H. B. 2955
(By Delegate Louisos)
[Introduced March 5, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to repeal §18B-1C-1, §18B-1C-2 and §18B-1C-3 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931; as amended; to amend and reenact §18B-1-2
of said code; and to amend and reenact §18B-2A-1 of said code,
all relating to removing West Virginia University Institute of
Technology from the merger with West Virginia University and
returning it to its former status as a singular state
institution of higher education.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18B-1C-1, §18B-1C-2 and §18B-1C-3 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; that §18B-1-2 of said code
be amended and reenacted; and that §18B-2A-1 of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
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 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;
(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 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) "State college" means Bluefield State College, Concord
University, Fairmont State University, Glenville State College,
Shepherd University, West Liberty State College,
or West Virginia
State University
or West Virginia University Institute of
Technology;
(p) "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) "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) "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) "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) "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) "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) "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) "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) "Council" means the West Virginia Council for Community
and Technical College Education created pursuant to article two-b
of this chapter;
(y) "West Virginia Consortium for Undergraduate Research and
Engineering" or "West Virginia CURE" means the collaborative
planning group established pursuant to article one-c of this
chapter;
(z) "Advanced technology center" means a facility established
under the direction of an independent community and technical
college for the purpose of implementing and delivering education
and training programs for high-skill, high-performance Twenty-first
Century workplaces;
(aa) "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; and
(bb) "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.
(cc) "Dual credit course" or "dual enrollment course" is 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.
ARTICLE 2A. INSTITUTIONAL BOARDS OF GOVERNORS.
§18B-2A-1. Composition of boards; terms and qualifications of
members; vacancies; eligibility for reappointment;
establishment of boards for independent community
and technical colleges.
(a) A board of governors is continued at each of the following
institutions: Bluefield State College, Blue Ridge Community and
Technical College, Concord University, Eastern West Virginia
Community and Technical College, Fairmont State University,
Glenville State College, Marshall University, New River Community
and Technical College, Shepherd University, Southern West Virginia
Community and Technical College, West Liberty State College, West
Virginia Northern Community and Technical College, the West
Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, West Virginia State
University and West Virginia University.
(b)
Independent community and technical colleges established.
--
Effective July 1, 2008, the board of advisors is abolished and
a board of governors is established for Marshall Community and
Technical College; Pierpont Community and Technical College,
formerly a division of Fairmont State University; The Community and
Technical College at West Virginia University Institute of
Technology; West Virginia State Community and Technical College;
and West Virginia University at Parkersburg.
(A) In making the initial appointments to these boards of
governors, the Governor may appoint those persons who are lay
members of the boards of advisors by June 30, 2008.
(B) At the end of the initial term, and thereafter, an
appointment to fill a vacancy on the board or reappointment of a member who is eligible to serve an additional term is made in
accordance with the provisions of this section.
(c) The institutional boards of governors for Marshall
University and West Virginia University consist of sixteen persons.
The boards of governors of the other state institutions of higher
education consist of twelve persons.
(c) Beginning June 1, 2009, an institutional board of
governors for West Virginia University Institute of Technology
consisting of twelve persons, chosen and appointed in accordance
with the provisions of this section, shall be in place.
(d) Each board of governors includes the following members:
(1) A full-time member of the faculty with the rank of
instructor or above duly elected by the faculty of the respective
institution;
(2) A member of the student body in good academic standing,
enrolled for college credit work and duly elected by the student
body of the respective institution;
(3) A member from the institutional classified employees duly
elected by the classified employees of the respective institution;
and
(4) For the institutional board of governors at Marshall
University, thirteen lay members appointed by the Governor, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, pursuant to this
section.
(5) For the institutional Board of Governors at West Virginia
University, twelve lay members appointed by the Governor, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, pursuant to this section
and, additionally, the chairperson of the board of visitors of West
Virginia University Institute of Technology.
(6) For each institutional board of governors of the other
state institutions of higher education, nine lay members appointed
by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
pursuant to this section.
(e) Of the nine members appointed by the Governor, no more
than five may be of the same political party. Of the thirteen
members appointed by the Governor to the governing board of
Marshall University, no more than eight may be of the same
political party. Of the twelve members appointed by the Governor
to the governing board of West Virginia University, no more than
seven may be of the same political party. Of the nine members
appointed by the Governor, at least six shall be residents of the
state. Of the thirteen members appointed by the Governor to the
governing board of Marshall University, at least eight shall be
residents of the state. Of the twelve members appointed by the
Governor to the governing board of West Virginia University, at
least eight shall be residents of the state.
(f) The student member serves for a term of one year. Each
term begins on July 1.
(g) The faculty member serves for a term of two years. Each
term begins on July 1. Faculty members are eligible to succeed
themselves for three additional terms, not to exceed a total of
eight consecutive years.
(h) The member representing classified employees serves for a
term of two years. Each term begins on July 1. Members
representing classified employees are eligible to succeed
themselves for three additional terms, not to exceed a total of
eight consecutive years.
(i) The appointed lay citizen members serve terms of up to
four years each and are eligible to succeed themselves for no more
than one additional term.
(j) A vacancy in an unexpired term of a member shall be filled
for the unexpired term within thirty days of the occurrence of the
vacancy in the same manner as the original appointment or election.
Except in the case of a vacancy, all elections shall be held and
all appointments shall be made no later than June 30 preceding the
commencement of the term. Each board of governors shall elect one
of its appointed lay members to be chairperson in June of each year
except for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2008 only, when the
board shall elect the chairperson in July. A member may not serve
as chairperson for more than four consecutive years.
(k) The appointed members of the institutional boards of
governors serve staggered terms of up to four years except that four of the initial appointments to the governing boards of
community and technical colleges which become independent on July
1, 2008, are for terms of two years and five of the initial
appointments are for terms of four years.
(l) A person is ineligible for appointment to membership on a
board of governors of a state institution of higher education under
the following conditions:
(1) For a baccalaureate institution or university, a person is
ineligible for appointment who is an officer, employee or member of
any other board of governors, an employee of any institution of
higher education; an officer or member of any political party
executive committee; the holder of any other public office or
public employment under the government of this state or any of its
political subdivisions; an employee of any affiliated research
corporation created pursuant to article twelve of this chapter; an
employee of any affiliated foundation organized and operated in
support of one or more state institutions of higher education; or
a member of the council or commission. This subsection does not
prevent the representative from the faculty, classified employees,
students, or the superintendent of a county board of education from
being members of the governing boards.
(2) For a community and technical college, a person is
ineligible for appointment who is an officer, employee or member of
any other board of governors; a member of a board of visitors of any public institution of higher education; an employee of any
institution of higher education; an officer or member of any
political party executive committee; the holder of any other public
office, other than an elected county office, or public employment,
other than employment by the county board of education, under the
government of this state or any of its political subdivisions; an
employee of any affiliated research corporation created pursuant to
article twelve of this chapter; an employee of any affiliated
foundation organized and operated in support of one or more state
institutions of higher education; or a member of the Council or
Commission. This subsection does not prevent the representative
from the faculty, classified employees, students, or chairpersons
of the boards of advisors from being members of the governing
boards.
(m) Before exercising any authority or performing any duties
as a member of a governing board, each member shall qualify as such
by taking and subscribing to the oath of office prescribed by
section five, article IV of the Constitution of West Virginia and
the certificate thereof shall be filed with the Secretary of State.
(n) A member of a governing board appointed by the Governor
may not be removed from office by the Governor except for official
misconduct, incompetence, neglect of duty or gross immorality and
then only in the manner prescribed by law for the removal of the
state elective officers by the Governor.
(o) The president of the institution shall make available
resources of the institution for conducting the business of its
board of governors. The members of the board of governors serve
without compensation, but are reimbursed for all reasonable and
necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of official
duties under this article upon presentation of an itemized sworn
statement of expenses. All expenses incurred by the board of
governors and the institution under this section are paid from
funds allocated to the institution for that purpose.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove West Virginia
University Institute of Technology from the merger with West
Virginia University and return it to its former status as a
singular state institution of higher education.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.