Senate Bill No. 390
(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Sprouse
By Request of the Executive)
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[Introduced February 2, 1999; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend chapter eighteen-c of the code of West Virginia,

one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article six, relating to creating a lifelong education and technical studies grant opportunity program for part-time adult students at approved institutions of higher education; setting forth findings and declaration of legislative intent; defining certain terms; providing for an advisory board; setting forth the powers and duties of the senior administrator; providing for campus-level administration; establishing eligibility requirements; establishing priority for grants for students in particular areas of study; providing for the payment of grants; establishing guidelines for the unused portions of grants; and providing for legislative rules.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter eighteen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article six, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. LIFELONG EDUCATION AND TECHNICAL STUDIES GRANT OPPORTUNITY.
§18C-6-1. Legislative findings, intent and purpose.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the current number of adult citizens with some education or technical training beyond high school in West Virginia is low in comparison to other states. Statewide, less than two per cent of all West Virginians aged twenty-five and over attended a state college system or university system institution in the fall semester, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five. In order to increase the college-going rate of adults in this state, lifelong learning opportunities must be made available to adult learners in a wide variety of education and technical fields of study. It is the purpose of this article to encourage adults to enter and remain in college, especially community and technical colleges, to improve current workplace skills and to develop new ones in order to compete for well-paying jobs in the global economy. There is also a growing need to provide education and training to displaced workers to help them return to the work force. In order to encourage adults to pursue lifelong learning opportunities in greater numbers, a new grant program based on demonstrated need and entitled "Lifelong Education and Technical Studies Grant Opportunity" is hereby created. The program will provide grants to adults with demonstrated need who are pursuing associate, technical and baccalaureate education on a part-time basis. All approved institutions of higher education, including community and technical colleges, will benefit. In addition, the state's ability to attract and keep businesses will be enhanced by the increased numbers of skilled and highly educated adults in the work-force.
§18C-6-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, the following words have the meanings ascribed to them.
(a) "Approved institution of higher education" means a state institution of higher education as defined in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this code, and Alderson- Broaddus College, Appalachian Bible College, Bethany College, the College of West Virginia, Davis and Elkins College, Ohio Valley College, Salem-Teikyo University, the University of Charleston, West Virginia Wesleyan College and Wheeling Jesuit University, all in West Virginia, and any other institution of higher education in this state, public or private, approved by the senior administrator.
(b) "Lifelong education and technical studies grant opportunity" means the grant program authorized and established by the provisions of this article.
(c) "Senior administrator" means the senior administrator defined in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this code.
§18C-6-3. Advisory board created.
(a) The grant program established and authorized by this article shall be administered by the senior administrator. Moneys appropriated or otherwise available for such purpose shall be allocated by line item to an appropriate account in the state treasury to be known as the "Lifelong education and technical studies grant opportunity" account. Expenditures from the account shall be for the purposes set forth in this article.
(b) There is hereby created a lifelong education and technical studies grant opportunity advisory board to advise and assist the senior administrator in carrying out his or her responsibilities under this article.
(c) The advisory board shall consist of nine members. Four members shall be voting ex officio members, including:
(1) The secretary of education and the arts or his or her designee;
(2) The secretary of the department of health and human resources or his or her designee;
(3) The commissioner of the bureau of employment programs or his or her designee; and
(4) The vice chancellor of community and technical colleges.
Five members who are residents of this state shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Of the five members appointed by the governor, one shall be appointed from each of the following:
(A) Business and industry;
(B) Labor;
(C) Independent colleges;
(D) The human resource investment council; and
(E) One member appointed at large.
No more than three of the members appointed by the governor may be a member of the same political party. At its first meeting, and annually thereafter, the advisory board shall select one of its members as chairperson. Members serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed from funds appropriated under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section for expenses, including travel expenses, actually incurred by a member in the official conduct of the business of the advisory board at the same rate as is paid the employees of the state.
(d) Appointed members shall serve for a term of four years and may be reappointed for one additional term. Any member whose term has expired shall serve until his or her successor has been appointed. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired term. In cases of a vacancy in the office of a member, such vacancy shall be filled by the governor in the same manner as the original appointment.
(e) The advisory board shall meet at least two times each year to review the grant program and to provide the senior administrator with advice and assistance in proposing legislative rules and in carrying out his or her responsibilities under this article.
§18C-6-4. Powers and duties of the senior administrator.
(a) Subject to the provisions of this article and within the limits of appropriations made by the Legislature, the senior administrator is authorized and empowered to:
(1) Prepare and supervise the issuance of public information concerning this grant program for adult part-time students;
(2) Prescribe the form and regulate the submission of applications for grants;
(3) Administer or contract for the administration of such examinations as may be prescribed by the senior administrator; (4) Provide criteria for the selection of qualified recipients of grants by approved institutions;
(5) Authorize approved institutions to award grants;
(6) Accept grants, gifts, bequests and devises of real and personal property for the purposes of the grant program;
(7) Cooperate with approved institutions of higher education in the state and their governing boards in the administration of this grant program, providing that such grant program shall be administered at the campus level in so far as is practicable;
(8) Assist approved institutions of higher education in making the final decision pertaining to residency of an applicant for a grant or renewal of a grant;
(9) Employ or engage such professional, administrative, clerical and other employees to serve at the will and pleasure and under the control of the senior administrator as may be necessary to carry out the duties and responsibilities assigned to such administrator under the provisions of this article; and
(10) Prescribe the duties and fix the compensation of all such employees.
(b) Seventy-five thousand dollars or ten percent of any appropriation for this program, whichever is less, may be retained by the senior administrator for any necessary administrative costs including necessary travel expenses of advisory board members.
§18C-6-5. Eligibility.
A person shall be eligible for consideration for a grant under this article if the person:
(1) Is twenty-five years of age or older;
(2) Is a citizen of the United States;
(3) Has been a resident of this state for one year immediately preceding the date of application for a grant or a renewal of a grant;
(4) Enrolls as a part-time student in an approved institution of higher education; and
(5) Meets the qualifications of financial need as established by legislative rule.
§18C-6-6. Grant procedures.
(a) The grant recipient may attend any approved institution of higher education in this state. The institution is not required to accept the recipient for enrollment, but is free to exact compliance with its own admission requirements, standards and policies. Grants shall only be made to undergraduate, part-time students. Grants are renewable as long as the grantee is maintaining satisfactory academic standing, making normal progress toward completion of the course of study and continues to be eligible, as determined by the institution.
(b) Grants shall be made without regard to the applicant's race, creed, color, sex, national origin, ancestry or whether the applicant has a disability. The senior administrator may enter into reciprocal agreements with other states providing grants for part-time students if such states provide grants to residents of this state who are attending institutions of higher education on a part-time basis in those states.
(c) The senior administrator and the advisory board shall identify areas of professional, vocational and technical expertise that may be of critical need in this state and, to the extent feasible, give priority for grants to students who are pursuing instruction in those areas of identified shortages.
(d) Payment of all grants shall be made directly to the institution. In the event that a grant recipient transfers from one approved institution of higher education to another such institution, the grant may be transferred if approved by the senior administrator.
(e) If the recipient terminates enrollment during the academic year, the unused portion of the grant shall be returned by the institution to the senior administrator for transfer to the appropriate account and allocation for expenditure pursuant to the provisions of this article.
(f) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this purpose, the first grants under this program shall be available to eligible students beginning the first day of January, two thousand.
§18C-6-7. Legislative rules.
Subject to the provisions of this article, the senior administrator, by and with the advice and assistance of the advisory board, shall propose legislative rules, including emergency legislative rules, to be effective on the first day of January, two thousand. Such rules shall, in addition to other matters:
(1) Establish financial need eligibility criteria;
(2) Establish priorities for eligible applicants and shall ensure that applicants receiving public assistance be given priority, if such public assistance does not include job training or other educational assistance; and
(3) Give priority to eligible applicants attending community and technical colleges.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a college grant program entitled "Lifelong Education and Technical Studies Grant Opportunity" or "LETSGO" for part-time adult students at approved institutions of higher education. The bill provides that eligible part-time students aged 25 years or older may receive grants to help defray the cost of part-time academic course work. An advisory committee, composed of nine members is established to advise and assist the senior administrator in carrying out the program. The bill provides that the first grants under this program shall be available to eligible students beginning the first day of January, two thousand.

This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.