SB673 HFA Hamrick 3-6 #1

White 3336

Delegates Hamrick and Summers moved to amend the bill on page 1, by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

CHAPTER 18b. HIGHER EDUCATION.

ARTICLE 1. GOVERNANCE

§18B-1-2. Definitions.

The following words when used in this chapter and chapter eighteen-c of this code have the meanings ascribed to them unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(1) “Administratively linked community and technical college” means a state institution of higher education delivering community and technical college education and programs which has maintained a contractual agreement to receive essential services from another accredited state institution of higher education prior to July 1, 2008;

(2) “Advanced technology center” means a facility established under the direction of an independent community and technical college or the council for the purpose of implementing and delivering education and training programs for high-skill, high-performance Twenty-first Century workplaces;

(3) “Approve” or “approval”, when used in reference to action by the Commission or the Council, means action in which the governance rationale of a governing board under its jurisdiction is given due consideration, and the action of the Commission is to additionally establish whether the proposed institutional action is consistent with law and established policy and is an appropriate advancement of the public interest;

(4) “Board of visitors” means the advisory board previously appointed for the West Virginia Graduate College and the advisory board previously appointed for West Virginia University Institute of Technology, which provide guidance to the Marshall University Graduate College and West Virginia University Institute of Technology, respectively;

(5) “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;

(6) “Chancellor” means the Chancellor for Higher Education where the context refers to a function of the Higher Education Policy Commission. “Chancellor” means the 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;

(7) “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;

(8) “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;

(9) “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;

(10) “Community and technical college”, in the singular or plural, means the free-standing community and technical colleges and other state institutions of higher education which deliver community and technical college education. This definition includes Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, Bridgemont Community and Technical College, Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College, Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College, Mountwest Community and Technical College, New River Community and Technical College, Pierpont Community and Technical College, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, West Virginia Northern Community and Technical College and West Virginia University at Parkersburg;

(11) “Community and technical college education” means the programs, faculty, administration and funding associated with the delivery of community and technical college education programs;

(12) “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 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;

(13) “Confirm” or “confirmation”, when used in reference to action by the Commission, means action in which substantial deference is allocated to the governing authority of a governing board under its jurisdiction and the action of the Commission is to review whether the proposed institutional action is consistent with law and established policy;

(14) “Council” means the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education created by article two-b of this chapter;

(15) “Dual credit course” or “dual enrollment course” means a credit-bearing college-level course offered in a high school by a state institution of higher education for high school students in which the students are concurrently enrolled and receiving credit at the secondary level.

(16) “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;

(17) “Exempted schools” means West Virginia University, including West Virginia University Potomac State College and West Virginia University Institute of Technology; Marshall University; Fairmont State University; Shepherd University; and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine;

(18) “Free-standing 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;

(19) “Governing boards” or “boards” means the institutional boards of Governors created by section one, article two-a of this chapter;

(20) “Higher Education Policy Commission”, “Policy Commission” or “Commission” means the commission created by section one, article one-b of this chapter;

(21) “Independent community and technical college” means a state institution of higher education under the jurisdiction of the council which is independently accredited, is governed by its own independent governing board, and may not be operated as a branch or off-campus location of any other state institution of higher education. This definition includes Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, Bridgemont Community and Technical College, Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College, Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College, Mountwest Community and Technical College, New River Community and Technical College, Pierpont Community and Technical College, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, West Virginia Northern Community and Technical College, and West Virginia University at Parkersburg;

(22) “Institutional compact” means the compact developed by a state institution of higher education, consistent with the public policy agenda for higher education;

(23) “Institutional operating budget” or “operating budget” means for any fiscal year an institution’s total unrestricted education and general funding from all sources, 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;

(24) “Rule” or “rules” means a regulation, standard, policy or interpretation of general application and future effect;

(25) “Sponsoring institution” means a state institution of higher education that maintained an administrative link to a community and technical college providing essential services prior to July 1, 2008. This definition includes institutions whose governing boards had under their jurisdiction a community and technical college, regional campus or a division delivering community and technical college education and programs;

(26) “State college and university” means Bluefield State College, Concord University, Fairmont State University, Glenville State College, Shepherd University, West Liberty University or West Virginia State University;

(27) “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;

(28) “Statewide network of independently accredited community and technical colleges” or “community and technical college network” means the state institutions of higher education under the jurisdiction of the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education which are independently accredited, each governed by its own independent governing board, and each having a core mission of providing affordable access to and delivering high quality community and technical education in every region of the state; and

(29) “Vice Chancellor for Administration” means the person employed in accordance with section two, article four of this chapter. Any reference in this chapter or chapter eighteen-c of this code to “Senior Administrator” means Vice Chancellor for Administration.

CHAPTER 18b. HIGHER EDUCATION.

ARTICLE 1D. HIGHER EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY.

(a) The purpose of the institutional and statewide ~~report cards~~ data reporting system is to make information available through the official websites of the commission and council to parents, students, faculty, staff, state policymakers, and the general public on the quality and performance of public higher education. The focus of the report cards is to determine annual progress of the commission, the council and institutions under their respective jurisdictions toward achieving state goals and objectives identified in this article and section one-a, article one of this chapter and system goals and objectives contained in the statewide master plans of the commission and council created pursuant to section five of this article.

(b) The information ~~contained in the report cards~~ provided through the reporting system shall be consistent and comparable between and among state institutions of higher education. If applicable, the information shall allow for easy comparison with higher education-related data collected and disseminated by the Southern Regional Education Board, the United States Department of Education and other education data-gathering and data-disseminating organizations upon which state policymakers frequently rely in setting policy.

(c) The rules required by ~~subsection (c), section one of~~ this article shall provide for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information on the performance of the state institutions of higher education, including health sciences education, in relation to the findings, goals, and objectives set forth in this article and §18B-1-1a of this code. ~~and those contained in the statewide master plans of the commission and council developed pursuant to section five of this article~~

(1) The objective of this portion of the rule is to ensure that the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability and others identified in subsection (a) of this section are provided with full and accurate information while minimizing the institutional burden of recordkeeping and reporting.

(2) This portion of the rule shall identify various indicators of student and institutional performance that, at a minimum, must be reported annually, set forth general guidelines for the collection and reporting of data, and provide for the preparation ~~printing and distribution of report cards under this section~~ and publication of the statewide data and reports.

~~(d)~~ The ~~report cards~~ statewide annual report shall be analysis-driven, rather than simply data-driven, and shall present information in a format that can inform education policymaking. ~~They shall include an executive summary which outlines~~ It shall outline significant trends, ~~identifies~~ identify major areas of concern, and ~~discusses~~ discuss progress toward meeting state and system goals and objectives. ~~They~~ It shall be brief and concise, reporting required information in nontechnical language. ~~Any technical or supporting material to be included shall be contained in a separate appendix.~~

~~(e)~~ (d) The statewide ~~report card~~ data reporting system shall include the data for each separately listed, applicable indicator identified in the rule promulgated pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and the aggregate of the data for all public institutions of higher education.

~~(f) The~~ (e) A statewide annual report ~~card~~ shall be prepared using actual institutional, state, regional, and national data, as applicable and available, indicating the present performance of the individual institutions, the governing boards, and the state systems of higher education. The ~~statewide~~ report ~~cards~~ shall be based upon information for the current school year or for the most recent school year for which the information is available, in which case the year shall be clearly noted.

~~(g)~~ (f) The president or chief executive officer of each state institution of higher education shall prepare and submit annually all requested data to the commission at the times established by the commission.

~~(h)~~ (g) The higher education central office staff, under the direction of the vice chancellor for administration, shall provide technical assistance to each institution and governing board in data collection and reporting and is responsible for assembling the statewide annual report ~~card~~ from information submitted by each governing board.

~~(i)~~ (h) Current data shall be published to the statewide data reporting system prior to January 1 annually. The statewide annual report shall be completed and disseminated with copies to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability prior to January 1 ~~of each year~~ annually, and the staff of the commission and the council shall prepare a report highlighting specifically the trends, progress toward meeting goals and objectives, and major areas of concern for public higher education, including medical education, for presentation to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability annually at the interim meetings in January. ~~2009, and annually thereafter.~~

~~(j)~~ ~~For a reasonable fee~~

(i) The vice chancellor for administration shall make ~~copies~~ a digital copy of the statewide annual report ~~cards, including any appendices of supporting material, available to any individual requesting them~~ available to the public for download from the official websites of the commission and council.

ARTICLE 7. PERSONNEL GENERALLY.

§18B-7-8. Reporting.

[Repealed]

CHAPTER 18C. STUDENT LOANS; SCHOLARSHIPS AND STATE AID.

ARTICLE 1. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE GENERALLY.

§18C-1-1. Legislative findings; purpose; administration generally; reporting.

(a) The Legislature makes the following findings:

(1) Although enrollments in institutions of higher education in this state and throughout the nation continue to increase at a rapid pace, West Virginia has not developed sufficiently the state’s human talent and resources because many able, but needy, students are not able to finance a higher education program;

(2) The state can achieve its full economic and social potential only when the following elements are in place:

(A) Every individual has the opportunity to contribute to the full extent of his or her capability; and

(B) The state assists in removing financial barriers to the individual’s education goals that remain after he or she has used all resources and work opportunities available;

(b) The ultimate state goal in providing student financial aid is to create a culture that values education, to improve the quality of the workforce, and to enhance the quality of life for the citizens of West Virginia.

(c) The vice chancellor for administration has a ministerial duty to administer, oversee, and monitor all state and federal student financial aid programs administered at the state level in accordance with established rules under the direction of the commission and council and in consultation with the Higher Education Student Financial Aid Advisory Board.

(d) These programs include, but are not limited to, the following programs:

(1) The Guaranteed Student Loan Program, which may be administered by a private nonprofit agency;

(2) The Medical Student Loan Program;

(3) The Underwood-Smith Teacher Scholarship Program;

(4) The Engineering, Science and Technology Scholarship Program;

(5) The West Virginia Higher Education Grant Program;

(6) The Higher Education Adult Part-Time Student Grant Program;

(7) The West Virginia Providing Real Opportunities for Maximizing In-State Student Excellence (PROMISE) Scholarship Program;

(8) The Higher Education Student Assistance Loan Program established pursuant to ~~article twenty-two-d, chapter eighteen~~ §18-22D-1 et seq. of this code;

(9) The West Virginia College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Program established pursuant to ~~article thirty, chapter eighteen~~ §18-30-1 et seq. of this code, which is administered by the state Treasurer;

(10) The state aid programs for students of optometry, pursuant to ~~article three~~ §18C-3-1 et seq. of this ~~chapter~~ code;

(11) The state aid programs for students of veterinary medicine pursuant to ~~section six-a, article eleven, chapter eighteen~~ §18-11-6a of this code;

(12) Any reciprocal program and contract program for student aid established pursuant to ~~sections three and four, article four, chapter eighteen-b~~ §18B-4-3 and §18B-4-4 of this code;

(13) Any other state-level student aid programs in this code; and

(14) Any federal grant or contract student assistance or support programs administered at the state level.

(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the Vice Chancellor for Administration shall ~~prepare a single, comprehensive report~~ publish comprehensive data to the official websites of the commission and council regarding the implementation of the financial aid programs identified in subsection (d) of this section which are administered under his or her supervision. ~~The~~ A concise summary report shall be provided to the commission and the council and shall be presented to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability no later than ~~November 30, 2009, and annually thereafter~~ January 1 annually. The report shall address all financial aid issues for which reports are required in this code, as well as any findings and recommendations.