WEST virginia legislature

2018 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 552

By Senator Weld

[Introduced February 15, 2018; Referred
to the Committee on Education]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18B-1-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §18B-1B-6 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-2A-1 and §18B-2A-7a of said code; and to amend and reenact §18B-3C-13 of said code, all relating to making Pierpont Community and Technical College a division of Fairmont State University; providing that the administrative head of Pierpont Community and Technical College is the provost; requiring appointment of board of advisors; requiring Fairmont State University ensure that all essential conditions for the delivery of community and technical college education are met; requiring Fairmont State University adhere to all provisions set forth in code and Council for Community and Technical College Education rules for the delivery of community and technical college education and programs; providing exception; allowing Pierpont Community and Technical College to maintain independent accreditation status; requiring Fairmont State University to ensure that the programs offered at Pierpont Community and Technical College are accredited; requiring Fairmont State University to continue to provide certain services to the Pierpont Community and Technical College; providing that the operating budget of Pierpont Community and Technical College is integrated under the authority and jurisdiction of the Fairmont State University Board of Governors; transferring all financial assets from the authority of Pierpont Community and Technical College Board of Governors to the authority of the Fairmont State University Board of Governors; continuing any capital debt service payment of Pierpont Community and Technical College and making it the responsibility of the Fairmont State University Board of Governors; transferring titles to all real property, facilities, and equipment of, as well as each valid agreement and obligation undertaken by Pierpont Community and Technical College to the Fairmont State University Board of Governors; vesting title of all property purchased for the use of Pierpont Community and Technical College in the Fairmont State University Board of Governors; making faculty, classified employees, and nonclassified employees of Pierpont Community and Technical College employees of Fairmont State University; updating state institution of higher education names; and deleting obsolete language.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

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 §18B-2B-3 of this code;

(8) “Chancellor for Higher Education” means the chief executive officer of the Higher Education Policy Commission employed pursuant to §18B-1B-5 of this code;

(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 BridgeValley 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 as a division of Fairmont State University, 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 §18B-2B-1 et seq. of this code;

(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 §18B-3C-3 of this code;

(17) “Exempted schools” means West Virginia University, including West Virginia University Potomac State College and West Virginia University Institute of Technology; Marshall 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 §18B-2A-1 of this code;

(20) “Higher Education Policy Commission”, “Policy Commission”, or “Commission” means the commission created by §18B-2B-1 of this code;

(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 BridgeValley 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) (25) “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) (26) “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) (27) “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) (28) “Vice Chancellor for Administration” means the person employed in accordance with §18B-4-2 of this code. Any reference in this chapter or chapter eighteen-c of this code to “Senior Administrator” means Vice Chancellor for Administration.

ARTICLE 1B. HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION.

§18B-1B-6. Appointment of institutional presidents; evaluation.

(a) Appointment of institutional presidents. — Appointment of presidents of the state institutions of higher education, except the exempted schools, shall be made as follows:

(1) The initial contract term for a president may not exceed two years. At the end of the initial contract period, and subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, the governing board may offer the president a contract of longer duration, but not to exceed five years.

(2) The president of a state institution of higher education serves at the will and pleasure of the appointing governing board.

(3) Subject to the confirmation of the commission, the governing boards of the following institutions, appoint a president: Bluefield State College, Concord University, Fairmont State University, Glenville State College, Shepherd University, West Liberty University and West Virginia State University. The exempted schools may appoint a president without the confirmation or approval of the Commission.

(4) Subject to the approval of the council, the governing board of the community and technical college appoints a president for Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, Bridge Valley Community and Technical College, Eastern West Virginia 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.

(b) Other appointments. — The President of West Virginia University appoints a campus president to be the administrative head of Potomac State College of West Virginia University and a campus president to be the administrative head of West Virginia University Institute of Technology.

(c) Evaluation of presidents. —

(1) The appointing governing board shall conduct written performance evaluations of the institution’s president. Evaluations shall be done at the end of the initial contract period and in every third year of employment as president thereafter, recognizing unique characteristics of the institution and using institutional personnel, 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 and in achieving the goals, objectives, and priorities established in §18B-1-1 et seq. and §18B-1D-1 et seq. of this code.

(2) After reviewing the evaluations, the governing board shall make a determination by majority vote of its members on continuing employment and the compensation level for the president in accordance with subsection (a) of this section. 

(d) The legislative rules of the commission and council promulgated in accordance with §18B-1-6 and §29A-3A-1 et seq. of this code which are in effect on January 1, 2014, continue in effect unless amended or repealed. The rules provide guidance for the governing boards, but are not applicable to the exempted schools, in filling vacancies in the office of president in accordance with this chapter and shall include, but are not limited to, clarifying the powers, duties, and roles of the governing boards, commission, council, and chancellors in the presidential appointment process.

ARTICLE 2A. INSTITUTIONAL BOARDS OF GOVERNORS.

§18B-2A-1. Findings; composition of boards; terms and qualifications of members; vacancies; eligibility for reappointment.

(a) Findings. –

The Legislature finds that the State of West Virginia is served best when the membership of each governing board includes the following:

(1) The academic expertise and institutional experience of faculty members and a student of the institution governed by the board;

(2) The technical or professional expertise and institutional experience of a classified employee of the institution governed by the board;

(3) An awareness and understanding of the issues facing the institution governed by the board; and

(4) The diverse perspectives that arise from a membership that is balanced in terms of gender and varied in terms of race and ethnic heritage.

(b) Boards of governors established. –

A board of governors is continued at each of the following institutions: Bluefield State College, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, Bridgemont BridgeValley Community and Technical College, Concord University, Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College, Fairmont State University, Glenville State College, Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College Mountwest Community and Technical College, Marshall University, New River Community and Technical College, Pierpont Community and Technical College Shepherd University, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, West Liberty University, West Virginia Northern Community and Technical College, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, West Virginia State University, West Virginia University and West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

(c) Board membership. –

(1) An appointment to fill a vacancy on the board or reappointment of a member who is eligible to serve an additional term is made in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(2) The Board of Governors for Marshall University consists of 16 persons. The Board of Governors for West Virginia University consists of 17 persons. The boards of governors of the other state institutions of higher education consist of twelve persons.

(3) Each board of governors includes the following members:

(A) A full-time member of the faculty with the rank of instructor or above duly elected by the faculty of the respective institution;

(B) 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; and

(C) A member from the institutional classified employees duly elected by the classified employees of the respective institution;

(4) For the Board of Governors at Marshall University, 13 lay members appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, pursuant to this section;

(5) For the 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:

(A) The Chairperson of the Board of Visitors of West Virginia University Institute of Technology;

(B) A full-time faculty member representing the extension service at the institution or a full-time faculty member representing the health sciences, selected by the faculty senate.

(6) For each board of governors of the other state institutions of higher education, nine lay members appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, pursuant to this section.

(A) Of the nine members appointed by the Governor, no more than five may be of the same political party. Of the 13 members appointed by the Governor to the governing board of Marshall University, no more than eight may be of the same political party. Of the 12 members appointed by the Governor to the governing board of West Virginia University, no more than seven may be of the same political party.

(B) Of the nine members appointed by the Governor, at least five shall be residents of the state. Of the 13 members appointed by the Governor to the governing board of Marshall University, at least eight shall be residents of the state. Of the 12 members appointed by the Governor to the governing board of West Virginia University, at least seven shall be residents of the state.

(7) In making lay appointments, the Governor shall consider the institutional mission and membership characteristics including the following:

(A) The need for individual skills, knowledge, and experience relevant to governing the institution;

(B) The need for awareness and understanding of institutional problems and priorities, including those related to research, teaching and outreach;

(C) The value of gender, racial, and ethnic diversity; and

(D) The value of achieving balance in gender and diversity in the racial and ethnic characteristics of the lay membership of each board.

(d) Board member terms. –

(1) The student member serves for a term of one year. Each term begins on July 1.

(2) The faculty member serves for a term of two years. Each term begins on July 1. Faculty members are eligible to succeed themselves for three additional terms, not to exceed a total of eight consecutive years.

(3) The member representing classified employees serves for a term of two years. Each term begins on July 1. Members representing classified employees are eligible to succeed themselves for three additional terms, not to exceed a total of eight consecutive years.

(4) The appointed lay citizen members serve terms of four years each and are eligible to succeed themselves for no more than one additional term, except that citizen members who are appointed to fill unexpired terms are eligible to succeed themselves for two full terms after completing an unexpired term.

(5) A vacancy in an unexpired term of a member shall be filled for the unexpired term within 30 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 are held and all appointments are made no later than June 30 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 four consecutive years.

(6) The appointed members of the boards of governors serve staggered terms of up to four years except that four of the initial appointments to the governing boards of community and technical colleges that became independent July 1, 2008, are for terms of two years and five of the initial appointments are for terms of four years

(e) Board member eligibility, expenses. –

(1) A person is ineligible for appointment to membership on a board of governors of a state institution of higher education under the following conditions:

(A) 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; 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; an employee of any affiliated research corporation created pursuant to §18B-12-1 et seq. of this code; an employee of any affiliated foundation organized and operated in support of one or more state institutions of higher education; or a member of the council or commission. This subsection does not prevent the representative from the faculty, classified employees, students, or the superintendent of a county board of education from being members of the governing boards.

(B) 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 a board of visitors 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; an employee of any affiliated research corporation created pursuant to §18B-12-1 et seq. of this code; an employee of any affiliated foundation organized and operated in support of one or more state institutions of higher education; or a member of the council or commission. This subsection does not prevent the representative from the faculty, classified employees, or students from being members of the governing boards.

(2) 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.

(3) 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.

(4) 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.

(5) The president of the institution shall make available resources of the institution for conducting the business of its board of governors. 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-7a. Transfer of orders, resolutions, policies and rules, obligations, etc.

(a) Effective July 1, 2008, a A governing board is established for the following state institutions of higher education pursuant to §18B-2A-1 of this code:

(1) Marshall Mountwest Community and Technical College;

(2) Pierpont Community and Technical College, formerly a division of Fairmont State University

(3) (2) The Community and Technical College at West Virginia University Institute of Technology BridgeValley Community and Technical College; and

(4) West Virginia State Community and Technical College; and

(5) (3) West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

(b) All orders, resolutions, policies, and rules adopted or promulgated by a governing board of a former administratively linked community and technical college, regional campus, or division within an accredited institution on behalf of an institution named in subsection (a) of this section relating to the community and technical college or community and technical college education, or which the newly-established board of governors finds necessary or expedient for the exercise of its lawful powers and duties pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall continue in effect until rescinded, revised, altered, or amended by the newly-established board of Governors. Nothing in this section requires the initial rules or policies of a community and technical college to be promulgated again under the rule adopted by the council pursuant to §18B-1-6 of this code unless such rules or policies are rescinded, revised, altered, or amended.

(c) Each valid agreement and obligation, undertaken or agreed to by the former sponsoring institution or governing board of a division, regional campus, or administratively-linked community and technical college before July 1, 2008, on behalf of a community and technical college named in subsection (a) of this section is hereby transferred to the board of governors of that community and technical college.

(d) Each newly established board of Governors and each appropriate institution formerly sponsoring a community and technical college shall jointly agree on a division of all assets and liabilities. If the boards of Governors are unable to reach agreement concerning a division of assets and liabilities on or before December 1, 2008, the boards of Governors shall submit a summary of issues in dispute to the commission and the council which shall jointly resolve all outstanding issues concerning the division of assets and liabilities.

(e) For purposes of generating audited financial statements for inclusion in the higher education fund and state single audits, the division of all assets and liabilities shall be effective retroactively to July 1, 2008

(f) (d) Any other disputes between an independent community and technical college and its former sponsoring institution, regarding their respective rights and responsibilities under this chapter of the code, which cannot be resolved by the governing boards, shall be resolved as follows:

(1) The matters in dispute shall be summarized in writing and submitted to the chancellors jointly for resolution;

(2) If the matters in dispute cannot be resolved by the chancellors within 30 days, they shall be submitted to the council and commission for resolution;

(3) If the commission and council jointly cannot reach a resolution following their first regularly scheduled meeting or within 60 days, whichever is sooner, the chairpersons of the commission and council respectively shall establish a three-person panel to hear the matters and issue a decision within 30 days:

(A) The three-person panel is comprised of one person appointed by the chairperson of the commission, one person appointed by the chairperson of the council, and one person appointed jointly by the two chairpersons.

(B) The decision rendered by the three-person panel is binding on the governing boards, commission, and council, and may not be challenged in the courts of this state.

(g) Each former sponsoring institution and community and technical college shall enter into a comprehensive agreement to address the division of assets and liabilities and the allocation of revenues and expenditures between former sponsoring institutions and newly independent community and technical colleges

(h) (e) Absent manifest injustice as determined jointly by the council and commission, the following general principles apply to the division of assets and liabilities and allocation of revenues and expenditures between former sponsoring institutions and the newly independent community and technical colleges:

(1) For accounting purposes, the institution that assumes responsibility for any asset also shall assume responsibility for any associated liabilities.

(2) Although one institution may assume responsibility for an asset and associated liabilities for accounting purposes, both institutions shall agree on their respective responsibilities for reducing and ultimately eliminating the liability over time if the asset was originally acquired and/or is being used for the benefit of both institutions.

(A) Any agreement to allocate system and institution educational and general and auxiliary debt service payments shall be consistent with the provisions of all applicable bond covenants.

(B) Absent a controlling bond covenant or other agreement, debt service payments associated with bonded indebtedness presumptively shall be allocated based on the relative full-time equivalent student enrollment of the two institutions either as a whole or on the campus where the asset is located and may be adjusted annually to reflect enrollment changes at the two institutions.

(3) The institutions shall agree to allocate educational and general and auxiliary capital fees in excess of those needed to cover bonded indebtedness to ensure that assets of both institutions are maintained in proper repair and that the institutions assume responsibility for a reasonable share of the total costs of maintaining the facilities.

(4) The institutions shall develop a plan that ensures the financial stability of auxiliary enterprises, including, but not limited to, student housing, student centers, dining services, parking, and athletics through fiscal year 2012.

(A) If community and technical college students pay a mandatory athletics fee for the benefit of a former sponsoring institution, but receive no direct benefit from that fee, the community and technical college may phase out that fee over a five-year period.

(B) If certain community and technical college students were required to live in institution housing consistent with rules or policies in effect on the effective date of this section, the former sponsoring institution may continue to require these students to live in institution housing for at least one year.

(i) (f) If either institution proposes to reduce the services that it provides or purchases from the other institution by more than 10 percent in any one year and the reduction exceeds $200,000, the institution shall obtain the approval of both the council and the commission before doing so. In evaluating the proposal, the council and commission shall consider the following:

(1) The benefit to be obtained for the institution seeking to reduce the services it provides or purchases;

(2) The impact of the proposed reduction on the institution currently providing the services;

(3) Any additional costs that might be incurred as a result of the reduction in services; and

(4) The adequacy of the transition plan.

(j) (g) To the extent practicable, state financial systems shall be set up for higher education institutions which participate in shared services agreements to facilitate ease of processing while ensuring that data from the two institutions are readily segregable at the state level.

ARTICLE 3C. COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM.

§18B-3C-13. Legislative intent; Pierpont Community and Technical College established as independent state institution of higher education a division of Fairmont State University; governing board of advisors; institutional organization, structure, accreditation status.

(a) The intent of the Legislature in enacting this section is to provide for the most effective education delivery system for community and technical education programs to the entire region to be served by Pierpont Community and Technical College and to focus the institutional mission on achieving state goals, objectives, priorities, and essential conditions as established in articles one, one-d, and three-c of this chapter terminate Pierpont Community and Technical College’s independence from Fairmont State University and make Pierpont Community and Technical College a division of Fairmont State University.

(b) Pierpont Community and Technical College is established as an independent state institution of higher education a division of Fairmont State University. Any reference in this code to Fairmont State Community and Technical College or to Pierpont Community and Technical College as an independent state institution of higher education a division of Fairmont State University, means the independent state institution of higher education known as Pierpont Community and Technical College, a division of Fairmont State University.

(c) Effective July 1, 2008 2018, the board of advisors for Pierpont Community and Technical College is the governing board for that institution subject to the provisions of article two-a of this chapter  the administrative head of Pierpont Community and Technical College on June 30, 2008, is the president of the independent community and technical college subject to the provisions of section five of this article shall be the provost who shall be appointed by the president of Fairmont State University.  The president of Fairmont State University shall appoint a board of advisors.  The board of advisors serves to advise the Fairmont State Board of Governors and president on issues regarding the delivery of community and technical college education.

(d) In the delivery of community and technical college education and programs, Pierpont Community and Technical College shall adhere to all provisions set forth in this code and rules promulgated by the council for the delivery of education and programs, including, but not limited to, council review and approval of academic programs, institutional compacts, master plans and tuition and fee rates, including capital fees

(d) Fairmont State University shall ensure that all essential conditions for the delivery of community and technical college education are met.  In the delivery of community and technical college education and programs, Fairmont State University shall adhere to all provisions set forth in this code and rules promulgated by the council for the delivery of such education and programs, including, but not limited to, council review and approval of academic programs, institutional compacts, master plans, charge-back agreements, and tuition and fee rates, including capital fees.  The only provision of this code that Fairmont State University is not required to adhere to is the requirement related to independent accreditation of community and technical colleges.

(d) (e) Pierpont Community and Technical College shall pursue may maintain independent accreditation status. and the board of Governors of the community and technical college shall provide through contractual arrangement for the administration and operation of Pierpont Community and Technical College by Fairmont State University while the community and technical college seeks appropriate independent accreditation. The contractual arrangement may not be implemented until approved by the council and Fairmont State University shall include provisions to ensure that the programs offered at Pierpont Community and Technical College are accredited. while independent accreditation is being sought Fairmont State University shall continue to provide services to the community and technical college which the community and technical college or the council considers necessary or expedient in carrying out it’s the mission of the community and technical college. under the terms of an agreement between the two institutions pursuant to the provisions of section twelve of this article.

(f) The council has the authority and the duty to take all steps necessary to assure that the institution acquires independent accreditation status as quickly as possible. If the community and technical college fails to achieve independent accreditation by July 1, 2011, the council shall sever any contractual agreement between Pierpont Community and Technical College and Fairmont State University and assign the responsibility for achieving independent accreditation to another state institution of higher education

(f) As part of the integration of Pierpont Community and Technical College into Fairmont State University:

(1) The operating budget of Pierpont Community and Technical College is integrated under the authority and jurisdiction of the Board of Governors of Fairmont State University;

(2) All financial assets, including fund balances, and liabilities of Pierpont Community and Technical College are transferred from the authority of the Board of Governors of Pierpont Community and Technical College to the authority of the Board of Governors of Fairmont State University;

(3) Any capital debt service payment formerly the responsibility of Pierpont Community and Technical College continues in the required amount and is the responsibility of the Board of Governors of Fairmont State University;

(4) The titles to all real property, facilities, and equipment of, as well as each valid agreement and obligation undertaken by, Pierpont Community and Technical College are transferred to the Board of Governors of Fairmont State University, which shall exercise general determination, control, supervision, and management of the financial, business, and education policies and affairs of Pierpont Community and Technical College;

(5) The title to all property purchased for the use of Pierpont Community and Technical College is vested in the Board of Governors of Fairmont State University; and

(6) The faculty, classified employees, and nonclassified employees of Pierpont Community and Technical College become the faculty, classified employees, and nonclassified employees of Fairmont State University.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to terminate Pierpont Community and Technical College’s independence from Fairmont State University, and make Pierpont Community and Technical College a division of Fairmont State University.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.