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2023 regular session
ENROLLED
Committee Substitute
for
House Bill 2757
By Delegates Summers, Forsht, Miller, Reynolds, Sheedy, Heckert, Petitto, Jeffries and Cannon
[Passed March 3, 2023; in effect from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §18-2E-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §18C-9-3 and §18C-9-4, all relating to expanding institutional eligibility for the West Virginia Invests Grant Program.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 2E. HIGH QUALITY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
(a) The Legislature hereby makes the following findings:
(1) Preparing West Virginia students to achieve post-secondary career education and to excel in the workforce is a responsibility shared among all state education agencies and institutions. The state’s education agencies and institutions can fulfill this responsibility by establishing partnerships that enable students to attain advanced career education and valuable workforce skills in a more efficient and advantageous manner;
(2) The formation of partnerships between public secondary schools and community and technical colleges or public or not-for-profit private baccalaureate institutions which establish advanced career education programs would ensure that a full range of community and technical college programs and services are provided in all areas of the state;
(3) Programs which create clear and efficient pathways that begin during secondary education and lead to obtaining advanced certifications and associate degrees will increase the number of students that ultimately obtain a post-secondary credential or degree; and
(4) West Virginia’s economic prosperity is directly tied to the level and quality of its workforce career education. Providing the students of this state with increased access to career education will not only improve the general well-being of its citizens, but greatly enhance the economic prosperity of the state.
(b) The purpose of this section and the Advanced Career Education (ACE) programs authorized herein is to connect secondary schools with community and technical colleges or public or not-for-profit private baccalaureate institutions that provide associate degrees to accomplish the following:
(1) Prepare secondary students for success in post-secondary education and the workforce; and
(2) Provide more opportunities for secondary students to earn post-secondary college credits, certifications, and associate degrees.
(c) To effectuate the purposes set forth in §18-2E-11(b) of this code, community and technical colleges, public or not-for-profit private baccalaureate institutions, career technical education centers, and county boards of education, or any combination of such secondary and postsecondary entities, shall establish partnerships that provide for ACE programs which feature defined pathways that begin when a student is in secondary education and that ultimately lead to advanced certifications or associate degrees awarded by community and technical colleges or baccalaureate institutions. ACE programs shall be equally available to public, nonpublic, and homeschool students.
(d) ACE programs shall include pathways that consist of a curriculum of courses leading to advanced certifications or an associate degree that have been deemed to satisfy a workforce need as determined by the Department of Commerce.
(1) The Department of Commerce shall, on occasion, but at least annually, provide written notification to the State Board of Education, the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission of a determination of areas of workforce need within the state.
(2) The Department of Commerce, in consultation with the council, the commission, and business partners, shall develop a hierarchy of high demand skilled professions and workforce needs with shortages, which shall be given priority in administration of the program.
(e) The State Superintendent of Schools, the Chancellor of the Council for Community and Technical College Education, and the Chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission, or their designees, shall facilitate the ACE programs. At a minimum, an ACE program shall satisfy the following objectives:
(1) Provide additional opportunities to students in this state to attain advanced certifications and college credentials leading to associate degrees through ACE pathways;
(2) Increase the number of students in this state that attain advanced certifications and college credentials leading to associate degrees through ACE pathways;
(3) Allow students in this state to attain advanced certifications and college credentials leading to associate degrees through ACE pathways at little or no cost;
(4) Ensure that ACE pathways provide a clear roadmap to the courses and requirements necessary to attain advanced certifications and college credentials leading to associate degrees; and
(5) Ensure that course requirements within ACE pathways are not duplicated.
(f) The board and council shall jointly promulgate guidelines for the administration of ACE programs and pathways, which must be affirmatively adopted by the board and the council. At a minimum, such guidelines shall provide for the following:
(1) That ACE program partnerships established between community and technical colleges, public or not-for-profit private baccalaureate institutions, career technical education centers, and county boards of education, or any combination of such secondary and postsecondary entities, shall be reduced to written partnership agreements;
(2) The information required to be contained within partnership agreements;
(3) That ACE programs and pathways shall meet the requirements of the accrediting entity for the community and technical college or public or not-for-profit private baccalaureate institution awarding the associate degrees or advanced certificates;
(4) That partnership agreements shall be approved by the State Superintendent of Schools, the Chancellor for the Council for Community and Technical College Education and the Chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission; and
(5) Any other provisions necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section.
(g) The board and the council shall maintain and annually report to the Governor and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability the following information about ACE programs:
(1) The identity and number of partnership agreements;
(2) The ACE programs and pathways that are being utilized by career technical education centers, county boards of education, community and technical colleges, and public or not-for-profit private baccalaureate institutions; and
(3) The nature and number of degrees and certifications awarded to students participating in ACE programs by each community and technical college, public or not-for-profit private baccalaureate institution and career technical education center.
As used in this article:
"Academic fees" means fees charged to students for specific courses or programs to support such expenses such as lab or equipment costs.
"Council" means the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education.
"Commission" means the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.
"Eligible post-secondary program" means a curriculum of courses leading to a certificate or associate degree at an eligible institution which satisfies a course of study that has been deemed by the Department of Commerce to satisfy a workforce need as determined by the department in accordance with §18-2E-11(d) of this code.
"Tuition" means the semester or term charges imposed by an eligible institution and, additionally, all mandatory fees required as a condition of enrollment by all students.
(a) There is hereby created a grant program known as the WV Invests Grant Program, which shall be administered by the vice chancellor for administration in accordance with this article.
(b) The council shall award WV Invests Grants pursuant to the following terms and conditions:
(1) A WV Invests Grant may only be awarded to applicants satisfying the requirements provided in §18C-9-5 of this code;
(2) The maximum amount of a WV Invests Grant shall be the cost of tuition mandatory fees, and academic program fees for coursework leading to completion of the chosen associate degree or certificate, less all other state and federal scholarships and grants for which the student is eligible: Provided, That all academic program fees charged in addition to base tuition must be approved by the Council for Community and Technical College Education to be eligible for the West Virginia Invests Grant as set forth in this article. All other state and federal scholarships and grants for which the grant recipient is eligible shall be deducted from the amount of the WV Invests Grant for each individual student. The amount of a WV Invests Grant at an eligible public or not-for-profit private baccalaureate institution shall not exceed the average cost of tuition and mandatory fees of the community and technical colleges;
(3) Grant payments shall be made directly to the eligible institutions;
(4) If a grant recipient transfers from one eligible institution to another, the grant is transferable only with approval of the vice chancellor for administration;
(5) A WV Invests Grant may be used at any eligible institution to seek an associate degree or certificate in an eligible post-secondary program. An institution is not required to accept a grant recipient for enrollment and may enforce its own admission requirements, standards, and policies; and
(6) If a WV Invests Grant recipient terminates enrollment for any reason during the academic year, the unused portion of the grant shall be returned by the institution to the council in accordance with the council’s policy for issuing refunds. The council shall transfer such funds to the WV Invests Fund for allocation and expenditure.
(c) On or before January 1 annually, the council shall provide to the Legislature and the Governor a report on the WV Invests Grant Program, which shall include, but not be limited to, research and data concerning student success and grant retention.
(d) The council shall propose legislative rules for legislative approval pursuant to §29A-3A-1 et seq. of this code to implement the provisions of this article, which shall provide for:
(1) Application requirements and deadlines fully implementing requirements of this article;
(2) Appeal procedures for the denial or revocation of the grant; and
(3) Any other provisions necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article.
(e) The Legislature hereby declares that an emergency situation exists and, therefore, the council may establish, by emergency rule, under the procedures of §29A-3A-1 et seq. of this code, a rule to implement the provisions of this article.
The Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate hereby certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.
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Clerk of the House of Delegates
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Clerk of the Senate
Originated in the House of Delegates.
In effect from passage.
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Speaker of the House of Delegates
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President of the Senate
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The within is ................................................ this the...........................................
Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2023.
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Governor
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