Senate Bill No. 263
(By Senators Minard, White, Sharpe, Facemyer, Unger, Helmick,
Caldwell, Rowe and Ross)
____________
[Introduced January 22, 2004; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact §18B-1A-6 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to adding Glenville state college
to those colleges which may meet the need for graduate
education in its region.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18B-1A-6 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1A. COMPACT WITH HIGHER EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE OF WEST
VIRGINIA.
§18B-1A-6. Graduate education.
(a) Intent. -- It is the intent of the Legislature to address
the need for high quality graduate education programs to be
available throughout the state.
(b) Findings. -- The Legislature makes the following findings:
(1) Since West Virginia ranks below its competitor states in
graduate degree production, particularly in the areas that are
important to the state's competitive position in the new economy of
the twenty-first century, there is a considerable need for greater
access to graduate education, especially at the master's degree
level;
(2) There is a significant disparity in access to part-time
graduate degree programs among the different regions of the state
and part-time graduate enrollments are heavily concentrated in the
counties immediately surrounding Marshall university and West
Virginia university;
(3) There is a particular need for increased access to
graduate programs linked directly to the revitalization of the
regional economies of the state; and
(4) There is a particular need for improved quality and
accessibility of pre-service and in-service programs for teachers
in subject matter fields.
(c) In order to meet the need for graduate education, the
commission shall be responsible for accomplishing the following:
(1) Ensuring that West Virginia university and Marshall
university expand access to master's degree programs throughout
West Virginia, with a strong emphasis on collaboration with the
baccalaureate colleges and community and technical colleges in each
region;
(2) Ensuring that any institution providing a master's degree
program under the provisions of this section provides a meaningful,
coherent program by offering courses in such a way that students,
including place-bound adults, have ample opportunity to complete a
degree in a reasonable period of time;
(3) Focusing on providing courses that enhance the
professional skills of teachers in their subject areas; and
(4) Ensuring that programs are offered in the most
cost-effective manner to expand access throughout the region and
the state.
(d) Concord college, Fairmont state college, Glenville state
college, Shepherd college, West Liberty state college and West
Virginia state college shall meet the need for graduate education
in their regions by following the procedures outlined below.
(1) The institutions shall develop as graduate centers for
their regions to broker access to graduate programs by contracting
with accredited colleges and universities in and out of the state.
These programs shall be related directly to each region's education
and economic needs.
(2) The institutions may begin collaborative programs with
other institutions leading to the granting of master's degrees in
selected areas that are demonstrated to be related directly to the
needs of their regions and that draw on faculty strengths. An
institution may continue to offer collaborative programs aimed at meeting the documented needs with the approval of the commission
or, if a sustained need still exists, the institution may move to
the next level.
(3) If the graduate education needs of the region have not
been met through brokering and collaborative programs, the
institution may explore the option of beginning its own
graduate-level program leading to the granting of a master's
degree. The institution may begin its own master's degree program
if it can meet the following conditions as determined by the
commission:
(A) Demonstrate that the institution has successfully
completed each of the steps required before exploring development
of its own master's degree program;
(B) Provide evidence based on experience gained in the
brokering and collaborative arrangements that a sustained demand
exists for the program;
(C) Demonstrate that the baccalaureate institution has the
capacity to provide the program;
(D) Demonstrate that the core mission of the baccalaureate
institution will not be impaired by offering the graduate program;
(E) Provide evidence that the graduate program has a
reasonable expectation of being accredited;
(F) Demonstrate that the need documented in subdivision (B) of
this subsection is not currently being met by any other state institution of higher education; and
(G)
The commission may designate one of the institutions
listed in subsection (d) of this section to develop and implement
no more than four of its own masters level programs as a pilot
project: Provided, That the selected institution shall move toward
and achieve regional accreditation of the masters program within a
reasonable time as determined by the commission. The institution
shall be selected based on the following:
(I) Sufficient credentialed faculty to offer quality programs
in the areas selected;
(II) Sufficient unmet demand for the programs; and
(III) Sustainable unmet demand based on generally accepted
projections for population growth in the region served by the
institution.
The programs authorized by this clause may not be restricted
by the provisions of subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of this
subsection nor by the provisions of subsection (e) of this section.
(e) There is an urgent need for master's degree programs for
teachers in disciplines or subject areas, such as mathematics,
science, history, literature, foreign languages and the arts.
Currently, master's-level courses in education that are offered in
the regions served by the state universities are primarily in areas
such as guidance and counseling, administration, special education
and other disciplines unrelated to teaching in subject areas. If this need is not being met in a region through the procedure
established in subsection (d) of this section, then the graduate
center in that region may plan a master's degree program in
education focused on teaching in subject area fields in which the
demand is not being met. No institution may begin a graduate
program under the provisions of this section until the program has
been reviewed and approved by the commission. The commission shall
approve only those programs, as authorized by this subsection, that
emphasize serving the needs of teachers and schools in the
colleges' immediate regions. In determining whether a program
should be approved, the commission also shall rely upon the
recommendations of the statewide task force on teacher quality
provided for in section eight, article fourteen of this chapter.
(f) The commission shall review all graduate programs being
offered under the provisions of this section and, using the
criteria established for program startup in subsection (d) of this
section, determine which programs should be discontinued.
(g) At least annually, the governing boards shall evaluate
graduate programs developed pursuant to the provisions of this
section and report to the commission on the following:
(1) The number of programs being offered and the courses
offered within each program;
(2) The disciplines in which programs are being offered;
(3) The locations and times at which courses are offered;(4) The number of students enrolled in the program; and
(5) The number of students who have obtained master's degrees
through each program.
The governing boards shall provide the commission with any
additional information the commission requests in order to make a
determination on the viability of a program.
(h) In developing any graduate program under the provisions of
this section, institutions shall consider delivering courses at
times and places convenient to adult students who are employed full
time. Institutions shall place an emphasis on extended degree
programs, distance learning and off-campus centers which utilize
the cost-effective nature of extending existing university capacity
to serve the state rather than duplicating the core university
capacity and incurring the increased cost of developing master's
degree programs at other institutions throughout the state.
(i) Brokering institutions shall invite proposals from other
public institutions of higher education for service provision prior
to contracting with other institutions: Provided, That if
institutions propose providing graduate programs in service areas
other than in their responsibility district, the institution
seeking to establish a program shall work through the district's
lead institution in providing those services.
(j) In addition to the approval required by the commission,
authorization for any institution to offer a master's degree program under the provisions of this section is subject to the
formal approval processes established by the governing boards.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to more reasonably meet the
regional and economic needs of the state, as set forth in the
findings of the Legislature relative to locating graduate centers,
by adding Glenville state college to the number of institutions
already named.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
