WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on Education then Finance.
A BILL to amend and
reenact §18B-2B-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to
tuition and fees at community and technical colleges; setting forth guidelines
therefor.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18B-2B-6 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2B. WEST
VIRGINIA COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE EDUCATION.
§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 statewide network of independently accredited community and
technical colleges as a whole, including community and technical college
education programs as defined in section two, article one of this chapter.
(b) The
council shall propose rules pursuant to section six, article one of this
chapter and article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement
the provisions of this section and applicable provisions of article one-d of
this chapter:
(1) To
implement the provisions of article one-d of this chapter relevant to community
and technical colleges, the council may propose rules jointly with the
commission, or separately, and may choose to address all components of the
accountability system in a single rule or may propose additional rules to cover
specific components;
(2) The
rules pertaining to financing policy and benchmarks and indicators required by
this section shall be filed with the Legislative Oversight Commission on
Education Accountability by October 1, 2008. Nothing in this subsection
requires other rules of 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rules are rescinded, revised, altered or amended; and
(3) The
Legislature finds that an emergency exists and, therefore, the council shall
propose an emergency rule or rules to implement the provisions of this section
relating to the financing policy and benchmarks and indicators in accordance
with section six, article one of this chapter and article three-a, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code by October 1, 2008. The emergency rule or rules may
not be implemented without prior approval of the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability.
(c) The
council has the following powers and duties relating to the authority
established in subsection (a) of this section:
(1)
Develop, oversee and advance the public policy agenda for community and
technical college education for the purpose of accomplishing the mandates of
this section, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A)
Achieving the goals and objectives established in articles one and one-d of
this chapter;
(B)
Addressing the goals and objectives contained in the institutional compacts
created pursuant to section seven, article one-d of this chapter; and
(C)
Developing and implementing the master plan described in section five, article
one-d of this chapter;
(2)
Propose a legislative rule pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to develop and implement a
financing policy for community and technical college education in West
Virginia. The rule 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)
Establish a plan for strategic funding to strengthen capacity for support of
community and technical college education; and
(D)
Establish a plan that measures progress and provides performance-based funding
to institutions which make significant progress in the following specific
areas:
(i)
Achieving the objectives and priorities established in article one-d of this
chapter;
(ii)
Serving targeted populations, especially working age adults twenty-five years
of age and over;
(iii)
Providing access to high-cost, high-demand technical programs in every region
of the state;
(iv)
Increasing the percentage of functionally literate adults in every region of
the state; and
(v)
Providing high-quality community and technical college education services to
residents of every region of the state.
(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 each community and technical college and the statewide network of
independently accredited community and technical colleges as a whole
accountable for accomplishing their missions and achieving the goals and
objectives established in articles one, one-d and three-c of this chapter;
(4)
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)
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 agendas
approved by the commission and council;
(6) Review
and adopt annually all institutional compacts for the community and technical
colleges pursuant to the provisions of section seven, article one-d of this
chapter;
(7)
Fulfill the mandates of the accountability system established in article one-d
of this chapter and report on progress in meeting established goals,
objectives, and priorities to the elected leadership of the state;
(8)
Propose a legislative rule pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to establish benchmarks and
indicators in accordance with the provisions of this subsection;
(9)
Establish and implement the benchmarks and performance indicators necessary to
measure institutional progress:
(A) In
meeting state goals, objectives, and priorities established in articles one and
one-d of this chapter;
(B) In
carrying out institutional missions; and
(C) In meeting
the essential conditions established in article three-c of this chapter;
(10)
Establish a formal process for identifying needs for capital investments and
for determining priorities for these investments for consideration by the
Governor and the Legislature as part of the appropriation request process.
Notwithstanding the language in subdivision eleven, subsection a, section four,
article one-b of this chapter, the commission is not a part of the process for
identifying needs for capital investments for the statewide network of
independently accredited community and technical colleges;
(11) 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;
(12)
Acquire legal services that 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;
(13) Employ
a chancellor for community and technical college education pursuant to section
three of this article;
(14)
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;
(15)
Employ other staff as necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties and
responsibilities of the council who are employed solely by the council;
(16)
Provide suitable offices in Charleston for the chancellor and other staff: Provided,
That the offices may be located outside of Charleston at a technology and
research center: Provided, however, That the current employees of WVNET
shall not be moved from Monongalia County without legislative approval;
(17)
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;
(18)
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;
(19)
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;
(20) Seek
out and attend regional and national meetings and forums on education and
workforce development-related topics, as council members consider critical for
the performance of their duties. The council shall keep abreast of national and
regional community and technical college education trends and policies to aid
members in developing the policies for this state that meet the education goals
and objectives established in articles one and one-d of this chapter;
(21)
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;
(22) 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;
(23)
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, subject
to the following:
(A)
Annual tuition and fees may not exceed $6,000;
(B) The
annual increase in tuition and fees for all the institutions accumulated
together may not exceed five percent of such tuition and fees from the previous
year;
(C)
Within ten years, the tuition and fees of all community and technical colleges
may not vary by more than five percent but no such college may be required to
lower its tuition;
(D)
Year-to-year changes in tuition shall be less than ten percent.
(24)
Develop 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 meets the following conditions:
(A)
Incorporates the provisions of the financing rule mandated by this section to
measure and provide performance funding to institutions which achieve or make
significant progress toward achieving established state objectives and
priorities;
(B)
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
(C)
Considers the progress of each institution toward meeting the goals,
objectives, and priorities established in article one-d of this chapter and its
approved institutional compact.
(25)
Administer and distribute the independently accredited community and technical
college development account;
(26)
Establish a plan of strategic funding to strengthen capacity for support and
assure delivery of high-quality community and technical college education in
all regions of the state;
(27)
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;
(28)
Assume the principal responsibility for oversight of those community and
technical colleges seeking independent accreditation and for holding governing
boards accountable for meeting the essential conditions pursuant to article
three-c of this chapter;
(29)
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 established in the institutional compact and in
articles one, one-d and three-c of this chapter;
(30)
Provide a single, statewide link for current and prospective employers whose
needs extend beyond one locality;
(31)
Provide a mechanism capable of serving two or more institutions to facilitate
joint problem-solving in areas including, but not limited to, the following:
(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;
(32)
Provide support and technical assistance to develop, coordinate, and deliver
effective and efficient community and technical college education programs and
services in all regions of the state;
(33)
Assist the community and technical colleges in establishing and promoting links
with business, industry and labor in the geographic areas for which each
community and technical college is responsible;
(34)
Develop alliances among the community and technical colleges for resource
sharing, joint development of courses and courseware, and sharing of expertise
and staff development;
(35) Serve
aggressively as an advocate for development of a seamless curriculum;
(36)
Cooperate with all providers of education services in the state to remove
barriers relating to a seamless system of public and higher education and to
transfer and articulate between and among community and technical colleges,
state colleges and universities and public education, preschool through grade
twelve;
(37)
Encourage the most efficient use of available resources;
(38)
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;
(39)
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;
(40)
Develop and implement strategies and curriculum for providing developmental
education which shall be applied by any state institution of higher education
providing developmental education;
(41)
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;
(42)
Review and approve all institutional master plans for the community and
technical colleges pursuant to section four, article two-a of this chapter;
(43)
Propose rules for promulgation pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that are necessary or
expedient for the effective and efficient performance of community and
technical colleges in the state;
(44) 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 transferred pursuant to rules adopted by the
council and provide technical assistance to the institutions under its
jurisdiction to aid them in promulgating rules;
(45)
Develop for inclusion in the higher education report card, as defined in
section eight, article one-d 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 (9) of this subsection;
(46)
Facilitate continuation of the Advantage Valley Community College Network under
the leadership and direction of Marshall Community and Technical College;
(47)
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;
(48)
Develop with the State Board of Education plans for secondary and
post-secondary vocational-technical-occupational and adult basic education,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(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;
(49)
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
State Board of Education shall continue to be the fiscal agent for federal
vocational education funding;
(B) The
percentage split between the State 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 State Board of Education before proposing a rule;
(50)
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;
(51)
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;
(52)
Analyze and report to the State 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;
(53)
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;
(54)
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;
(55)
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;
(56) 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;
(57)
Accept and expend any gift, grant, contribution, bequest, endowment or other
money for the purposes of this article;
(58)
Assume the powers set out in section nine of this article. 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;
(59)
Pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section and article
three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, promulgate a uniform joint
legislative rule with the commission for the purpose of standardizing, as much
as possible, the administration of personnel matters among the institutions of
higher education;
(60)
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;
(61)
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) Any
other policies the commission and council consider appropriate;
(62) 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
(63)
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.
(d) In
addition to the powers and duties listed in subsections (a), (b) and (c) 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 network as a whole or a geographical region thereof;
(3)
Development and implementation of each community and technical college mission
definition including use of incentive and performance funds to influence
institutional behavior in ways that are consistent with achieving established
state goals, objectives, and 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
internal 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;
(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.
(e) The
council may 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 any of the following conditions exist:
(1) The
governing board has failed for two consecutive years to develop an
institutional compact as required in section seven, article one-d 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.
(f) In
addition to the powers and duties provided for in subsections (a), (b), (c) and
(d) of this section and any others assigned to it by law, the council has those
powers and duties necessary or expedient to accomplish the purposes of this
article; and
(g) When
the council and commission, each, is required to consent, cooperate,
collaborate or provide input into the actions of the other the following
conditions apply:
(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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to set forth guidelines for increases of tuition and fees at community and
technical colleges.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.