ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 480
(By Senators Plymale, Wells, Tomblin (Mr. President), White,
Unger, Edgell, Oliverio, Barnes, Jenkins, Bowman, Foster, Guills,
Laird, Browning, Chafin, Yost, Kessler, Stollings and Prezioso)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported February 24, 2010.]
____________
A BILL
to repeal §18-23-4a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; to repeal §18B-8-3a of said code; to repeal
§18B-9-2a, §18B-9-5, §18B-9-7, §18B-9-8, §18B-9-9, §18B-9-10
and §18B-9-12 of said code; to amend and reenact §5-6-4a of
said code; to amend and reenact §12-1-12d of said code; to
amend and reenact §18B-1-2 and §18B-1-6 of said code; to amend
and reenact §18B-1B-4 and §18B-1B-5 of said code; to amend and
reenact §18B-2A-3, §18B-2A-4 and §18B-2A-8 of said code; to
amend and reenact §18B-2B-3 of said code; to amend and reenact
§18B-3-1, §18B-3-3 and §18B-3-4 of said code; to amend said
code by adding thereto a new section, designated §18B-3C-7a; to amend and reenact §18B-3C-8 of said code; to amend and
reenact §18B-4-1 of said code; to amend said code by adding
thereto a new section, designated §18B-4-2a; to amend and
reenact §18B-5-9 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-7-1,
§18B-7-2, §18B-7-3, §18B-7-4, §18B-7-5, §18B-7-6, §18B-7-7,
§18B-7-8, §18B-7-9, §18B-7-10, §18B-7-11 and §18B-7-12 of said
code; to amend said code by adding thereto four new sections,
designated §18B-7-13, §18B-7-14, §18B-7-15 and §18B-7-16; to
amend and reenact §18B-8-1, §18B-8-3, §18B-8-4, §18B-8-5 and
§18B-8-6 of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a
new section, designated §18B-8-2; to amend and reenact §18B-9-
1, §18B-9-2, §18B-9-3 and §18B-9-4 of said code; to amend said
code by adding thereto a new article, designated §18B-9A-1,
§18B-9A-2, §18B-9A-3, §18B-9A-4, §18B-9A-5, §18B-9A-6, §18B-
9A-7 and §18B-9A-8; to amend and reenact §18B-10-1 of said
code; and to amend and reenact §18B-12-1, §18B-12-2, §18B-12-3
and §18B-12-6 of said code, all relating to public higher
education personnel generally; state organizations of higher
education;
public higher education governance; research
corporations; reviewing certain real property contracts;
repealing sunset provision for pilot investment program for
Marshall University and West Virginia University;
specifying
and clarifying rule-making procedures;
specifying certain
powers and duties of certain higher education organizations;
establishing classification and compensation for certain
employees; specifying powers and duties; providing legislative
purposes and intent; providing certain definitions; requiring
creation of certain professional staff positions; setting
forth minimum qualifications and specifying duties; requiring
organization rulemaking; specifying applicability of certain
statutes and rules and providing certain exceptions; setting
forth relationships among certain higher education
organizations; designating names and locations for certain
state institutions of higher education; authorizing certain
supplemental retirement, health and welfare benefit plans for
certain employees; providing for certain employer and employee
matches; authorizing employee payroll deductions; requiring
establishment of continuing education and professional
development programs for certain employees; setting forth
certain employment practices; requiring certain periodic
reports; specifying data to be included in reports and
designating report due dates; providing certain exceptions to
report due dates; requiring periodic audits of human resources
functions at certain higher education organizations; setting
forth purposes of audits; specifying audit criteria and
designating completion dates; requiring prior notice of audits
and setting forth certain exceptions; authorizing compensatory
time off for certain employees in certain instances; setting forth conditions; defining "nonclassified" employees; limiting
percentage of employees designated as "nonclassified" and
providing certain exceptions; establishing formula for
calculating percentage; providing effective date for meeting
percentage limits and requiring compliance reports;
authorizing certain employment by mutual agreement; setting
forth terms, conditions and applicability of agreements;
requiring probationary period for certain employees;
authorizing catastrophic leave banks and leave transfer for
certain employees; setting forth terms and conditions for
participation; codifying certain current practices;
authorizing merit salary increases for certain employees under
certain conditions; requiring study of certain employment
practices; requiring report and specifying data and report due
date; requiring faculty salary rules and providing for salary
increases in certain instances; authorizing sabbatical leaves
for certain professional personnel; specifying terms and
conditions for participation; maintaining certain rights and
benefits during leaves of absences under certain
circumstances; requiring definition of certain terms;
requiring notice of employment decisions to probationary
faculty members by certain date and providing for hearings in
certain instances; stating legislative intent regarding
funding for certain employee salary schedules; specifying applicability of certain statutes; establishing certain terms
and conditions and providing certain exceptions; providing
formulas for making certain salary calculations; requiring
certification of certain higher education organizations
relating to certain salary funding requirements; specifying
applicability of certain rules; requiring review and approval
process for certain rules and specifying responsibilities of
certain professional personnel relating to rulemaking;
providing for funding certain salary schedules; specifying
certain consequences and sanctions and providing exceptions;
providing short title designation; requiring maintenance of
uniform job classification system; establishing job
classification committee and specifying membership,
organization and powers and duties; assigning certain other
powers and duties relating to job classification; establishing
compensation planning and review committee and specifying
membership, organization and powers and duties; providing for
establishment of market salary structures and minimum salary
schedules, requiring periodic updates and specifying certain
other related powers and duties; providing for periodic market
salary studies and specifying application of study findings;
requiring certain salary comparisons and establishing limit on
variations of average salaries among employee classes;
specifying authority and duty of Higher Education Policy Commission and Council for Community and Technical College
Education over classification and compensation system;
requiring promulgation of certain personnel rules by certain
date; authorizing emergency rules with prior approval;
establishing parameters for rules; defining "major
deficiencies" in human resources functions; specifying
mechanisms for correcting identified deficiencies and
requiring and authorizing certain sanctions in certain
instances; providing for hearing employee appeals; requiring
employee performance evaluations of certain employees;
requiring certain training for supervisory personnel;
establishing terms and conditions for exercising certain
operational flexibilities for certain governing boards;
establishing certain goals for implementing certain statutes
and rules; fixing certain implementation responsibilities;
providing for review and approval
of certain academic programs
and degrees and specifying exceptions; providing for review of
institutional operating and capital budgets for Marshall
University and West Virginia University; requiring review or
approval of certain budgets for certain other governing
boards; providing a procedure to extend certain powers and
duties to certain governing boards; extending certain
purchasing authority to certain governing boards with prior
approval; providing for review and approval of governing boards' requests for tuition and fee increases greater than
set amounts; removing caps on increases in tuition and fees;
authorizing research and development agreements between
governing boards of state institutions of higher education and
certain corporations; providing legislative findings and
purpose related to research corporations; providing certain
definitions;
setting forth essential criteria for research
corporations; specifying corporation membership, organization
and financial requirements; conforming research corporation
reporting provisions to federal law
; making technical
corrections; and deleting obsolete language.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-23-4a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be repealed; that §18B-8-3a of said code be repealed; that
§18B-9-2a, §18B-9-5, §18B-9-7, §18B-9-8, §18B-9-9, §18B-9-10 and
§18B-9-12 of said code be repealed; that §5-6-4a of said code be
amended and reenacted; that §12-1-12d of said code be amended and
reenacted; that §18B-1-2 and §18B-1-6 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that §18B-1B-4 and §18B-1B-5 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that §18B-2A-3, §18B-2A-4 and §18B-2A-8 of said code be
amended and reenacted; that §18B-2B-3 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that §18B-3-1, §18B-3-3 and §18B-3-4 of said code be
amended and reenacted; that said code by amended by adding thereto
a new section, designated §18B-3C-7a; that §18B-3C-8 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18B-4-1 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §18B-4-2a; that §18B-5-9 of said code be
amended and reenacted; that §18B-7-1, §18B-7-2, §18B-7-3, §18B-7-4,
§18B-7-5, §18B-7-6, §18B-7-7, §18B-7-8, §18B-7-9, §18B-7-10, §18B-
7-11 and §18B-7-12 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said
code be amended by adding thereto four new sections, designated
§18B-7-13, §18B-7-14, §18B-7-15 and §18B-7-16; that §18B-8-1, §18B-
8-3, §18B-8-4, §18B-8-5 and §18B-8-6 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §18B-8-2; that §18B-9-1, §18B-9-2, §18B-9-3 and
§18B-9-4 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be
amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §18B-9A-1,
§18B-9A-2, §18B-9A-3, §18B-9A-4, §18B-9A-5, §18B-9A-6, §18B-9A-7
and §18B-9A-8; that §18B-10-1 of said code be amended and
reenacted; and that §18B-12-1, §18B-12-2, §18B-12-3 and §18B-12-6
of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD
OF PUBLIC WORKS; MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS,
OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.
ARTICLE 6. STATE BUILDINGS.
§5-6-4a. Review of real property contracts and agreements; master
plan for office space.
(a) The Secretary of Administration shall provide to the Joint
Committee on Government and Finance a copy of a contract or
agreement for real property exceeding one million dollars and a
report setting forth a detailed summary of the terms of the
contract or agreement, including the name of the owner of the
property and the agent involved in the sale, at least thirty days
prior to any sale, exchange, transfer, purchase, lease purchase,
lease or rental of real property, any refundings of lease
purchases, leases or rental agreements, any construction of new
buildings and any other acquisition or lease of buildings, office
space or grounds by agency,
including the Higher Education Policy
Commission, but excepting the transactions of
the Higher Education
Policy Commission, the Council for Community and Technical College
Education, the
governing boards of state institutions of higher
education
known as Marshall University and West Virginia University
and the Division of Highways for state road purposes pursuant to
article two-a, chapter seventeen of this code
. : Provided, That A
contract or agreement for the lease purchase, lease or rental of
real property by any state agency, where the costs of real property
acquisition and improvements are to be financed, in whole or in
part, with bond proceeds, may contain a preliminary schedule of
rents and leases for purposes of review by the committee.
(b) For renewals of contracts or agreements required to be
reported by
the provisions of this section, the Secretary of Administration shall provide a report setting forth a detailed
summary of the terms of the contract or agreement, including the
name of the owner of the property.
(c) Within thirty days after receipt of the contract,
agreement or report, the committee shall meet and review the
contract, agreement or report.
(d) On or before the first day of July, two thousand six, the
Secretary of Administration shall conduct an inventory of available
office space and office space needs and shall develop and present
a master plan for the utilization of office space for state
agencies to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.
(e) The
Higher Education Policy Commission, the Council for
Community and Technical College Education and the governing boards
of the state institutions of higher education
known as Marshall
University and West Virginia University shall provide to the Joint
Committee on Government and Finance a copy of any contract or
agreement for real property exceeding one million dollars and shall
make available to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance
upon request a summary of the terms of the contract or agreement,
including the name of the owner of the property and the agent
involved in the sale.
CHAPTER 12. PUBLIC MONEYS AND SECURITIES.
ARTICLE 1. STATE DEPOSITORIES.
§12-1-12d. Program for investments by Marshall University and West Virginia University.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the
contrary, the governing boards of Marshall University and West
Virginia University each may invest certain funds with its
respective nonprofit foundation that has been established to
receive contributions exclusively for that university and which
exists on January 1, 2005. Any such investment is subject to the
limitations of this section.
(b) A governing board, through its chief financial officer may
enter into agreements, approved as to form by the State Treasurer,
for the investment by its foundation of certain funds subject to
their administration. Any interest or earnings on the moneys
invested is retained by the investing university.
(c) Moneys of a university that may be invested with its
foundation pursuant to this section are those subject to the
administrative control of the university that are collected under
an act of the Legislature for specific purposes and do not include
any funds made available to the university from the state general
revenue fund or the funds established in sections eighteen or
eighteen-a, article twenty-two, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
Moneys permitted to be invested under this section may be
aggregated in an investment fund for investment purposes.
(d) Of the moneys authorized for investment by this section,
Marshall University and West Virginia University each, respectively, may have invested with its foundation at any time not
more than the greater of:
(1) Eighteen million dollars for Marshall University and
twenty-five million dollars for West Virginia University; or
(2) Sixty-five percent of its unrestricted net assets as
presented in the statement of net assets for the fiscal year end
audited financial reports.
(e) Investments by foundations that are authorized under this
section shall be made in accordance with and subject to
the
provisions of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act codified as article
six-c, chapter forty-four of this code. As part of its fiduciary
responsibilities, each governing board shall establish investment
policies in accordance with the Uniform Prudent Investor Act for
those moneys invested with its foundation. The governing board
shall review, establish and modify, if necessary, the investment
objectives as incorporated in its investment policies
so as to
provide for the financial security of the moneys invested with its
foundation. The governing boards shall give consideration to the
following:
(1) Preservation of capital;
(2) Diversification;
(3) Risk tolerance;
(4) Rate of return;
(5) Stability;
(6) Turnover;
(7) Liquidity; and
(8) Reasonable cost of fees.
(f) A governing board shall report annually by December 1, to
the Governor and to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance
on the performance of investments managed by its foundation
pursuant to this section.
(g) The authority of a governing board to invest moneys with
its foundation pursuant to this section expires on the first day of
July, two thousand ten.
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:
(a) "Governing boards" or "boards" means the institutional
boards of Governors created
pursuant to by section one, article
two-a of this chapter;
(b) "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;
(c) "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
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College,
West Virginia Northern Community and Technical College, Eastern
West Virginia Community and Technical College, New River Community
and Technical College, West Virginia University at Parkersburg,
The Community and Technical College at West Virginia University
Institute of Technology, Blue Ridge Community and Technical
College, Marshall Community and Technical College, West Virginia
State Community and Technical College and Pierpont Community and
Technical College 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;
(d) "Community and technical college education" means the
programs, faculty, administration and funding associated with the
delivery of community and technical college education programs;
(e) "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;
(f) "Higher education institution" means any institution as
defined by Sections 401(f), (g) and (h) of the federal Higher
Education Facilities Act of 1963, as amended;
(g) "Higher Education Policy Commission", "Policy Commission"
or "Commission" means the commission created
pursuant to by section
one, article one-b of this chapter;
(h) "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;
(i) "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;
(j) "Chancellor" means the Chancellor for Higher Education
where the context refers to a function of the Higher Education
Policy Commission. "Chancellor" means Chancellor for Community and
Technical College Education where the context refers to a function
of the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College
Education;
(k) "Institutional operating budget" or "operating budget"
means for any fiscal year an institution's total unrestricted education and general funding from all sources,
in the prior fiscal
year, including, but not limited to, tuition and fees and
legislative appropriation, and any adjustments to that funding as
approved by the commission or council based on comparisons with
peer institutions or to reflect consistent components of peer
operating budgets;
(l) "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;
(m) "Rule" or "rules" means a regulation, standard, policy or
interpretation of general application and future effect;
(n) "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;
(o) "Vice Chancellor for Human Resources" means the person
employed in accordance with section two-a, article four of this
chapter;
(o) (p) "State college" means Bluefield State College, Concord
University, Fairmont State University, Glenville State College,
Shepherd University, West Liberty
State College University or West
Virginia State University;
(p) (q) "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;
(q) (r) "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;
(r) (s) "Institutional compact" means the compact between the
commission or council and a state institution of higher education
under its jurisdiction, as described in section six, article one-d
of this chapter;
(s) (t) "Peer institutions", "peer group" or "peers" means
public institutions of higher education used for comparison purposes and selected by the commission pursuant to section three,
article one-a of this chapter;
(t) (u) "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;
(u) (v) "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;
(v) (w) "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;
(w) (x) "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;
(x) (y) "Council" means the West Virginia Council for
Community and Technical College Education created
pursuant to by
article two-b of this chapter;
(y) (z) "West Virginia Consortium for Undergraduate Research
and Engineering" or "West Virginia CURE" means the collaborative
planning group established
pursuant to by article one-c of this
chapter;
(z) (aa) "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;
(aa) (bb) "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
or are seeking independent accreditation by the regional
accrediting agency, 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;
(bb) (cc) "Independent community and technical college" means
a state institution of higher education under the jurisdiction of the council which is independently accredited or seeking
independent accreditation, 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, The
Community and Technical College at West Virginia University
Institute of Technology, Eastern West Virginia Community and
Technical College, Marshall 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,
West Virginia State Community and Technical College, and West
Virginia University at Parkersburg 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;
and
(cc) (dd) "Dual credit course" or "dual enrollment course"
is
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.
18B-1-6. Rulemaking.
(a) The Commission is hereby empowered to promulgate, adopt,
amend or repeal rules, in accordance with
the provisions of article
three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, subject to
the
provisions of section three of this article.
(b) The Council is hereby empowered to promulgate, adopt,
amend or repeal rules in accordance with
the provisions of article
three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
and subject to
the
provisions of section three of this article. This grant of
rule-making power extends only to those areas over which the
Council has been granted specific authority and jurisdiction by
law.
(c) As it relates to the authority granted to governing boards
of state institutions of higher education to promulgate, adopt,
amend or repeal any rule under
the provisions of this code:
(1) "Rule" means any regulation, guideline, directive,
standard, statement of policy or interpretation of general
application which has institution-wide effect or which affects the
rights, privileges or interests of employees, students or citizens.
Any regulation, guideline, directive, standard, statement of policy
or interpretation of general application that meets this definition
is a rule for the purposes of this section.
(2) Regulations, guidelines or policies established for
individual units, divisions, departments or schools of the
institution, which deal solely with the internal management or
responsibilities of a single unit, division, department or school
or with academic curricular policies that do not constitute a
mission change for the institution, are excluded from this
subsection, except for the requirements relating to posting.
(3) The Commission and Council each shall promulgate a rule to
guide the development and approval of rules made by their
respective governing boards, including the governing boards of
Marshall University and West Virginia University. The rules
promulgated by the Commission and Council shall include, but are
not limited to, the following provisions which shall be included in
the rule on rules adopted by each governing board of a state
institution of higher education:
(A) A procedure to ensure that public notice is given and that
the right of interested parties to have a fair and adequate
opportunity to respond is protected, including providing for a
thirty-day public comment period prior to final adoption of a rule;
(B) Designation of a single location where all proposed and
approved rules, guidelines and other policy statements are posted
and can be accessed by the public;
and
(C) A procedure to maximize Internet access to all proposed
and approved rules, guidelines and other policy statements to the extent technically and financially feasible
.; and
(D) A procedure for the governing board to submit its rules
for review and approval to the commission and/or council, as
appropriate, except the following conditions apply for the
governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia
University:
(i) The governing boards shall submit rules for review and
comment to the commission.
(ii) The commission shall return to the governing board its
comments and suggestions within thirty days of receiving the rule.
(iii) If a governing boards receives comments or suggestions
on a rule from the commission, it shall record these as part of the
minute record. The rule is not effective and may not be
implemented until the governing board holds a meeting and places on
the meeting agenda the comments it has received from the
commission.
(d) Nothing in this section requires that any rule
reclassified or transferred by the commission or the council under
this section be promulgated again under the procedures set out in
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code unless the rule
is amended or modified.
(e) The commission and council each shall file with the
Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability any
rule it proposes to promulgate, adopt, amend or repeal under the authority of this article.
(f) The governing boards
of Marshall University and West
Virginia University, respectively, shall promulgate and adopt any
rule which they are required to adopt by this chapter or chapter
eighteen-c of this code no later than
the first day of July 1, two
thousand five July 1, 2011. On and after this date:
(1) Any rule of
either a governing board which meets the
definition set out in subsection (c) of this section and which has
not been promulgated and adopted by formal vote of the appropriate
governing board is void and may not be enforced;
(2) Any authority granted by this code which inherently
requires the governing board to promulgate and adopt a rule is void
until the governing board complies with
the provisions of this
section.
(g) Within thirty days of the adoption of a rule, including
repeal or amendment of an existing rule,
the and before the change
is implemented, a governing
boards of Marshall University and West
Virginia University, respectively, board shall furnish
to the
commission or the council, as appropriate, a copy of each rule
which
it has
been formally adopted
to the commission or the
council, respectively, for review and approval, except the
governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia
University are subject to subsection (c) of this section.
(h)
Not later than Annually, by October 1,
2005, and annually thereafter, each governing board
of a state institution of higher
education shall file with the commission or the council, as
appropriate, a list of all
institutional rules that were in effect
for that institution on July 1 of that year, including the most
recent date on which each rule was considered and adopted, amended
or repealed by the governing board. For all rules adopted, amended
or repealed after the effective date of this section, the list
shall include a statement by the chair of the governing board
certifying that the governing board has complied with
the
provisions of this section when each listed rule was
promulgated
and adopted.
ARTICLE 1B. HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION.
§18B-1B-4. Powers and duties of Higher Education Policy
Commission.
(a) The primary responsibility of the commission is to
develop, establish and implement policy that will achieve the
goals
, and objectives
and priorities found in section one-a,
article one
and article one-d of this chapter. The commission
shall exercise its authority and carry out its responsibilities in
a manner that is consistent and not in conflict with the powers and
duties assigned by law to the West Virginia Council for Community
and Technical College Education and the powers and duties assigned
to the governing boards.
of Marshall University and West Virginia
University, respectively. To that end, the commission has the following powers and duties relating to the
institutions governing
boards under its jurisdiction:
(1) Develop, oversee and advance the public policy agenda
pursuant to
section one, article one-a article one-d of this
chapter to address major challenges facing the state, including,
but not limited to,
the following:
(A) The goals,
and objectives
and priorities found established
in
section one-a, article one of this chapter
and including
specifically those goals
, and objectives
and priorities pertaining
to the compacts created pursuant to section
two seven, article
one-a one-d of this chapter
; and
to develop and implement
(B) Development and implementation of the master plan
described in section
nine of this five, article
one-d of this
chapter for the purpose of accomplishing the mandates of this
section;
(2) Develop, oversee and advance the implementation jointly
with the council of a financing policy for higher education in West
Virginia. The policy shall meet the following criteria:
(A) Provide an adequate level of education and general funding
for institutions pursuant to section five, article one-a of this
chapter;
(B) Serve to maintain institutional assets, including, but not
limited to, human and physical resources and deferred maintenance;
(C) Invest and provide incentives for achieving the priority goals in the public policy agenda, including, but not limited to,
those found in section one-a, article one of this chapter; and
(D) Incorporate the plan for strategic funding to strengthen
capacity for support of community and technical college education
established by the
West Virginia Council
for Community and
Technical College Education pursuant to
the provisions of section
six, article two-b of this chapter;
(3) In collaboration with the council, create a policy
leadership structure capable of the following actions:
(A) Developing, building public consensus around and
sustaining attention to a long-range public policy agenda. In
developing the agenda, the commission and council shall seek input
from the Legislature and the Governor and specifically from the
State Board of Education and local school districts in order to
create the necessary linkages to assure smooth, effective and
seamless movement of students through the public education and
post-secondary education systems and to ensure that the needs of
public school courses and programs can be fulfilled by the
graduates produced and the programs offered;
(B) Ensuring that the governing boards carry out their duty
effectively to govern the individual institutions of higher
education; and
(C) Holding the
higher education institutions governing boards
and the higher education systems as a whole accountable for accomplishing their missions and implementing
the provisions of the
their compacts;
(4) Develop and adopt each
institutional compact
for the
governing boards under its jurisdiction;
(5) Review and adopt the annual updates of the institutional
compacts;
(6) Serve as the accountability point to
state policy leaders:
(A) The Governor for implementation of the public policy
agenda; and
(B) The Legislature by maintaining a close working
relationship with the legislative leadership and the Legislative
Oversight Commission on Education Accountability;
(7) Jointly with the council, promulgate legislative rules
pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to
fulfill the purposes of section five, article one-a of this
chapter;
(8) Establish and implement a peer group for each institution
as described in section three, article one-a of this chapter;
(9) Establish and implement the benchmarks and performance
indicators necessary to measure institutional achievement towards
state policy priorities and institutional missions pursuant to
section two, article one-a
and article one-d of this chapter;
(10) Annually report to the Legislature and to the Legislative
Oversight Commission on Education Accountability during the January interim meetings on a date and at a time and location to be
determined by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
House of Delegates. The report shall address at least the
following:
(A) The performance of its system of higher education during
the previous fiscal year, including, but not limited to, progress
in meeting goals stated in the compacts and progress of the
institutions and the higher education system as a whole in meeting
the goals,
and objectives
and priorities set forth in section
one-a, article one
and article one-d of this chapter;
(B) An analysis of enrollment data collected pursuant to
section one, article ten of this chapter and recommendations for
any changes necessary to assure access to high-quality, high-demand
education programs for West Virginia residents;
(C) The priorities established for capital investment needs
pursuant to subdivision (11) of this subsection and the
justification for
such the priority;
(D) Recommendations of the commission for statutory changes
needed to further the goals,
and objectives
and priorities set
forth in section one-a, article one
and article one-d of this
chapter;
(11) 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.
It is the
responsibility of the commission to assure a fair distribution of
funds for capital projects between the commission and the council.
To that end the commission shall take the following steps:
(A) Receive the list of priorities developed by the council
for capital investment for the institutions under the council's
jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (b), section six, article two-b
of this chapter;
(B) Place the ranked list of projects on the agenda for action
within sixty days of the date on which the list was received;
(C) Select a minimum of three projects from the list submitted
by the council to be included on the ranked list established by the
commission. At least one of the three projects selected must come
from the top two priorities established by the council;
(12)
Maintain guidelines for institutions to follow concerning
extensive capital project management except the governing boards of
Marshall University and West Virginia University are not subject to
the provisions of this subdivision as it relates to the state
institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and
West Virginia University. The guidelines shall provide a process
for developing capital projects, including, but not limited to, the
notification by an institution to the commission of any proposed
capital project which has the potential to exceed one million
dollars in cost. Such a project may not be pursued by an institution without the approval of the commission. An institution
may not participate directly or indirectly with any public or
private entity in any capital project which has the potential to
exceed one million dollars in cost; Develop standards and evaluate
governing board requests for capital project financing in
accordance with article nineteen of this chapter and ensure that
governing boards manage capital projects and facilities needs
effectively, including review and approval or disapproval of
capital projects, in accordance with article nineteen of this
chapter;
(13) Acquire legal services as
are considered necessary,
including representation of the commission, its
institutions,
governing boards, employees and officers before any court or
administrative body, notwithstanding any other provision of this
code to the contrary. The counsel may be employed either on a
salaried basis or on a reasonable fee basis. In addition, the
commission may, but is not required to, call upon the Attorney
General for legal assistance and representation as provided by law;
(14) Employ a Chancellor for Higher Education pursuant to
section five of this article;
(15) Employ other staff as necessary and appropriate to carry
out the duties and responsibilities of the commission and the
council, in accordance with
the provisions of article four of this
chapter;
(16) Provide suitable offices
in Charleston for the
chancellor, vice chancellors and other staff
in Charleston or
outside Charleston in a technology and research center
;
(17) Advise and consent in the appointment of the presidents
of the institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction
pursuant to section six of this article. The role of the
commission in approving an institutional president is to assure
through personal interview that the person selected understands and
is committed to achieving the goals, and objectives and priorities
as set forth in the institutional compact, and in section one-a,
article one and article one-d of this chapter;
(18) Approve the total compensation package from all sources
for presidents of institutions under its jurisdiction, as proposed
by the governing boards. The governing boards must obtain approval
from the commission of the total compensation package both when
institutional presidents are employed initially and afterward when
any change is made in the amount of the total compensation package;
(19) Establish and implement the policy of the state to assure
that parents and students have sufficient information at the
earliest possible age on which to base academic decisions about
what is required for students to be successful in college, other
post-secondary education and careers related, as far as possible,
to results from current assessment tools in use in West Virginia;
(20) Approve and implement a uniform standard jointly with the council to determine which students shall be placed in remedial or
developmental courses. The standard shall be aligned with college
admission tests and assessment tools used in West Virginia and
shall be applied uniformly by the governing boards throughout the
public higher education system. The chancellors shall develop a
clear, concise explanation of the standard which they shall
communicate to the State Board of Education and the State
Superintendent of Schools;
(21) Review and approve or disapprove capital projects as
described in subdivision (11) of this subsection;
(22) Jointly with the council, develop and implement an
oversight plan to manage systemwide technology such as the
following:
(A) Expanding distance learning and technology networks to
enhance teaching and learning, promote access to quality
educational offerings with minimum duplication of effort; and
(B) Increasing the delivery of instruction to nontraditional
students, to provide services to business and industry and increase
the management capabilities of the higher education system.
(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or this code to
the contrary, the council, commission and state institutions of
higher education governing boards are not subject to the
jurisdiction of the Chief Technology Officer for any purpose;
(23) Establish and implement policies and procedures to ensure that students may transfer and apply toward the requirements for a
bachelor's degree the maximum number of credits earned at any
regionally accredited in-state or out-of-state community and
technical college with as few requirements to repeat courses or to
incur additional costs as is are consistent with sound academic
policy;
(24) Establish and implement policies and procedures to ensure
that students may transfer and apply toward the requirements for a
degree the maximum number of credits earned at any regionally
accredited in-state or out-of-state higher education institution
with as few requirements to repeat courses or to incur additional
costs as is are consistent with sound academic policy;
(25) Establish and implement policies and procedures to ensure
that students may transfer and apply toward the requirements for a
master's degree the maximum number of credits earned at any
regionally accredited in-state or out-of-state higher education
institution with as few requirements to repeat courses or to incur
additional costs as is are consistent with sound academic policy;
(26) Establish and implement policies and programs, in
cooperation with the council and the institutions of higher
education, through which students who have gained knowledge and
skills through employment, participation in education and training
at vocational schools or other education institutions, or
internet-based education programs, may demonstrate by competency-based assessment that they have the necessary knowledge
and skills to be granted academic credit or advanced placement
standing toward the requirements of an associate degree or a
bachelor's degree at a state institution of higher education;
(27) Seek out and attend regional, national and international
meetings and forums on education and workforce development-related
topics as, in the commission's discretion, is are critical for the
performance of their duties as members, for the purpose of keeping
abreast of education trends and policies to aid it in developing
the policies for this state to meet the established education
goals, and objectives and priorities pursuant to section one-a,
article one and article one-d of this chapter;
(28) Develop, establish Promulgate and implement a rule for
higher education governing boards and institutions to follow when
considering capital projects pursuant to article nineteen of this
chapter;. The guidelines shall assure that the governing boards
and institutions do not approve or promote capital projects
involving private sector businesses which would have the effect of
reducing property taxes on existing properties or avoiding, in
whole or in part, the full amount of taxes which would be due on
newly-developed or future properties;
(29) Consider and submit to the appropriate agencies of the
executive and legislative branches of state government a budget
that reflects recommended appropriations from the commission and the institutions under its jurisdiction. The commission shall
submit as part of its budget proposal the separate recommended
appropriations it received from the council, both for the council
and for the institutions governing boards under the council's
jurisdiction. The commission annually shall submit the proposed
institutional allocations based on each institution's progress
toward meeting the goals of its institutional compact;
(30) The commission has the authority to assess institutions
under its jurisdiction, including the state institutions of higher
education known as Marshall University and West Virginia
University, for the payment of expenses of the commission or for
the funding of statewide higher education services, obligations or
initiatives related to the goals set forth for the provision of
public higher education in the state;
(31) Promulgate rules allocating reimbursement of
appropriations, if made available by the Legislature, to
institutions of higher education governing boards for qualifying
noncapital expenditures incurred in the provision of services to
students with physical, learning or severe sensory disabilities;
(32) Make appointments to boards and commissions where this
code requires appointments from the State College System Board of
Directors or the University of West Virginia System Board of
Trustees which were abolished effective June 30, 2000, except in
those cases where the required appointment has a specific and direct connection to the provision of community and technical
college education, the appointment shall be made by the council.
Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the contrary, the
commission or the council may appoint one of its own members or any
other citizen of the state as its designee. The commission and
council shall appoint the total number of persons in the aggregate
required to be appointed by these previous governing boards;
(33) Pursuant to the provisions of article three-a, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code and section six, article one of this
chapter, promulgate rules as necessary or expedient to fulfill the
purposes of this chapter. The commission and the council shall
promulgate a uniform joint legislative rule for the purpose
purposes of standardizing, as much as possible, the administration
of personnel matters among the institutions of higher education and
implementing the provisions of articles seven, eight, nine and
nine-a of this chapter;
(34) Determine when a joint rule among the governing boards of
the institutions under its jurisdiction is necessary or required by
law and, in those instances, in consultation with the governing
boards of all the institutions under its jurisdiction, promulgate
the joint rule;
(35) In consultation with the governing boards of Marshall
University and West Virginia University, implement a policy jointly
with the council whereby course credit earned at a community and technical college transfers for program credit at any other state
institution of higher education and is not limited to fulfilling a
general education requirement;
(36) By November 1, 2010, promulgate a joint rule with the
council pursuant to section one, article ten of this chapter,
establishing tuition and fee policy for all institutions of higher
education under the jurisdiction of the commission, other than
including state institutions of higher education known as Marshall
University and West Virginia University which are subject to the
provisions of section one, article ten of this chapter. The rule
shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
(A) Comparisons with peer institutions;
(B) Differences among institutional missions;
(C) Strategies for promoting student access;
(D) Consideration of charges to out-of-state students; and
(E) Such other policies as the commission and council consider
appropriate;
(37) Implement general disease awareness initiatives to
educate parents and students, particularly dormitory residents,
about meningococcal meningitis; the potentially life-threatening
dangers of contracting the infection; behaviors and activities that
can increase risks; measures that can be taken to prevent contact
or infection; and potential benefits of vaccination. The
commission shall encourage institutions governing boards that provide medical care to students to provide access to the vaccine
for those who wish to receive it; and
(38) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary sell, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or part of
any real property which it may own, either by contract or at public
auction, and to retain the proceeds of any such the sale or lease:
Provided, That:
(A) The commission may not sell, lease, convey or otherwise
dispose of any real property without first until it meets the
following requirements:
(i) Providing Provides notice to the public in the county in
which the real property is located by a Class II legal
advertisement pursuant to section two, article three, chapter
fifty-nine of this code;
(ii) Holding Holds a public hearing on the issue in the county
in which the real property is located; and
(iii) Providing Provides notice to the Joint Committee on
Government and Finance.; and
(B) Any proceeds from the sale, lease, conveyance or other
disposal of real property that is used jointly by institutions or
for statewide programs under the jurisdiction of the commission or
the council shall be transferred to the General Revenue Fund of the
state.
(b) In addition to the powers and duties listed in subsection (a) of this section, the commission has the following general
powers and duties related to its role in developing, articulating
and overseeing the implementation of the public policy agenda:
(1) Planning and policy leadership, including a distinct and
visible role in setting the state's policy agenda and in serving as
an agent of change;
(2) Policy analysis and research focused on issues affecting
the system as a whole or a geographical region thereof;
(3) Development and implementation of institutional mission
definitions, including use of incentive funds to influence
institutional behavior in ways that are consistent with public
priorities;
(4) Academic program review and approval for institutions
governing boards under its jurisdiction. including The review and
approval includes use of institutional missions as a template to
judge the appropriateness of both new and existing programs and the
authority to implement needed changes: The commission's authority
to review and approve for either the state institution of higher
education known as Marshall University or West Virginia University
is limited to programs that are proposed to be offered at a new
location not presently served by that institution;
(A) For the governing boards of Marshall University and West
Virginia University:
(i) The commission's approval authority applies prospectively and does not affect programs for which governing boards have begun
significant planning before the effective date of this section;
(ii) The commission's approval authority excludes new
professional or doctoral degree programs unless the proposed degree
program is offered by another state institution of higher
education;
(iii) The commission's approval authority excludes new
professional or doctoral degree programs if the proposed program is
directly related to the eligible use of research funds under
section six, article eighteen-a of this chapter; and
(B) The commission shall approve or disapprove proposed
academic degree programs in those instances where approval is
required within ninety days from the date the governing board makes
an official request. The commission may not withhold approval
unreasonably.
(5) Distribution of funds appropriated to the commission,
including incentive and performance-based funding funds;
(6) Administration of state and federal student aid programs
under the supervision of the vice chancellor for administration,
including promulgation of any rules necessary to administer those
programs;
(7) Serving as the agent to receive and disburse public funds
when a governmental entity requires designation of a statewide
higher education agency for this purpose;
(8) Development, establishment and implementation of
information, assessment, and accountability and personnel systems,
including maintenance of statewide data systems that facilitate
long-term planning and accurate measurement of strategic outcomes
and performance indicators;
(9) Jointly with the council, developing, establishing and
implementing policies for licensing and oversight for both public
and private degree-granting and nondegree-granting institutions
that provide post-secondary education courses or programs in the
state; pursuant to the findings and policy recommendations required
by section eleven of this article;
(10) Development, implementation and oversight of statewide
and region-wide projects and initiatives related to providing
post-secondary education at the baccalaureate level and above such
as those using funds from federal categorical programs or those
using incentive and performance-based funding funds from any
source; and
(11) Quality assurance that intersects with all other duties
of the commission particularly in the areas of research, data
collection and analysis, personnel administration, planning, policy
analysis, program review and approval, budgeting and information
and accountability systems; and
(12) Development of budget and allocation of resources for
governing boards under its jurisdiction:
(A) For all governing boards under its jurisdiction, except
the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia
University, the commission shall review institutional operating
budgets, review and approve capital budgets, and distribute
incentive and performance-based funds;
(B) For the governing boards of Marshall University and West
Virginia University, the commission shall distribute incentive and
performance-based funds and may review and comment upon the
institutional operating budgets and capital budgets. The
commission's comments, if any, shall be made part of the governing
board's minute record.
(c) In addition to the powers and duties provided in
subsections (a) and (b) of this section and any other powers and
duties as may be assigned to it by law, the commission has such
other powers and duties as may be necessary or expedient to
accomplish the purposes of this article.
(d) The commission is authorized to withdraw specific powers
of any a governing board of an institution under its jurisdiction
for a period not to exceed two years, if the commission makes a
determination determines 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 article one-d
one-d of this chapter;
(2) The commission has received information, substantiated by
independent audit, of significant mismanagement or failure to carry
out the powers and duties of the board of governors governing board
according to state law; or
(3) Other circumstances which, in the view of the commission,
severely limit the capacity of the board of governors governing
board to exercise its powers or carry out its duties and
responsibilities.
The commission may not withdraw specific powers for a period
of withdrawal of specific powers may not exceed exceeding two
years. During which time the commission is authorized to the
withdrawal period, the commission shall take all steps necessary to
reestablish the conditions for restoration of sound, stable and
responsible institutional governance.
§18B-1B-5. Employment of Chancellor for Higher Education; office;
powers and duties generally; employment of Vice Chancellors
and other staff.
(a) The commission, created pursuant to by section one of this
article, shall employ a Chancellor for Higher Education who is the
Chief Executive Officer of the Commission and who serves at its
will and pleasure.
(b) The commission shall set the qualifications for the
position of Chancellor and, when a vacancy occurs, shall conduct a
thorough nationwide search for qualified candidates. A qualified candidate is one who meets at least the following criteria:
(1) Possesses an excellent academic and administrative
background;
(2) Demonstrates strong communication skills;
(3) Has significant experience and an established national
reputation as a professional in the field of higher education;
(4) Is free of institutional or regional biases; and
(5) Holds or retains no other administrative position within
a system of higher education while employed as chancellor.
(c) The commission shall conduct written performance
evaluations of the chancellor annually and may offer the chancellor
a contract not to exceed three years. At the end of each contract
period, the commission shall review the evaluations and make a
determination by vote of its members on continuing employment and
compensation level.
(d) When filling a vacancy in the position of chancellor, the
commission shall enter into an initial employment contract for one
year with the candidate selected. At the end of the initial
contract period, and each contract period thereafter, the
commission shall review the evaluations and make a determination by
vote of its members on continuing employment and compensation level
for the chancellor.
(e) The commission sets the chancellor's salary. The salary
may not exceed by more than twenty percent the average annual salary of chief executive officers of state systems of higher
education in the states that comprise the membership of the
Southern Regional Education Board.
(f) The commission may employ a Vice Chancellor for Health
Sciences who serves at the will and pleasure of the commission.
The Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences shall coordinate the West
Virginia University School of Medicine, the Marshall University
School of Medicine and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic
Medicine and also shall provide assistance to the governing boards
on matters related to medical education and health sciences. The
Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences shall perform all duties
assigned by the chancellor, the commission and state law. In the
case of a vacancy in the office of Vice Chancellor of Health
Sciences, the duties assigned to this office by law are the
responsibility of the chancellor or a designee.
(g) The commission shall employ a Vice Chancellor for
Administration pursuant to section two, article four of this
chapter.
(h) The commission shall employ a Vice Chancellor for Human
Resources pursuant to section two-a, article four of this chapter.
Additionally, the commission shall employ a Director of
Classification, Compensation and Human Resources Information
Systems, if practicable, by October 1, 2010. The director shall
report to the Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and perform duties as assigned by the Vice Chancellor, the chancellors, the
commission, the council or by law.
(h) (i) The commission may employ a Vice Chancellor for State
Colleges who serves at the will and pleasure of the commission. It
is the duty and responsibility of At a minimum, the Vice Chancellor
for State Colleges to shall perform the following duties:
(1) Provide assistance to the commission, the chancellor and
the state colleges on matters related to or of interest and concern
to these institutions;
(2) Advise, assist and consult regularly with the institutional
presidents and institutional boards of Governors governing boards
of each state college;
(3) Serve as an advocate and spokesperson for the state
colleges to represent them and to make their interests, views and
issues known to the chancellor, the commission and governmental
agencies;
(4) Perform all duties assigned by the chancellor, the
commission and state law.
In addition, the Vice Chancellor for State Colleges has the
responsibility and the duty to shall provide staff assistance to the
institutional presidents and governing boards to the extent
practicable.
(i) (j) On behalf of the commission, the chancellor may enter
into agreements with any state agency or political subdivision of the state, any state higher education institution of higher
education or any other person or entity to enlist staff assistance
to implement the powers and duties assigned by the commission or by
state law.
(j) (k) The chancellor is responsible for the daily operations
of the commission and has the following responsibilities relating
to the commission and the institutions governing boards under its
jurisdiction:
(1) To carry out policy and program directives of the
commission;
(2) To develop and submit annual reports on the implementation
plan to achieve the goals and objectives set forth in section one-a,
article one and article one-d of this chapter, and in the
institutional compacts;
(3) To prepare and submit to the commission for its approval
the proposed budget of the commission including the offices of the
chancellor and the vice chancellors;
(4) To assist the governing boards in developing rules, subject
to the provisions of section six, article one of this chapter.
Nothing in this chapter requires the rules of the governing boards
to be filed pursuant to the rule-making procedures provided in
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The commission
and the council, either separately or jointly as appropriate, are
responsible for ensuring that any policy which is required to be uniform across the institutions is applied in a uniform manner;
(5) To perform all other duties and responsibilities assigned
by the commission or by state law.
(k) (l) The chancellor shall be reimbursed for all actual and
necessary expenses incurred in the performance of all assigned
duties and responsibilities.
(l) (m) The chancellor, with the commission, advises the
Legislature on matters of higher education in West Virginia. The
chancellor shall work closely with the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability and with the elected
leadership of the state to ensure that they are fully informed about
higher education issues and that the commission fully understands
the goals, objectives and priorities for higher education that the
Legislature has established by law.
(m) (n) The chancellor may design and develop for consideration
by the commission new statewide or regional region-wide initiatives
in accordance with the goals set forth in section one-a, article one
and article one-d of this chapter, and the public policy agenda
articulated by the commission. In those instances where the
initiatives to be proposed have a direct and specific impact or
connection to community and technical college education as well as
to baccalaureate and graduate education, the Chancellor for Higher
Education and the Chancellor for Community and Technical College
Education shall design and develop the initiatives jointly for consideration by the commission and the council.
(n) (o) To further the goals of cooperation and coordination
between the commission and the State Board of Education, the
chancellor serves as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the state
board. The chancellor shall work closely with members of the State
Board of Education and with the State Superintendent of Schools to
assure that the following goals are met:
(1) Development and implementation of a seamless kindergarten-
through-college system of education; and
(2) Appropriate coordination of missions and programs.
To further the goals of cooperation and coordination between
the Commission and the state Board of Education, the chancellor
serves as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the state Board of
Education.
ARTICLE 2A. INSTITUTIONAL BOARDS OF GOVERNORS.
§18B-2A-3. Supervision of governing boards; promulgation of rules.
(a) The governing boards are subject to the supervision of the
Commission or the Council, as appropriate, except for in those
instances where specific statutory exceptions are granted by law to
the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia
University. as it relates to the state institutions of higher
education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University
(b) The governing boards of all state institutions of higher
education are subject to the provisions of law that relate to the administration of personnel matters including, specifically,
articles seven, eight, nine and nine-a of this chapter and to rules
promulgated and adopted in accordance with these provisions.
(c) The Chancellor for Higher Education and the Chancellor for
Community and Technical College Education, under the supervision of
their respective boards, are responsible for the coordination of
policies, and purposes and rules of the governing boards and shall
provide for and facilitate sufficient interaction among the
governing boards and between the governing boards and the state
Board of Education to meet the goals and objectives provided in the
compacts and in section one-a, article one and article one-d of this
chapter.
(b) (d) The governing boards and the State Board of Education
shall provide any and all information requested by the commission
or and the council, whether the request is made separately or
jointly, in an appropriate format and in a timely manner.
§18B-2A-4. Powers and duties of governing boards generally.
Each governing board separately has the following powers and
duties:
(a) Determine, control, supervise and manage the financial,
business and education policies and affairs of the state institution
of higher education under its jurisdiction;
(b) Develop a master plan for the institution under its
jurisdiction.
(1) The ultimate responsibility for developing and updating the
master plans at the institutional institution level resides with the
board of governors governing boards, but the ultimate responsibility
for approving the final version of the institutional master plans,
including periodic updates, resides with the commission or council,
as appropriate.
(2) Each master plan shall include, but is not be limited to,
the following:
(A) A detailed demonstration of how the master plan will be
used to meet the goals, and objectives and priorities of the
institutional compact;
(B) A well-developed set of goals, objectives and priorities
outlining missions, degree offerings, resource requirements,
physical plant needs, personnel needs, enrollment levels and other
planning determinates and projections necessary in a plan to assure
that the needs of the institution's area of responsibility for a
quality system of higher education are addressed;
(C) Document Documentation of the involvement of the commission
or council, as appropriate, institutional constituency groups,
clientele of the institution and the general public in the
development of all segments of the institutional master plan.
(3) The plan shall be established for periods of not less fewer
than three nor more than five years and shall be revised
periodically as necessary, including the addition or deletion of bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs for all governing
boards as approved by the commission or council, respectively. For
the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia
University only, the commission may review, but may not approve or
disapprove, any programs directly related to the eligible uses of
research funds prescribed in section six, article eighteen-a of this
chapter. in the discretion of the appropriate governing board are
necessary;
(c) Prescribe for the institution under its jurisdiction, in
accordance with its master plan and compact, specific functions and
responsibilities to achieve the goals, objectives and priorities
established in articles one and one-d of this chapter to meet the
higher education needs of its area of responsibility and to avoid
unnecessary duplication;
(d) Direct the preparation of a budget request for the
institution under its jurisdiction, which relates directly to
missions, goals and projections as found in the institutional master
plan and the institutional compact;
(e) Consider, revise and submit for review and approval to the
commission or council, as appropriate, a budget request on behalf
of the institution under its jurisdiction;
(f) Review, at least every five years, all academic programs
offered at the institution under its jurisdiction. The review shall
address the viability, adequacy and necessity of the programs in relation to established state goals, objectives and priorities, the
institutional master plan, the institutional compact and the
education and workforce needs of its responsibility district. As
a part of the review, each governing board shall require the
institution under its jurisdiction to conduct periodic studies of
its graduates and their employers to determine placement patterns
and the effectiveness of the education experience. Where
appropriate, these studies should coincide with the studies required
of many academic disciplines by their accrediting bodies;
(g) Ensure that the sequence and availability of academic
programs and courses offered by the institution under its
jurisdiction is such that students have the maximum opportunity to
complete programs in the time frame normally associated with program
completion. Each governing board is responsible to see that the
needs of nontraditional college-age students are appropriately
addressed and, to the extent it is possible for the individual
governing board to control, to assure core course work completed at
the institution under its jurisdiction is transferable to any other
state institution of higher education for credit with the grade
earned;
(h) Subject to the provisions of article one-b of this chapter,
approve the teacher education programs offered in at the institution
under its control. In order to permit graduates of teacher
education programs to receive a degree from a nationally accredited program and in order to prevent expensive duplication of program
accreditation, the commission may select and use one nationally
recognized teacher education program accreditation standard as the
appropriate standard for program evaluation;
(i) Use Involve faculty, students and classified employees in
institutional institution-level planning and decision-making when
those groups are affected;
(j) Subject to the provisions of federal law and pursuant to
the provisions of article articles seven, eight, nine and nine-a of
this chapter and to rules adopted by the commission and the council,
administer a system for the management of personnel matters,
including, but not limited to, personnel classification,
compensation and discipline for employees at the institution under
its jurisdiction;
(k) Administer a system for hearing employee grievances and
appeals. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the procedure established in article two, chapter six-c
of this code is the exclusive mechanism for hearing prospective
employee grievances and appeals;
(l) Solicit and use or expend voluntary support, including
financial contributions and support services, for the institution
under its jurisdiction;
(m) Appoint a president for the institution under its
jurisdiction subject to the provisions of section six, article one-b of this chapter;
(n) Conduct written performance evaluations of the president
pursuant to section six, article one-b of this chapter;
(o) Employ all faculty and staff at the institution under its
jurisdiction. The employees operate under the supervision of the
president, but are employees of the governing board;
(p) Submit to the commission or council, as appropriate, no
later than the first day of November November 1, of each year an
annual report of the performance of the institution under its
jurisdiction during the previous fiscal year as compared to
established state goals, objectives, and priorities, and goals
stated in its master plan and institutional compact;
(q) Enter into contracts or consortium agreements with the
public schools, private schools or private industry to provide
technical, vocational, college preparatory, remedial and customized
training courses at locations either on campuses of the public
institution of higher education or at off-campus locations in the
institution's responsibility district. To accomplish this goal, the
governing boards may share resources among the various groups in the
community;
(r) Provide and transfer funding funds and property to certain
corporations pursuant to section ten, article twelve of this
chapter;
(s) Delegate, with prescribed standards and limitations, the part of its power and control over the business affairs of the
institution to the president in any case where it considers the
delegation necessary and prudent in order to enable the institution
to function in a proper and expeditious manner and to meet the
requirements of its master plan and institutional compact. If a
governing board elects to delegate any of its power and control
under the provisions of this subsection, it shall enter the
delegation in the minutes of the meeting when the decision was made
and shall notify the commission or council, as appropriate. Any
delegation of power and control may be rescinded by the appropriate
governing board, the commission or council, as appropriate, at any
time, in whole or in part; except that the commission may not revoke
delegations of authority made by the governing boards of Marshall
University or West Virginia University. as they relate to the state
institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and
West Virginia University;
(t) Unless changed by the commission or the council, as
appropriate, continue to abide by existing rules setting forth
standards for acceptance of accepting advanced placement credit for
the institution under its jurisdiction. Individual departments at
a state institution of higher education, with may, upon approval of
the institutional faculty senate, may require higher scores on the
advanced placement test than scores designated by the governing
board when the credit is to be used toward meeting a requirement of the core curriculum for a major in that department;
(u) Consult, cooperate and work coordinate with the State
Treasurer and the State Auditor to update as necessary and maintain
an efficient and cost-effective system for the financial management
and expenditure of special revenue and appropriated state funds at
the institution under its jurisdiction. that ensures The system
shall ensure that properly submitted requests for payment be paid
on or before due date but, in any event, within fifteen days of
receipt in the State Auditor's office;
(v) In consultation with the appropriate chancellor and the
Secretary of the Department of Administration, develop, update as
necessary and maintain a plan to administer a consistent method of
conducting personnel transactions, including, but not limited to,
hiring, dismissal, promotions, changes in salary or compensation and
transfers at the institution under its jurisdiction. Each personnel
transaction shall be accompanied by the appropriate standardized
system or forms, as appropriate, which shall be submitted to the
respective governing board and the Department of Finance and
Administration:
(1) Not later than July 1, 2011, the Department of
Administration shall make available to each governing board the
option of using a standardized electronic system for these personnel
transactions.
(2) The Secretary of the Department of Administration may suspend a governing board's participation in the standardized
electronic system if he or she certifies to the Governor that the
governing board has failed repeatedly and substantially to comply
with the Department's policies for administering the electronic
system;
(w) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, transfer funds from any account specifically appropriated
for its use to any corresponding line item in a general revenue
account at any agency or institution under its jurisdiction as long
as such the transferred funds are used for the purposes
appropriated;
(x) Transfer funds from appropriated special revenue accounts
for capital improvements under its jurisdiction to special revenue
accounts at agencies or institutions under its jurisdiction as long
as such the transferred funds are used for the purposes
appropriated;
(y) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, acquire legal services that are necessary, including
representation of the governing board, its institution, employees
and officers before any court or administrative body. The counsel
may be employed either on a salaried basis or on a reasonable fee
basis. In addition, the governing board may, but is not required
to, call upon the Attorney General for legal assistance and
representation as provided by law; and
(z) Contract and pay for disability insurance for a class or
classes of employees at a state institution of higher education
under its jurisdiction.
§18B-2A-8. Additional powers and duties of governing boards.
(a) The governing board of a state institution of higher
education is granted the additional powers and assigned the
associated duties and authorities pursuant to this section
previously granted and assigned to the state institutions of higher
education known as the governing boards of Marshall University and
West Virginia University, subject to the following: if
(1) The institutional operating budgets of all institutions to
which this section applies have achieved a level of funding
comparable with, but not less than ninety percent of, their
respective peers, as established pursuant to section three, article
one-a of this chapter;(2) the commission or council, as appropriate,
approves granting the powers and assigning the duties and
authorities to that institution governing board; and
(3) The powers, duties and authorities may not be granted to
any institution prior to the first day of July, two thousand twelve.
(b) The powers and duties and authorities that may be granted
and assigned pursuant to this section are those provided in the
following:
(1) Section four-a, article six, chapter five of this code;
(2)(1) Section two, article one, chapter five-g of this code;
(3) Section twelve-b, article one, chapter twelve of this code;
(4)(2) Sections five, six, and seven, and eight, article three,
chapter twelve of this code;
(5) Sections three and six, article one of this chapter;
(6) Section two, article one-a of this chapter;
(7) Section four, article one-b of this chapter;
(8) Sections three and four of this article;
(9)(3) Sections Section two and three, article three of this
chapter;
(10)(4) Sections five, five-a, six and seven, article four of
this chapter;
(11)(5) Sections three, four, Section seven and nine, article
five of this chapter; and
(12)(6) Sections one and Section six-a, article ten of this
chapter.
(c) This section does not apply to any community and technical
college.
(c) Additional powers and duties related to purchasing. --
(1) The powers and duties granted and assigned to the governing
boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University by
section four, article five of this chapter are extended to the
governing boards of all other state institutions of higher education
under the following conditions:
(A) The commission and council shall conduct a study to determine the capacity of each governing board under their
respective jurisdictions to implement the additional powers and
carry out the additional assigned duties related to purchasing;
(B) Based upon the findings of the study, the commission and
council shall approve the governing boards under their respective
jurisdictions that they determine have the capacity to exercise the
powers and carry out the assigned duties pursuant to section four,
article five of this chapter; and
(C) The commission and council shall report their findings
together with a list of the governing boards they each have approved
to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability
by December 1, 2010.
(d) The commission and council have the power and the duty to
monitor participation and provide technical assistance, as requested
or required, to governing boards under their respective
jurisdictions and to limit or rescind exercise of the powers, in
whole or in part, granted by this section to a governing board if,
in the sole determination of the commission or council, as
appropriate, that action is warranted.
ARTICLE 2B. WEST VIRGINIA COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL
COLLEGE EDUCATION.
§18B-2B-3. West Virginia council for community and technical
college education; supervision of chancellor; chief executive
officer.
(a) There is continued the West Virginia council for community
and technical college education. The council has all the powers and
duties assigned by law to the joint commission for vocational-
technical-occupational education prior to the effective date of this
section July 1, 2001, and such all other powers and duties as may
be assigned by law.
(b) The council shall employ a chancellor for community and
technical college education. The chancellor serves as chief
executive officer of the council at the will and pleasure of the
council. The chancellor shall be compensated at a level set by the
council not to exceed eighty percent of the annual salary of the
chancellor for higher education average annual salary of chief
executive officers of the state systems of higher education in the
states that comprise the membership of the Southern Regional
Education Board.
(1) The vice chancellor for community and technical college
education and workforce development, as the current chief executive
officer of the council, shall continue in such capacity upon the
effective date of this section, and shall be the chancellor for
community and technical college education.
(A) The council shall conduct a written performance evaluation
of the chancellor one year after the effective date of this section.
The council shall report the results of the evaluation to the
Legislative Oversight commission on education accountability during the legislative interim meeting period following the evaluation.
(B) After reviewing the evaluation, the council shall make a
determination by vote of its members on continuing employment and
compensation level for the chancellor.
(C) After the initial contract period, (c) The council shall
conduct written performance evaluations of the chancellor annually
and may offer the chancellor a contract of longer term, but not to
exceed three years. At the end of each contract period, the council
shall review the evaluations and make a determination by vote of its
members on continuing employment and level of compensation.
(D) (d) When a vacancy occurs in the position of chancellor,
the council shall enter into an initial employment contract for one
year with the candidate selected to fill the vacancy. At the end
of the initial period, and each contract period thereafter, the
council shall make a determination by vote of its members on
continuing employment and compensation level for the chancellor and
shall continue thereafter as set forth in paragraph (C) of this
subdivision review the evaluations and make a determination by vote
of its members on continuing employment and compensation level for
the chancellor.
(2) (e) The individual who was serving as Vice Chancellor for
Community and Technical College Education and Workforce Development
and who became chancellor effective March 13, 2004, maintains all
benefits of employment held, accrued and afforded as the Vice Chancellor for Community and Technical College Education and
Workforce Development prior to March 13, 2004, Such These benefits
include, but are not limited to, retirement benefits, continued
membership in the same retirement system, any insurance coverage and
sick and annual leave. For the purposes of leave conversion
established in section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of
this code, the chancellor is not a new employee and the prohibition
on conversion does not apply if the chancellor was eligible for
leave conversion while serving as vice chancellor. on the day
preceding the effective date of this section. On the effective date
of this section for the purpose of section thirteen, article
sixteen, chapter five of this code, the chancellor:
(A) Maintains all sick and annual leave accrued, and all rights
to convert the leave that had been accrued as vice chancellor; and
(B) Continues to maintain his or her status for eligibility
under the provisions and application of said section as applied
while serving as vice chancellor on the day preceding the effective
date of this section.
ARTICLE 3. ADDITIONAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF GOVERNING BOARDS.
§18B-3-1. Legislative findings, purpose; intent; definition.
(a) The Legislature finds that an effective and efficient
system of doctoral-level education is vital to providing for the
economic well-being of the citizens of West Virginia and for
accomplishing established state goals and objectives. As the only research and doctoral-granting public universities in the state,
Marshall University and West Virginia University are major assets
to the citizens of West Virginia and must be an integral part of any
plan to strengthen and expand the economy.
(b) The Legislature further finds that these two institutions
must compete in both a national and global environment that is
rapidly changing, while they continue to provide high quality
education that is both affordable and accessible and remain
accountable to the people of West Virginia for the most efficient
and effective use of scarce resources.
(c) The Legislature further finds that Marshall University and
West Virginia University, under the direction of their respective
governing boards, have sufficient staff and internal expertise to
may manage operational governance of their institutions in an
efficient and accountable manner and can may best fulfill their
public missions when their governing boards are given flexibility
and autonomy sufficient to meet state goals, objectives and
priorities established in this article, and in section one-a,
article one and article one-d of this chapter.
(d) Therefore, the purposes of this article include, but are
not limited to, the following:
(1) Enhancing the competitive position of Marshall University
and West Virginia University in the current environment for research
and development;
(2) Providing the governing boards of these institutions with
operational flexibility and autonomy in certain areas, including
tools to promote economic development in West Virginia;
(3) Encouraging the development of research expertise in areas
directly beneficial to the state; and
(4) Focusing the attention and resources of the governing
boards on state goals, objectives and priorities to enhance the
competitive position of the state and the economic, social and
cultural well-being of its citizens; and
(5) Providing additional autonomy and operational flexibility
and assigning certain additional responsibilities to governing
boards of other state institutions of higher education.
(e) The following terms wherever used or referred to in this
chapter have the following meaning, unless a different meaning
plainly appears from the context:
(1) "State institution of higher education known as Marshall
University" means the doctoral-granting research institution and
does not include Marshall Community and Technical College; and
(2) "State institution of higher education known as West
Virginia University" means the doctoral-granting research
institution. and does not include any of the following:
(A) The regional campus known as West Virginia University
Institute of Technology;
(B) The administratively linked institution known as the Community and Technical College at West Virginia University
Institute of Technology; and
(C) The regional campus known as West Virginia University at
Parkersburg.
(f) (e) The governing boards of Marshall University and West
Virginia University each have the power and the obligation to
perform functions, tasks and duties as prescribed by law and to
exercise their authority and carry out their responsibilities in a
manner that is consistent with and not in conflict with the powers
and duties assigned by law to the West Virginia council for
Community and Technical College Education and the Higher Education
Policy commission.
(g) (f) While the governing boards of Marshall University and
West Virginia University, respectively, may choose to delegate
powers and duties to the their respective presidents of the state
institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and
West Virginia University pursuant to subsection (s), section four,
article two-a of this chapter, ultimately, it is they who are
accountable to the Legislature, the Governor and the citizens of
West Virginia for meeting the established state goals, objectives
and priorities set forth in this article, and in section one-a,
article one and article one-d of this chapter. Therefore, it is the
intent of the Legislature that grants of operational flexibility and
autonomy be are made directly to the governing boards and are not grants of operational flexibility and autonomy to the presidents of
these institutions an institution.
§18B-3-3. Relationship of governing boards to the commission and
the council.
(a) Relationship between the commission and the governing
boards. --
(1) The commission functions as a state-level coordinating
board exercising its powers and duties in relation to the governing
boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University only as
specifically prescribed by law;
(2) The primary responsibility of the commission is to work
collaboratively with the governing boards to research, develop and
propose policy that will achieve the established goals, and
objectives, and priorities set forth in this chapter and chapter
eighteen-c of this code; and
(3) The commission has specific responsibilities powers and
duties which include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) Advocating for public higher education at the state level;
and
(B) Jointly with the council, implementing the classification
and compensation system established by articles seven, eight, nine
and nine-a of this chapter; and
(B) (C) Collecting and analyzing data, researching, developing
recommendations, and advising the Legislature and the Governor on broad policy initiatives, use of incentive funding, national and
regional trends in higher education and issues of resource
allocation involving multiple governing boards.
(b) Relationship between the council and the governing boards.
--
(1) The council maintains all powers and duties assigned to it
by law or policy rule relating to the institution known as Marshall
Mountwest Community and Technical College, the institution known as
The Bridgemont Community and Technical College at West Virginia
University Institute of Technology and the institution known as West
Virginia University at Parkersburg;
(2) The council functions as a coordinating board for the
institutions under its jurisdiction which make up the statewide
network of independently-accredited community and technical
colleges. In addition to recognizing the authority assigned by law
to the council and abiding by rules duly promulgated by the council
relating to the community and technical colleges, it is the
responsibility of the governing boards of Marshall University and
West Virginia University to shall exercise their authority and carry
out their responsibilities in a manner that is consistent with and
complementary to the powers and duties assigned by law or policy
rule to the community and technical colleges or to the council;
(c) The governing boards shall work collaboratively with the
commission, the council and their staff to provide any and all information requested by the commission or the council in an
appropriate format and in a timely manner.
§18B-3-4. Duty of governing boards to address state priorities.
(a) The expertise of faculty and graduate students at the state
institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and
West Virginia University is important to every citizen of this
state. It is the responsibility of the governing boards to channel
this expertise into research and analysis that will yield measurable
benefits to the citizens of West Virginia. Therefore, in addition
to the goals, for post-secondary education objectives and priorities
established in section one-a, article one and article one-d of this
chapter, and goals established elsewhere in this code, it is the
responsibility of the governing boards in collaboration to
concentrate attention and resources on certain specific state
priorities that have a direct, positive impact on the economic,
social and cultural well-being of the people of West Virginia.
These priorities include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Priorities for Marshall University and West Virginia
University in collaboration:
(1) Developing Regional Brownfield Assistance Centers pursuant
to section seven, article eleven of this chapter;
(2) Performing professional development-related research and
coordinating the delivery of professional development to educators
in the public schools of the state pursuant to the provisions of article two, chapter eighteen of this code; and
(3) Building subject matter expertise in public school
education finance, including mastery of the theories and concepts
used in developing formulas to provide state-level financial support
to public education.; and
(4) Researching and proposing cost-efficient methods to the
Legislature for governing boards other than Marshall University and
West Virginia University to dispose of obsolete computers and
computer-related equipment.
(b) The Legislature may, but is not required to, make
additional appropriations for the benefit of the state institutions
of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia
University to assist them in fulfilling the purposes set forth in
subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Additional priorities for governing boards:
In addition to the priorities established in subsection (a) of
this section, each governing board under the jurisdiction of the
commission separately shall focus resources and attention on
improving their its graduation rates rate for full-time
undergraduate students as a specific institutional priority. The
graduation rate is measured as a percentage of the number of
undergraduate students who obtain a degree within six years of the
date of enrollment as full-time freshmen. The governing boards
shall develop and implement plans to reach the following goals:
(1) Marshall University shall attain a graduation rate for
full-time undergraduate students of forty percent by the first day
of July, two thousand eight, and shall attain a graduation rate for
full-time undergraduate students of forty-five percent by July 1,
2010.
(2) West Virginia University shall attain a graduation rate for
full-time undergraduate students of sixty percent by the first day
of July, two thousand eight, and shall attain a graduation rate for
full-time undergraduate students of sixty-three percent by July 1,
2010.
(3) By July 1, 2015, the governing board of each state
institution of higher education under the jurisdiction of the
Commission, including the governing boards of Marshall University
and West Virginia University, shall attain a graduation rate for
full-time undergraduate students that equals or exceeds the
graduation rate of its peers established pursuant to section three,
article one-a of this chapter.
(3) (4) The Commission shall monitor and report annually by
December 1, 2005, and annually thereafter, to the Legislative
Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on the progress of
the governing boards toward meeting the goals set forth in
subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection.
ARTICLE 3C. COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM.
§18B-3C-7a. Bridgemont Community and Technical College; Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College; Mountwest Community
and Technical College.
(a) The Community and Technical College at West Virginia
University Institute of Technology is hereafter named "Bridgemont
Community and Technical College". Any reference in this code to the
Community and Technical College at West Virginia University
Institute of Technology means Bridgemont Community and Technical
College.
(b) Marshall Community and Technical College is hereafter named
"Mountwest Community and Technical College". Any reference in this
code to Marshall Community and Technical College means Mountwest
Community and Technical College.
(c) West Virginia State Community and Technical College is
hereafter named "Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College".
Any reference in this code to West Virginia State Community and
Technical College means Kanawha Valley Community and Technical
College.
§18B-3C-8. Legislative findings and intent; statewide network of
independently accredited community and technical colleges;
operations and administration.
(a) Legislative findings. --
(1) The Legislature has enacted legislation, beginning with
Enrolled Senate Bill No. 653, passed during the two thousand regular
session, and continuing with Enrolled Senate Bill No. 703, passed during the two thousand one regular session, Enrolled House Bill No.
2224, passed during the two thousand three regular session, and
Enrolled Senate Bill No. 448, passed during the two thousand four
regular session, the purpose of which is to strengthen the state's
community and technical colleges, clarify their core mission and
establish essential conditions to be met, and ensure the most
effective delivery of services to business, industry, and West
Virginia citizens in every region of the state.
(2) The primary goal of the Legislature is to create a
statewide network of independently accredited community and
technical colleges that focuses on technical education, work force
training, and lifelong learning for the Twenty-first Century,
consistent with the goals, objectives, priorities and essential
conditions established in articles one, one-d and three-c of this
chapter.
(3) A necessary precedent to accomplishing the legislative goal
is to change the way that leaders at all levels of education,
including institutional governing boards, view community and
technical colleges. Specifically, that the mission of community and
technical colleges is different from that of traditional four-year
colleges in what they seek to accomplish and how they can achieve
it effectively and that the state can not compete successfully in
today's information-driven, technology-based economy if community
and technical colleges continue to be viewed as add-ons or afterthoughts attached to the baccalaureate institutions.
(b) Legislative intent. --
(1) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that the
statewide network of independently-accredited community and
technical colleges as a whole and each independent community and
technical college individually provide the following types of
services as part of the core institutional mission:
(A) Career and technical education certificate, associate of
applied science, and selected associate of science degree programs
for students seeking immediate employment, individual
entrepreneurship skills, occupational development, skill enhancement
and career mobility;
(B) Transfer education associate of arts and associate of
science degree programs for students whose educational goal is to
transfer into a baccalaureate degree program with particular
emphasis on reaching beyond traditional college-age students to
unserved or underserved adult populations;
(C) Developmental/remedial education courses, tutorials, skills
development labs, and other services for students who need to
improve their skills in mathematics, English, reading, study skills,
computers and other basic skill areas;
(D) Work force development education contracted with business
and industry to train or retrain employees;
(E) Continuing development assistance and education credit and noncredit courses for professional and self-development,
certification and licensure, and literacy training; and
(F) Community service workshops, lectures, seminars, clinics,
concerts, theatrical performances and other noncredit activities to
meet the cultural, civic and personal interests and needs of the
community the institution serves.
(2) It is further the intent of the Legislature that each
community and technical college focus special attention on
programmatic delivery of their core mission services to unserved and
underserved populations to achieve established state objectives.
These include the following as highest priorities:
(A) Increasing the number of adults age twenty-five and above
who participate in post-secondary education;
(B) Developing technical programs that meet the documented
occupational needs of West Virginia's employers;
(C) Providing work force development programs by implementing
the Adult Career Pathways Model, which provides opportunities for
the following:
(i) Adults to earn certifications through the completion of
skill-sets;
(ii) Ordered progression from skill-sets and certifications to
one-year certificate programs and progression from one-year
certificate degrees to Associate of Applied Science Degree programs,
and
(iii) Students to exit at any stage of completion in order to
enter employment with the option of continuing the pathway
progression at a later time and/or on a part-time basis.
(D) Offering programs in various time frames other than the
traditional semester delivery model and at different locations,
including work sites, convenient to working adults;
(E) Providing technical programs in modules or "chunks",
defined in competencies required for employment, and tied to
certification and licensing requirements.
(F) Entering into collaborative programs that recognize
high-quality training programs provided through labor unions,
registered apprenticeships, and industry-sponsored training programs
with the goal of enabling more adults to earn a college credential;
(G) Developing innovative approaches to improve the basic and
functional literacy rates of West Virginians in all regions of the
state;
(H) Developing "bridge programs" for disadvantaged youth and
adults to enable them to acquire the skills necessary to be
successful in education and training programs that lead to
high-skills, high-wage jobs; and
(I) Providing access to post-secondary education through the
delivery of developmental education for those individuals
academically under-prepared for college-level work.
(c) In fulfillment of the purposes and intent defined in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, there is continued a
statewide network of independently accredited community and
technical colleges serving every region of the state. Each
free-standing and independent community and technical college is
strongly encouraged to serve as a higher education center for its
region by brokering with other colleges, universities and providers,
in-state and out-of-state, both public and private, to afford the
most coordinated access to needed programs and services by students,
employers and other clients, to achieve the goals, objectives, and
essential conditions established in articles one, one-d, and three-c
of this chapter, and to ensure the most efficient use of scarce
resources.
(d) Statewide network of independently accredited community and
technical colleges. --
(1) By the first day of July, two thousand nine July 1, 2009,
each governing board of a community and technical college which
became independent on the first day of July, two thousand eight July
1, 2008, shall make a determination by majority vote of the board
whether to keep the current name for its respective institution or
to select a new name. If a governing board chooses to select a new
name, any reference in this code to that institution by a name in
use prior to the first day of July, two thousand nine July 1, 2009,
means the institution under the name designated by its board of
governors.
(2) The statewide network of independently accredited community
and technical colleges is comprised of the following independent
state institutions of higher education under the jurisdiction of the
council:
(A) Blue Ridge Community and Technical College. --
Blue Ridge Community and Technical College is an independently
accredited state institution of higher education. The president and
the governing board of the community and technical college are
responsible for maintaining independent accreditation and adhering
to the essential conditions pursuant to section three of this
article.
(B) The Bridgemont Community and Technical College at West
Virginia University Institute of Technology. --
(i) The Bridgemont Community and Technical College at West
Virginia University Institute of Technology is an independently
accredited state institution of higher education which may maintain
an association with West Virginia University Institute of
Technology, a division of West Virginia University, or directly with
West Virginia University, subject to the provisions of section
twelve of this article. The president and the governing board of
the community and technical college are responsible for maintaining
independent accreditation and adhering to the essential conditions
pursuant to section three of this article.
(ii) West Virginia University Institute of Technology may continue associate degree programs in areas of particular
institutional strength which are closely articulated to its
baccalaureate programs and missions or which are of a high-cost
nature and can best be provided in direct coordination with a
baccalaureate institution. Any such program shall be delivered
under the authority of the council and through contract with the
community and technical college. The terms of the contract shall
be negotiated between the governing boards of the community and
technical college and West Virginia University Institute of
Technology or directly with West Virginia University, as
appropriate. The final contract may not be implemented until
approved by the council except that any contract between the
community and technical college and West Virginia University
Institute of Technology or West Virginia University related to
program delivery under the terms of this section in effect on the
first day of July, two thousand eight July 1, 2008, shall continue
in effect until the first day of July, two thousand nine July 1,
2009, unless amended or revoked before that date by mutual agreement
of the contract parties with approval by the council. Such a
program shall be evaluated according to the benchmarks and
indicators for community and technical college education developed
by the council. If the council determines that the program is
making insufficient progress toward accomplishing the benchmarks,
the program shall thereafter be delivered by the community and technical college.
(iii) Dual credit course delivery agreements. --
(I) Nothing in this article alters or abrogates any agreement
in place on the effective date of this section between West Virginia
University Institute of Technology and The Bridgemont Community and
Technical College at West Virginia University Institute of
Technology relating to delivery of dual credit courses as defined
in section two, article one of this chapter;
(II) The community and technical college may deliver technical
courses that are part of a certificate or associate degree program
as early entrance or dual credit courses for high school students;
and
(III) Subject to an agreement between the baccalaureate
institution and the community and technical college, the latter may
deliver early entrance and dual credit courses as defined in section
two, article one of this chapter to students in high schools which
are not served by the baccalaureate institution.
(C) Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College. --
Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College is a
free-standing state institution of higher education seeking
independent accreditation. The president and the governing board
of Eastern Community and Technical College are responsible for
achieving independent accreditation and adhering to the essential
conditions pursuant to section three of this article.
(D) Marshall Mountwest Community and Technical College. --
(i) Marshall Mountwest Community and Technical College is an
independently accredited state institution of higher education which
may maintain an association with Marshall University subject to the
provisions of section twelve of this article. The president and the
governing board of the community and technical college are
responsible for maintaining independent accreditation and adhering
to the essential conditions pursuant to section three of this
article.
(ii) Marshall University may continue associate degree programs
in areas of particular institutional strength which are closely
articulated to its baccalaureate programs and missions or which are
of a high-cost nature and can best be provided in direct
coordination with a baccalaureate institution. Any such program
shall be delivered under the authority of the council and through
contract with Marshall Mountwest Community and Technical College.
The terms of the contract shall be negotiated between the governing
boards of the community and technical college and Marshall
University. The final contract may not be implemented until
approved by the council except that any contract between the
community and technical college and Marshall University related to
program delivery under the terms of this section in effect on the
first day of July, two thousand eight July 1, 2008, shall continue
in effect until the first day of July, two thousand nine July 1, 2009, unless amended or revoked before that date by mutual agreement
of the contract parties with approval by the council. Such a program
shall be evaluated according to the benchmarks and indicators for
community and technical college education developed by the council.
If the council determines that the program is making insufficient
progress toward accomplishing the benchmarks, the program shall
thereafter be delivered by Marshall Mountwest Community and
Technical College.
(iii) Dual credit course delivery agreements. --
(I) Nothing in this article alters or abrogates any agreement
in place on the effective date of this section between Marshall
University and Marshall Mountwest Community and Technical College
relating to delivery of dual credit courses as defined in section
two, article one of this chapter;
(II) The community and technical college may deliver technical
courses that are part of a certificate or associate degree program
as early entrance or dual credit courses for high school students;
and
(III) Subject to an agreement between the baccalaureate
institution and the community and technical college, the latter may
deliver early entrance and dual credit courses as defined in section
two, article one of this chapter to students in high schools which
are not served by the baccalaureate institution.
(E) New River Community and Technical College. --
(i) New River Community and Technical College is an
independently accredited state institution of higher education which
may maintain an association with Bluefield State College subject to
the provisions of section twelve of this article. The community and
technical college is headquartered in or near Beckley and
incorporates the campuses of Greenbrier Community College Center of
New River Community and Technical College and Nicholas Community
College Center of New River Community and Technical College.
(ii) The president and the governing board of New River
Community and Technical College are responsible for maintaining
independent accreditation and adhering to the essential conditions
pursuant to section three of this article.
(iii) Bluefield State College may continue associate degree
programs in areas of particular institutional strength which are
closely articulated to its baccalaureate programs and missions or
which are of a high-cost nature and can best be provided through
direct coordination with a baccalaureate institution. Any such
program shall be delivered under the authority of the council and
through contract with the community and technical college. The
terms of the contract shall be negotiated between the governing
boards of the community and technical college and Bluefield State
College. The final contract may not be implemented until approved
by the council except that any contract between the community and
technical college and Bluefield State College related to program delivery under the terms of this section in effect on the first day
of July, two thousand eight July 1, 2008, shall continue in effect
until the first day of July, two thousand nine July 1, 2009, unless
amended or revoked before that date by mutual agreement of the
contract parties with approval by the council. Such a program shall
be evaluated according to the benchmarks and indicators for
community and technical college education developed by the council.
If the council determines that the program is making insufficient
progress toward accomplishing the benchmarks, the program shall
thereafter be delivered by New River Community and Technical
College.
(iv) Bluefield State College may continue the associate of
science degree in nursing which is an existing nationally accredited
associate degree program in an area of particular institutional
strength and which is closely articulated to the baccalaureate
program and mission. The program is of a high-cost nature and can
best be provided through direct administration by a baccalaureate
institution. This program may not be transferred to New River
Community and Technical College or any other community and technical
college as long as the program maintains national accreditation and
is seamlessly coordinated into the baccalaureate program at the
institution.
(v) New River Community and Technical College participates in
the planning and development of a unified effort involving multiple providers to meet the documented education and work force
development needs in the region. Nothing in this subdivision
prohibits or limits any existing, or the continuation of any
existing, affiliation between Mountain State University, West
Virginia University Institute of Technology and West Virginia
University. The objective is to assure students and employers in
the area that there is coordination and efficient use of resources
among the separate programs and facilities, existing and planned,
in the Beckley area.
(F) Pierpont Community and Technical College. --
(i) Pierpont Community and Technical College is an independent
state institution of higher education seeking independent
accreditation. The president and the governing board of Pierpont
Community and Technical College, assisted by the president and
governing board of Fairmont State University, are responsible for
the community and technical college achieving independent
accreditation and adhering to the essential conditions pursuant to
sections three and thirteen of this article.
(ii) Fairmont State University may continue associate degree
programs in areas of particular institutional strength which are
closely articulated to their baccalaureate programs and missions or
which are of a high-cost nature and can best be provided in direct
coordination with a baccalaureate institution. Any such program
shall be delivered under the authority of the council and through contract with the community and technical college. The terms of the
contract shall be negotiated between the council and the governing
board of Fairmont State University. The final contract may not be
implemented until approved by the council except that any contract
between the community and technical college and Fairmont State
University related to program delivery under the terms of this
section in effect on the first day of July, two thousand eight July
1, 2008, shall continue in effect until the first day of July, two
thousand nine July 1, 2009, unless amended or revoked before that
date by mutual agreement of the contract parties with approval by
the council. Such a program shall be evaluated according to the
benchmarks and indicators for community and technical college
education developed by the council. Such a program shall be
evaluated according to the benchmarks and indicators for community
and technical college education developed by the council. If the
council determines that the program is making insufficient progress
toward accomplishing the benchmarks, the program shall thereafter
be delivered by the community and technical college.
(iii) Dual credit course delivery agreements. --
(I) Nothing in this article alters or abrogates any agreement
in place on the effective date of this section between Fairmont
State University and Pierpont Community and Technical College
relating to delivery of dual credit courses as defined in section
two, article one of this chapter;
(II) The community and technical college may deliver technical
courses that are part of a certificate or associate degree program
as early entrance or dual credit courses for high school students;
and
(III) Subject to an agreement between the baccalaureate
institution and the community and technical college, the latter may
deliver early entrance and dual credit courses as defined in section
two, article one of this chapter to students in high schools which
are not served by the baccalaureate institution.
(G) Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. --
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College is an
independently-accredited, free-standing state institution of higher
education. The president and the governing board of Southern West
Virginia Community and Technical College are responsible for
maintaining independent accreditation and adhering to the essential
conditions pursuant to section three of this article.
(H) West Virginia Northern Community and Technical College. --
West Virginia Northern Community and Technical College is an
independently-accredited, free-standing state institution of higher
education. The president and the governing board of the community
and technical college are responsible for maintaining independent
accreditation and adhering to the essential conditions pursuant to
section three of this article.
(I) West Virginia State Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College. --
(i) West Virginia Kanawha Valley State Community and Technical
College is an independently accredited state institution of higher
education which may maintain an association with West Virginia State
University subject to the provisions of section twelve of this
article. The president and the governing board of the community and
technical college are responsible for maintaining independent
accreditation and adhering to the essential conditions pursuant to
section three of this article.
(ii) West Virginia State University may continue associate
degree programs in areas of particular institutional strength which
are closely articulated to its baccalaureate programs and missions
or which are of a high-cost nature and can best be provided in
direct coordination with a baccalaureate institution. Any such
program shall be delivered under the authority of the council and
through contract with the community and technical college. The
terms of the contract shall be negotiated between the governing
boards of the community and technical college and West Virginia
State University. The final contract may not be implemented until
approved by the council except that any contract between the
community and technical college and West Virginia State University
related to program delivery under the terms of this section in
effect on the first day of July, two thousand eight July 1, 2008,
shall continue in effect until the first day of July, two thousand nine July 1, 2009, unless amended or revoked before that date by
mutual agreement of the contract parties with approval by the
council. Such a program shall be evaluated according to the
benchmarks and indicators for community and technical college
education developed by the council. If the council determines that
the program is making insufficient progress toward accomplishing the
benchmarks, the program shall thereafter be delivered by the
community and technical college.
(iii) Dual credit course delivery agreements. --
(I) Nothing in this article alters or abrogates any agreement
in place on the effective date of this section between West Virginia
State University and West Virginia State Kanawha Valley Community
and Technical College relating to delivery of dual credit courses
as defined in section two, article one of this chapter;
(II) The community and technical college may deliver technical
courses that are part of a certificate or associate degree program
as early entrance or dual credit courses for high school students;
and
(III) Subject to an agreement between the baccalaureate
institution and the community and technical college, the latter may
deliver early entrance and dual credit courses as defined in section
two, article one of this chapter to students in high schools which
are not served by the baccalaureate institution.
(J) West Virginia University at Parkersburg. --
(i) West Virginia University at Parkersburg is an independently
accredited state institution of higher education which may maintain
an association with West Virginia University subject to the
provisions of section twelve of this article. The president and the
governing board of the community and technical college are
responsible for maintaining independent accreditation and adhering
to the essential conditions pursuant to section three of this
article.
(ii) Any contract between the community and technical college
and West Virginia University related to program delivery under the
authority of the council or related to delivery of baccalaureate
programs, in effect on the first day of July, two thousand eight
July 1, 2008, shall continue in effect unless amended or revoked by
mutual agreement of the contract parties with approval by the
council.
(iii) In recognition of the unique and essential part West
Virginia University at Parkersburg plays in providing education
services in its region, the community and technical college may
continue delivering baccalaureate degree programs offered at the
institution on the effective date of this section, may implement
additional baccalaureate programs with the approval of the
commission and is strongly encouraged:
(I) To continue and expand its role as a higher education
center pursuant to subsection (c) of this section; and
(II) To broker from West Virginia University and other higher
education institutions, as appropriate, additional baccalaureate
level degree programs the community and technical college determines
are needed in its service region.
(III) Any baccalaureate degree programs offered at the
community and technical college shall be delivered under the
authority of the commission. The program shall be evaluated
according to the benchmarks and indicators for baccalaureate
education developed by the commission.
ARTICLE 4. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
§18B-4-1. Employment of chancellors; designation of staff;
offices.
(a) The council and commission each shall employ a chancellor
to assist in the performance of their respective duties and
responsibilities subject to the following conditions:
(1) Each chancellor serves at the will and pleasure of the
hiring body.
(2) Neither chancellor may hold or retain any other
administrative position within the system of higher education while
employed as chancellor.
(3) Each chancellor is responsible for carrying shall carry out
the directives of the body by whom employed and shall work with that
body in developing policy options.
(4) The commission is responsible to the council and the Chancellor for Community and Technical College Education for
providing services in areas essential to exercising the powers and
duties assigned to the council by law. The commission may not
charge the council any fee for the provision of these essential
services. The service areas include, but are not limited to, legal
services, research, technology, computing, finance and facilities,
academic affairs, telecommunications, human resources, student
services and any other general areas the council considers to be
essential to the exercise of its legal authority. The services are
provided under the general supervision of the Vice Chancellor for
Administration.
(5) For the purpose of developing or evaluating policy options,
the chancellors may request the assistance of the presidents and
staff of the institutions employed by the governing boards under
their respective jurisdictions.
(b) In addition to the staff positions designated in
subdivision (4), subsection (a) of this section, and section five,
article one-b of this chapter, the Vice Chancellor for
Administration, employed pursuant to section two of this article,
serves the offices of the chancellors to discharge jointly the
duties and responsibilities of the council and commission.
(c) The Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences shall coordinate
the West Virginia University School of Medicine, the Marshall
University School of Medicine and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.
(d) Suitable offices for the Vice Chancellor of for
Administration, the Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and other
staff shall be provided in Charleston or outside Charleston in a
technology and research center.
§18B-4-2a. Employment of vice chancellor for human resources;
powers and duties generally; staff; office.
(a) By and with the advice and consent of the council for
community and technical college education, the commission shall
employ a Vice Chancellor for Human Resources who may not be
dismissed without the consent of the council:
(1) The position shall be filled on a permanent basis no later
than August 1, 2010, if practicable; and
(2) Any vacancy occurring in this position shall be filled in
accordance with this section.
(b) The successful candidate for the position of vice
chancellor shall possess the following minimum qualifications:
(1) A master's degree in human resources or a related field;
and
(2) Thorough knowledge of and experience administering
employment laws and regulations, recruiting and selection
techniques, employee relations techniques and methodologies, legal
reporting and compliance requirements.
(c) The Vice Chancellor in consultation with the chancellors, performs functions, tasks and responsibilities necessary to carry
out the policy directives of the council and commission and any
other duties prescribed by law. The Vice Chancellor oversees and
monitors all issues related to the personnel system for higher
education employees and provides technical support to organizations
as directed or requested on all issues related to the design,
development, implementation and administration of the personnel
system established by this chapter and by duly promulgated rules.
(d) The Vice Chancellor supervises the Director of
Classification, Compensation and Human Resources Information
Systems, as well as professional, administrative, clerical and other
employees necessary to carry out assigned powers and duties. In
consultation with the Vice Chancellor for Administration and the
chancellors, the Vice Chancellor shall delineate staff
responsibilities as considered desirable and appropriate.
(e) The Vice Chancellor provides support to the chancellors and
organizations on a highly diverse range of issues including
assisting them to develop a culture of constant improvement in a
rapidly changing, complex market. Duties of the position include,
but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Developing and implementing business-related initiatives
involving organizational design, labor cost management, executive
recruitment and compensation, leadership and management development,
human resources data and technology, and compensation and benefits programs;
(2) Chairing the Job Classification Committee and the
Compensation Planning and Review Committee established by sections
four, and five, article nine-a of this chapter.
(3) Supervising the work of the Director of Classification,
Compensation and Human Resources Information Systems who has the
following duties:
(A) Assuming responsibility for coordinating compensation and
benefits programs for all employees, including designing these
programs, and for supporting each higher education organization in
implementing the programs;
(B) Maintaining consistent human resources information systems
and selecting and supervising benefits consultants, brokers,
trustees and necessary legal assistants;
(C) Maintaining the classification system by providing for
regular review of jobs to determine whether the current job
description accurately reflects the duties and responsibilities and
whether the job is properly classified or needs to be modified or
deleted. Every job shall be reviewed at least once within each
five-year period; and
(D) Ensuring that market comparison studies are conducted for
each class of employees and providing a report annually to each
organization on the status of relative market equity among the
employee classifications.
(4) Carrying out the following duties related to training and
development:
(A) Analyzing and determining training needs of organization
employees and formulating and developing plans, procedures and
programs to meet specific training needs and problems. Successful
completion of these tasks requires the director to work closely with
and communicate regularly with the training and development
coordinators employed by each organization;
(B) Developing, constructing, maintaining and revising training
manuals and training aids or supervising development of these
materials by outside suppliers;
(C) Planning, conducting, and coordinating management
inventories, appraisals, placement, counseling and training;
(D) Coordinating participation by all employees in training
programs developed internally or provided by outside contractors;
and
(E) Administering and analyzing an annual training and
development needs survey. The survey may coincide with the
completion of the annual performance review process.
(5) Conducting performance reviews of personnel who administer
human resources functions at each organization in relation to best
practices pursuant to articles seven, eight, nine and nine-a of this
chapter and rules of the commission and council. Human resources
personnel at each organization shall be evaluated at least once within each three-year period. The Vice Chancellor shall analyze
the results of these evaluations and target training and
professional development to identified areas of deficiency.
ARTICLE 5. HIGHER EDUCATION BUDGETS AND EXPENDITURES.
§18B-5-9. Higher education fiscal responsibility.
(a) The governing boards of Marshall University and West
Virginia University each shall ensure the fiscal integrity of its
their operations using best business and management practices.
(1) The practices include at least the following:
(A) Complying with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles of
the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GAMP); and the
Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards of the Government
Accountability Office (GAGA);
(B) Operating without material weakness in internal controls
as defined by GAMP, GAGA and, where applicable, the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133;
(C) Maintaining annual audited financial statements with an
unqualified opinion;
(D) Presenting Preparing annual audited financial statements
to the respective governing board as coordinated and directed by the
commission and council, respectively, and as the commission requires
to complete the higher education fund audit;
(E) Maintaining quarterly financial statements certified by the
chief financial officer of the institution; and
(F) Implementing best practices from Sarbanes-Oxley, or
adopting the applicable tenets of Sarbanes-Oxley as best practices.
(2) Marshall University, West Virginia University Each
governing board and the any affiliated research corporation of each
(A) shall comply with the OMB Circular A-133 annual grant award
audit requirements and (B) is are exempt from the provisions of
section fourteen, article four, chapter twelve of this code.
(3) Within thirty days of the completion of the financial audit
report, the governing boards of Marshall University and West
Virginia University each shall furnish to the commission or council,
respectively, the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education
Accountability and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance
copies of the annual audited financial statements.
(b) The commission or and council, as appropriate each, shall
ensure the fiscal integrity of any electronic process conducted at
its offices and at all other institutions using by the governing
boards under their respective jurisdictions by applying best
business and management practices.
(c) Marshall University, West Virginia University the council
and the commission To the maximum extent practicable, each higher
education organization shall implement a process whereby, to the
maximum extent practicable, provide for its employees of Marshall
University, West Virginia University, the Council, Commission and
all other state institutions of higher education to receive their wages via electronic transfer or direct deposit.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of section ten-a, article
three, chapter twelve of this code, and except as otherwise provided
in this subsection, the amount of any purchase made with any other
provision of this code to the contrary, a purchasing card may be
used by the council, the commission or any other a governing board
of a state institution of higher education may not exceed five
thousand dollars to make any payment authorized by the auditor,
including regular routine payments and travel and emergency
payments. Payments are set at an amount to be determined by the
auditor.
(1) Subject to approval of the Auditor, any an emergency
payment and any a routine, regularly scheduled payment, including,
but not limited to, utility payments, contracts and real property
rental fees, may exceed this limit by an amount to be determined by
the Auditor.
(2) The council, commission and any a governing board of a
state institution of higher education may use a purchasing card for
travel expenses directly related to the job duties of the traveling
employee. Where approved by the auditor, such the expenses may
exceed five thousand dollars by an amount to be determined by the
auditor. Traveling expenses may include registration fees and
airline and other transportation reservations, if approved by the
president of the institution. Traveling expenses may not include fuel or food purchases except, the state institutions of higher
education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University
may include in traveling expenses the purchase purchases of fuel and
food.
(3) The commission, council, and governing boards state
institutions known as Marshall University and West Virginia
University each shall maintain one purchasing card for use only in
a situation declared an emergency by the appropriate chancellor or
the institution's president. The Council, Commission and all other
institutions shall maintain one purchase card for use only in a
situation declared an emergency by the president of the institution
and approved by the appropriate chancellor. Emergencies may
include, but are not limited to, partial or total destruction of a
campus facility; loss of a critical component of utility
infrastructure; heating, ventilation or air condition failure in an
essential academic building; loss of campus road, parking lot or
campus entrance; or a local, regional, or national emergency
situation that has a direct impact on the campus.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of section ten-f, article
three, chapter twelve of this code, or any other provision of this
code or law to the contrary, the auditor shall accept any receiving
report submitted in a format utilizing electronic media. The
auditor shall conduct any audit or investigation of the council,
commission or any institution governing board at its own expense and at no cost to the council, commission or institution governing
board.
(f) The council and the commission each shall maintain a rule
in accordance with the provisions of article three-a, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code. The rule shall provide for institutions
governing boards individually or cooperatively to maximize their use
of any of the following purchasing practices that are determined to
provide a financial advantage:
(1) Bulk purchasing;
(2) Reverse bidding;
(3) Electronic marketplaces; and
(4) Electronic remitting.
(g) Each institution governing board shall may establish a
consortium with at least one other institution governing board, in
the most cost-efficient manner feasible, to consolidate the
following operations and student services:
(1) Payroll operations;
(2) Human resources operations;
(3) Warehousing operations;
(4) Financial transactions;
(5) Student financial aid application, processing and
disbursement;
(6) Standard and bulk purchasing; and
(7) Any other operation or service appropriate for consolidation as determined by the Council or Commission.
(h) An institution A governing board may charge a fee to the
governing board of each institution for which it provides a service
or performs an operation. The fee rate shall be in the best
interest of both the institution being served and the governing
board providing institution the service. as approved by the council
and commission.
(i) Any community and technical college, college and university
A governing board may provide the services authorized by this
section for the benefit of any governmental body or public or
private institution.
(j) Each institution governing board shall strive to minimize
its number of low-enrollment sections of introductory courses. To
the maximum extent practicable, institutions governing boards shall
use distance learning to consolidate the course sections. Marshall
University, West Virginia University, The council and commission
shall report the progress of reductions as requested by the
Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability.
(k) An institution A governing board shall use its natural
resources and alternative fuel resources to the maximum extent
feasible. The institution governing board:
(1) May supply the resources for its own use and for use by any
the governing board of any other institution;
(2) May supply the resources to the general public at fair market value;
(3) Shall maximize all federal or grant funds available for
research regarding alternative energy sources; and
(4) May develop research parks to further the purpose of this
section and to expand the economic development opportunities in the
state.
(l) Any cost-savings realized or fee procured or retained by
an institution a governing board pursuant to implementation of the
provisions of this section is retained by the institution governing
board.
(m) The provisions of subsection (b) of this section do not
apply to the state institutions known as Marshall University and
West Virginia University. Each governing board is authorized, but
not required, to comply with the provisions of implement subsections
(f), (g) and (h) of this section.
(1) The governing boards of Marshall University and West
Virginia University, respectively, each shall promulgate a rule on
purchasing procedures pursuant to the provisions of section six,
article one of this chapter. Neither institution is subject to the
rules required by subsection (f) of this section.
(2) If either a governing board elects to implement the
provisions of said subsection (g) of this section, the following
conditions apply:
(A) (1) The governing board makes the determination regarding any additional operation or service which is appropriate for
consolidation without input from the council or commission;
(B) (2) The governing board sets the fee charged to any the
governing board of the institution for which it provides a service
or performs an operation. The fee rate shall be in the best
interest of both the institution being served and the governing
board providing institution the service but it and is not subject
to approval by the council or commission; and
(C) (3) The governing board may not implement the provisions
of this subdivision in a manner which supercedes the requirements
established in section twelve, article three-c of this chapter.
(n) The governing boards of Marshall University and West
Virginia University, respectively, each shall promulgate a rule on
purchasing procedures in accordance with section six, article one
of this chapter.
ARTICLE 7. PERSONNEL GENERALLY.
§18B-7-1. Legislative intent and purpose.
(a) The intent of the Legislature in enacting this article and
articles eight, nine and nine-a of this chapter is to establish a
state-wide, integrated human resources structure capable of, but not
limited to, meeting the following objectives:
(1) Providing benefits to the citizens of the State of West
Virginia by supporting the public policy agenda as articulated by
state policy makers;
(2) Assuring fiscal responsibility by making the best use of
scarce resources;
(3) Promoting fairness, accountability, credibility,
transparency and a systematic approach to progress (FACTS) in
personnel decision-making;
(4) Reducing, or, wherever possible, eliminating arbitrary and
capricious decisions affecting employees of higher education
organizations as defined in section two, article nine-a of this
chapter;
(5) Creating a stable, self-regulating human resources system
capable of evolving to meet changing needs;
(6) Providing for institutional flexibility with meaningful
accountability;
(7) Adhering to federal and state laws;
(8) Adhering to duly promulgated and adopted rules; and
(9) Implementing best practices throughout the state higher
education system.
(b) To accomplish these goals, the Legislature encourages
organizations to pursue a human resources strategy which provides
monetary and nonmonetary returns to employees in exchange for their
providing their time, talents and efforts to meet articulated goals,
objectives and priorities of the state, the commission and council,
and the organization. The system should maximize the recruitment,
motivation and retention of highly qualified employees, ensure satisfaction and engagement of employees with their jobs, ensure job
performance and achieve desired results.
§18B-7-2. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article and articles eight, nine and
nine-a of this chapter, the following words have the meanings
ascribed to them unless the context clearly indicates a different
meaning:
(a) "Benefits" means programs that an employer uses to
supplement the cash compensation of employees and includes health
and welfare plans, retirement plans, pay for time not worked and
other employee perquisites.
(b) "Compensation" means cash provided by an employer to an
employee for services rendered.
(c) "Compensatory time" and "compensatory time off" mean hours
during which the employee is not working, which are not counted as
hours worked during the applicable work week or other work period
for purposes of overtime compensation and for which the employee is
compensated at the employee's regular rate of pay.
(d) "Employee classification" or "employee class" means those
employees designated as classified employees; nonclassified
employees, including presidents, chief executives and top level
administrators and faculty as these terms are defined in this
article and articles eight, nine and nine-a of this chapter.
(e) "Health and welfare benefit plan" means an arrangement which provides any of the following: Medical, dental, visual,
psychiatric or long-term health care, life insurance, accidental
death or dismemberment benefits, disability benefits or comparable
benefits.
(f) "Relative market equity" means the relative market status
of each employee classification at an organization falls within five
percent of all other employee classifications within the
organization for the preceding three-year period.
(g) "Relative market status" means the calculated relationship
between the average salary of each employee classification and its
peer group.
§18B-7-3. Seniority for full-time classified personnel; seniority
to be observed in reducing workforce; preferred recall list;
renewal of listing; notice of vacancies.
(a) Definitions for terms used in this section have the
meanings ascribed to them in section two, article one of this
chapter and section two, article nine of this chapter, except that,
unless clearly noted otherwise, this section applies only to an
employee:
(1) Who is classified and whose employment, if continued,
accumulates to a minimum total of one thousand forty hours during
a calendar year and extends over at least nine months of a calendar
year; or
(2) Who is transferred involuntarily to a position in nonclassified status for which he or she did not apply. Any
classified employee involuntarily transferred to a position in
nonclassified status may only exercise the rights set out in this
section for positions equivalent to or lower than the last job class
the employee held.
(b) All decisions by an organization or its agents concerning
reductions in workforce of full-time classified employees, whether
by temporary furlough or permanent termination, shall be made in
accordance with this section.
(A) For layoffs by classification for reason of lack of funds
or work, or abolition of position or material changes in duties or
organization and for recall of employees laid off, consideration
shall be given to an employee's seniority as measured by permanent
employment in the service of the state system of higher education.
(B) If the organization desires to lay off a more senior
employee, it shall demonstrate that the senior employee cannot
perform any other job duties held by less senior employees of that
organization in the same job class or any other equivalent or lower
job class for which the senior employee is qualified. If an employee
refuses to accept a position in a lower job class, the employee
retains all rights of recall provided in this section.
(C) If two or more employees accumulate identical seniority,
the priority is determined by a random selection system established
by the employees and approved by the organization.
(c) Each employee laid off during a furlough or reduction in
workforce is placed upon a preferred recall list and is recalled to
employment by the organization on the basis of seniority.
(A) An employee's listing with an organization remains active
for a period of one calendar year from the date of termination or
furlough or from the date of the most recent renewal. If an employee
fails to renew the listing with the organization, the employee's
name may be removed from the list.
(B) An employee placed upon the preferred recall list shall be
recalled to any position opening by the organization within the
classifications in which the employee had previously been employed
or to any lateral position for which the employee is qualified.
(C) An employee on the preferred recall list does not forfeit
the right to recall by the organization if compelling reasons
require the employee to refuse an offer of reemployment by the
organization.
(c) The organization shall notify all employees maintaining
active listings on the preferred recall list of all position
openings that periodically exist.
(1) The notice shall be sent by certified mail to the last
known address of the employee. It is the duty of each employee
listed to notify the organization of any change in address and to
keep the listing with the organization current.
(2) A position opening may not be filled by the organization, whether temporary or permanent, until all employees on the preferred
recall list have been properly notified of existing vacancies and
have been given an opportunity to accept reemployment.
(d) A nonexempt classified employee is one to whom the
provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended,
apply. A nonexempt classified employee, who applies and meets the
minimum qualifications for a nonexempt job opening at the
organization where currently employed, whether the job is a lateral
transfer or a promotion, shall be transferred or promoted before a
new person is hired.
(1) This subsection does not apply if the hiring is affected
by mandates in affirmative action plans or the requirements of
Public Law 101-336, the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(2) This subsection applies to any nonexempt classified
employee, including one who has not accumulated a minimum total of
one thousand forty hours during the calendar year and one whose
contract does not extend over at least nine months of a calendar
year.
(3) If more than one qualified, nonexempt classified employee
applies, the best-qualified nonexempt classified employee is awarded
the position. In instances where the classified employees are
equally qualified, the nonexempt classified employee with the
greatest amount of continuous seniority at that organization is
awarded the position.
(e) In addition to any other information required, applications
for employment by a personnel governed by this section shall include
each applicant's social security number.
(f) Regardless of the level of seniority for an employee, for
the purposes of this section in the case of a reduction in force:
(1) An employee at an organization under the jurisdiction of
the council may not displace an employee of an organization under
the jurisdiction of the commission.
(2) An employee at an organization under the jurisdiction of
the commission may not displace an employee of an organization under
the jurisdiction of the council.
(3) An employee performing a dual service for a formerly
administratively linked community and technical college and a former
sponsoring institution under the jurisdiction of the commission is
an employee of the institution under the jurisdiction of the
commission if that institution receives a fee from the community and
technical college for the service performed by the employee.
§18B-7-4. Supplemental health and welfare benefit plans.
(a) An organization may contract for supplemental health and
welfare benefit plans for any or all of its employees in addition
to the benefits the employees otherwise receive.
(b) An organization may make additional periodic deductions
from the salary payments due employees in the amount they are
required to contribute for any supplemental health and welfare plan.
§18B-7-5. Supplemental and additional retirement plans for
employees; payroll deductions; authority to match employee
contributions; retroactive curative and technical corrective
action.
(a) Any reference in this code to the "additional retirement
plan" relating to state higher education employees means the "higher
education retirement plan" provided in this section. Any state
higher education employee participating in a retirement plan upon
the effective date of this section shall continue to participate in
that plan and may not elect to be governed by the provisions of law
applicable on the effective date of this section.
(b) The commission, on behalf of the council, governing boards
and itself, shall contract for a retirement plan for their
employees, to be known as the "Higher Education Retirement Plan".
The commission, council and governing boards shall make periodic
deductions from the salary payments due employees in the amount they
are required to contribute to the Higher Education Retirement Plan,
which deductions shall be six percent.
(c) The commission, council and governing boards may contract
for supplemental retirement plans for any or all of their employees
to supplement the benefits employees otherwise receive. The
commission, council and governing boards may make additional
periodic deductions from the salary payments due the employees in
the amount they are required to contribute for the supplemental retirement plan.
(d) An organization, by way of additional compensation to their
employees, shall pay an amount, which, at a minimum, equals the
contributions of the employees into the higher education retirement
plan from funds appropriated to the commission, council or governing
board for personal services.
(e) As part of an overall compensation plan, the commission,
council or a governing board, each at its sole discretion, may
increase its contributions to any employee retirement plan to an
amount that exceeds the contributions of employees.
(f) Each participating employee has a full and immediate vested
interest in the retirement and death benefits accrued from all the
moneys paid into the Higher Education Retirement Plan or a
supplemental retirement plan for his or her benefit. Upon proper
requisition of a governing board, the commission or council, the
auditor periodically shall issue a warrant, payable as specified in
the requisition, for the total contributions so withheld from the
salaries of all participating employees and for the matching funds
of the commission, council or governing board.
(g) Any person whose employment commences on or after July 1,
1991, and who is eligible to participate in the Higher Education
Retirement Plan, shall participate in that plan and is not eligible
to participate in any other state retirement system: Provided, That
the foregoing provision does not apply to a person designated as a 21st Century Learner Fellow pursuant to section eleven, article
three, chapter eighteen-a of this code. The additional retirement
plan contracted for by the governing boards prior to July 1, 1991,
remains in effect unless changed by the commission. Nothing in this
section considers employees of the council or governing boards as
employees of the commission, nor is the commission responsible or
liable for retirement benefits contracted by, or on behalf of, the
council or governing boards.
§18B-7-6. Continuing education and professional development.
(a) Each higher education organization shall establish and
operate an employee continuing education and development program
under a joint rule or rules promulgated by the commission and
council in accordance with article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a
of this code. Funds allocated or made available for employee
continuing education and development may be used to compensate and
pay expenses for faculty or classified employees pursuing additional
academic study or training to equip themselves better for their
duties.
The rules shall encourage continuing education and staff
development and shall require that employees be selected on a
nonpartisan basis using fair and meaningful criteria which afford
all employees opportunities to enhance their skills. These rules
also may include reasonable provisions for the continuation or
return of any faculty or classified employee receiving the benefits of the education or training, or for reimbursement by the state for
expenditures incurred on behalf of the faculty member or classified
employee.
(b) The commission and council shall provide additional,
regular, training and professional development for employees engaged
in human resources-related activities at all organizations beyond
training and professional development. The training and
professional development:
(1) Shall be mandatory with appropriate consideration given to
limiting travel demands on employees; and
(2) Shall be in addition to and may not supplant the training
and professional development regularly provided to any class of
employees by each organization prior to the effective date of this
section.
§18B-7-7. Employment practices.
(a) Each governing board, with the advice and assistance of the
staff council, shall promulgate and adopt a rule regarding the role
of part-time classified employees. The rule shall discourage the
hiring of part-time employees solely to avoid the payment of
benefits or in lieu of full-time employees and shall provide all
qualified classified employees who hold nine-month or ten-month
contracts with the opportunity to accept part-time or full-time
summer employment before new persons are hired for the part-time or
full-time employment.
(b) Each governing board, with the advice and assistance of the
staff councils and other groups representing classified employees,
shall promulgate and adopt a rule in accordance with section six,
article one, chapter eighteen-b of this code that discourages
temporary, nonemergency, institutionally-imposed changes in an
employee's work schedule; that maintains reasonable continuity in
working schedules and conditions for employees; and that requires
institutions to consider feasible and innovative ways to use the
institution's classified employees most efficiently, such
innovations may include, but are not limited to, flexibility in
employee scheduling, job-sharing and four-day work weeks.
§18B-7-8. Reporting.
(a) Implementation reports. --
For the fiscal years commencing on July 1, 2010, and July 1,
2011, the commission and council jointly shall report to the Select
Committee on Higher Education Personnel or to the Legislative
Oversight Commission on Education Accountability once during each
six-month period on their progress in designing, developing,
implementing and administering the personnel classification and
compensation system established by this article and articles eight,
nine and nine-a of this chapter. The initial report is due December
1, 2010, and shall include, but is not limited to, the following
information:
(1) A summary of findings generated by the human resources audit conducted pursuant to section nine of this article;
(2) Documentation of professional staffing changes made in
compliance with section two-a, article four of this chapter;
(3) A systematic plan, including a time line, for designing,
developing, and implementing the classification and compensation
system contained in this article and articles eight, nine and nine-a
of this chapter;
(4) An explanation of the research design and time line for
completing studies identified in section sixteen of this article;
(5) An assessment of progress made by the governing boards
toward achieving full funding of the temporary classified employees'
salary schedule pursuant to section three, article nine of this
chapter;
(6) Detailed data disaggregated by organization and employee
category or classification, comparing funding for salaries of
faculty, classified employees and nonclassified employees as a
percentage of the average funding for each of these classes or
categories of employees among the organization's peers, in regional
or national markets, as appropriate, and among similar organizations
within the state systems of public higher education;
and
(7) Other data requested by the Legislature or considered
appropriate by the commission or council.
(b) Annual personnel reports. --
(1) No later than December 1, 2012, and annually thereafter,
the commission and council shall report to the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability addressing the following
issues:
(A) Progress made by organizations toward achieving full
funding of the temporary classified employees' salary schedule
pursuant to section three, article nine of this chapter; and
(B) Detailed data disaggregated by organization and employee
category or classification, comparing funding for salaries of
faculty, classified employees and nonclassified employees as a
percentage of the average funding for each of these classes or
categories of employees among the organization's peers, in the
state, region or national markets, as appropriate, and among similar
organizations within the state systems of public higher education.
(2) The commission and council shall prepare a human resources
report card summarizing the performance of organizations on key
human resources measures. The report card shall be presented to the
Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability no
later than December 1, 2011, and annually thereafter, and shall be
made available to the general public. At a minimum, the human
resources report card shall contain the following data:
(A) Human resources department metrics by organization:
(i) Number of human resources staff;
(ii) Ratio of human resources staff to total number of full-time equivalent employees;
(iii) Percentage of human resources staff functioning in
supervisory roles and percentage in administrative roles;
(iv) Number of positions reporting to the head of human
resources;
(v) Areas of human resources functions outsourced to external
entities;
(vi) Total expenses per full-time equivalent employee;
(vii) Tuition revenue per full-time equivalent employee.
(B) Human resources expense data:
(i) Ratio of human resources expenses to operating expenses;
(ii) Ratio of human resources expenses to number of full-time
equivalent employees; and
(iii) Total human resources expense per organization employee.
(C) Compensation data:
(i) Average amount of annual salary increase per full-time
equivalent organization employee;
(ii) Total amount of organization employee salaries as a
percent of operating expenses;
(iii) Total amount of organization employee benefit costs as
a percent of cash compensation.
(D) System metrics:
(i) Comparisons of faculty salaries at each organization to
market averages;
(ii) Comparisons of classified and nonclassified employee
salaries at each organization to current market averages;
(E) An account of the total amount, type of training or
professional development provided, the number of employees who
participated and the overall cost of the training and professional
development provided to employees pursuant to section six of this
article; and
(F) Other measures the commission or council considers
appropriate to assist policymakers in evaluating the degree of
success in implementing best human resources practices by higher
education organizations.
(c) Job classification system report. --
(1) By July 1, 2013, and at least once within each five-year
period thereafter, the commission and council jointly shall review
the effectiveness of the system for classifying jobs and submit an
in-depth report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education
Accountability. The report shall include, but is not limited to,
findings, recommendations and supporting documentation regarding the
following job classification issues:
(A) The effectiveness of the point factor methodology and a
determination of whether it should be maintained; and
(B) The status of the job evaluation plan, including the
factors used to classify jobs or their relative values, and a
determination of whether the plan should be adjusted.
(d) It is the responsibility of the head of human resources for
each organization to prepare and submit to the president or chief
executive officer all human resources data requested by the
commission and council. The president or executive officer of each
organization shall submit the requested data at times established
by the commission and council.
(d) In meeting reporting requirements established by this
article and articles eight, nine and nine-a of this chapter:
(1) The commission and council shall use the most recent data
available and, as appropriate, shall benchmark it against national
and regional markets or peer data; and
(2) With the exception of the semi-annual implementation
reports, the annual human resources report card and any other report
designated as due no later than a date certain, the commission and
council may combine two or more personnel reports if the dates on
which they are due to the Legislature fall within a sixty-day
period.
§18B-7-9. Human resources audits.
(a) The commission and council jointly shall contract for an
initial human resources audit of each organization to be carried out
by an external vendor possessing experience and expertise in
conducting these audits. The initial audit shall be completed by
October 1, 2010, and shall be designed to compare current human
resources practices at each organization to best practices, to identify areas of strength or deficiency, to identify functions that
should be the responsibility of human resources department, but are
incorrectly assigned or carried out by other offices within each
organization, to assist in targeting employee training and
development, to determine the degree to which organizations are
adhering to state and federal laws and to provide data necessary to
guide policy makers in developing personnel rules and implementing
the classification and compensation system.
(b) Following completion of the initial human resources audit,
the commission and council jointly shall conduct a systematic human
resources audit of each organization at least once within each five-
year period.
(1) The audit shall focus on correcting areas of deficiency
identified by previous audits, on compliance with statutory mandates
contained in this article and articles eight, nine and nine-a of
this chapter and on adherence to personnel rules of the commission
and council.
(2) In the absence of special circumstances, the commission and
council shall provide organizations with reasonable notice prior to
conducting a human resources audit and shall identify the subjects
to be examined in the audit.
§18B-7-10. Compensatory time off in lieu of overtime; written
agreement; other conditions.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, in lieu of overtime compensation, employees of higher education
organizations may receive compensatory time off at a rate not less
than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment. Employees
may receive compensatory time only under the following conditions:
(1) The time is awarded pursuant to a written agreement between
the employer and the employee arrived at before the work is
performed. A written agreement may be modified at the request of
the employer or employee, but under no circumstances may changes in
the agreement deny an employee compensatory time already acquired;
(2) The time is recorded in the employer's record of hours
worked; and
(3) The employee has not accrued compensatory time in excess
of the prescribed limits.
(b) An employee may accrue up to four hundred eighty hours of
compensatory time if the employee's work is a public safety
activity, an emergency response activity or a seasonal activity.
An employee engaged in other work may accrue up to two hundred forty
hours of compensatory time. An employee who has accrued four
hundred eighty or two hundred forty hours of compensatory time, as
the case may be, shall be paid overtime compensation for additional
hours of work. If compensation is paid to an employee for accrued
compensatory time, the compensation shall be paid at the regular
rate earned by the employee at the time the employee received the
payment.
(c) If employment is terminated, an employee who has accrued
compensatory time pursuant to this section, shall be paid for the
unused compensatory time at a rate of compensation not less than the
higher amount calculated using one of the following formulas:
(1) The average regular rate received by the employee during
the first three years of the employee's employment; or
(2) The final regular rate received by the employee.
(d) An employee who has accrued compensatory time as authorized
by this section, and who has requested the use of compensatory time,
shall be permitted by the employer to use this time within a
reasonable period after making the request if the use of the
compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operation of the
employing agency. Compensatory time must be used within one year
from the time it is accrued.
§18B-7-11. Employees designated as nonclassified; limits; reports
required.
(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the
contrary, by July 1, 2014, the percentage of personnel placed in the
category of "nonclassified" at a higher education organization may
not exceed twenty percent of the total number of classified and
nonclassified employees of that organization as those terms are
defined in section two, article nine-a of this chapter and who are
eligible for membership in a state retirement system of the State
of West Virginia or other retirement plan authorized by the state, except as set forth in subsection (c) of this section.
(b) A higher education organization which has more than twenty
percent of its employees placed in the category of "nonclassified"
as defined by subsection (a) of this section on July 1, 2010, shall
reduce the number of nonclassified employees to no more than twenty-
five percent by July 1, 2012, and to no more than twenty percent by
July 1, 2014.
(c) For the purposes of determining the ratio of nonclassified
employees pursuant to this section, the following conditions apply:
(1) Employees of the Commission and the chancellor for higher
education and employees of the council and the chancellor for
community and technical college education are considered as one
organization;
(2) Organizations may count as faculty or classified employees,
respectively, administrators who retain the right to return to
faculty or classified employee positions;
(3) Coaches are excluded from calculation of the ratio. The
commission and the council shall include consideration of this
employee category in each audit required by section nine of this
article and shall monitor organizations' use of this category and
include this information in the reports required by subsections (a)
and (b), section eight of this article; and
(4) The governing boards of Marshall University or West
Virginia University may place up to twenty-five percent of the total number of classified and nonclassified employees of that
organization
in the category of "nonclassified"
under the following
conditions:
(A) The governing board of the institution votes to approve any
percentage number above twenty percent; and
(B) The governing board seeks and receives approval of the
commission before increasing the total above twenty percent.
(d) The Vice Chancellor for Human Resources shall monitor the
progress of the organizations in meeting the deadlines established
in this section and shall make a preliminary compliance report to
the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability by
September 1, 2012, and a final report on organization compliance to
that body by September 1, 2014.
§18B-7-12. Additional employment by mutual agreement; agreement to
be filed with governing board.
In accordance with duly promulgated rules of the governing
board and the commission or council, as appropriate, the president
or chief executive officer of an organization, or his or her
designated representative, and a classified employee at the
organization may agree mutually on duties to be performed by the
employee in addition to those duties listed in the job description.
The written agreement shall describe the additional duties to be
performed, the length of time the agreement shall be in force and
the additional compensation to be paid. These terms and conditions shall be agreed upon by the president or chief executive officer and
the classified employee and shall be signed by both parties to the
agreement and filed with the appropriate governing board.
§18B-7-13. Probationary employment period; evaluation.
Each full-time classified employee hired by an organization
shall serve an initial probationary period of six months. At the
end of the probationary period, the employee shall receive a written
evaluation of his or her performance. The employee's supervisor
shall meet with the employee and explain the contents of the
evaluation and whether the employee is being offered regular
employment.
§18B-7-14. Higher education employees' catastrophic leave bank and
leave transfer.
(a) For the purposes of this section, "employee" means:
(1) A classified or nonclassified employee who is employed by
a higher education governing board, by the commission or the
council; or
(2) A faculty member, as defined in section one, article eight
of this chapter, who is eligible to accrue sick leave.
(b) An employee may donate sick and annual leave to a leave
bank established and operated in accordance with subsection (d) of
this section or directly to another employee in accordance with
subsection (e) of this section. No employee may be compelled to
donate sick or annual leave. Any leave donated by an employee pursuant to this section shall be used only for the purpose of
catastrophic illness or injury as defined in subsection (c) of this
section and shall reduce, to the extent of such donation, the number
of days of annual or sick leave to which the employee is entitled.
(c) For the purpose of this section, a catastrophic illness or
injury is one that is expected to incapacitate the employee and
create a financial hardship because the employee has exhausted all
sick and annual leave and other paid time off. Catastrophic illness
or injury also includes an incapacitated immediate family member as
defined by a governing board, the commission or the council, as
appropriate, if this results in the employee being required to take
time off from work for an extended period of time to care for the
family member and if the employee has exhausted all sick and annual
leave and other paid time off.
(d) A leave bank or banks may be established at each state
institution of higher education, the commission or the council to
which employees may donate either sick or annual leave. The bank
or banks may be established jointly by the policy commission and the
governing boards or may be established for the commission, the
council, and each of the governing boards. Sick or annual leave may
be deposited in the leave bank, and shall be reflected as a day-for-
day deduction from the sick or annual leave balance of the
depositing employee.
Donated leave may be withdrawn by any employee experiencing a catastrophic illness or injury when the following conditions are
met:
(1) The president of the institution or the chancellor of the
commission or the council, as appropriate, verifies that the
employee is unable to work due to the catastrophic illness or
injury; and
(2) The president of the institution or a chancellor, as
appropriate, approves the withdrawal and provides written notice to
the personnel office.
The withdrawal shall be reflected as a day-for-day addition to
the leave balance of the withdrawing employee.
(e) Sick or annual leave may be donated to an employee
experiencing a catastrophic illness or injury. The leave shall be
donated at the request of the employee after appropriate
verification that the employee is unable to work due to the
catastrophic illness or injury as determined by the president of the
institution or the appropriate chancellor. When transfer of sick
or annual leave is approved by the president of the institution or
the appropriate chancellor, any employee may donate sick or annual
leave in one-day increments by providing written notice to the
personnel office. Donations shall be reflected as a day-for-day
deduction from the sick or annual leave balance of the donating
employee. An employee receiving the donated sick or annual leave
shall have any time which is donated credited to his or her account in one-day increments and reflected as a day-for-day addition to the
leave balance of the receiving employee.
(f) Use of donated credits may not exceed a maximum of twelve
continuous calendar months for any one catastrophic illness or
injury.
(1) The total amount of sick or annual leave withdrawn or
received may not exceed an amount sufficient to ensure the
continuance of regular compensation and may not be used to extend
insurance coverage pursuant to section thirteen, article sixteen,
chapter five of this code.
(2) An employee withdrawing or receiving donations of sick or
annual leave pursuant to this section shall use any leave personally
accrued on a monthly basis prior to receiving additional donated
sick or annual leave.
(g) Donated sick or annual leave deposited in an institutional
leave bank or transferred under subsection (d) of this section may
be inter-institutional in accordance with the policies of the
appropriate governing board. Each institution, the commission or
the council is responsible for the administration of the sick or
annual leave deposits, withdrawals and transfers of its employees.
Rules implementing the provisions of this section may be adopted
jointly or separately by the governing boards, the commission or the
council in accordance with section six, article one of this chapter
and, in the case of the commission and council, in accordance with article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
§18B-7-15. Merit increases.
Higher education organizations may grant merit increases which
are in accordance with this article and articles eight, nine and
nine-a of this chapter and with duly promulgated rules of the
commission and council.
§18B-7-16. Study of employment practices.
(a) The commission and council shall study the following issues
relating to employment practices:
(1) Developing a fair and rational policy based upon best human
resources practices for covering reductions in force, furloughs and
other issues relating to seniority including determining how
employees shall be treated whose salaries are derived from funds
other than state appropriations;
(2) Determining the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining
the internal preferences for hiring, promoting and transferring
classified employees;
(3) Collecting and analyzing data and developing
recommendations on the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing
certain functions at the organization level. The data shall
include, but are not limited to, the following items:
(A) A current database of outsourcing practices followed by
each organization including procedures or rules developed to inform
policy decisions;
(B) The total number, disaggregated by organization, of
positions or services being outsourced or filled by temporary
employees;
(C) The amount of actual cost savings, if any, that are
realized or may be realized as a direct result of organizations'
outsourcing decisions;
(4) Recommending a rational, uniform policy to determine the
status of employees whose positions are funded, in whole or in part,
by an external grant or contract from a federal, state, local
government or private entity.
(b) The commission and council shall complete the work and
report their findings, conclusions and recommendations, together
with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate the
recommendations, to the Select Committee on Higher Education
Personnel or the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education
Accountability no later than January 1, 2011.
ARTICLE 8. HIGHER EDUCATION FACULTY.
§18B-8-1. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(a) "Academic rank", "rank" or "faculty rank" means the
position held by a faculty member as determined by the president,
consistent with a rule promulgated and adopted by the governing
board, and includes the positions of professor, associate professor,
assistant professor and instructor. All other ranks are excluded from the provisions of this article.
(b) "Salary" means the total nine-month or ten-month salary
paid from state funds to a full-time faculty member, or if the
employment period is other than nine or ten months, the total salary
adjusted to a nine-month base salary;
(c) "Full-time faculty" means a faculty member so designated
by the president, consistent with the duly promulgated and adopted
rule of the appropriate governing board, and those persons with
faculty rank who have research or administrative responsibilities.
§18B-8-2. Faculty salary rules; salary increase upon promotion in
rank.
(a) Each governing board shall promulgate and adopt a faculty
salary rule in accordance with section six, article one of this
chapter which furthers the goals of attracting, retaining and
rewarding high quality faculty. Faculty salary increases shall be
distributed within each organization in accordance with the faculty
salary rule.
(b) The salary of a full-time faculty member may not be reduced
by the provisions of this article.
(c) The faculty salary rule shall pursue the following goals:
(1) The salary of each full-time faculty member within a
discipline group is competitive with those in similar disciplines
at peer institutions;
(2) Faculty are recognized for outstanding performance;
(3) Equity among salaries is maintained; and
(4) The faculty at each institution are effectively involved
in the administration of the faculty salary rule.
(d) Each faculty member shall receive a salary increase of ten
percent when he or she is promoted in rank.
§18B-8-3. Authority to grant sabbatical leave.
A governing board may grant sabbatical leaves to faculty
members at the state institution of higher education under its
jurisdiction for the purpose of permitting them to engage in
graduate study, research or other activities calculated to improve
their teaching ability. A governing board may grant a request for
sabbatical leave only in accordance with the uniform rule it has
promulgated and adopted. A governing board may not adopt a rule
which provides for granting sabbatical leave to a faculty member who
has served fewer than six years at the institution where presently
employed, nor which provides for leave for more than one half the
contract period at full pay or for a full contract period at half
pay. A faculty member receiving a sabbatical leave is required to
return and serve the institution granting the leave for at least one
year or to repay to the institution the compensation received during
leave. A faculty member returning from leave shall be reinstated
at the academic rank held immediately prior to taking sabbatical
leave unless he or she is promoted to a higher rank and is entitled
to the salary and any salary increases appropriate to his or her rank and years of experience. The compensation for a faculty member
on sabbatical leave is paid by the institution where employed from
its regular personal services appropriations.
§18B-8-4. Effect of leave of absence on academic tenure, rank, etc.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a
tenured professional at a state institution of higher education who
is absent from duties at the institution to accept employment in a
nonelected governmental capacity is afforded the benefits of
academic tenure, rank and position as if he or she had remained
continuously in the position retained and held at the institution
immediately preceding the absence if the following conditions are
met:
(1) The absence is approved by the president of the state
institution of higher education by which the professional is
employed;
(2) The leave of absence does not exceed two years; or
(3) If the leave of absence extends for more than two years,
the president requests approval from the governing board for the
absence in writing each year and the board approves each request up
to eight full years.
(b) An individual who remains in governmental employment with
leave granted in accordance with this section forfeits all rights
to academic tenure, rank and position formerly held at the employing
institution at the end of the eighth year of government employment.
§18B-8-5. Notice to probationary faculty members of retention or
nonretention; hearing.
(a) For the purposes of this section, "Probationary faculty
member" means the definition adopted in a joint rule promulgated by
the commission and council. The rights provided to probationary
faculty members by this section are in addition to, and not in lieu
of, other rights afforded to them by other rules and other
provisions of law.
(b) The president of each state institution of higher education
shall give written notice concerning retention or nonretention for
the ensuing academic year to a probationary faculty member not later
than March 1.
(b) If a probationary faculty member who is not retained so
requests the president or his or her designee shall inform the
probationary faculty member by certified mail within ten days of the
reasons for nonretention. A probationary faculty member who desires
to appeal the decision may proceed to level three of the grievance
procedure established in article two, chapter six-c of this code.
If the administrative law judge decides that the reasons for
nonretention are arbitrary, capricious or without a factual basis,
the faculty member shall be retained for the ensuing academic year.
§18B-8-6. Faculty employment practices; campus administrators
required to teach or perform research.
Each governing board, with the advice and assistance of the faculty senate, shall promulgate and adopt a rule in accordance with
section six, article one of this chapter addressing the following
issues:
(a) Defining an appropriate balance between full-time and
adjunct faculty members and the appropriate role of adjunct faculty;
and
(b) Requiring each administrator on each campus who holds
faculty rank to teach at least one course during each eighteen-month
employment period or to perform on-going research in lieu of
teaching.
ARTICLE 9. TEMPORARY CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE SALARY SCHEDULE;
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION SYSTEM.
§18B-9-1. Legislative purpose and intent.
(a) The purpose of the Legislature in enacting this article is
to require the commission and council jointly to implement, control,
supervise and manage a complete, uniform system of personnel
classification and compensation in accordance with the provisions
of this article for classified employees at higher education
organizations.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to require each higher
education organization to achieve full funding of the salary
schedule established in section three of this article. A higher
education organization, as defined in section two, article nine-a
of this chapter, is subject to the provisions of this article until full funding is reached.
(c) It is further the intent of the Legislature to encourage
strongly that each organization dedicate a portion of future tuition
increases to fund the classified salary schedule and, after full
funding of the salary schedule is achieved, to move toward meeting
salary goals for faculty, classified and nonclassified employees.
§18B-9-2. Definitions.
The following words have the meanings ascribed to them unless
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
(a) "Classified employee" or "employee" means a regular full-
time or regular part-time employee of an organization who holds a
position that is assigned a particular job title and pay grade in
accordance with the personnel classification and compensation system
established by this article or by the commission and council;
(b) "Job description" means the specific listing of duties and
responsibilities as determined by the appropriate governing board,
the commission or council and associated with a particular job
title;
(c) "Job title" means the name of the position or job as
defined by the commission and council;
(d) "Pay grade" means the number assigned by the commission and
council to a particular job title and refers to the vertical column
heading of the salary schedule established in section three of this
article;
(e) "Personnel classification system" means the process of job
categorization adopted by the commission and council jointly by
which job title, job description, pay grade and placement on the
salary schedule are determined;
(f) "Salary" means the amount of compensation paid through the
State Treasury per annum to an organization employee;
(g) "Schedule" or "salary schedule" means the grid of annual
salary figures established in section three of this article; and
(h) "Years of experience" means the number of years a person
has been an employee of the State of West Virginia and refers to the
horizontal column heading of the salary schedule established in
section three of this article. For the purpose of placement on the
salary schedule, employment for nine months or more equals one year
of experience, but a classified employee may not accrue more than
one year of experience during any given fiscal year. Employment for
less than full time or for fewer than nine months during any fiscal
year shall be prorated. In accordance with rules established by the
commission and council jointly, a classified employee may be granted
additional years of experience not to exceed the actual number of
years of prior, relevant work or experience at accredited
institutions of higher education other than state institutions of
higher education.
§18B-9-3. Temporary higher education classified employee annual
salary schedule.
(a) There is hereby continued a temporary state annual salary
schedule for classified employees consisting of a minimum annual
salary for each pay grade in accordance with years of experience.
Nothing in this article guarantees payment to a classified employee
of the salary indicated on the schedule at the actual years of
experience. The minimum salary herein indicated shall be prorated
for classified employees working fewer than thirty-seven and one-
half hours per week. For the purposes of this article and article
nine-a, despite any differences in salaries that may occur, a
classified employee is equitably compensated in relation to other
classified employees in the same pay grade if the following
conditions exist:
(1) His or her annual salary is at least the minimum salary
that was required for his or her pay grade and years of experience
on July 1, 2001, on the salary schedule included in this section;
and
(2) Progress is being made by the institution in meeting the
salary goals set out in this article and article nine-a.
(b) Nothing in this section requires an appropriation by the
Legislature in excess of the legislative funding priorities as set
forth in this chapter.
(c) For purposes of this article, an organization has achieved
full funding of the temporary salary schedule established by this
section when it provides, in total, one hundred percent of the funds needed to meet the salary funding target as calculated in October,
2009, in a report, required by a prior enactment of this section,
and presented to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education
Accountability. Until an organization has achieved full funding as
described and has received certification to this effect from the
commission or council, as appropriate, the following requirements
apply:
(1) Classified salary increases distributed within the
organization shall be provided in accordance with the uniform
classification and compensation system established by this article
and rules of the commission and council and shall be applied toward
achieving full funding of the temporary salary schedule; and
(2) An organization may not provide discretionary salary
increases, including merit or performance-based increases, to the
president or chief executive officer of an organization or to any
group or class of employees within the organization, other than
classified employees, unless the organization has achieved full
funding of the salary scheduled established in this section or is
making appropriate progress toward achieving full funding of the
salary schedule, except governing boards under the jurisdiction of
the council, may provide discretionary increases with prior approval
of the council.
(i) This prohibition does not apply to salary increases
mandated by law.
(ii) For the purposes of subdivision (2) of this subsection,
"appropriate progress" has the following meanings:
(I) For governing boards under the jurisdiction of the
commission, appropriate progress means an organization has funded
at least twenty-five percent of the amount needed to reach full
funding of the salary schedule by July 1, 2011 as calculated
pursuant to this subsection; has funded at least fifty percent of
the calculated amount by July 1, 2012; has funded at least seventy-
five percent of the calculated amount by July 1, 2013 and has funded
one hundred percent of the calculated amount by July 1, 2014; and
(II) For governing boards under the jurisdiction of the
council, appropriate progress means an organization has funded at
least twenty five percent of the amount needed to real full funding
of the salary schedule by July 1, 2013 as calculated pursuant to
this subsection; has funded at least fifty percent of the calculated
amount by July 1, 2014; has funded at least seventy-five percent of
the calculated amount by July 1, 2015 and has funded one hundred
percent of the calculated amount by July 1, 2016.
TEMPORARY HIGHER EDUCATION CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE
ANNUAL SALARY SCHEDULE
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
PAY
GRADE
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
1
|
12,809
|
13,094
|
13,385
|
13,677
|
13,968
|
14,274
|
14,580
|
14,900
|
15,221
|
2
|
13,465
|
13,764
|
14,070
|
14,376
|
14,696
|
15,017
|
15,352
|
15,687
|
16,036
|
3
|
14,164
|
14,478
|
14,798
|
15,133
|
15,483
|
15,832
|
16,182
|
16,546
|
16,925
|
4
|
14,908
|
15,250
|
15,599
|
15,949
|
16,313
|
16,692
|
17,085
|
17,478
|
17,872
|
5
|
15,696
|
16,066
|
16,444
|
16,837
|
17,231
|
17,624
|
18,046
|
18,469
|
18,906
|
6
|
16,556
|
16,954
|
17,362
|
17,784
|
18,207
|
18,644
|
19,081
|
19,547
|
20,013
|
7
|
17,489
|
17,915
|
18,352
|
18,804
|
19,255
|
19,721
|
20,202
|
20,697
|
21,192
|
8
|
18,495
|
18,949
|
19,416
|
19,896
|
20,391
|
20,901
|
21,411
|
21,950
|
22,489
|
9
|
19,559
|
20,056
|
20,566
|
21,091
|
21,615
|
22,168
|
22,722
|
23,290
|
23,887
|
10
|
19,916
|
20,421
|
20,938
|
21,484
|
22,029
|
22,602
|
23,176
|
23,763
|
24,379
|
11
|
21,107
|
21,665
|
22,239
|
22,812
|
23,400
|
24,015
|
24,645
|
25,288
|
25,945
|
12
|
22,436
|
23,022
|
23,624
|
24,253
|
24,896
|
25,554
|
26,225
|
26,924
|
27,638
|
13
|
23,837
|
24,477
|
25,134
|
25,805
|
26,505
|
27,218
|
27,945
|
28,701
|
29,470
|
14
|
25,363
|
26,057
|
26,771
|
27,498
|
28,253
|
29,022
|
29,806
|
30,631
|
31,470
|
15
|
27,015
|
27,764
|
28,533
|
29,330
|
30,141
|
30,981
|
31,834
|
32,715
|
33,624
|
16
|
28,821
|
29,624
|
30,449
|
31,316
|
32,197
|
33,092
|
34,030
|
34,981
|
35,974
|
17
|
30,767
|
31,638
|
32,533
|
33,470
|
34,421
|
35,400
|
36,421
|
37,456
|
38,519
|
18
|
32,868
|
33,820
|
34,799
|
35,806
|
36,841
|
37,904
|
39,009
|
40,142
|
41,303
|
19
|
37,613
|
38,718
|
39,855
|
41,022
|
42,219
|
43,460
|
44,747
|
46,064
|
47,410
|
20
|
40,265
|
41,471
|
42,712
|
43,984
|
45,301
|
46,647
|
48,038
|
49,460
|
50,941
|
21
|
43,171
|
44,478
|
45,824
|
47,216
|
48,637
|
50,103
|
51,614
|
53,170
|
54,786
|
22
|
46,332
|
47,754
|
49,220
|
50,731
|
52,272
|
53,873
|
55,534
|
57,224
|
58,975
|
23
|
49,777
|
51,330
|
52,931
|
54,561
|
56,252
|
58,002
|
59,797
|
61,653
|
63,568
|
24
|
53,552
|
55,234
|
56,970
|
58,750
|
60,605
|
62,505
|
64,465
|
66,485
|
68,579
|
25
|
57,462
|
59,483
|
61,383
|
63,328
|
65,348
|
67,427
|
69,567
|
71,781
|
74,070
|
PAY
GRADE
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
1
|
15,541
|
15,876
|
16,226
|
16,575
|
16,939
|
17,304
|
17,682
|
2
|
16,386
|
16,750
|
17,129
|
17,507
|
17,886
|
18,294
|
18,687
|
3
|
17,304
|
17,697
|
18,090
|
18,498
|
18,920
|
19,343
|
19,780
|
4
|
18,279
|
18,702
|
19139
|
19,576
|
20,027
|
20,493
|
20,959
|
5
|
19,343
|
19,794
|
20,260
|
20,741
|
21,222
|
21,717
|
22,227
|
6
|
20,479
|
20,974
|
21,469
|
21,994
|
22,518
|
23,057
|
23,596
|
7
|
21,717
|
22,241
|
22,780
|
23,334
|
23,902
|
24,484
|
25,081
|
8
|
23,042
|
23,610
|
24,193
|
24,805
|
25,416
|
26,043
|
26,684
|
9
|
24,484
|
25,096
|
25,737
|
26,378
|
27,048
|
27,732
|
28,417
|
10
|
25,008
|
25,638
|
26,295
|
26,980
|
27,666
|
28,379
|
29,106
|
11
|
26,617
|
27,316
|
28,015
|
28,757
|
29,498
|
30,267
|
31,064
|
12
|
28,365
|
29,120
|
29,890
|
30,687
|
31,498
|
32,323
|
33,176
|
13
|
30,267
|
31,078
|
31,918
|
32,771
|
33,652
|
34,561
|
35,484
|
14
|
32,323
|
33,204
|
34,114
|
35,051
|
36,002
|
36,981
|
38,002
|
15
|
34,561
|
35,512
|
36,505
|
37,512
|
38,547
|
39,624
|
40,715
|
16
|
36,981
|
38,030
|
39,093
|
40,198
|
41,331
|
42,492
|
43,694
|
17
|
39,624
|
40,757
|
41,918
|
43,121
|
44,352
|
45,611
|
46,925
|
18
|
42,506
|
43,736
|
44,995
|
46,296
|
47,639
|
49,023
|
50,450
|
19
|
48,801
|
50,238
|
51,719
|
53,230
|
54,801
|
56,416
|
58,062
|
20
|
52,452
|
54,023
|
55,623
|
57,284
|
58,990
|
60,755
|
62,550
|
21
|
56,431
|
58,137
|
59,902
|
61,712
|
63,568
|
65,482
|
67,472
|
22
|
60,785
|
62,640
|
64,555
|
66,530
|
68,579
|
70,674
|
72,828
|
23
|
65,527
|
67,562
|
69,656
|
71,826
|
74,040
|
76,344
|
78,708
|
24
|
70,734
|
72,948
|
75,237
|
77,601
|
80,039
|
82,552
|
85,156
|
25
|
76,419
|
78,842
|
81,356
|
83,944
|
86,607
|
89,360
|
92,202
|
§18B-9-4. Classified employee salary; payment beyond salary
schedule; conditions.
(a) The current annual salary of a classified employee may not
be reduced by the provisions of this article nor by any other action
inconsistent with the provisions of this article.
(b) Nothing in this article prohibits promotion of a classified
employee to a job title carrying a higher pay grade if the promotion
is in accordance with the provisions of this article, the personnel
classification and compensation system and personnel rules of the
commission and council.
(c) An organization may pay classified employees in excess of
the salary established for their pay grade and years of experience
indicated on the salary schedule established by section three of
this article under the following conditions:
(1) The commission or council, as appropriate, certifies that
the organization has achieved full funding; and
(2) The governing board has promulgated and adopted a salary
rule in accordance with section six, article one of this chapter and
the rules of the commission and council establishing a procedure to ensure that salary increases above the temporary salary schedule are
distributed equitably and in a manner that is consistent with the
uniform classification and compensation system.
ARTICLE 9A. CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION SYSTEM.
§18B-9A-1. Legislative intent and purpose.
(a) The intent of the Legislature in enacting this article is
to establish the classification and compensation system for certain
employees of higher education organizations and apply recognized
best human resources practices in order to use available resources
in the most effective and efficient manner for the benefit of the
citizens of West Virginia.
It is further the intent of the Legislature to establish a plan
that is fair, accountable, credible, transparent and systematic.
In recognition of the importance of these qualities, this article,
together with articles seven, eight and nine of this chapter, is
designated and may be cited as "FACTs for Higher Education".
(b) In furtherance of the principles described in subsection
(a) of this section, the chief purposes of the classification and
compensation system are to accomplish the following objectives:
(1) Develop and implement a classification and compensation
system that is fair, transparent, understandable, simple to
administer, self-regulating and adaptable to meet future goals and
priorities;
(2) Provide current, reliable data to governing boards, the commission, the council, the Governor and the Legislature to inform
the decision-making process of these policymakers;
(3) Attract well-qualified and diverse job applicants and
retain and motivate employees to accomplish the goals, objectives
and priorities identified in state law, rules of the commission and
council, the statewide master plans for higher education and the
institutions' compacts;
(4) Retain and reward employees who make valuable contributions
to state and organization goals, objectives and priorities;
(5) Compensate employees within an organization fairly in
relation to one another;
(6) Compensate employees across organizations who are
performing similar work at similar wage rates;
(7) Compensate employees at levels that are competitive with
appropriate external markets and are fiscally responsible;
(8) Improve the process for evaluating jobs, including, but not
limited to, mandating training and development in best human
resources practices and directing that key terms, job titles and
evaluation forms are consistent across organizations; and
(9) Ensure that regular market salary analyses are performed
to determine how organization compensation for all classes of
employees compares to compensation in relevant external markets.
§18B-9A-2. Definitions.
As used in this article and articles seven, eight and nine of this chapter, the following words have the meanings ascribed to them
unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
(a) "Classification system" means the process by which jobs,
job titles, career ladders and assignment to pay grades are
determined.
(b) "Classified employee" or "employee" means any regular
employee of an organization who holds a position that is assigned
a particular job and job title within the classification system
established by this article, article nine and by duly promulgated
and adopted rules of the commission and council.
(c) "Job" means the total collection of tasks, duties and
responsibilities assigned to one or more individuals whose work is
of the same nature and level.
(d) "Job description" means a summary of the most important
features of a job, including the general nature and level of the
work performed.
(e) "Job evaluation" means a formal process used to create a
job worth hierarchy.
(f) "Job family" means a group of jobs having the same nature
of work, but requiring different levels of skill, effort,
responsibility or working conditions.
(g) "Job title" means the descriptive name for the total
collection of tasks, duties and responsibilities assigned to one or
more individuals whose positions have the same nature of work performed at the same level.
(h) "Job worth hierarchy" means the perceived internal value
of jobs in relation to each other within an organization.
(i) "Nonclassified employee" means an employee of an
organization who holds a position that is not assigned a particular
job and job title within the classification system established by
this article, article nine, and by duly promulgated and adopted
rules of the commission and council and who meets one or more of the
following criteria:
(1) Holds a direct policy-making position at the department or
organization level; or
(2) Reports directly to the president or chief executive
officer of the organization.
(j) "Organization" means the commission, the council, an agency
or entity under the respective jurisdiction of the commission or the
council or a state institution of higher education as defined in
section two, article one of this chapter.
(k) "Pay grade" means the level to which a job is assigned
within a job worth hierarchy.
(l) "Point factor methodology" means a quantitative job
evaluation process in which elements of a job are given a factor
value and each factor is weighted according to its importance.
(m) "Position description" means a summary of the total duties
and responsibilities of a position based on factors provided in the position information questionnaire (PIQ).
(n) "Position information questionnaire" or "PIQ" means a tool
used in the creation and evaluation of position descriptions and
includes the factors of knowledge, experience, complexity and
problem solving, freedom of action, scope and effect, breadth of
responsibility, intra-systems contacts, external contacts, direct
supervision of personnel, indirect supervision of personnel and
health, safety and physical considerations.
(o) "Step" means a standard progression in pay rate that is
established within a pay grade.
§18B-9A-3. Applicability.
(a) The provisions of this article apply to employees who meet
the following criteria:
(1) A classified employee whose employment, if continued,
accumulates to a minimum total of one thousand forty hours during
a calendar year and extends over at least nine months of a calendar
year; and
(2) A classified employee who is involuntarily transferred to
a nonclassified position for which he or she did not apply. A
classified employee involuntarily transferred to a nonclassified
position may exercise the rights set out in this section only for
positions equivalent to or lower than the last job title the
employee held.
(b) Until the commission or council, as appropriate, has certified that an organization has achieved full funding of the
temporary classified employee annual salary schedule or is making
appropriate progress toward attaining full funding as defined by
section three, article nine of this chapter, the organization is
subject to article nine of this chapter and may not exercise
flexibility provisions in any area of human resources identified in
this chapter or in commission and council rule.
§18B-9A-4. Job classification system; job classification committee
established; membership; meetings; powers and duties.
(a) The commission and council jointly shall maintain a uniform
system for classifying jobs and positions of organization employees.
(b) The commission and council jointly shall establish and
maintain a job classification committee.
(1) The committee consists of the following members:
(A) The Vice Chancellor for Human Resources who chairs the
committee and votes only when a tie occurs;
(B) The Director of Classification, Compensation and Human
Resources Information Systems;
(C) The Vice Chancellor for Administration, ex officio,
nonvoting;
(D) One human resources director representing the organizations
under the jurisdiction of the commission, appointed by the
appropriate chancellor;
(E) One human resources director representing the organizations under the jurisdiction of the council, appointed by the appropriate
chancellor;
(F) One classified employee representing the organizations
under the jurisdiction of the commission, appointed by the Advisory
Council of Classified Employees;
(G) One classified employee representing the organizations
under the jurisdiction of the council, appointed by the Advisory
Council of Classified Employees;
(H) The chair of the ad hoc Classification Subcommittee created
by the Vice Chancellor for Administration pursuant to section
thirteen, article one-b of this chapter, who serves one nonrecurring
four-year term. At the end of four years, the chair may be
appointed to serve one additional consecutive four-year term, but
only if he or she fills a committee membership position representing
a constituency group named in this subdivision; and
(I) Three members of the ad hoc Classification Subcommittee,
appointed by the Vice Chancellor for Human Resources, who serve two-
year, nonrecurring terms and are not eligible to succeed themselves
to consecutive terms. These members provide continuity and
information to other members on changes to the job evaluation plan
and point factor methodology recommended by the subcommittee and
help to ensure consistency in classification decisions.
(2) An organization may not have more than one member serving
on the committee at any time. A human resources director currently serving on the Job Evaluation Committee created by the commission
and council may not be appointed or selected to fill an initial term
on the Job Classification Committee. Membership is rotated in order
to provide for participation from each organization.
(3) Members serve staggered terms. With the exception of
members who serve pursuant to paragraphs (I) and (J), subdivision
(1), subsection (b) of this section, one third of the initial
appointments shall be for two years, one third for three years and
one third for four years. Thereafter, all terms are four years.
A member may not serve more than four years consecutively. The Vice
Chancellor for Human Resources shall certify that appointments to
the committee are made in accordance with this section. If the
groups responsible for appointing members fail to do so within a
reasonable time, the Vice Chancellor shall select members from the
named constituency group to serve on the committee. A majority of
the voting members serving on the committee at a given time
constitutes a quorum for the purpose of conducting business.
(c) Powers and duties of the committee include, but are not
limited to, the following:
(1) Modifying and deleting jobs and assigning job titles;
(2) Reviewing and revising job titles to make them consistent
among organizations, including adopting consistent title
abbreviations;
(3) Establishing job worth hierarchies and data lines for each job title;
(4) Classifying jobs, establishing proper pay grades and
placing jobs in pay grades consistent with the job evaluation plan;
(5) Determining when new job titles are needed and creating new
job titles within the system;
(6) Recommending base pay enhancements for jobs for which the
application of point factor methodology produces significantly lower
salaries than external market pricing. The committee may exercise
this authority only if it reevaluates each job annually to make a
determination whether the enhancement should be continued;
(7) Recommending a procedure for performing job family reviews;
(8) Determining appropriate career ladders within the
classification system and establishing criteria for career
progression; and
(9) Hearing job classification appeals prior to commencement
of the formal grievance process pursuant to commission and council
rule.
(d) The committee shall meet monthly if there is business to
conduct and also may meet more frequently at the call of the chair.
When evaluating jobs, the committee shall use the following
procedure:
(1) Each committee member shall classify each job individually,
independently of other members;
(2) The chair shall compile and share the individual evaluations with the whole committee; and
(3) After discussing the issues and resolving differences, the
committee shall make a determination of the appropriate
classification for each job.
(e) The commission and council shall use a point factor
methodology to classify jobs. The commission and council jointly
may adjust the job evaluation plan, including the factors used to
classify jobs and their relative values, at any time.
(f) No later than July 1, 2011, the commission and council
shall have in place an up-to-date job description for every
classified job.
(g) The commission and council shall develop a position
information questionnaire to be used by all organizations to gather
data necessary for classification of positions within the job worth
hierarchy.
§18B-9A-5. Compensation planning and review committee established;
membership; meetings; powers and duties.
(a) The commission and council jointly shall establish and
maintain a compensation planning and review committee. Within the
guidelines established in this article and articles seven, eight,
and nine of this chapter, the committee shall manage all aspects of
compensation planning and review that the commission and council
jointly delegate to it.
(b) The committee consists of the following members:
(1) The Vice Chancellor for Human Resources who chairs the
committee and votes only when a tie occurs;
(2) One classified employee representing the organizations
under the jurisdiction of the commission, appointed by the Advisory
Council of Classified Employees;
(3) One classified employee representing the organizations
under the jurisdiction of the council, appointed by the Advisory
Council of Classified Employees;
(4) One faculty member representing the organizations under the
jurisdiction of the commission, appointed by the advisory council
of faculty;
(5) One faculty member representing the organizations under the
jurisdiction of the council, appointed by the advisory council of
faculty;
(6) One president appointed by the Chancellor for Higher
Education;
(7) One president appointed by the Chancellor for Community and
Technical College Education;
(8) One human resources professional representing the
organizations under the jurisdiction of the commission, appointed
by the Vice Chancellor for Human Resources;
(9) One human resources professional representing the
organizations under the jurisdiction of the council, appointed by
the Vice Chancellor for Human Resources;
(10) The Director of Classification, Compensation and Human
Resources Information Systems;
(11) The Vice Chancellor for Administration, ex officio,
nonvoting; and
(12) Additionally, the initial committee membership includes
the chair of the ad hoc Market Study Committee and the chair of the
ad hoc Compensation Steps Committee, both committees created by the
Vice Chancellor for Administration pursuant to section thirteen,
article one-b of this chapter. These members each serve one
nonrecurring four-year term. At the end of four years, the chairs
may be appointed to serve one additional consecutive four-year term,
but only if they fill a committee membership position representing
a constituency group named in this subsection.
(c) The committee shall meet at least quarterly and at other
times at the call of the chair. A majority of the voting members
serving on the committee at a given time constitutes a quorum for
the purpose of conducting business.
(d) The terms of members are staggered. Of the initial
appointments, excluding the chairs of the Market Study Committee and
the Compensation Steps Committee, one third shall be for two years,
one-third for three years and one-third for four years. Thereafter,
all terms are for four years. The Vice Chancellor for Human
Resources shall certify that appointments to the committee are made
in accordance with this section. If the groups responsible for appointing members fail to do so within a reasonable time, the vice
chancellor shall select members from the named constituency group
to serve on the committee.
(e) Subject to the exception in subdivision (12), subsection
(b) of this section, members of the committee may serve no more than
four consecutive years and no member may be elected or appointed to
serve an additional, nonconsecutive term until each eligible
individual in the category from which that member was elected or
appointed has been provided the opportunity to serve on the
committee. An institution may not have a majority of the
institution committee members.
(f) The Compensation Planning and Review Committee has powers
and duties which include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Making annual recommendations for revisions in the system
compensation plan, based on existing economic, budgetary and fiscal
conditions or on market study data.
(2) Overseeing the five-year external market salary study;
(3) Overseeing the annual internal market review;
(4) Meeting at least annually with the Job Classification
Committee to discuss benchmark jobs to be included in salary
surveys, market "hot jobs" that may require a temporary salary
adjustment, results of job family reviews, and assessment of current
job titles within the classification system for market matches and
other issues as the two committee chairs determine to be appropriate; and
(5) Performing other duties assigned by the commission and
council or necessary or expedient to maintain an effective
classification and compensation system.
(g) The commission and council may allow the committee to
collapse the three lowest pay grades into a single pay grade and
provide for employees to be paid at rates appropriate to the highest
of the three lowest pay grades.
§18B-9A-6. Salary structure and salary schedules.
(a) The commission and council shall maintain a market salary
structure and minimum salary schedules and ensure that all
organizations under their respective jurisdictions adhere to state
and federal laws and duly promulgated and adopted organization
rules.
(b) The commission and council may not delegate any of the
following duties to the Compensation Planning and Review Committee
or the Job Classification Committee:
(1) Approval of a classification and compensation rule;
(2) Approval of the job evaluation plan;
(4) Approval of the annual market salary schedule; or
(5) Approval of the annual minimum salary schedule;
(c) The commission and council jointly shall develop and
maintain a market salary structure. The market salary structure
serves as the basis for the following activities:
(1) Evaluating compensation of classified employees in relation
to appropriate external markets; and
(2) Developing the minimum salary schedules to be adopted by
the commission and council.
(d) The market salary structure shall meet the following
criteria:
(1) Sets forth the number of pay grades and steps to be
included in the structure;
(2) Includes a midpoint value for each pay grade which
represents the average salary of jobs in that pay grade. The
commission and council may choose a midpoint value that is not based
exclusively on market salary data; and
(3) Includes minimum and maximum step values based on an
established range spread, as well as values for other steps in the
salary structure.
(e) The commission and council jointly shall contract with an
external vendor to conduct a classified employee market salary study
at least once within each five-year period. At the conclusion of
the study, the commission and council, in consultation with the
Compensation Planning and Review Committee, may take any combination
of the following actions:
(1) Adjust the number of pay grades and the point values
necessary for a job to be assigned to a particular pay grade;
(2) Adjust the midpoint differentials between pay grades better to reflect market conditions; or
(3) Adjust the range spread for any pay grade.
(f) The commission and council jointly may perform an annual
review of market salary data to determine how salaries have changed
in the external market. Based on data collected, the commission and
council jointly in consultation with the Compensation Planning and
Review Committee, shall adjust the market salary structure, if
changes are supported by the data. In the absence of a market
salary study conducted by an external vendor, the commission and
council may not adjust the midpoint differentials between pay grades
unless required to do so by a change in minimum wage or other laws
and may not adjust the range spread for any pay grade.
(g) Annually, the commission and council may approve a minimum
salary schedule that sets forth a compensation level for each step
and pay grade below which no organization employee may be paid.
(1) The minimum salary floor for each pay grade and step on the
minimum salary schedule is determined by applying the percentage
fixed by commission and council rule promulgated pursuant to section
seven of this article to the annual market salary data. The
commission and council also shall consider the minimum wage and
other laws that ensure that employees earn a living wage and shall
maintain a salary structure which ensures that the average salary
of each class of employees meets relative market equity among
employee classes. The commission and council may take into consideration other factors they consider appropriate.
(2) The salary of an employee working fewer than thirty-seven
and one-half hours per week shall be prorated.
(h) The organization rule promulgated pursuant to subsection
(d), section seven of this article may provide for differential pay
for certain employees who work different shifts, weekends, or
holidays.
§18B-9A-7. Classification and compensation rules required;
emergency rule authorized.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the
commission and council jointly shall design, develop, implement and
administer the personnel system of classification and compensation
pursuant to this article and articles seven, eight and nine of this
chapter. In developing and designing the system, they shall give
careful consideration to the recommendations and supporting
documentation contained in the
Final Report to the Select Committee
on Higher Education Personnel, prepared pursuant to section
thirteen, article one-b of this chapter, which was received and
approved by the Select Committee on January 11, 2010.
(b)
Classification and compensation system rule. --
By November 1, 2010, the commission and council shall propose
a joint rule or rules for legislative approval in accordance with
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the
provisions of this article and articles seven, eight and nine of this chapter. The rule shall establish a classification and
compensation system that incorporates best human resources practices
and takes into consideration the recommendations of the Legislative
Select Committee on Higher Education Personnel. At a minimum, the
system rule shall address the areas of organization accountability,
employee classification and compensation, performance evaluation and
development of organization rules.
(1)
Organization accountability. --
The system rule shall provide a procedure for correcting
deficiencies identified in the human resources audits conducted
pursuant to section nine, article seven of this chapter. The
procedure shall include, but is not limited to, the following
provisions:
(A) Specifying a reasonable time for organizations to correct
deficiencies uncovered by an audit;
(B) Applying sanctions when major deficiencies are not
corrected within the allotted time:
(i) For purposes of this subsection, a major deficiency means
an organization has failed to comply with federal or state law or
with personnel rules of the commission and council.
(ii) When a major deficiency is identified, the commission or
council, as appropriate, shall notify the governing board of the
institution in writing, giving particulars of the deficiency and
outlining steps the governing board is required to take to correct the deficiency.
(iii) The governing board shall correct the major deficiency
within four months and shall notify the commission or council, as
appropriate, when the deficiency has been corrected.
(iv) If the governing boards fail to correct the major
deficiency or fails to notify the commission or council, as
appropriate, that the deficiency has been corrected within a period
of four months from the time the governing board receives
notification, the commission or council shall apply sanctions as
specified:
(I) A formal reprimand shall be placed in the personnel file
of each key administrator who shares responsibility and has
operational authority in the area of the identified deficiency.
(II) Other sanctions may include, but are not limited to,
suspending new hiring by the organization and prohibiting
compensation increases for key administrators who have authority
over the areas of major deficiency until the identified deficiencies
are corrected.
(C) Certifying that an organization has achieved full funding
of the temporary annual classified employee salary schedule or is
making appropriate progress toward achieving full funding pursuant
to section three, article nine of this chapter.
(2)
Employee classification and compensation. -- The system
rule shall establish a classification and compensation system to accomplish the following objectives:
(A) Moving classified employees through the classification
system based on performance and other objective, measurable factors
including education and experience above position requirements and
years of experience at the pay grade;
(B) Achieving and maintaining appropriate levels of employee
dispersion across steps;
(C) Assigning each current employee to an initial step for his
or her pay grade that is closest to and exceeds his or her current
salary regardless of previous education, experience or performance.
The rule shall provide that the salary of a current employee may not
be reduced by a job reclassification, a modification of the market
salary schedule, or other conditions that the commission and the
council consider appropriate and reasonable;
(D) Establishing a job worth hierarchy and identifying the
factors to be used to classify jobs and their relative values and
determining the number of points that are necessary to assign a job
to a particular pay grade;
(E) Establishing an objective standard to be used in
determining when a job description or a position description is up-
to-date;
(F) Providing a procedure whereby a classified employee or a
supervisor who believes that changes in the job duties and
responsibilities of the employee justify a position review may request that a review be done at any time;
(G) Specifying the acceptable period that may elapse between
the time when an organization receives a formal request for a
position review and the time when the review is completed. An
organization that fails to complete a review within the specified
time shall provide the employee back pay from the date the request
for review was received if the review, when completed, produces a
reclassification of the position into a job in a higher pay grade;
(H) Providing a procedure by which employees may file appeals
of job classification decisions for review by the Job Classification
Committee prior to filing a formal grievance. The committee shall
render a decision within sixty days of the date the appeal is filed
with the commission or the council; and
(I) Providing for recommendations from the Compensation
Planning and Review Committee and the Job Classification Committee
to be considered by the commission and the council and to be
included in the legislative reporting process pursuant to section
eight, article seven of this chapter.
(3)
Performance evaluations. -- The system rule shall provide
for developing and implementing a consistent, objective performance
evaluation model and shall mandate that training in conducting
performance evaluations be provided for all organization personnel
who hold supervisory positions.
(c)
Emergency rule. --
(1) The Legislature hereby finds that an emergency exists and,
therefore, the commission and council shall propose a joint
emergency rule or rules by November 1, 2012, in accordance with
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the
provisions of this article and articles seven, eight and nine of
this chapter.
(2) The commission and council shall file the emergency rule
or rules with the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education
Accountability by the date specified in subdivision (1) of this
subsection and may not implement the emergency rule or rules without
prior approval.
(d)
Organization rules. --
(1) Each organization shall promulgate and adopt a rule or
rules in accordance with the provisions of section six, article one
of this chapter to implement requirements contained in the
classification and compensation system rule or rules of the
commission and council. The commission and council shall provide
a model personnel rule for the organizations under their
jurisdiction and shall provide technical assistance in rulemaking
as requested.
(2) The organization rule shall be adopted within six months
of the effective date of any change in statute or rules, unless a
different compliance date is specified within the statute or rule
containing the requirements or mandate.
(3) A organization may not adopt a rule under this section
until it has consulted with the appropriate employee class affected
by the rule's provisions.
(4) If an organization fails to adopt a rule or rules as
mandated by this subsection, the commission and council may prohibit
it from applying any flexibility or discretionary provision relating
to human resources contained in statute or in a commission or
council rule until the rule requirements have been met.
(5) Additional flexibility or areas of operational discretion
identified in the system rule or rules may be exercised only by an
organization which meets the following requirements:
(A) Receives certification from the commission or council, as
appropriate, that the organization has achieved full funding of the
temporary salary schedule or is making appropriate progress toward
achieving full funding pursuant to section three, article nine of
this chapter;
(B) Promulgates a comprehensive classification and compensation
rule as required by this section;
(C) Receives approval of the classification and compensation
rule from the appropriate chancellor in accordance with this
section; and
(D) Adopts the rule by vote of the organization's governing
board.
(6) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, each chancellor, or his or her designee, has the authority and the
duty to review any classification and compensation rule promulgated
by an organization under his or her jurisdiction and to recommend
changes to the rule to bring it into compliance with state and
federal law, commission and council rules or legislative, commission
and council intent. Each chancellor may reject or disapprove any
rule, in whole or in part, if he or she determines that it is not
in compliance with law or rule or if it is inconsistent with
legislative, commission and council intent.
§18B-9A-8. Implementation of classification and compensation
system.
(a) Sweeping cultural changes are needed to implement the
recommendations of the Select Committee on Higher Education
Personnel and the provisions of this article and articles seven,
eight and nine of this code. These kinds of changes require
dedication and cooperation from all employee classes across the two
systems of public higher education, the commission, council and
state policymakers. The primary responsibility for implementation,
however, rests with the commission and the council who shall provide
leadership and assistance to the human resources professionals
within each organization to bring about the changes successfully.
(b) The implementation process shall be carried out in
incremental steps, some of which may occur simultaneously. The
steps include the following:
(1) Communicating with organization employees and
administrators to acquaint them with the guiding principles of the
classification and compensation system. The principles which
undergird the policy changes are designed to promote fairness,
accountability, credibility, transparency and a systematic approach
to progress (FACTS for Higher Education). The discussion shall
explain the origin of changes in law and policy and show how these
are the result of four years of study culminating in the findings
and recommendations contained in the
Final Report to the Select
Committee on Higher Education Personnel (January 11, 2010).
(2) Seeking out credentialed, experienced human resources
professionals to provide staff support to the commission, council
and organizations pursuant to section two-a, article four of this
chapter who are committed to creating a culture of constant
improvement in a complex and rapidly changing environment. These
professionals are catalysts to promote the Fair, Accountable,
Credible, Transparent, and Systematic principles and to serve the
organizations by assisting them in developing and maintaining best
human resources practices.
(3) Conducting an audit of the human resources function at each
organization pursuant to section nine, article seven of this chapter
to identify best practices and areas of deficiency.
(4) Developing and implementing employee training and
professional development pursuant to section six, article seven of this chapter to assist organization professionals in applying the
Fair, Accountable, Credible, Transparent, and Systematic principles
to all human resources functions.
(5) Preparing a request for a proposal (RFP) for a human
resources information system capable of meeting a wide range of data
requirements to support personnel and policy initiatives.
(6) Establishing the Compensation Planning and Review Committee
pursuant to section five of article and the Job Classification
Committee pursuant to section four of this article whose members
participate and represent a broad range of higher education
interests in the decision and policy-making process.
(7) Providing data throughout the implementation process to the
Select Committee on Higher Education Personnel or the Legislative
Oversight Commission on Education Accountability to inform state
policy makers of progress and to provide a forum for further
discussion of higher education personnel issues and employee
concerns.
ARTICLE 10. FEES AND OTHER MONEY COLLECTED AT STATE INSTITUTIONS
OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
§18B-10-1. Enrollment, tuition and other fees at education
institutions; refund of fees.
(a) Each governing board shall fix tuition and other fees for
each
school academic term for the different classes or categories
of students enrolling at
each the state institution of higher education under its jurisdiction and may include among the tuition
and fees any one or more of the following as defined in section
one-b of this article:
(1) Tuition and required educational and general fees;
(2) Auxiliary and auxiliary capital fees; and
(3) Required educational and general capital fees.
(b)
An institution A governing board may establish a single
special revenue account for each of the following classifications
of fees:
(1) All tuition and required educational and general fees
collected;
(2) All auxiliary and auxiliary capital fees collected; and
(3) All required educational and general capital fees collected
to support existing systemwide and institutional debt service and
future systemwide and institutional debt service, capital projects
and campus renewal for educational and general facilities.
(4) Subject to any covenants or restrictions imposed with
respect to revenue bonds payable from the accounts,
an institution
a governing board may expend funds from each special revenue account
for any purpose for which funds were collected within that account
regardless of the original purpose for which the funds were
collected.
(c) The purposes for which tuition and fees may be expended
include, but are not limited to, health services, student activities, recreational, athletic and extracurricular activities.
Additionally, tuition and fees may be used to finance a
student's
students' attorney to perform legal services for students in civil
matters at the institutions.
: Provided, That The legal services are
limited
only to those types of cases, programs or services approved
by the
administrative head president of the institution where the
legal services are to be performed.
(d)
By November 1, 2010, the commission and council
jointly
each shall propose a rule for legislative approval in accordance
with
the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code to govern the fixing, collection and expenditure of
tuition and other fees
by the governing boards under their
respective jurisdictions.
(e) The schedule of all tuition and fees, and any changes in
the schedule, shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting of the
appropriate governing board and the board shall file with the
commission or council, or both, as appropriate, and the Legislative
Auditor a certified copy of the schedule and changes.
(f) The
governing boards shall establish the rates to be
charged full-time students, as defined in section one-b of this
article, who are enrolled during a regular academic term.
(1) Undergraduate students taking fewer than twelve credit
hours in a regular term shall have their fees reduced pro rata based
upon one twelfth of the full-time rate per credit hour and graduate students taking fewer than nine credit hours in a regular term shall
have their fees reduced pro rata based upon one ninth of the
full-time rate per credit hour.
(2) Fees for students enrolled in summer terms or other
nontraditional time periods shall be prorated based upon the number
of credit hours for which the student enrolls in accordance with
the
provisions of this subsection.
(g) All fees are due and payable by the student upon enrollment
and registration for classes except as provided in this subsection:
(1) The governing boards shall permit fee payments to be made
in installments over the course of the academic term. All fees
shall be paid prior to
the awarding
of course credit at the end of
the academic term.
(2) The governing boards also shall authorize the acceptance
of credit cards or other payment methods which may be generally
available to students for the payment of fees. The governing boards
may charge the students for the reasonable and customary charges
incurred in accepting credit cards and other methods of payment.
(3) If a governing board determines that a student's finances
are affected adversely by a legal work stoppage, it may allow the
student an additional six months to pay the fees for any academic
term. The governing board shall determine on a case-by-case basis
if whether the finances of a student are affected adversely.
(4) The commission and council jointly shall propose a rule in accordance with
the provisions of article three-a, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code defining conditions under which
an
institution a governing board may offer tuition and fee deferred
payment plans through the institution or through third parties.
(5)
An institution A governing board may charge interest or
fees for any deferred or installment payment plans.
(h) In addition to the other fees provided in this section,
each governing board may impose, collect and distribute a fee to be
used to finance a nonprofit, student-controlled public interest
research group if the students at the institution demonstrate
support for the increased fee in a manner and method established by
that institution's elected student government. The fee may not be
used to finance litigation against the institution.
(i)
Institutions Governing boards shall retain tuition and fee
revenues not pledged for bonded indebtedness or other purposes in
accordance with the tuition
rule rules proposed by the commission
and council
jointly pursuant to this section. The tuition
rule
rules shall
address the following areas:
(1)
Provide Providing a basis for establishing nonresident
tuition and fees;
(2)
Allow institutions Allowing governing boards to charge
different tuition and fees for different programs;
(3)
Provide that a board of governors may Authorizing a
governing board to propose to the commission, council or both, as appropriate, a mandatory auxiliary fee under the following
conditions:
(A) The fee shall be approved by the commission, council or
both, as appropriate, and either the students below the senior level
at the institution or the Legislature before becoming effective;
(B) Increases may not exceed previous state subsidies by more
than ten percent;
(C) The fee may be used only to replace existing state funds
subsidizing auxiliary services such as athletics or bookstores;
(D) If the fee is approved, the amount of the state subsidy
shall be reduced annually by the amount of money generated for the
institution by the fees. All state subsidies for the auxiliary
services shall cease five years from the date the mandatory
auxiliary fee is implemented;
(E) The commission, council or both, as appropriate, shall
certify to the Legislature annually by
October 1 the amount of fees
collected for each of the five years;
(4)
Establish Establishing methodology, where applicable, to
ensure that, within the appropriate time period under the compact,
community and technical college tuition rates for
community and
technical college students in all
independently accredited community
and technical colleges will be commensurate with the tuition and
fees charged by their peer institutions.
(j) A penalty may not be imposed by the commission or council upon any
institution governing board based upon the number of
nonresidents who attend the institution unless the commission or
council determines that admission of nonresidents to any institution
or program of study within the institution is impeding unreasonably
the ability of resident students to attend the institution or
participate in the programs of the institution. The
institutions
governing boards shall report annually to the commission or council
on the numbers of nonresidents and
such any other enrollment
information
as the commission or council may request.
(k) Tuition and fee increases of the governing boards,
except
for including the governing boards of
the state institutions of
higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia
University, are subject to rules adopted by the commission and
council
jointly pursuant to this section and in accordance with
the
provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
The commission or council, as appropriate, shall examine
individually each request from a governing board for an increase and
make its determinations as follows:
(1) Subject to the provisions of subdivisions (4) and (8) of
this subsection, a governing board of an institution under the
jurisdiction of the commission may propose tuition and fee increases
of up to nine and one-half percent for undergraduate resident
students for any fiscal year. The nine and one-half percent total
includes the amount of increase over existing tuition and fees, combined with the amount of any newly established specialized fee
which may be proposed by a governing board.
(2) A governing board under the jurisdiction of the council may
propose tuition and fee increases of up to four and three-quarters
percent for undergraduate resident students for any fiscal year,
except a governing board may propose increases in excess of four and
three-quarters percent if existing tuition and fee rates at the
institution are below the state average for tuition and fees at
institutions under the jurisdiction of the council. The four and
three-quarters percent total includes the amount of increase over
existing tuition and fees, combined with the amount of any newly
established, specialized fee which may be proposed by a governing
board.
(3) The commission or council, as appropriate, shall examine
individually each request from a governing board for an increase.
(4) Subject to the provisions of subdivision (8) of this
subsection, the governing boards of Marshall University and West
Virginia University, as these provisions relate to the state
institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and
West Virginia University, each may annually:
(A) Increase tuition and fees for undergraduate resident
students to the maximum allowed by this section without seeking
approval from the commission; and
(B) Set tuition and fee rates for post-baccalaureate resident students and for all nonresident students, including establishing
regional tuition and fee rates, reciprocity agreements or both.
(C) The provisions of this subdivision do not apply to tuition
and fee rates of the administratively linked institution known as
Marshall Community and Technical College, the administratively
linked institution known as the Community and Technical College at
West Virginia University Institute of Technology, the regional
campus known as West Virginia University at Parkersburg and, until
the first day of July, two thousand seven, the regional campus known
as West Virginia University Institute of Technology.
(5)(1) Any proposed A tuition and fee increase
greater than
three percent proposed by any governing board for state institutions
of higher education other than the state institutions of higher
education known as except the governing boards of Marshall
University and West Virginia University
, requires the approval of
the commission or council, as appropriate.
(2) A tuition and fee increase greater than five percent
proposed by the governing boards of Marshall University and West
Virginia University requires the approval of the commission.
(3) In determining whether to approve or deny
the a governing
board's request
for a tuition and/or fee increase greater than the
increases granted pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) of this
subsection, the commission or council shall determine the progress
the
institution governing board has made toward meeting the conditions outlined in this
subdivision subsection and shall make
this determination the predominate factor in its decision. The
commission or council shall consider the degree to which each
institution governing board has met the following conditions:
(A)
Has Maximized Maximizes resources available through
nonresident tuition and fee charges to the satisfaction of the
commission or council;
(B)
Is Consistently
achieving achieves the benchmarks
established in the compact
of the institution pursuant to
the
provisions of article
one-a one-d of this chapter;
(C)
Is Continuously
pursuing pursues the statewide goals for
post-secondary education and the statewide compact established in
articles one and one-a of this chapter;
(D)
Has demonstrated Demonstrates to the satisfaction of the
commission or council that an increase will be used to maintain
high-quality programs at the institution;
(E)
Has demonstrated Demonstrates to the satisfaction of the
commission or council that the
institution governing board is making
adequate progress toward achieving the goals for education
established by the southern regional education board;
(F) Demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commission or
council that the governing board has considered the average per
capita income of West Virginia families and their ability to pay for
any increases; and
(G) Demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commission or
council that base appropriation increases have not kept pace with
recognized nation-wide inflationary benchmarks;
(F) To the extent authorized, will increase by up to five
percent the available tuition and fee waivers provided by the
institution. The increased waivers may not be used for athletics.
(6) (4) This section does not require equal increases among
institutions governing boards or nor does it require any level of
increase
at an institution by a governing board.
(7) (5) The commission and council shall report to the
Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability
regarding the basis for
approving or denying each
approval or denial
request as determined using the criteria established in
subdivision
(5) of this subsection.
(8) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (4)
of this subsection, tuition and fee increases at state institutions
of higher education which are under the jurisdiction of the
commission, including the state institutions of higher education
known as Marshall University and West Virginia University, are
subject to the following conditions:
(A) Institutions may increase tuition and fees for resident,
undergraduate students by no more than an average of seven and
one-half percent per year during any period covering four
consecutive fiscal years, with the first fiscal year of the first four fiscal-year cycle beginning on July 1, 2007;
(B) The seven and one-half percent average cap does not apply
to an institution for any fiscal year in which the total state base
operating budget appropriations to that institution are less than
the total state base operating budget appropriations in the fiscal
year immediately preceding;
(C) A new capital fee or an increase in an existing capital fee
is excluded from the tuition and fee increase calculation in this
subdivision:
(i) If the new fee or fee increase is approved by an
institutional a governing board or by a referendum of an
institution's undergraduate students, or both, on or before February
1, 2006; or
(ii) If the following conditions are met:
(I) The new fee or fee increase was approved by an
institutional a governing board or by a referendum of an
institution's undergraduate students, or both, on or before July 1,
2006;
(II) The institution for which the capital fee is approved has
been designated a university pursuant to the provisions of section
six, article two-a of this chapter by the effective date of this
section; and
(III) The institutional board of governors previously oversaw
a community and technical college that achieved independent accreditation and consequently acquired its own board of governors;
(D) Institutions shall provide, in a timely manner, any data
on tuition and fee increases requested by the staff of the
commission. The commission shall: (i) collect the data from any
institution under its jurisdiction; and (ii) Annually by July 1,
provide a detailed analysis of the institutions' compliance with the
provisions of this subdivision section to the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability.
ARTICLE 12. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS FOR STATE
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
§18B-12-1. Legislative findings and purpose.
(a) The Legislature makes the following findings:
(1) Economic development in the state depends in part upon
research developed at the state institutions of higher education and
enhancing research opportunities for these institutions promotes the
general economic welfare of the citizens of the state.
(2) Expenditures for equipment and material for research
projects must be handled in an expeditious fashion in order to
enhance the competitive positions of institutions in the current
environment for research and development.
(3) The acquisition and implementation of research grants can
be simplified and expedited through development and operation of
private corporations.
(4) Faculty and staff who conduct research need and deserve administrative and financial support in securing and managing
research grants, managing and administering the personnel needed to
support research and in all areas of grant management.
(5) The interest of the citizens of the state will be served
best if the governing boards enter into and carry out agreements
with corporations to provide research assistance for the
institutions under their jurisdictions.
(b) Therefore, the purpose of the Legislature in enacting this
article is to enhance the competitive positions of institutions,
provide administrative and financial support to faculty and staff
who conduct research and facilitate research and development grants
and opportunities for institutions by authorizing the governing
boards to contract with private corporations organized for the
purpose of providing these services.
§18B-12-2. Definitions.
The following words when used in this article have the meanings
ascribed to them unless the context clearly indicates a different
meaning:
(a) "Agreement" means any agreement being entered into between
a governing board and a corporation pursuant to section four of this
article.
(b) "Affiliated corporation" or "corporation" means a
corporation which meets the essential criteria prescribed in
sections three and four of this article.
(c) "Affiliated governing board" or "governing board" means the
governing board of a state institution of higher education which is
a party to the agreement required in section four of this article.
(d) "Affiliated institution" or "institution" means the state
institution of higher education under the jurisdiction of an
affiliated governing board.
(e) "Affiliated member" means a director of an affiliated
corporation who is an employee of the affiliated governing board or
of any entity bearing a direct or indirect relationship to the
affiliated governing board or the institution under its
jurisdiction.
(f) "Key employee" means a person essential to the operation
of a corporation who exerts a significant influence on the
organization's finances or activities as defined by the Internal
Revenue Service relative to the preparation of IRS Form 990, or any
successor form.
(g) "Potential membership" means the total number of associate
and private sector members who comprise a board of directors when
all membership seats are filled.
(h) "Private sector member" means a director of an affiliated
corporation who is not an employee of the affiliated governing board
nor of any entity bearing a direct or indirect relationship to the
affiliated governing board or to the institution under its
jurisdiction.
§18B-12-3. Governing boards authorized to contract with
corporations; corporations to meet essential criteria;
corporation membership and organization; financial
requirements.
(a) Each governing board is authorized to enter into agreements
and any other contractual relationships with one or more affiliated
corporations formed with respect to the state institution of higher
education under its jurisdiction.
(b) Each affiliated corporation shall meet the following
essential criteria:
(1)
Corporation status. -- The corporation is organized as a
non-profit, nonstock corporation under the general corporation laws
of the state exclusively for charitable, educational or scientific
purposes within the meaning of section 501(c) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to foster and support research at
the affiliated institution and to provide evaluation, development,
patenting, management and marketing services for inventions of its
faculty, staff and students.
(2)
Corporation membership, meetings, officers. --
(A) Members of the board of directors of the affiliated
corporation serve terms as prescribed in the bylaws of the
corporation and are selected as follows:
(i) Affiliated members are selected by the affiliated governing
board after consultation with the president of the institution; and
(ii) Private sector members are selected by the affiliated
governing board.
(B) Private sector members shall constitute a majority of the
potential membership of the corporate directors. Vacancies shall
be filled in such a way that the majority status of private sector
membership is maintained.
(C) By September 1, 2010, and at least biennially thereafter,
the corporate directors shall elect a chair from among their
members.
(D) The corporate directors shall select an executive director
who may have dual appointment with the affiliated governing board,
but may not be a corporation director. The executive director shall
inform the corporate directors and the affiliated governing board
annually of his or her employment status with any other institution,
agency or organization.
(E) The meetings of the corporate directors are subject to
section three, article nine-a, chapter six of this code.
(3)
Financial requirements. --
(A) The corporation shall develop and implement a systematic
program for investing corporation assets. The program may include
creation of an investment committee or corporate directors may
function as a committee of the whole. The investment committee or,
in the absence of an investment committee, the corporation staff
shall prepare an annual report on the status of investments and other financial information the corporate directors may request and
present to the corporate directors for discussion and approval. The
corporation also shall share the report with the affiliated
governing board within sixty days after the report is completed.
(B) The financial statements of the corporation shall be
audited annually by an independent certified public accountant or
firm. Within thirty days of completion, the financial audit report
shall be presented to the corporate directors for approval, after
which a copy of the financial audit and required statements shall
be submitted to the affiliated governing board.
(C) If the corporation is dissolved, its assets shall be
transferred to an entity designated by the affiliated governing
board for the benefit of the affiliated institution. The recipient
shall be an organization operated exclusively for charitable,
educational or scientific purposes and shall qualify as an exempt
organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as amended.
§18B-12-6. Conflicts of interest; reports required.
(
a) The corporation shall develop and implement a written
policy addressing conflicts of interest.
(b) Annually, officers, directors and key employees shall
disclose interests that may give rise to conflicts.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, officers and employees of
a an affiliated governing board
and the affected state institution of higher education may hold
appointments to offices of the corporation and be corporate
directors or officers or employees of other entities contracting
with either the corporation or a governing board.
of a state
institution of higher education. The executive director of the
corporation shall have dual appointment with the state institution
of higher education. The governing board of a state institution of
higher education and the corporate directors must be informed of
such appointments annually.