred recall list have
been properly notified of existing vacancies and have been given an opportunity to accept reemployment.
(d) A nonexempt classified employee, who applies and meets the
minimum qualifications for a nonexempt job opening at the
institution where currently employed, whether the job is a lateral
transfer or a promotion, shall be transferred or promoted before a
new person is hired.
(1) This subsection does not apply if the hiring is affected
by:
(A) Mandates in affirmative action plans; or
(B) The requirements of Public Law 101-336, the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
(2) This subsection applies to any nonexempt classified
employee, including:
(A) One who has not accumulated a minimum total of one thousand
forty hours during the calendar year; and
(B) One whose contract does not extend over at least nine
months of a calendar year.
(3) If more than one qualified, nonexempt classified employee
applies, the best-qualified nonexempt classified employee is awarded
the position. In instances where the classified employees are
equally qualified, the nonexempt classified employee with the
greatest amount of continuous seniority at that institution is
awarded the position.
(4) A nonexempt classified employee is one to whom the provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended,
apply.
(e) In addition to any other information required, any
application for personnel governed by the provisions of this section
shall include the applicant's social security number.
(f) Regardless of the level of seniority for any employee, for
the purposes of this section:
(1) In the case of a reduction in force, an employee at a
community and technical college may not displace any employee of an
institution under the jurisdiction of the commission.
(2) In the case of a reduction in force, an employee at an
institution under the jurisdiction of the commission may not
displace any employee of a community and technical college.
(3) For the purpose of this subsection, an employee performing
a dual service for a sponsoring institution and an administratively
linked community and technical college is an employee at an
institution under the jurisdiction of the commission if the
sponsoring institution receives a fee from the administratively
linked community and technical college for the service performed by
that employee.
§18B-7-12. Maintenance of benefits for employees.
(a) On the effective date of this section, any individual
employed on the day preceding the effective date of this section by
the chancellor for higher education or commission maintains all benefits of employment held, accrued and afforded prior to the
effective date of this section. Such benefits include, but are not
limited to, retirement benefits, continued membership in the same
retirement system, any insurance coverage, and sick and annual
leave. For the purposes of leave conversion established in section
thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of this code, an employee
is not a new employee, and the prohibition on conversion does not
apply if the employee was eligible for leave conversion on the day
preceding the effective date of this section. For the purpose of
section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of this code:
(1) Each employee maintains all sick and annual leave accrued,
and all rights to convert the leave that had been accrued on the day
preceding the effective date of this section; and
(2) Each employee continues to maintain his or her status for
eligibility under the provisions and application of said section
thirteen as applied to the employee on the day preceding the
effective date of this section.
(b) Prior to the first day of October, two thousand four, an
employee may not be terminated, or have his or her salary or benefit
levels reduced as the result of the higher education reorganization
set forth in this article.
ARTICLE 9. CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE SALARY SCHEDULE AND CLASSIFICATION
SYSTEM.
§18B-9-1. Legislative purpose.
The purpose of the Legislature in the enactment of this article
is to require the commission and council jointly to establish,
control, supervise and manage a complete, uniform system of
personnel classification in accordance with the provisions of this
article for all employees other than faculty and nonclassified
employees at state institutions of higher education.
§18B-9-2. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(a) "Classified employee" or "employee" means any regular
full-time or regular part-time employee of a governing board, the
commission or the council, including all employees of the West
Virginia network for educational telecomputing, who hold a position
that is assigned a particular job title and pay grade in accordance
with the personnel classification system established by this article
or by the commission and council;
(b) "Nonclassified employee" means an individual who is
responsible for policy formation at the department or institutional
level, or reports directly to the president, or is in a position
considered critical to the institution by the president pursuant to
policies adopted by the governing board. The percentage of
personnel placed in the category of "nonclassified" at any given
institution may not exceed ten percent of the total number of
employees of that institution who are eligible for membership in any
state retirement system of the state of West Virginia or other retirement plan authorized by the state: Provided, That an
additional ten percent of the total number of employees of that
institution as defined in this subsection may be placed in the
category of "nonclassified" if they are in a position considered
critical to the institution by the president. Final approval of
such placement shall be with the appropriate governing board;
(c) "Job description" means the specific listing of duties and
responsibilities as determined by the appropriate governing board,
the commission or council and associated with a particular job
title;
(d) "Job title" means the name of the position or job as
defined by the appropriate governing board, the commission or
council;
(e) "Merit increases and salary adjustments" means the amount
of additional salary increase allowed on a merit basis or to rectify
salary inequities or accommodate competitive market conditions in
accordance with rules established by the governing boards, the
commission or council;
(f) "Pay grade" means the number assigned by the commission and
council to a particular job title and refers to the vertical column
heading of the salary schedule established in section three of this
article;
(g) "Personnel classification system" means the process of job
categorization adopted by the commission and council jointly by which job title, job description, pay grade and placement on the
salary schedule are determined;
(h) "Salary" means the amount of compensation paid through the
state treasury per annum to a classified employee;
(i) "Schedule" or "salary schedule" means the grid of annual
salary figures established in section three of this article; and
(j) "Years of experience" means the number of years a person
has been an employee of the state of West Virginia and refers to the
horizontal column heading of the salary schedule established in
section three of this article. For the purpose of placement on the
salary schedule, employment for nine months or more equals one year
of experience, but a classified employee may not accrue more than
one year of experience during any given fiscal year. Employment for
less than full time or less than nine months during any fiscal year
shall be prorated. In accordance with rules established by the
commission and council jointly, a classified employee may be granted
additional years of experience not to exceed the actual number of
years of prior, relevant work or experience at accredited
institutions of higher education other than state institutions of
higher education.
ARTICLE 10. FEES AND OTHER MONEY COLLECTED AT STATE INSTITUTIONS
OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
§18B-10-1b. Special equity fee; purpose; exemptions.
In addition to the other fees provided in this article, each governing board has the authority to impose, collect and expend the
proceeds of a special equity fee under the following conditions:
(a) The fee shall be used solely for the purpose of complying
with the athletic provisions of 20 U. S. C. 1681, et seq., known as
Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972;
(b) The fee is exempt from limitations on fee increases set
forth in this article for three years from the effective date of
this section;
(c) The fee may not be used by an institution to advance its
classification of participation in its athletics governing body; and
(d) The fee may not be imposed upon part-time students or
students enrolled in an administratively linked community and
technical college.
§18B-10-2. Higher education resource fee.
In addition to the fees specifically provided for in section
one of this article, all students enrolled for credit at a state
institution of higher education shall pay a higher education
resource fee. The commission and council jointly shall fix the fee
rates for the various institutions and classes of students under
their respective jurisdictions and may from time to time change
these rates. The amount of the fee charged at each institution
shall be prorated for part-time students. The fee imposed by this
section is in addition to the maximum fees allowed to be collected
under the provision of section one of this article and is not limited thereby. Refunds of the fee may be made in the same manner
as any other fee collected at state institutions of higher
education.
Ninety percent of the total fees collected at each institution
pursuant to this section shall be deposited in a special fund in the
state treasury for the institution at which the fees are collected
and may be used by the institution for libraries and library
supplies, including books, periodicals, subscriptions and
audiovisual materials, instructional equipment and materials; and
for the improvement in quality and scope of student services. Up
to ten percent of the fee collections from institutions under the
jurisdiction of the commission shall be deposited in a special fund
and expended or allocated by the commission to meet general
operating expenses of the commission or to fund statewide programs.
Up to ten percent of the fee collections from institutions under the
jurisdiction of the council shall be deposited in a special fund and
expended or allocated by the council to meet general operating
expenses of the council or to fund statewide programs. The boards
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, offset the impact, if any,
on financially needy students of any potential fee increases under
this section by allocating an appropriate amount of such fee revenue
to the state scholarship program to be expended in accordance with
the provisions of article five, chapter eighteen-c of this code.
The commission and council each shall, on or before the first day of July annually, provide the legislative auditor with a report
of the projected fee collections for the board and each of its
institutions and the expenditures proposed for such fee.