Senate Bill No. 653
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[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported February 25, 2000.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section forty-eight, article three,
chapter five-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact
section eleven, article three, chapter twelve of said code;
to amend and reenact sections one-a, one-d and two, article
one, chapter eighteen-b of said code; to amend said chapter
by adding thereto five new articles, designated articles
one-a, one-b, two-a, three-c and three-f; to amend and
reenact sections one and two, article four of said chapter;
to further amend said article by adding thereto a new
section, designated section eight; to amend and reenact
section one, article six of said chapter; to further amend
said article by adding thereto three new sections, designated sections two-a, three-a and four-a; and to amend
and reenact section one, article ten of said chapter, all
relating to exemption from motor vehicle and travel rules;
goals for post-secondary education; retirement and
separation incentives; defining terms; compact with higher
education; institutional compacts; peer institutions;
legislative financing goals; financing; base funding;
additional funding; statewide task force on teacher quality;
statewide task force on student financial aid; graduate
education; repealing inconsistent and obsolete sections;
higher education policy commission; development of a public
policy agenda; composition of commission; terms and
qualifications of commission members; vacancies; eligibility
for reappointment; oath of office; removal from office;
meetings and compensation of commission; powers and duties
of commission; employment of chancellor; evaluation of
institutional presidents; coordinating council for community
and technical college education; duties of commission during
transition year; report cards; statewide master plan;
institutional boards of governors; community and technical
college system; essential conditions for community and
technical colleges; responsibility districts; presidents; programs; district consortia committee; process for
achieving independently accredited community and technical
colleges; increasing flexibility; tuition and fees; shared
facilities and resources; creating the community and
technical college serving the advantage valley area;
employment of chancellor and vice chancellors; institutional
boards of advisors for regional campuses and
administratively linked community and technical colleges;
establishing institutional boards of advisors for
universities, baccalaureate institutions and free-standing
community and technical colleges during the transition year;
state advisory councils of faculty, students and classified
personnel; and tuition.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section forty-eight, article three, chapter five-a of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; that section eleven,
article three, chapter twelve of said code be amended and
reenacted; that sections one-a, one-d and two, article one,
chapter eighteen-b of said code be amended and reenacted; that
said chapter be further amended by adding thereto five new
articles, designated articles one-a, one-b, two-a, three-c and three-f; that sections one and two, article four of said chapter
be amended and reenacted; that article four of said chapter be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eight; that section one, article six of said chapter be amended
and reenacted; that said article be further amended by adding
thereto three new sections, designated section two-a, three-a and
four-a; and that section one, article ten of said chapter be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5A. DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION.
ARTICLE 3. PURCHASING DIVISION.
§5A-3-48. Travel rules; exceptions.
The secretary of administration shall promulgate rules
relating to the ownership, purchase, use, storage, maintenance
and repair of all motor vehicles and aircraft owned by the state
of West Virginia and in the possession of any department,
institution or agency thereof: Provided, That the provisions of
sections forty-eight through fifty-three of this article shall
not apply to the division of highways of the department of
transportation, the division of public safety of the department
of military affairs and public safety, the division of natural
resources, the division of forestry, the department of
agriculture, the higher education policy commission, and the higher education governing boards and their institutions:
Provided, however, That the higher education governing boards and
their institutions shall report annually to the secretary of
education and the arts chancellor for higher education and the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability in
a form and manner as required by the secretary of education and
the arts chancellor for higher education. Such report shall
include at least the following: The number of vehicles purchased
and the purchase price, the number of donated vehicles, and the
cost of lease agreements on leased vehicles.
If, in the judgment of the secretary of administration,
economy or convenience indicate the expediency thereof, the
secretary may require all vehicles and the aircraft subject to
regulation by this article, or such of them as he or she may
designate, to be kept in such garages, and other places of
storage, and to be made available in such manner and under such
terms for the official use of such departments, institutions,
agencies, officers, agents and employees of the state as the
secretary may designate by any such rule as he or she may from
time to time promulgate. The secretary also has the authority to
administer the travel regulations promulgated by the governor in
accordance with section eleven, article three, chapter twelve of this code, unless otherwise determined by the governor.
Provisions of this section relating to the governing boards
of higher education and the institutions under their jurisdiction
shall expire on the first day of July, two thousand one, unless
the continuation thereof is authorized by the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability.
CHAPTER 12. PUBLIC MONEYS AND SECURITIES.
ARTICLE 3. APPROPRIATIONS, EXPENDITURES AND DEDUCTIONS.
§12-3-11. Travel expenses; rules to be promulgated concerning
same; dues to voluntary organizations; recruitment expenses
for Higher Education Policy Commission and West Virginia
higher education governing boards; moving expenses of
employees of Higher Education Policy Commission and West
Virginia higher education governing boards.
The governor shall promulgate rules and regulations
concerning out-of-state travel by state officials and employees,
except those in the legislative and judicial branches of the
state government and except for the attorney general, auditor,
secretary of state, treasurer, board of investments, commissioner
of agriculture and their employees, and the higher education
policy commission, and the higher education governing boards and
institutions under their jurisdiction. The Legislature, the
supreme court of appeals and the attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, treasurer, board of investments, commissioner
of agriculture and the higher education policy commission, and
the higher education governing boards shall promulgate rules and
regulations concerning out-of-state travel for their respective
branches and departments of state government. Copies of such
rules and regulations shall be filed with the auditor, and the
secretary of state. It shall be unlawful for the auditor to
issue a warrant in payment of any claim for out-of-state travel
expenses incurred by a state officer or employee unless such
claim meets all the requirements of the rules and regulations so
filed.
Payment for dues or membership in annual or other voluntary
organizations shall be made from the proper item or appropriation
after an itemized schedule of such organizations, together with
the amount of such dues or membership, has been submitted to the
budget director and approved by the governor.
It shall be lawful for the higher education policy
commission or a higher education governing board to authorize the
payment of traveling expenses incurred by any person invited to
visit the campus of any state institution of higher education or
any other facility under control of the board to be interviewed
concerning his possible employment by the board or agent thereof.
It shall be lawful for the higher education policy
commission or a higher education governing board to authorize
payment of: (1) All or part of the reasonable expense incurred
by a person newly employed by the board in moving his household
furniture, effects and immediate family to his place of
employment; and (2) all or part of the reasonable expense
incurred by an employee of the board in moving his household
furniture, effects and immediate family as a result of a
reassignment of the employee which is considered desirable,
advantageous to and in the best interest of the state: Provided,
That no part of the moving expenses of any one such employee
shall be paid more frequently than once in twelve months.
Provisions of this section relating to the governing boards
of higher education and the institutions under their control
shall expire on the first day of July, two thousand one, unless
the continuation thereof is authorized by the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability.
CHAPTER 18B. HIGHER EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 1. GOVERNANCE.
18B-1-1a. Goals for post-secondary education.
(a) Findings. - The Legislature finds that post-secondary
education is vital to the future of West Virginia. For the state to realize its considerable potential in the twenty-first
century, it must have a system for the delivery of post-secondary
education which is competitive in the changing national and
global environment, is affordable within the fiscal constraints
of the state and for the state's residents to participate, and
has the capacity to deliver the programs and services necessary
to meet regional and statewide needs.
(1) West Virginia leads a national trend toward an aging
population wherein a declining percentage of working-age adults
will be expected to support a growing percentage of retirees.
Public school enrollments statewide have declined and will
continue to do so for the foreseeable future with a few notable
exceptions in growing areas of the state. As the state works to
expand and diversify its economy, it is vitally important that
young people entering the workforce from our education systems
have the knowledge and skills to succeed in the economy of the
twenty-first century. It is equally important, however, that
working-age adults who are the large majority of the current and
potential workforce also possess the requisite knowledge and
skills and the ability to continue learning throughout their
lifetimes. The reality for West Virginia is that its future
rests not only on how well its youth are educated, but also on how well it educates its entire population of any age.
(2) Post-secondary education is changing throughout the
nation. Place-bound adults, employers and communities are
demanding education and student services that are accessible at
any time, at any place and at any pace. Institutions are seizing
the opportunity to provide academic content and support services
on a global scale by designing new courseware, increasing
information technology-based delivery, increasing access to
library and other information resources, and developing new
methods to assess student competency rather than "seat time" as
the basis for recognizing learning, allocating resources and
ensuring accountability. In this changing environment, the state
must take into account the continuing decline in the public
school-age population, the limits of its fiscal resources and the
imperative need to serve the educational needs of working-age
adults. West Virginia cannot afford to finance quality higher
education systems that aspire to offer a full array of programs
while competing among themselves for a dwindling pool of
traditional applicants. The competitive position of the state
and its institutions will depend fundamentally on its capacity to
reinforce the quality and differentiation of its institutions
through policies that encourage focus and collaboration.
(3) The current accountability system is exceptionally
complicated and largely defines accountability in terms of
institutional procedures. It also is not well equipped to
address crosscutting issues such as regional economic and
workforce development, community and technical college services,
collaboration with the public schools to improve quality and
student participation rates, access to graduate education, and
other broad issues of state interest. Severe fiscal constraints
require West Virginia to make maximum use of existing assets to
meet new demands. New investments must be targeted to those
initiative designed to enhance and reorient existing capacity,
provide incentives for collaboration, and focus on the new
demands. It must have a single accountability point for
developing, building consensus around and sustaining attention to
the public policy agenda, and for allocating resources consistent
with this policy agenda.
(4) The state should make the best use of the expertise that
private institutions of higher education can offer and recognize
the importance of their contributions to the economic, social and
cultural well-being of their communities.
(b) Compact with higher education. - In pursuance of these
findings, it is the intent of the Legislature to engage higher education in a statewide compact for the future of West Virginia,
as provided in article one-a of this chapter, that focuses on a
public policy agenda that includes, but is not limited to, the
following:
(1) Diversifying and expanding the economy of the state;
(2) Increasing the competitiveness of the state's workforce
and the availability of professional expertise by increasing the
number of college degrees produced to the level of the national
average and, significantly improving the level of adult
functional literacy; and
(3) Creating a system of higher education that is equipped
to succeed at producing these results.
(c) Elements of the compact with higher education. - It is
the intent of the Legislature that the compact with higher
education include the following elements:
(1) A step-by-step process, as provided in articles one-b,
three-c and three-f of this chapter, which will enable the state
to achieve its public policy agenda through a system of higher
education equipped to assist in producing the needed results.
This process includes, but is not limited to, separate
institutional compacts with state institutions of higher
education that describe changes in institutional missions in the areas of research, graduate education, admission standards,
community and technical college education, and geographical areas
of responsibility to accomplish the following:
(A) A capacity within higher education to conduct research
to enhance West Virginia in the eyes of the larger economic and
educational community and to provide a basis for West Virginia's
improved capacity to compete in the new economy through research
oriented to state needs;
(B) Access to stable and continuing graduate level programs
in every region of the state, particularly in teacher education
related to teaching within a subject area to improve teacher
quality;
(C) Universities and colleges that have focused missions,
their own points of distinction and quality, and strong links
with the educational, economic, and social revitalization of
their regions and the State of West Virginia;
(D) Greater access and capacity to deliver technical
education, workforce development and other higher education
services to place-bound adults thus improving the general levels
of post-secondary educational attainment and literacy;
(E) Independently-accredited community and technical
colleges in every region of the state, to the extent possible, that: (i) Assess regional needs; (ii) Ensure access to
comprehensive community and technical college and workforce
development services within each of their respective regions;
(iii) Convene and act as a catalyst for local action in
collaboration with regional leaders, employers, and other
educational institutions; (iv) Provide and, as necessary, broker
educational services; (v) Provide necessary student services;
(vi) Fulfill such other aspects of the community and technical
college mission and general provisions for community and
technical colleges as provided for in article three-c of this
chapter; and (vii) Make maximum use of existing infrastructure
and resources within their regions to increase access, including,
but not limited to, vocational technical centers, schools,
libraries, industrial parks, and work sites.
(2) Providing additional resources, subject to availability
and appropriation by the Legislature, as provided in article one-
a of this chapter, to make the state institutions of higher
education more competitive with their peers, assist them in
accomplishing the elements of the public policy agenda, and
ensure the continuity of academic programs and services to
students.
(3) Establishing a process for the allocation of additional resources which focuses on achieving the elements of the public
policy agenda and streamlines accountability for the step-by-step
progress toward achieving these elements within a reasonable time
frame as provided in article one-a of this chapter.
(4) Providing additional flexibility to the state
institutions of higher education by making permanent the
exceptions granted to higher education relating to travel rules
and vehicles pursuant to sections forty-eight through fifty-
three, article three, chapter five-a of this code, and section
eleven, article three, chapter twelve of this code.
(5) Revising the higher education governance structure to
make it more responsive to state and regional needs.
(b) General goals for post-secondary education. - In
pursuance of the findings and the development of institutional
compacts with higher education for the future of West Virginia
pursuant to article one-a of this chapter, it is the intent of
the Legislature to establish general goals for post-secondary
education and to have the commission report the progress toward
achieving these goals in the higher education report card
required pursuant to section nine, article one-b of this chapter
and where applicable, made a part of the institutional compacts.
The Legislature establishes the general goals as follows:
(1) The overall focus of education is on a lifelong process
which is to be as seamless as possible at all levels and is to
encourage citizens of all ages to increase their knowledge and
skills. Efforts in pursuit of this goal include, but are not
limited to the following:
(A) Collaboration, coordination and interaction between
public and post-secondary education to: (i) Improve the quality
of public education, particularly with respect to ensuring that
the needs of public schools for teachers and administrators is
met; (ii) Inform public school students, their parents, and
teachers of the academic preparation that students need to be
prepared adequately to succeed in their selected fields of study
and career plans; and (iii) Improve instructional programs in the
public schools so that the students enrolling in post-secondary
education are adequately prepared;
(B) Collaboration, coordination and interaction between
public and post-secondary education, the governor's council on
literacy and the state human resources investment council to
promote the effective and efficient utilization of workforce
investment and other funds to (i) provide greatly improved access
to information and services for individuals and employers on
education and training programs, financial assistance, labor markets and job placement, (ii) increase awareness among the
state's citizens of the opportunities available to them to
improve their basic literacy, workforce and post-secondary skills
and credentials, and (iii) help improve their motivation to take
advantage of available opportunities by making the system more
seamless and user friendly;
(C) Collaboration, coordination and interaction between
public and post-secondary education on the development of
seamless curriculum in technical preparation programs of study
between the secondary and post-secondary levels; and
(D) Opportunities for advanced high school students to
obtain college credit prior to high school graduation.
(2) The number of degrees produced per capita by West
Virginia institutions of higher education is at the national
average. Efforts in pursuit of this goal include, but are not
limited to the following:
(A) Collaboration, coordination and interaction between
public and post-secondary education, the governor's council on
literacy and the state human resources investment council to
promote to individuals of all ages the benefits of increased
post-secondary educational attainment;
(B) Assistance in overcoming the financial barriers to post-secondary education for both traditional and nontraditional
students;
(C) An environment within post-secondary education that is
student-friendly and that encourages and assists students in the
completion of degree requirements within a reasonable time frame.
The environment also should expand participation for the
increasingly diverse student population;
(D) A spirit of entrepreneurship and flexibility within
post-secondary education that is responsive to the needs of the
current workforce and other nontraditional students for upgrading
and retraining college-level skills; and
(E) The expanded use of technology for instructional
delivery and distance learning.
(3) All West Virginians, whether traditional or
nontraditional students, displaced workers or those currently
employed have access to post-secondary educational opportunities
through their community and technical colleges, colleges, and
universities which (i) are relevant and affordable, (ii) allow
them to gain transferrable credits and associate or higher level
degrees, (iii) provide quality technical education and skill
training, and (iv) are responsive to business, industry, labor
and community needs.
(4) State institutions of higher education prepare students
to practice good citizenship and to compete in a global economy
in which good jobs require an advanced level of education and
skills which far surpasses former requirements. Efforts in
pursuit of this goal include, but are not limited to the
following:
(A) The development of entrepreneurial skills through
programs such as the rural entrepreneurship through action
learning (REAL) program which include practical experience in
market analysis, business plan development and operations;
(B) Elements of citizenship development are included across
the curriculum in core areas, including practical applications
such as community service, civic involvement and participation in
charitable organizations and in the many opportunities for the
responsible exercise of citizenship that higher education
institutions provide;
(C) Students are provided opportunities for internships,
externships, work study and other methods to increase their
knowledge and skills through practical application in a work
environment;
(D) College graduates meet or exceed national and
international standards for skill levels in reading, oral and written communications, mathematics, critical thinking, science
and technology, research and human relations;
(E) College graduates meet or exceed national and
international standards for performance in their fields through
national accreditation of programs and through outcomes
assessment of graduates; and
(F) Admission and exit standards for students, professional
staff development, program assessment and evaluation, and other
incentives are used to improve teaching and learning.
(5) State institutions of higher education exceed peer
institutions in other states in measures of institutional
productivity and administrative efficiency. Efforts in pursuit
of this goal include, but are not limited to:
(A) The establishment of systematic ongoing mechanisms for
each state institution of higher education to set goals, to
measure the extent to which those goals are met and to use the
results of quantitative evaluation processes to improve
institutional effectiveness;
(B) The combination and use of resources, technology and
faculty to their maximum potential in a way that makes West
Virginia higher education more productive than its peer
institutions in other states while maintaining educational quality; and
(C) The use of systemic program review to determine how much
duplication is necessary to maintain geographic access and to
eliminate unnecessary duplication.
(6) Post-secondary education enhances state efforts to
diversify and expand the economy of the state. Efforts in
pursuit of this goal include, but are not limited to the
following:
(A) The focus of resources on programs and courses which
offer the greatest opportunities for students and the greatest
opportunity for job creation and retention in the state;
(B) The focus of resources on programs supportive of West
Virginia employment opportunities and the emerging high-
technology industries;
(C) Closer linkages among higher education and business,
labor, government, and community and economic development
organizations; and
(D) Clarification of institutional missions and shifting of
resources to programs which meet the current and future workforce
needs of the state.
(7) Faculty, staff and administrators are compensated on a
competitive level with peer institutions to attract and keep quality personnel at state institutions of higher education.
(8) The tuition and fee levels for in-state students are
competitive with those of peer institutions and the tuition and
fee levels for out-of-state students are set at a level which at
the least covers the full cost of instruction.
§18B-1-1d. Retirement and separation incentives.
(a) Retirement and separation incentives. Notwithstanding
any other provisions of this code to the contrary, each state
institution of higher education may include in their its
strategic plans pursuant to section one-c of this article,
policies that offer various incentives for voluntary, early or
phased retirement of employees, or voluntary separation from
employment, when necessary to implement programmatic changes
effectively pursuant to the findings, directives, goals and
objectives of this article: Provided, That such incentives for
voluntary, early or phased retirement of employees, or voluntary
separation from employment must be submitted by the governing
board to the legislative joint committee on pensions and
retirement and approved before such policies are adopted as part
of the institution's strategic plan.
(b) Effective the first day of July, two thousand one, each
state institution of higher education may implement, under its institutional compact, created pursuant to article one-a of this
chapter, policies that offer various incentives for voluntary,
early or phased retirement of employees, or voluntary separation
from employment, when necessary to implement programmatic changes
effectively: Provided, That the institution shall meet all the
requirements, including the requirement for obtaining legislative
approval, set forth in this section.
(c) The policies may include the following provisions:
(1) Payment of a lump sum to an employee to resign or
retire;
(2) Continuation of full salary to an employee for a
predetermined period of time prior to the employee's resignation
or retirement and a reduction in the employee's hours of
employment during the predetermined period of time;
(3) Continuation of insurance coverage pursuant to the
provisions of article sixteen, chapter five of this code for a
predetermined period;
(4) Continuation of full employer contributions to an
employee's retirement plan during a phased retirement period; and
(5) That an employee retiring pursuant to an early or phased
retirement plan may begin collecting an annuity from the
employee's retirement plan prior to the statutorily designated retirement date without terminating their his or her service with
the institution.
(d) No incentive provided for in this section shall be
granted except in furtherance of programmatic changes undertaken
pursuant to the findings, directives, goals and objectives set
forth in this article.
No incentive proposed by an institution pursuant to this
section shall become a part of the institution's approved
strategic plan or institutional compact or be implemented without
approval of the legislative joint committee on pensions and
retirement.
Any costs associated with any incentive adopted or
implemented in accordance with this section shall be borne
entirely by the institutions and no incentive shall be granted
that imposes costs on the retirement systems of the state or the
public employees insurance agency unless those costs are paid
entirely by the institutions.
The Legislature further finds and declares that there is a
compelling state interest in restricting the availability and
application of these incentives to individual employees
determined by the institutions to be in furtherance of the aims
of this section and nothing herein shall be interpreted as granting a right or entitlement of any such incentive to any
individual or group of individuals. Any employee granted
incentives shall be ineligible for reemployment by the
institutions during or after the negotiated period of their his
or her incentive concludes including contract employment in
excess of five thousand dollars per fiscal year.
(e) The West Virginia network for educational telecomputing
may utilize the incentives contained in any policy approved by
the legislative joint committee on pensions and retirement
pursuant to this section.
(b) Pilot flexibility initiative. -- The board of directors
is directed to submit a plan for a pilot flexibility initiative
to the legislative oversight commission on education
accountability on or before the first day of October, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-five. The plan shall include at
least the following: (1) A system whereby the state institutions
of higher education in the state college system may apply to the
board of directors for a waiver of board policies and rules; (2)
a detailed application for institutions seeking to participate in
the pilot flexibility initiative which shall set forth at a
minimum: (I) A statement of the specific goals and objectives
that the institution proposes to accomplish if the application is approved; (ii) the specific board policies and rules which the
institution seeks to have waived for all or a portion of the
waiver period; and (iii) proposed rules and policies under which
the institution would operate during the period of waiver; (3)
the process by which the board of directors will review the
application; (4) the person or body who shall have the final
authority to approve the application of not more than two
institutions; (5) the time period for which the waiver will be
granted; (6) the specific board policies and rules which the
institution may request to have waived; (7) the process by which
the rules and policies of the institutions participating in the
pilot flexibility initiative may modify its rules and policies;
and (8) the person or body to whom the institutions shall be
reporting during the period of waiver.
(c) It is the intent of this Legislature to review the pilot
flexibility plan and after such review to establish a pilot
flexibility initiative in the legislative session of one thousand
nine hundred ninety-six.
§18B-1-2. Definitions.
The following words when used in this chapter and chapter
eighteen-c of this code shall have the meaning hereinafter
ascribed to them unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
(a) For the transition year beginning on the first day of
July, two thousand and ending on the thirtieth day of June two
thousand one only, "governing board" or "board" means the
university board of trustees or the board of directors of the
state college system, whichever is applicable within the context
of the institution or institutions referred to in this chapter or
in other provisions of law; and, beginning on the first day of
July, two thousand one, "governing board" or "board" means the
institutional board of governors of West Virginia university,
Marshall university, the West Virginia school of osteopathic
medicine, Bluefield state college, Concord college, eastern West
Virginia community and technical college, Fairmont state college,
Glenville state college, Shepherd college, southern West Virginia
community and technical college, West Liberty state college, West
Virginia northern community college, and West Virginia state
college, whichever is applicable within the context of the
institution or institutions referred to in this chapter or in
other provisions of law;
(c) Beginning on the first day of July, two thousand one,
"Governing boards" or "boards" means the institutional boards of
governors pursuant to subsection (b), section one, article two-a of this chapter;
(d) "Freestanding community and technical colleges" means
southern West Virginia community and technical college, and West
Virginia northern community and technical college, and eastern
West Virginia community and technical college, which shall not be
operated as branches or off-campus locations of any other state
institution of higher education;
(e) "Community college" or "community colleges" means
community and technical college or colleges as those terms are
defined in this section;
(f) "Community and technical college", in the singular or
plural, means the freestanding community and technical colleges
and divisions of other state institutions of higher education
which have defined community and technical college missions and
districts and offer community and technical college education in
accordance with the provisions of sections seven and eight,
article three-c of this chapter;
(g) "Community and technical college education" means the
programs, faculty, administration and funding associated with the
mission of community and technical colleges as provided in
article three-c of this chapter. section three-a, article three
of this chapter and also shall includes post-secondary vocational education programs in the state as those terms are defined in
this section; Community and technical college education shall be
delivered through a system which includes eleven community and
technical college districts assigned to state institutions of
higher education under the jurisdiction of the board of directors
and the board of trustees, respectively
(g) (h) For the transition year beginning on the first day
of July, two thousand and ending on the thirtieth day of June two
thousand one only, "directors" or "board of directors" means the
board of directors of the state college system created pursuant
to article three of this chapter or the members thereof;
(i) "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;
(h) (j) "Higher educational institution" means any
institution as defined by Sections 401(f), (g) and (h) of the
federal Higher Education Facilities Act of 1963, as amended;
(k) "Higher education policy commission" or "commission"
means the commission created pursuant to section one, article
one-b of this chapter;
(l) For the transition year beginning on the first day of
July, two thousand and ending on the thirtieth day of June two thousand one only, "Chancellor" or "Chancellors" means the
chancellor for higher education employed pursuant to section
five, article one-b of this chapter or the person or persons
employed by the board of trustees or board of directors pursuant
to subsection (b), section one, article four of this chapter,
whichever is clearly applicable within the context of the
commission, board or boards referred to in this chapter or in
other provisions of law. Beginning on the first day of July, two
thousand one, "Chancellor" means the person employed pursuant to
section five, article one-b of this chapter;
(m) "Base budget" or "Institutional base budget" for any
fiscal year means the total unrestricted education and general
funding from all sources in the prior fiscal year and such
adjustments to that funding as approved by the commission based
on comparisons with peer institutions or other determinations;
(o) "Investment Funds" or "Investment Fund" means those
funds created pursuant to section five, article one-a of this
chapter;
(I) (p) "Post-secondary vocational education programs" means
any college-level course or program beyond the high school level
provided through an institution of higher education under the
jurisdiction of a governing board which results in or may result in the awarding of a two-year associate degree., under the
jurisdiction of the board of directors.
(j) (q) "Rule" or "rules" means a regulation, standard,
policy or interpretation of general application and future
effect;
(k) (r) "Senior administrator" means the person vice
chancellor for administration employed by the governing boards
chancellor in accordance with section two, article four of this
chapter. The vice chancellor for administration shall assume all
the powers and duties that are assigned by law to the senior
administrator; , with powers and duties as may be provided for in
section two of said article.
(l) (s) "State college" means Bluefield state college,
Concord college, Fairmont state college, Glenville state college,
Shepherd college, West Liberty state college or West Virginia
state college;
(m) (t) For the transition year beginning on the first day
of July, two thousand through the thirtieth day of June, two
thousand one only, "State college system" means the state
colleges and community and technical colleges, and also shall
includes post-secondary vocational education programs in the
state as those terms are defined in this section;
(o) (u) "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; in the state university system or the state college
system as those terms are defined in this section. The advisory
boards previously appointed for each regional campus shall be
known as "boards of visitors" and shall provide guidance to the
regional campus presidents. Each regional campus shall adopt
separate strategic plans required by section one-c of this
article;
(p) (v) For the transition year beginning on the first day
of July, two thousand and ending on the thirtieth day of June two
thousand one only, "trustees" and "board of trustees" means the
university of West Virginia board of trustees created pursuant to
article two of this chapter or the members thereof.
(q) (w) For the transition year beginning on the first day
of July, two thousand and ending on the thirtieth day of June two
thousand one only, "university", "university of West Virginia"
and "state university system" means the multicampus, integrated
university of the state, consisting of West Virginia university,
including West Virginia university at Parkersburg, Potomac state
college of West Virginia university, West Virginia university institute of technology and the West Virginia university school
of medicine; Marshall university, including the Marshall
university school of medicine, and the Marshall university
community and technical college, the Marshall university graduate
college; and the West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine;
(r) "University system community and technical colleges"
means Marshall university community and technical college,
community and technical education programs at West Virginia
university at Parkersburg, community and technical education
programs at Potomac state college of West Virginia university and
West Virginia university institute of technology community and
technical college under the jurisdiction of the university of
West Virginia board of trustees and all their associated
branches, centers and off-campus locations.
(s) (x) "Regional campus" means West Virginia university at
Parkersburg, Potomac state college of West Virginia university,
and West Virginia university institute of technology.
(t) (y) The advisory board previously appointed for the West
Virginia graduate college shall be known as the "board of
visitors" and shall provide guidance to the Marshall university
graduate college;
(z) "Institutional Compact" means a compact between a state institution of higher education and the commission, as described
in section two article one-a of this chapter.
(aa) "Peer Institutions", "Peer Group" or "Peers" means
institutions used for comparison purposes and selected by the
commission pursuant to section three, article one-a of this
chapter; and
(bb) "State coordinating council for community and technical
college education" or "coordinating council" means the advisory
council created pursuant to section seven, article one-b of this
chapter.
ARTICLE 1A. COMPACT WITH HIGHER EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE OF WEST
VIRGINIA.
§18B-1A-1. Purpose of article; legislative findings and intent.
Purpose. - The purpose of this article is to establish a
compact with higher education for the future of West Virginia.
The Legislature recognizes both the progress achieved thus far
through the higher education strategic planning process
established pursuant to section one-c, article one of this
chapter, and the short falls. West Virginia long has recognized
the value of education and, on a per capita income basis, invests
more to support education than most other states. Based on its
findings, the Legislature recognizes that because of a combination of state and national demographic and economic
factors, and emerging changes in higher education delivery
systems, it is in the best interests of both the state and the
state's higher education system to begin a process that will
strengthen their capacity, over the long term, to provide the
services of higher education so valued by the citizens of the
state and so essential to the state's economic vitality. The
compact with higher education for the future of West Virginia is
intended to encourage continued progress toward achieving the
state's goals for higher education and to provide incentives for
change. The changes include strengthening the capacity of the
higher education system and institutions to serve regional and
state needs and responding to the challenges of growing national
and global competition in higher education delivery systems. It
is the intent of the Legislature that legislative appropriations
for higher education for fiscal year two thousand two and
thereafter, will be made in accordance with this article and the
strategies, policies, time lines and benchmarks for accomplishing
the goals of the compact over a six year period: Provided, That
nothing in this article requires any specific level of
appropriation by the Legislature.
§18B-1A-2. Institutional compacts with state institutions of higher education; establishment and review process;
determination of investment fund allocations.
(a) Each institution of higher education shall prepare an
institutional compact for submission to the commission. When the
process herein provided is completed, the institutional compacts
shall form the agreement between the institutions of higher
education and the commission, and, ultimately, between the
institutions of higher education and the people of West Virginia
on how the institutions will use their resources to address the
intent of the Legislature and the goals set forth in section one-
a, article one of this chapter. The compacts shall contain the
following:
(1) A step-by-step process to accomplish the intent of the
Legislature and the goals set forth in section one-a, article one
of this chapter as organized by the commission. The step-by-step
process shall be delineated by objectives and shall set forth a
time line for achieving the objectives which shall, where
applicable, include benchmarks to measure institutional progress
as defined in subsection (e) of this section.
(2) A determination of the mission of the institution
which specifically addresses changes, as applicable, in the areas
of research, graduate education, baccalaureate education, revised admission requirements, community and technical colleges and such
other areas as the commission determines appropriate. In the
determination of mission, the institutions and the commission
shall consider the report completed by the National Center for
Higher Education Management Systems pursuant to the legislative
study as provided in section seven, article three of this
chapter;
(3) A plan which is calculated to make any changes in
institutional mission and structure within a six-year period;
(4) Where applicable, a statement of the geographic areas
of responsibility for each goal to be accomplished as provided in
subsection (d) of this section;
(5) A detailed statement of how the compact is aligned with
and will be implemented in conjunction with the master plan of
the institution;
(6) Such other items, requirements or initiatives, required
by the commission, designed to accomplish the intent of the
Legislature and the goals set forth in section one-a, article one
of this chapter, or other public policy goals established by the
commission.
(b) Each institutional compact shall be updated annually
and shall follow the same general guidelines contained in subsection (a).
(c) Development and updating of the institutional compacts
shall be subject to the following:
(1) The ultimate responsibility for developing and updating
the institutional compacts at the institutional level resides
with the institutional board of advisors or the institutional
board of governors, as appropriate;
(2) The ultimate responsibility for developing and adopting
the final version of the institutional compacts resides with the
commission;
(3) The initial institutional compacts shall be submitted
to the commission by the institutions on or before the first day
of February two thousand one, and the annual updates shall be
submitted on or before the first day of February of each
succeeding year;
(4) The commission shall review the initial institutional
compacts and the annual updates and either shall adopt the
institutional compact or return it with specific comments for
change or improvement. The commission shall continue this
process as long as it considers advisable;
(5) On or after the first day of May of each year, if the
institutional compact of any institution as presented by that institution is not adopted by the commission, then the commission
is empowered and directed to develop and adopt the institutional
compact for the institution and the institution shall be bound by
the compact so adopted; and
(6) The commission shall, as far as practicable, establish
uniform processes and forms for the development and submission of
the institutional compacts. As a part of this function, the
commission shall organize the statements of legislative intent
and goals contained in section one-a, article one of this chapter
in a manner that facilitates the purposes of this subdivision,
and the purposes of this section.
(d) The commission shall assign geographic areas of
responsibility to the state institutions of higher education as
a part of their institutional compacts to ensure that all areas
of the state are provided necessary programs and services to
achieve the public policy agenda. The benchmarks established in
the institutional compacts shall include measures of programs and
services by geographic area throughout the assigned geographic
area of responsibility.
(e) The compacts shall contain benchmarks used to determine
progress toward meeting the goals established in the compacts.
The benchmarks shall meet the following criteria:
(1) They shall be as objective as possible;
(2) They shall be directly linked to the goals in the
compacts;
(3) They shall be measured by the indicators described in
subsection (f); and
(4) Where applicable, they shall be used to measure
progress in geographic areas of responsibility.
(f) The commission shall establish indicators which measure
the degree to which the goals and objectives set forth in section
one-a, article one of this chapter, are being addressed and met.
The benchmarks established in subsection (e) shall be measured by
the indicators. The commission shall, on or before the first day
of January, two thousand one, file with the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability, legislative rules
pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a, that set
forth at the least the following:
(1) The indicators to be used to measure the degree to
which the goals and objectives are being met.
(2) Uniform definitions for the various data elements to be
used in establishing the indicators; and
(3) Guidelines for the collection and reporting of data.
§18B-1A-3. Peer institutions.
(a) The commission shall select not fewer than ten peer
institutions for each state institution of higher education in
West Virginia, including, but not limited to, independently-
accredited community and technical colleges.
(b) The peer institutions shall be selected from among
institutions throughout the United States and not solely from the
states that are members of the Southern Regional Education Board.
Each institutional board of governors may submit a list of no
more than twenty institutions it considers appropriate for
consideration by the commission in selecting peers for that
institution: Provided, That the ultimate responsibility and
authority for selecting appropriate peers for each state
institution of higher education rests with the commission.
(c) The peer institutions shall be used for comparison
purposes in the following areas:
(1) To determine adjustments to base operating budgets as
described in section five of this article;
(2) To determine comparable levels of tuition;
(3) To determine comparable faculty and staff teaching
requirements and other workloads; and
(4) For such other purposes as the law may require or the
commission may find useful or necessary.
(d) The commission shall select peer institutions for each
institution through an open, deliberative, objective process and
in consultation with the institutional boards of governors,
intended to achieve broad understanding of the basis for this
selection in the higher education community and the Legislature.
In selecting peer institutions, the commission shall use criteria
such as, but not limited to:
(1) Institutional mission;
(2) Institutional size related to full-time equivalent
students;
(3) The proportions of full-time and part-time students;
(4) The level of academic programs, including, but not
limited to, number of degrees granted at the associate,
baccalaureate, masters, doctoral, and first-professional level;
(5) The characteristics of academic programs such as health
sciences, professional, technical, or liberal arts and sciences;
and
(6) The level of research funding from federal competitive
funding sources.
(e) The commission shall review and make necessary
adjustments to peer institutions at least every four years or as
necessary based on changes in institutional missions as approved in institutional compacts or in changes at peer institutions.
(f) Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the
commission from using the same peers or peer groups for more than
one institution of higher education.
§18B-1A-4. Legislative financing goals.
(a) The Legislature recognizes that the higher education
goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter are
of utmost importance. The Legislature further recognizes that
meeting the goals may require the appropriation of additional
dollars.
(b) It is, therefore, the desire of the Legislature to
increase funding for higher education in the amount of four
percent annually, but not to exceed the annual percentage
increase in the overall general revenue budget.
(c) If the commission determines that appropriations are
insufficient to fund the requirements of the institutional
compacts, the commission first shall consider extending the
length of the compacts or otherwise modifying the compacts to
allow the institutions to achieve the benchmarks in the compacts.
If modifications to the institutional compacts are not sufficient
to allow the institutions to meet their benchmarks, the
commission shall recommend to the Legislature methods of making the higher education system more efficient. The methods may
include, but are not limited to the following:
(1) Administrative efficiencies;
(2) Consolidation of services;
(3) Elimination of programs;
(4) Consolidating institutions; and
(5) Closing institutions.
§18B-1A-5. Financing; base funding, additional funding.
(a) Appropriations. - The commission shall have the
responsibility to develop a budget for the state system of higher
education, and submit a budget request to the Governor before the
first day of September beginning in two thousand and for each
fiscal year thereafter: Provided, That in preparing the budget
request for fiscal year two thousand two, the commission shall
consult with the governing boards, as appropriate. The budget
request specifically shall include the amount of base funding, as
defined in section two, article one of this chapter, required for
all state institutions of higher education. The Legislature
shall appropriate all funds for the state system of higher
education, including the appropriations for base funding and
investment funding, if any, to the commission. The commission is
responsible for allocating appropriations for base funding and investment funding in accordance with this section. In addition
to the base funding and investment funding, however, the
commission also is responsible for allocating funds that are
appropriated to it for other purposes.
(b) Base funding. - The base funding, as defined in section
two, article one of this chapter, of each institution shall
increase each fiscal year after fiscal year two thousand two by
the following total amount of additional funds provided the
previous year:
(1) One hundred percent of the funds allocated to the
institution from the investment fund for development of
independently-accredited community and technical colleges set
forth in subdivision (2), subsection (c) of this section;
(2) Ninety-three percent of the funds allocated to the
institution from the investment fund for equity with peer
institutions set forth in subdivision (1), subsection (c) of this
section; and
(3) Fifty percent of the funds allocated to the institution
from the incentive fund for institutional contributions to state
priorities set forth in subdivision (4), subsection (c) of this
section.
(c) If the total appropriation by the Legislature exceeds the base funding from the previous year, any allocations to the
institutions for more than base funding shall be allocated to the
following investment funds in accordance with the percentages set
forth in subsection (e) of this section:
(1) Investment fund for equity with peer institutions. -
The purpose of this fund is to increase the level of funding for
state institutions of higher education comparable to their peer
institutions.
The funding plan shall provide, subject to the availability
of funds and legislative appropriations therefor, for a
systematic adjustment of the base budgets to move all
institutions' funding in the direction of levels comparable with
their peers. The fund in this subsection shall be allocated
according to the following provisions:
(A) Fifty percent of the funds shall be allocated in the
proportion to which the institutions' base budget compares to the
total base budgets of all institutions for the prior year;
(B) Fifty percent of the funds shall be allocated to the
institutions as follows:
(i) A calculation shall be made of the deficiency in per
student funding of each institution in comparison with the mean
per student funding of the peer institutions as defined by the commission pursuant to section three, article one-b of this
chapter;
(ii) For all institutions that are deficient in comparison
with peer institutions, the amounts of the deficiencies shall be
totaled;
(iii) A ratio of the amount of the deficiency for an
institution divided by the total amounts of deficiency for all
institutions shall be established for each institution; and
(iv) The allocation to the institution shall be calculated
by multiplying the ratio by the total amount of money in the
fund.
(2) Investment fund for development of independently-
accredited community and technical colleges. - The purpose of
this fund is to ensure a smooth transition, where required, from
"component" community and technical colleges to independently-
accredited community and technical colleges. By the first day of
July, two thousand seven, or, when all required community and
technical colleges are independently accredited, whichever first
occurs, this fund shall expire and the proceeds of the fund shall
be transferred to the incentive fund for institutional
contributions to state priorities: Provided, That if the
commission determines that payments from the fund to the institutions should continue beyond the first day of July, two
thousand seven, it shall request an extension from the
Legislature;
(3) Research challenge fund. - The purpose of this fund is
to assist public universities in West Virginia to compete on a
national and international basis by providing incentives to
increase their capacity to compete successfully for research
funding.
(A) The commission shall develop criteria for awarding
grants to institutions under this fund which may include, but are
not limited to, the following:
(i) Money from the fund shall be used to match externally-
funded, peer-reviewed research;
(ii) The fund shall provide matching funds for strategic
institutional investments in faculty and other resources to
increase research capacity;
(B) The funds shall be distributed as follows:
(i) Ten percent of the funds shall be distributed at the
discretion of the commission, but with particular emphasis on
start-up money for new research efforts; and
(ii) The balance of the fund shall be distributed to each
public university in the same percentage that the research funds received by that public university bears to the total research
funds received by all public universities in the state for the
previous year.
(C) The commission may establish an advisory council
consisting of nationally prominent researchers and scientists,
including representatives from outside the state, to assist in
developing the criteria for awarding grants under this fund.
(D) For the purposes of making the distributions under this
fund, the commission shall establish the definition for research,
research funds, and any other terms as may be necessary to
implement this subsection; and
(4) Incentive fund for institutional contributions to state
priorities. - The purpose of this fund is to provide incentives
to institutions which demonstrate success toward advancing the
goals of the public agenda as set forth in section one-a, article
one of this chapter and to provide incentives for mission
enhancement as set forth in section two of this article.
(d) Allocations of appropriated funds. -
(1) For the purposes of this section, the commission shall
establish by rule pursuant to subsection (e), section two,
article one-b of this chapter the method for measuring the
progress of each institution toward meeting the benchmarks of its institutional compact.
(2) Unless otherwise provided by the Legislature,
appropriations above the base budget shall be allocated to the
investment funds as follows:
(A) Sixty-five percent shall be allocated to the investment
fund for equity with peer institutions;
(B) Ten percent shall be allocated to the incentive fund
for institutional contributions to state priorities;
(C) Ten percent shall be allocated to the research
challenge fund; and
(D) Fifteen percent shall be allocated to the investment
fund for development of independently-accredited community and
technical colleges: Provided, That effective either the first day
of July, two thousand seven, or after all required community and
technical colleges are independently accredited, whichever first
occurs, the fifteen percent shall be added to the incentive fund
for institutional contributions to state priorities: Provided,
however, That if the commission determines that payments from the
fund to the institutions should continue beyond the first day of
July, two thousand seven, it shall request an extension from the
Legislature.
(e) Appropriations from these funds shall be allocated in the following manner:
(1) For the fiscal year two thousand two, appropriations to
the funds shall be allocated only to institutions with approved
compacts, pursuant to this article;
(2) For the fiscal year two thousand three, and each fiscal
year thereafter, appropriations to the funds shall be allocated
only to institutions with approved compacts, pursuant to section
two of this article, and which also have achieved their annual
benchmarks for accomplishing the goals of their compacts, as
approved by the commission: Provided, That, if an institution has
not achieved all its annual benchmarks, the commission may
distribute a portion of the funds to the institution based on its
progress as the commission determines appropriate; and
(3) For the fiscal year two thousand three, and each fiscal
year thereafter, the percentage of the investment funds from the
previous year that does not become part of the base budget during
the current year shall be allocated to the institutions with
approved compacts, pursuant to section two of this article, which
also have achieved their annual benchmarks for accomplishing the
goals of their compacts, as approved by the commission:
Provided, That, if an institution has not achieved all its annual
benchmarks, the commission may distribute a portion of the funds to the institution based on its progress as the commission
determines appropriate.
(f) The total budget of any institution of higher education
shall not exceed one hundred two percent of peer institutions.
If the distribution of the funds results in any institution
having a total budget of more than one hundred two percent of
peer institutions, the excess above one hundred two percent shall
be allocated to the other institutions through the investment
fund for equity with peer institutions established in subdivision
(1), subsection (c) of this section.
(g) Any funds remaining in an investment fund at the end of
the fiscal year shall be carried forward in the same fund to the
next fiscal year.
§18B-1A-6. Statewide task force on teacher quality.
(a) There is hereby created a statewide task force on
teacher quality to address issues which shall include, but not be
limited to, the following:
(1) Need to strengthen teacher education in subject area
fields by addressing the quality and regional accessibility of
pre-service and in-service programs at both the baccalaureate and
graduate degree levels;
(2) Need to address teacher salaries;
(3) Need to determine the appropriate supply of teachers to
meet future demand;
(4) Need to determine the most effective method of staff
development for teachers; and
(5) Need to address methods to prepare teachers to
integrate technology effectively in the classroom including the
following:
(i) The resources necessary for teacher education programs
to prepare teachers for the technology demands of the classroom
environment;
(ii) The opportunities and resources for professional
development experiences in technology; and
(6) Need to study methods to extend programs such as the
Benedum collaborative model of teacher education at West Virginia
university to other geographic areas of the state.
(b) The task force shall be chaired by the chancellor for
higher education or a designee and shall be comprised of twenty-
one members selected as follows: eight members to be appointed by
the governor; five members to be appointed by the state board of
education; five members to be appointed by the governing boards;
one member to be selected by the West Virginia Professional
Teachers Standards Commission from among their membership; one member representing private institutions of higher education
selected by the West Virginia Association of Independent
Colleges, Inc.; and the secretary of education and the arts or a
designee. Of the eight members to be appointed by the governor,
two shall be representatives of statewide teacher organizations
and of the six members to be appointed by the state board of
education, at least three shall be classroom teachers and at
least one shall be selected from among the membership of the
state board of education.
(c) Appointments to the task force shall be made so that
members may begin their work no later than the first day of July
two thousand.
(d) The task force shall report on its progress to the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability and
the commission. The initial progress report shall be made in
October, two thousand, and, additionally, in each quarter
thereafter until the work of the task force is completed.
(e) The task force shall complete its work and make a final
report to the legislative oversight commission on education
accountability and the commission no later than the first day of
November, two thousand one. The final report shall contain
findings of fact, recommendations, and strategies for implementing recommended changes.
§18B-1A-7. Statewide task force on student financial aid.
(a) There is hereby created a statewide task force on
student financial aid to address issues which shall include, but
not be limited to, the following:
(1) The impact of the full range of student aid and prepaid
admission programs including federal, state, and institutional
programs;
(2) The interrelationships of the various programs;
(3) The feasibility and effectiveness of grants versus
loans; and
(4) A longitudinal study detailing the amount of money
spent for student aid in West Virginia over the past fifteen
years, or, if data for a full fifteen years is not available, for
the longest time period possible; the number of students served;
and the number of those students who have remained in the state.
(b) The task force shall be chaired by the chancellor for
higher education or a designee and shall be comprised of fourteen
members selected as follows: six members selected by the
governing boards; two members representing private institutions
of higher education selected by the West Virginia Association of
Independent Colleges, Inc.; four members selected by the state board of education; the state treasurer or a designee; and the
secretary of education and the arts or a designee.
(c) Appointments to the task force shall be made so that
members may begin their work no later than the first day of July
two thousand.
(d) The task force shall make an initial progress report to
the legislative oversight commission on education accountability
and the commission by the first day of December two thousand and
shall report quarterly thereafter until the work of the task
force is completed.
(e) The task force shall complete its work and make a final
report to the legislative oversight commission on education
accountability and the commission no later than the first day of
October, two thousand one. The final report shall contain
findings of fact, recommendations, and strategies for
implementing recommended changes.
§18B-1A-8. 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.
(b) 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;
and
(3) Focusing on providing courses that enhance the
professional skills of teachers in their subject areas.
(c) Shepherd college, West Liberty state college, Fairmont
state college and Concord college shall meet the need for
graduate education in their regions by following the procedures
outlined below with each step building upon the foundation of the
step before it:
(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) If the graduate education needs of the region have not
been met through brokering, then 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 only 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) Such other conditions as the commission may determine.
(d) There is an urgent need for master's degree programs
for teachers in disciplines or subject areas, such as
mathematics, science and history. 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 the
commission determines that this need is not being met or can not
be met in a region through the procedure established in
subsection (c) of this section, then the graduate center in that
region may plan one master's degree program in education focused
on teaching in subject area fields. 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 six of this article.
(e) 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 (c) of
this section, determine which programs should be discontinued.
(f) 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.
(f) 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.
(g) 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.
§18B-1A-9. Contrary provisions.
Effective the first day of July, two thousand, the provisions
of this article shall supersede any provision of this code to the
contrary.
§18B-1A-10. Sections repealed.
(a) Effective the first day of July, two thousand, article
three-c of this chapter, relating to the Governor's council on
higher and other post-secondary education, is repealed.
(b) Effective the first day of July, two thousand, section
two-b, article five of this chapter, relating to resource
allocation policy relief, is repealed.
(c) Effective the first day of July, two thousand, section
two-c, article five of this chapter, relating to a review of
resource allocation model and policies, is repealed.
(d) Effective the first day of July, two thousand, section
five, article six of this chapter, relating to the creation of
advisory council on federal resources, is repealed.
(e) Effective the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one,
section eight, article one of this chapter, relating to the powers
and duties of the governing boards generally, is repealed.
(f) Effective the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one,
section eight-a, article one of this chapter, relating to higher
education accountability, is repealed.
(g) Effective the first day of July, two thousand, section
six, article three of this chapter, relating to increasing
flexibility for freestanding community and technical colleges, is
repealed.
(h) Effective the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one,
section one-b, article one of this chapter, relating to
implementation of findings, directives, goals and objectives, is
repealed.
(i) Effective the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one,
section one-c, article one of this chapter, relating to
strategically focusing resources to maximize opportunity, is
repealed.
(j) Effective the first day of July, two thousand, section
five, article one of this chapter, relating to placing governing
boards under the department of education and the arts, is
repealed.
(k) Effective the first day of July, two thousand, section
six, article six of this chapter, relating to the University of
West Virginia Anatomical Board, is repealed.
(l) Effective the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one,
section one, article five of this chapter, relating to
appropriations, is repealed.
(m) Effective the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one,
section two, article five of this chapter, relating to resource
allocation model and policies, is repealed.
(n) Effective the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one,
section two, article six of this chapter, relating to advisory
councils of faculty, is repealed.
(o) Effective the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one,
section three, article six of this chapter, relating to advisory
councils of students, is repealed.
(p) Effective the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one,
section three, article six of this chapter, relating to advisory
councils of classified employees, is repealed.
(q) Effective the first day of July, two thousand one, this
section is repealed.
ARTICLE 1B. HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION.
§18B-1B-1.Higher education policy commission established;
development of public policy agenda.
There is hereby created the "Higher education policy
commission", hereinafter referred to as the "commission", which
is responsible for developing, gaining consensus around, and
overseeing the implementation of a public policy agenda. It is
the intent of the Legislature that the commission be responsible
for development and articulation of the public policy agenda for
higher education and that all matters of governance not
specifically assigned to the commission by law are the duty and
responsibility of the governing boards.
§18B-1B-2. Composition of board; terms and qualifications of
members; vacancies; eligibility for reappointment; oath of
office; removal from office.
(b) The commission is comprised of eight members, of whom one
shall be the secretary of education and the arts, ex officio, who
is entitled to vote; one shall be a member of the state board of
education, selected by that board, who is entitled to vote; and
one shall be a representative of private institutions of higher
education selected by the West Virginia Association of Independent
Colleges, Inc., who is not entitled to vote. The member selected
by the state board of education shall not continue as a member of
the commission if he or she is no longer serving as a member of
the state board of education. In that event, another member of
the state board shall be selected by that board.
(C) The other five members of the commission shall be
citizens of the state, appointed by the governor, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate: Provided, That, prior to
appointment, the governor shall interview each candidate to assure
that the person selected understands and is committed to achieving
the goals and objectives as set forth in the institutional
compacts and in section one-a, article one of this chapter. The
governor shall invite the president of the senate, the speaker of the house, the chairs of the senate and house committees on
finance and education and such other legislative leaders as the
governor may determine to participate in interviewing potential
candidates. Each member appointed to the commission by the
governor shall represent the public interest and shall be
committed to the legislative intent and goals set forth in section
one-a, article one of this chapter.
(d) The governor may not appoint any person to be a member
of the commission who is an officer, employee or member of an
advisory board of any state college or university, 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 or an appointee
or employee of any governing board: Provided, That for the
transition year beginning on the first day of July, two thousand
and ending on the thirtieth day of June two thousand one only, a
member of the board of trustees or board of directors who is
selected to serve on the commission also may retain a seat on the
governing board from which he or she was selected. Of the members
appointed by the governor from the public at large, no more than
three thereof shall belong to the same political party and no more
than two shall be appointed from each congressional district.
(e) The governor shall appoint five members to the commission
on the first day of July, two thousand or as soon thereafter as
is practicable, and the original terms of all members shall
commence on the first day of July, two thousand.
(f) The terms of the members appointed by the governor shall
be for overlapping terms of five years, except, of the original
appointments, one shall be appointed to a term of one year, one
shall be appointed to a term of two years, one shall be appointed
to a term of three years, one shall be appointed to a term of four
years, and one shall be appointed to a term of five years. Each
subsequent appointment which is not for the purpose of filling a
vacancy in an unexpired term shall be for a term of five years.
(g) In making the original appointments only, the governor
shall select at least four persons who, on the thirtieth day of
June, two thousand, are members of the board of trustees or the
board of directors.
(h) The governor shall appoint a member to fill any vacancy
among the five members of the commission appointed by the
governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, which
member appointed to fill such vacancy shall serve for the
unexpired term of the vacating member. The governor shall fill
the vacancy within thirty days of the occurrence of the vacancy.
(i) No member appointed by the governor shall be eligible to
serve more than two consecutive terms.
(j) Before exercising any authority or performing any duties
as a member of the commission, 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.
(l) No member of the commission appointed by the governor may
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.
§18B-1B-3. Meetings and compensation.
(a) The commission shall hold an annual meeting each June for
the purpose of electing officers for the next fiscal year. At the
annual meeting, the commission shall elect from its members
appointed by the governor a chairperson and other officers as it
may consider necessary or desirable: Provided, That the initial
meeting for the purpose of selecting the first chairperson and
other officers shall be held during July, two thousand, or as soon
thereafter as practicable. The secretary of education and the arts shall call the initial meeting and preside until a
chairperson is selected. The chairperson and other officers shall
be elected for a one-year term commencing on the first day of July
following the annual meeting and ending on the thirtieth day of
June of the following year: Provided, That the terms of officers
elected in July, two thousand begin upon election and end on the
thirtieth day of June, two thousand one. The chairperson of the
board may serve no more than two consecutive terms as chair.
(b) Members of the commission shall be reimbursed for actual
and necessary expenses incident to the performance of such duties
upon presentation of an itemized sworn statement thereof. The
foregoing reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses shall
be paid from appropriations made by the Legislature to the
commission.
§18B-1B-4. Powers and duties of higher education policy
commission.
(a) The primary responsibility of the commission is to
develop policy that will achieve the goals and objectives found
in section one-a, article one of this chapter. To that end, the
commission has the following powers and duties:
(1) Develop, oversee and advance the public policy agenda to
address major challenges facing the state, including, but not limited to, the goals and objectives found in section one-a,
article one of this chapter and including specifically those goals
and objectives pertaining to the compacts created pursuant to
section two, article one-a of this chapter, and to develop and
implement the master plan described in section ten of this article
for the purpose of accomplishing the mandates of this section;
(2) Develop, oversee and advance the implementation of a
financing policy for higher education in West Virginia. The
policy shall meet the following criteria:
(A) Provide an adequate level of base 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; and
(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;
(3) 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 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;
(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 and the higher
education system as a whole accountable for accomplishing their
missions and implementing the provisions of the compacts;
(4) Develop and adopt each institutional compact;
(5) Review and adopt the annual updates of the institutional
compacts;
(6) Administer and allocate funds from the investment funds
created in section five, article one-a of this chapter;
(7) Review the progress of community and technical colleges
in every region of West Virginia; such review includes, but is not
limited to, evaluating and reporting annually to the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability on the step-by-step implementation required in article three-c of this
chapter;
(8) Serve as the accountability point for the governor for
implementation of the public policy agenda and for the Legislature
by maintaining a close working relationship with the legislative
leadership and the legislative oversight commission on education
accountability;
(9) Promulgate legislative rules pursuant to article three-a,
chapter twenty-nine-a to fulfill the purposes of section five,
article one-a of this chapter;
(10) Establish a peer group for each public institution of
higher education in the state as described in section three,
article one-a of this chapter;
(l1) In January, two thousand two and annually thereafter,
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 the 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 set forth in section one-a, article one
of this chapter;
(B) An analysis of enrollment data collected pursuant to
subsection (i), 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 (12) of this subsection, and the
justification for such priority; and
(D) Recommendations of the commission for statutory changes
needed to further the goals and objectives set forth in section
one-a, article one of this chapter;
(12) Develop a formal process for identifying needs for
capital investments and for establishing priorities for these
investments;
(13) Develop guidelines for institutions to follow concerning
extensive capital projects. 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. No such project may be pursued by
an institution without the approval of the commission;
(14) Draw upon the expertise available within the human
resources investment council and the West Virginia development
office as a resource in the area of workforce development and
training;
(15) Acquire legal services as are considered necessary,
including representation of the commission, its institutions,
employees and officers before any court or administrative body,
notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary.
The counsel may be employed either on a salaried basis or on a
reasonable fee basis. In addition, the commission may, but is not
required to, call upon the attorney general for legal assistance
and representation as provided by law;
(16) Employ a chancellor for higher education pursuant to
section five of this article;
(17) Employ other staff as necessary and appropriate to carry
out the duties and responsibilities of the commission;
(18) Provide suitable offices in Charleston for the
chancellor, vice chancellors, and other staff;
(19) Conduct a study of the faculty tenure system as
administered by the governing boards with specific attention to the role of community service and other criteria for achieving
tenured status. The commission shall make a report of its
findings and recommendations to the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability by the first day of July,
two thousand one;
(20) Advise and consent in the appointment of the presidents
of the institutions of higher education. 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 as set
forth in the institutional compact and in section one-a, article
one of this chapter;
(21) Approve the total compensation package from all sources
for institutional presidents, 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;
(22) Implement the policy of the state to assure that parents
and students have sufficient information on which to base academic
decisions about what is required for students to be successful in college, related, as far as possible, to results from current
assessment tools in use in West Virginia; and
(23) Approve a uniform standard, as developed by the
chancellor, 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 chancellor
shall develop a clear, concise explanation of the standard which
the governing boards shall communicate to the state board of
education and the state superintendent of schools;
(24) Review and approve or disapprove capital projects as
described in section subdivision (12), subsection (a) of this
section; and
(25) Develop an oversight plan to manage system-wide
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, increase
the delivery of instruction to nontraditional students, provide
services to business and industry, and increase the management
capabilities of the higher education system;
(B) Reviewing courses and programs offered within the state
by nonstate public or private institutions of higher education;
(26) Develop 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 the community and
technical colleges with as few requirements to repeat courses or
to incur additional costs as is consistent with sound academic
policy;
(27) Develop 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 state institution of
higher education with as few requirements to repeat courses or to
incur additional costs as is consistent with sound academic
policy; and
(28) Develop policies and programs, in cooperation with 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 educational
institutions, or internet-based educational 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.
(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 of institutional mission definitions
including use of incentive money to influence institutional
behavior in ways that are consistent with public priorities;
(4) Academic program review and approval including the use
of institutional missions as a template to judge the
appropriateness of both new and existing programs;
(5) Development of budget; development and implementation of
funding formulae; and allocation of resources including reviewing
and approving institutional operating and capital budgets and
distributing incentive and performance-based funding;
(6) Administration of state and federal student aid programs;
(7) Acting as the agent for receiving and disbursing public
funds when a governmental entity requires designation of a
statewide higher education agency for this purpose;
(8) Development of information, assessment and accountability
systems including maintenance of statewide data systems that
facilitate long-term planning and accurate measurement of
strategic outcomes and performance indicators;
(9) Licensing and oversight for both public and private
degree-granting and non-degree granting institutions that provide
post-secondary education courses or programs in the state;
(10) Development and oversight of statewide and region-wide
projects and initiatives such as those using funds from federal
categorical programs or those using incentive and performance-
based funding from any source;
(11) Quality assurance that intersects with all other duties
of the commission particularly in the areas of planning, policy
analysis, program review and approval, budgeting, and information
and accountability systems.
(c) In addition to the powers and duties provided for 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.
§18B-1B-5. Employment of chancellor for higher education; office;
powers and duties generally; employment of vice chancellors.
(a) The commission, created pursuant to section one of this
article, shall employ a chancellor for higher education who shall
be the chief executive office of the commission and who shall
serve at its will and pleasure.
(b) The commission shall set the qualifications for the
position of chancellor and 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
the system of higher education while employed as chancellor.
(c) The commission shall set the salary of the chancellor.
The chancellor shall be compensated on a basis in excess of the base salary of any president of a West Virginia state institution
of higher education or the administrative head of a governing
board.
(d) With the consent of the commission, the chancellor may
employ a vice chancellor for health sciences who shall serve at
the will and pleasure of the chancellor. 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;
(e) With the consent of the commission, the chancellor shall
employ a vice chancellor for community and technical college
education who shall serve at the will and pleasure of the
chancellor. It is the duty and responsibility of the vice
chancellor for community and technical college education to:
(1) Provide assistance to the commission, the chancellor and
the governing boards on matters related to community and technical
college education;
(2) Advise, assist and consult regularly with the
institutional presidents, institutional
, and district consortium committee of each state institution of
higher education involved in community and technical college
education;
(3) Serve as the chief executive office of the state
coordinating council for community and technical college education
created in section seven, article one-b of this chapter; and
(4) Perform all duties assigned by the chancellor, the
commission and state law;
(f) With the consent of the commission, the chancellor shall
employ a vice chancellor for state colleges who shall serve at the
will and pleasure of the chancellor. It is the duty and
responsibility of the vice chancellor for state colleges to:
(1) Provide assistance to the commission, the chancellor and
the state colleges on matters related to or of interest and
concern to four-year institutions delivering baccalaureate
education;
(2) Advise, assist and consult regularly with the
institutional presidents and institutional boards of governors of
each state college involved in delivering baccalaureate education;
(3) Serve as an advocate for the state colleges to make their
interests, views and issues known to the chancellor and the
commission; and
(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 provide staff assistance to the
state college presidents and governing boards to the extent
practicable. To carry out this responsibility, the vice
chancellor for state colleges has the authority to enter into
contract arrangements with the vice chancellor for administration
to provide necessary staff services and technical assistance to
the state colleges. The Legislature shall designate a line item
amount in the budget of the vice chancellor for state colleges to
provide such services.
(g) With the consent of the commission, the chancellor shall
employ a vice chancellor for administration pursuant to section
two, article four of this chapter;
(h) Apart from the offices of the vice chancellors as set
forth in this section and section two, article four of this
chapter, the chancellor shall determine the organization and
staffing positions within the office that are necessary to carry
out his or her powers and duties and may employ necessary staff;
(i) The chancellor may enter into agreements with any state
agency or political subdivision of the state, any state higher
education institution, 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) The chancellor shall be responsible for the day-to-day
operations of the commission and shall have the following
responsibilities:
(A) To carry out policy and program directives of the
commission;
(B) To develop and submit annual reports on the
implementation plan to achieve the goals and objectives set forth
in section one-a, article one of this chapter and in the
institutional compacts;
(C) 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;
(D) To serve as the accountability point for rules
promulgated by the governing boards by:
(i) providing technical assistance, when requested, to the
governing boards in the development of rules;
(ii) reviewing rules promulgated by the governing boards and
approving them for filing with the office of the secretary of
state;
(iii) determining when a joint rule among the governing
boards is necessary or required by law, and, in those instances,
and in consultation with the governing boards, promulgating the
joint rule; and
(iv) ensuring that the governing boards meet all the
requirements for promulgating rules as set forth in article three-
a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code;
(E) To perform all other duties and responsibilities assigned
by the commission or by state law;
(F) The chancellor shall be reimbursed for all actual and
necessary expenses incurred in the performance of all assigned
duties and responsibilities;
(G) The chancellor is the primary advocate for higher
education and, with the commission, advises the Legislature on
matters of higher education in West Virginia. As the primary advocate for higher education, 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 for higher
education that the Legislature has established by law;
(k) The chancellor may design and develop for consideration
by the commission new statewide or regional initiatives in
accordance with the goals set forth in section one-a, article one
of this chapter and the public policy agenda articulated by the
commission.
(l) 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) coordination of missions and programs occurs
appropriately. To further the goals of cooperation and
coordination between the commission and the state board of
education, the chancellor shall serve as an ex officio, nonvoting
member of the state board of education.
§18B-1B-6. Appointment of institutional presidents; evaluation.
(a) Effective on the first day of July, two thousand,
appointment of presidents of the public institutions of higher
education shall be made as follows:
(1) Subject to the approval of the commission, the
appropriate governing board of the institution shall appoint a
president for Bluefield state college, Concord college, eastern
West Virginia community and technical college, Fairmont state
college, Glenville state college, Marshall university, Potomac
state college of West Virginia university, Shepherd college,
southern West Virginia community and technical college, West
Liberty state college, West Virginia northern community college,
West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine, West Virginia state
college, West Virginia university, West Virginia University
institute of technology, and West Virginia university at
Parkersburg: Provided, That institutional presidents in office on
the first day of July, two thousand shall continue in office
subject to state law. Each president shall serve at the will and
pleasure of the employing board.
(2) Subject to the approval of the commission and to the
provisions of article three-c of this chapter, the appropriate
governing board shall appoint the president of the community and
technical colleges which remain linked administratively to a sponsoring institution. The presidents of such community and
technical colleges shall serve at the will and pleasure of the
employing board. The appointments shall be made from a list of
candidates submitted by the institutional board of advisors
pursuant to section one, article six of this chapter.
(3) Subject to the approval of the commission and to the
provisions of article three-c of this chapter, the president of
Bluefield state college and the president of Glenville state
college shall appoint the provost of the community and technical
college at their respective institutions, who shall serve at the
will and pleasure of the president of the employing institution.
(b) Evaluation of institutional presidents. - The governing
boards shall conduct written performance evaluations of each
institution's president, including the presidents of
administratively-linked community and technical colleges, in every
fourth year of employment as president, recognizing unique
characteristics of the institution and utilizing institutional
personnel, institutional boards of advisors as appropriate, staff
of the appropriate governing board and persons knowledgeable in
higher education matters who are not otherwise employed by a
governing board. A part of the evaluation shall be a determination of the success of the institution in meeting the
requirements of its institutional compact.
§18B-1B-7. State Coordinating Council for Community and Technical
College Education.
(a) There is hereby created the coordinating council for
community and technical colleges, hereinafter, for the purposes
of this section, referred to as the coordinating council.
(b) The coordinating council is under the jurisdiction of the
commission.
(c) The vice chancellor for community and technical college
education is the chief executive officer of the coordinating
council and the coordinating council shall report to the
commission through the vice chancellor.
(d) The authority and responsibility of the coordinating
council is subject to the commission and the chancellor.
(e) The coordinating council is comprised of seven members,
appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the
Senate. No more than four members shall be of the same political
party and there shall be at least two members appointed from each
congressional district. The members shall serve four-year terms
and, of the original appointments, two shall be for one year, two
shall be for two years, two shall be for three years and one shall be for four years. No member shall serve more than two
consecutive full terms nor shall any member be appointed to a term
which results in the member serving more than eight consecutive
years.
(f) The members of the coordinating council shall be
representative of the business, labor and employer community and
shall be generally knowledgeable of the workforce needs of the
various areas of the state. No person who is employed by an
institution of higher education and no person who is engaged in
providing, or employed by a person or company whose primary
function is to provide, workforce development services and
activities shall be eligible to serve on the coordinating council.
(g) The purpose of the coordinating council is to assist the
commission, the chancellor and the vice chancellor for community
and technical college education and those institutions delivering
community and technical college education, as defined in section
two, article one, of this chapter in the successful and efficient
development, coordination and delivery of community and technical
college programs and services in the state.
(h) In order to fulfill its purpose, under the supervision
of the vice chancellor of community and technical college education, the coordinating council has the following powers and
duties:
(1) To oversee the step-by-step implementation of the
comprehensive community and technical college system of education
provided in article three-c of this chapter;
(2) To make recommendations to the commission for the
approval of the appointments of community and technical college
presidents by the institutional boards of governors.
(3) To review and make recommendations to the commission for
the approval of the institutional compacts for the community and
technical colleges.
(4) To make recommendations to the commission for approval
of the administration and distribution of the community and
technical college investment fund.
(5) To ensure coordination among the community and technical
colleges and other state-level, regional and local workforce
entities, including, but not limited to, the human resource
investment council, the West Virginia literacy council and the
joint commission on vocational-technical-occupational education.
(6) To assist the community and technical colleges in
establishing and promoting links with employers and labor in the
responsibility regions of each community and technical college.
(7) To develop alliances among the community and technical
colleges for resource sharing, joint development of courses and
courseware, sharing of expertise and staff development.
(8) To provide a point for resolving issues relating to
transfer and articulation between and among community and
technical colleges, state colleges, and universities and to advise
the commission on these issues.
(9) To develop a statewide system of community and technical
college programs and services to place-bound adults and employers
in every region of West Virginia for competency-based
certification of knowledge and skills, including a statewide
competency-based associate degree program.
(i) To make the appointments to the institutional boards of
advisors for the community and technical colleges. The
administrative head of each community and technical college with
an institutional board of advisors is entitled to make nonbinding
recommendations to the coordinating council for appointments to
the appropriate institutional board of advisors.
§18B-1B-8. Duties of higher education policy commission during
transition year.
During the transition year beginning on the first day of
July, two thousand and ending on the thirtieth day of June, two
thousand one, the following is the intent of the Legislature:
(a) The board of trustees and the board of directors shall
remain the governing agencies for public higher education in West
Virginia;
(b) The chancellor for higher education shall provide to the
board of trustees, the board of directors, and to the offices of
the chancellors of the governing boards, adequate and appropriate
staff assistance to carry out their duties and responsibilities
as assigned by law;
(c) The commission shall focus its attention first on
organizing itself to carry out its duties and responsibilities,
including, but not limited to, establishing a search and screening
process to identify candidates and to employ a chancellor;
(d) The commission shall focus its attention second on the
following policy areas, but may consider others as appropriate:
(1) developing legislative rules as required by law.
(2) researching and developing the elements of the finance
plan required by section four, article one-a of this chapter;
(3) developing guidelines to be used by institutional boards
of governors in employing institutional presidents;
(4) developing a statewide master plan pursuant to section
ten, article one-b of this chapter;
(5) developing and approving the institutional compacts as
provided in article one-a of this chapter;
(6) developing a plan to provide on-going education and
training opportunities to members of institutional boards of
governors, including, but not limited to, exploring the
possibility of obtaining private funds to bring members together
for orientation, education and leadership training prior to the
first day of July, two thousand one;
(7) establishing a peer group for each public institution of
higher education in the state as provided in section three of this
article;
(8) developing the elements of the higher education report
card to be used to report institutional and system progress on
meeting the goals and objectives of the institutional compacts and
of section one-a, article one of this chapter.
(e) On or before the first day of January two thousand one,
the commission shall certify to the governor, the president of the
senate and the speaker of the house of delegates draft legislation
which will accomplish the transfer of all powers, duties,
property, obligations, contracts, rules, orders, resolutions or any other matters which should be transferred or vested in the
commission, the governing boards or any other agency. In the
event the Legislature does not enact legislation which
accomplishes the recommended transfers or vesting, effective the
first day of July, two thousand one, all such matters are
transferred to and vested in the commission and the commission is
hereby authorized and directed to delegate such matters as is
consistent with assigned powers and duties in section four,
article one-b and section four, article two-a of this chapter.
In the event of a dispute between or among the commission and the
governing boards as to the proper delegation of these matters, the
decision of the commission shall control.
§18B-1B-9. Higher education accountability; institutional and
statewide report cards.
Effective on the first day of July, two thousand one,
(a) The commission is directed to make information available
to parents, students, faculty, staff, state policymakers and the
general public on the quality and performance of public higher
education. This information shall be consistent and comparable
between and among the state institutions of higher education and,
if applicable, comparable with information from peer institutions
in the region and the nation.
(b) On or before the first day of July, two thousand one, the
commission shall review policy series sixteen, related to the
higher education report card, of the rules of the board of
trustees and board of directors and determine whether a new rule
should be adopted providing for the collection, analysis and
dissemination of data and information on the performance of the
state institutions of higher education, including health sciences
education, in relation to the findings, directives, goals and
objectives set forth in section one-a, article one of this
chapter, the institutional compacts, and in comparison to their
peers. The rules shall provide the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability with full and accurate
information while minimizing the institutional burden of
recordkeeping and reporting. The rules shall include uniform
definitions for the various indicators of student and
institutional performance and guidelines for the collection and
reporting of data and the preparation, printing and distribution
of report cards under this section. The report card forms shall
provide for brief, concise reporting in nontechnical language of
required information. Any technical or explanatory material which
a governing board wishes to include shall be contained in a separate appendix available for a reasonable fee to the general
public upon request.
(c) The president or chief executive officer of each public
college, university or community and technical college shall
prepare and submit annually all requested data to the commission
at the time established by the commission.
The commission shall prepare report cards for institutions
under their jurisdiction and in accordance with the guidelines set
forth in this section and rules promulgated under this section.
(c) The higher education central office staff under the
direction of the vice chancellor for administration shall provide
technical assistance to each institution and governing board in
data collection and reporting and is responsible for assembling
the statewide report card from information submitted by each
governing board. The statewide report card shall include the data
for each institution for each separately listed applicable
indicator and the aggregate of the data for all public
institutions of higher education. The statewide report card shall
be prepared using actual institutional, state, regional and
national data as applicable and available indicating the present
performance of the individual institutions, the governing boards,
and the state system of higher education. The report card also shall include goals and trends for the institutions and the higher
education system and shall include all the information required
either by statute or by rule as authorized in subsection (b) of
this section. Statewide report cards shall be based upon
information for the current school year or for the most recent
school year for which the information is available, in which case
such year shall be clearly footnoted.
(d) The statewide report card shall be completed and
disseminated with copies to the legislative oversight commission
on education accountability prior to the first day of January, of
each year.
(e) For a reasonable fee, the chancellor shall make copies
of the report cards available to any individual requesting them.
§18B-1B-10. Statewide master plan.
(a) The commission shall develop a master plan for higher
education for the state.
(b) The plan shall be developed on or before the first day
of July, two thousand one, and shall be communicated to the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability.
(c) The master plan shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
(1) A detailed demonstration of how the master plan will be
used to meet the goals and objectives outlined in section one-a,
article one of this chapter;
(2) A well-developed set of goals, as set forth in section
one-a, article one of this chapter, outlining missions, degree
offerings, resource requirements, physical plant needs, personnel
needs, enrollment levels and other planning determinants and
projections for public higher education, and other matters
necessary in such a plan to assure that the needs of the state for
a quality system of higher education are addressed; and
(3) A plan for involving and collaborating with the state
board of education, the private institutions of higher education
and other education providers to assure that a comprehensive
system of education is developed for West Virginia.
(d) The master plan for higher education for the state shall
be established for periods of not less than three nor more than
six years and shall be revised periodically as necessary.
ARTICLE 2A. INSTITUTIONAL BOARDS OF GOVERNORS.
§18B-2A-1. Composition of boards; terms and qualifications of
members; vacancies; eligibility for reappointment.
(a) Effective the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one,
the institutional boards of advisors at Bluefield state college,
Concord college, eastern West Virginia community and technical college, Fairmont state college, Glenville state college, Marshall
university, Shepherd college, southern West Virginia community and
technical college, West Liberty state college, West Virginia
northern community college, the West Virginia school of
osteopathic medicine, West Virginia state college, and West
Virginia university are abolished.
(b) Effective the first day of July, two thousand one, a
board of governors is established at each of the following
institutions: Bluefield state college, Concord college, eastern
West Virginia community and technical college, Fairmont state
college, Glenville state college, Marshall university, Shepherd
college, southern West Virginia community and technical college,
West Liberty state college, West Virginia northern community
college, the West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine, West
Virginia state college, and West Virginia university. Each
institutional board of governors shall consist of twelve persons:
Provided, That the institutional boards of governors for Marshall
university and West Virginia university shall consist of fifteen
persons. Each institutional board of governors shall include:
(1) A full-time member of the faculty with the rank of
instructor or above duly elected by the faculty;
(2) A member of the student body in good academic standing,
enrolled for college credit work and duly elected by the student
body;
(3) A member of the institutional classified staff duly
elected by the classified staff; and
(4) Nine lay members appointed by the governor by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate pursuant to section one-a,
article six of this chapter: Provided, That for the institutional
boards of governors at Marshall university and West Virginia
university, twelve lay members shall be appointed by the governor
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate pursuant to
section one-a, article six of this chapter: Provided, That, of the
appointed lay members, the governor shall appoint one
superintendent of a county board of education from the area served
by the institution: Provided, That in making the initial
appointments to the institutional boards of governors, the
governor shall appoint, except in the case of death, resignation,
or failure to be confirmed by the Senate, those persons who are
lay members of the institutional boards of advisors for those
institutions named in subsection (a) on the thirtieth day of June,
two thousand one, and appointed pursuant to section one-a, article
six of this chapter. In making the initial appointments only, the governor shall endeavor to make all appointments from a pool of
those persons who, on the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one,
are members of the board of trustees and the board of directors.
(c) Of the nine members appointed by the governor, no more
than five may be of the same political party: Provided, That of
the twelve members appointed by the governor to the governing
boards of Marshall university and West Virginia university, no
more than seven may be of the same political party. At least six
of the members shall be residents of the state: Provided, That of
the twelve members appointed by the governor to the governing
boards of Marshall university and West Virginia university, at
least eight of the members shall be residents of the state: The
student member shall serve for a term of one year. The term
beginning in July, two thousand, shall end on the thirtieth day
of June, two thousand one. The term beginning in July, two
thousand one, shall end on the thirtieth day of June, two thousand
two. Thereafter, the term shall begin on the first day of July.
The faculty member and the classified staff member shall serve for
a term of two years: Provided, That The term beginning in July,
two thousand, shall end on the thirtieth day of June, two thousand
one and the term beginning in July, two thousand one, shall end
on the thirtieth day of June, two thousand three. Thereafter, the term shall begin on the first day of July. The appointed lay
citizen members shall serve terms of four years each. All members
shall be eligible to succeed themselves for no more than one
additional term. 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 the thirtieth day of June preceding the commencement
of the term: Provided, That election of officers for the term
beginning in July, two thousand one shall be made that July. Each
board of governors shall elect one of its appointed lay members
to be chairperson in June of each year: Provided, however, That
no member may serve as chairperson for more than two consecutive
years.
(d) The appointed members of the boards of governors shall
serve staggered terms. Of the initial appointments by the
governor to each of the boards of governors, two shall be
appointed for terms of one year, two shall be appointed for terms
of two years, two shall be appointed for terms of three years and
three shall be appointed for terms of four years: Provided, That
for the initial appointments to the governing boards of Marshall university and West Virginia university, three shall be appointed
for terms of one year, three shall be appointed for terms of two
years, three shall be appointed for terms of three years and three
shall be appointed for terms of four years. After the initial
appointments, all appointees shall serve for terms of four years.
(e) No person shall be eligible for appointment to membership
on an institutional board of governors who is an officer, employee
or member of any other institutional board of governors, a member
of an institutional board of advisors 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 or public
employment under the government of this state or any of its
political subdivisions, or a member of the commission: Provided,
That this subsection shall not be construed to prevent the
faculty, classified staff, student representative or
superintendent of a county board of education from being members
of the governing boards: Provided, however, That a member of the
board of trustees or board of directors who is selected to serve
on an institutional board of governors also may retain a seat on
the governing board from which he or she was selected.
(f) 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.
(g) No member of a governing board appointed by the governor
may 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.
(h) 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 shall
serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for all
reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the
performance of their official duties under this article upon
presentation of an itemized sworn statement of their expenses.
All expenses incurred by the board of governors and the
institution under this section shall be paid from funds allocated
to the institution for that purpose.
§18B-2A-2. Meetings.
(a) The boards of governors shall hold at least six meetings
in every fiscal year, including an annual meeting each June:
Provided, That an annual meeting for the purpose of selecting the
first chairperson and other officers shall be held during July,
two thousand one. The president of the appropriate institution
shall call the first meeting of the board of governors in July,
two thousand one or as soon thereafter as practicable and preside
until officers are elected. Officers elected in July, two
thousand one shall begin their terms upon election and shall serve
until the thirtieth day of June the following year. Of the twelve
voting members of the boards of governors, seven shall constitute
a quorum, and a majority vote of the quorum shall be necessary to
pass upon matters before the board of governors.
(b) The boards of governors may set aside time as they
consider appropriate to afford administrators, faculty, students
and classified staff an opportunity to discuss issues affecting
these groups.
§18B-2A-3. Governing boards under chancellor for higher education.
(a) Effective on the first day of July, two thousand, the
governing boards are subject to the supervision of the chancellor
for higher education pursuant to the provisions of article one-b of this chapter. Rules adopted by the governing boards are
subject to approval by the chancellor.
(b) The chancellor is responsible for the coordination of
policies and purposes 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 for in the
compacts and in section one-a, article one of this chapter.
(c) The governing boards and the state board of education
shall provide any and all information requested by the chancellor
in a timely manner.
§18B-2A-4. Powers and duties of governing boards generally.
Effective the first day of July, two thousand one, each
governing board shall separately have the following powers and
duties:
(a) Determine, control, supervise and manage the financial,
business and education policies and affairs of the state
institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction;
(b) Develop a master plan for the institutions under its
jurisdiction. The plan shall include, but not be limited to the
following:
(1) a detailed demonstration of how the master plan will be
used to meet the goals and objectives of the institutional
compact;
(2) a well-developed set of goals outlining missions, degree
offerings, resource requirements, physical plant needs, personnel
needs, enrollment levels and other planning determinates and
projections necessary in such a plan to assure that the needs of
the institution's area of responsibility for a quality system of
higher education are addressed;
(3) documentation of the involvement of the commission,
institutional constituency groups, clientele of the institution,
and the general public in the development of all segments of the
institutional master plan.
The plan shall be established for periods of not less than
three nor more than six years and shall be revised periodically
as necessary, including the addition or deletion of degree
programs as, in the discretion of the appropriate governing board,
may be necessary.
(c) Prescribe for the state institutions of higher education
under its jurisdiction, in accordance with its master plan and the
compact for each institution, specific functions and responsibilities 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 state
institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction, such
request to relate directly to missions, goals and projections as
found in the institutional master plans and the institutional
compacts;
(e) Consider, revise and submit to the commission a budget
request on behalf of the state institutions of higher education
under its jurisdiction;
(f) Review, at least every five years, all academic programs
offered at the state institutions of higher education under its
jurisdiction. The review shall address the viability, adequacy
and necessity of the programs in relation to its institutional
master plan, the institutional compact, and the education and
workforce needs of its responsibility area. As a part of the
review, each governing board shall require the institutions 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 make use of the studies required of many
academic disciplines by their accrediting bodies.
(g) The governing boards also shall ensure that the sequence
and availability of academic programs and courses offered by the
institutions under their jurisdiction is such that students have
the maximum opportunity to complete programs in the time frame
normally associated with program completion. Each governing board
also 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 state
institutions of higher education 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, the appropriate governing board has the exclusive
authority to approve the teacher education programs offered in 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 chancellor may select and utilize
one nationally recognized teacher education program accreditation
standard as the appropriate standard for program evaluation.
(i) Utilize faculty, students and classified staff in
institutional-level planning and decision making when those groups
are affected.
(j) Administer a system for the administration of personnel
matters, including, but not limited to, personnel classification,
compensation, and discipline for employees of the institutions
under their jurisdiction, subject to the provisions of state and
federal law: Provided, That the chancellor shall promulgate a new
uniform rule for the purpose of standardizing, as much as
possible, the administration of personnel matters among the
institutions of higher education;
(k) Administer a system for the hearing of employee
grievances and appeals therefrom as prescribed by article twenty-
nine, chapter eighteen of this code, so that aggrieved parties may
be assured of timely and objective review: Provided, That after
the first day of July, two thousand, the procedure established in
article twenty-nine, chapter eighteen of this code shall be the
exclusive mechanism for hearing employee grievances and appeals.
(l) Solicit and utilize or expend voluntary support,
including financial contributions and support services, for the
state institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction;
(m) Appoint a president or other administrative head for the
institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction subject
to the provisions of section six, article one-b of this chapter.
(n) Conduct written performance evaluations of each
institution's president pursuant to section six, article one-b of
this chapter;
(o) Submit to the commission no later than the first day of
November of each year, an annual report of the performance of the
institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction during the
previous fiscal year as compared to stated goals in its master
plan and institutional compact; and
(p) 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 area. To accomplish this
goal, the boards are permitted to share resources among the
various groups in the community.
(q) Each governing board may delegate, with prescribed
standards and limitations, the part of its power and control over
the business affairs of a particular state institution of higher education under its jurisdiction to the president or other
administrative head of the state institution of higher education
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
institutional compact. If a governing board elects to delegate
any of its power and control under the provisions of this
subsection, it shall notify the chancellor. Any such delegation
of power and control may be rescinded by the appropriate governing
board or the chancellor at any time, in whole or in part.
(r) Unless changed by the commission, the governing boards
shall continue to abide by existing rules setting forth standards
for acceptance of advanced placement credit for their respective
institutions. Individual departments at institutions of higher
education may, upon approval of the institutional faculty senate,
require higher scores on the advanced placement test than scores
designated by the appropriate governing board when the credit is
to be used toward meeting a requirement of the core curriculum for
a major in that department.
(s) Each governing board, or its designee, shall consult,
cooperate and work 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
institutions under their jurisdiction that ensures 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.
(t) The governing boards in consultation with the chancellor
and the secretary of the department of administration shall
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 and
transfers at the institutions under its jurisdiction. Each such
personnel transaction shall be accompanied by the appropriate
standardized system or forms which will be submitted to the
respective governing board, and the department of finance and
administration.
(u) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the governing boards shall have the authority to
transfer funds from any account specifically appropriated for
their use to any corresponding line item in a general revenue
account at any agency or institution under their jurisdiction as
long as such transferred funds are used for the purposes appropriated. The governing boards also shall have the authority
to transfer funds from appropriated special revenue accounts for
capital improvements under their jurisdiction to special revenue
accounts at agencies or institutions under their jurisdiction as
long as such transferred funds are used for the purposes
appropriated.
(v) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the governing boards may acquire legal services as are
considered necessary, including representation of the governing
boards, their 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 boards may, but are not required to, call upon the
attorney general for legal assistance and representation as
provided by law.
Article 3C. COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM.
§18B-3C-1. Legislative findings.
(a) Findings - The Legislature hereby finds:
(1) That community and technical colleges in every region of
West Virginia are essential elements of a statewide strategy to
prepare students for further post-secondary education, life long learning and development of the workforce necessary to diversity
and grow the state's economy.
(2) That, despite progress in the past decade, West Virginia
continues to lag behind neighboring states and the nation in the
competitiveness of its workforce for the new economy.
Specifically, West Virginia:
(A) Ranks fiftieth among the states in the preparation of its
workforce for the new economy;
(B) Continues to have low rates of participation of high
school graduates in post-secondary education and ranks last among
competitor states in the proportion of high school graduates who
attend a community college;
(C) Ranks forty-seventh in the nation in the proportion of
its adult population at the lowest levels of literacy; and
(D) Ranks tenth among eleven competitor states in the number
of certificates and associate degrees granted.
(3) That, despite progress made in developing community and
technical colleges pursuant to Senate Bill 547, chapter ninety-
nine, acts of the Legislature, regular session, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-nine, most of these colleges remain subordinated
to colleges and universities with four-year and graduate missions.
(4) That, while the number of high school graduates is
declining and the needs of adults for further education and
training is increasing, less than twenty-five per cent of the
students enrolled in West Virginia institutions are under age
twenty-five.
(5) That only half the enrollment in community and technical
colleges is in institutions independently accredited to carry out
that mission.
(6) That in most of the component community and technical
colleges the majority of faculty are appointed and rewarded
according to the policies of the four-year institution, not the
community and technical college.
(7) That West Virginia is one of only five states in which
most of the enrollment in associate degree programs is in
institutions that are not independently accredited as two-year
institutions.
(8) That the community and technical college mission in West
Virginia continues to be seen by many as narrowly defined and
offering primarily associate degree programs and not the critical
functions of workforce development, developmental education,
community outreach and regional economic development as defined
in Senate Bill 547, chapter ninety-nine, acts of the Legislature.
(9) That half the community and technical college students
in West Virginia pay the higher tuition and fees of the sponsoring
four-year institution and not the lower rate of free-standing
community and technical colleges.
(10) That, despite the needs of place-bound adults, adults
in the workplace, and employers, current higher education
financing policy provides strong disincentives for both free-
standing and component community and technical colleges to provide
off-campus programs and services.
(11) That Senate Bill 547, chapter ninety-nine, acts of the
Legislature, set forth a definition of the kinds of community and
technical college programs or service that should be available and
accessible in every region of West Virginia.
(12) That over the past forty years, West Virginia has
debated forming a distinct system of community and technical
colleges with a focused mission in each region of the state.
However, the state already had a network of public colleges in
each region and, because of severe resource limitation and low
population density, West Virginia evolved a system of community
and technical colleges that depends in large part on the existing
four-year colleges to offer associate degrees and other community
and technical college services. West Virginia has established only a limited number of freestanding community and technical
colleges.
(13) That Senate Bill 547, chapter ninety-nine, acts of the
Legislature, sought to strengthen the state's community and
technical colleges in a number of ways.
(14) That the implementation of specific structural and
procedural provisions of Senate Bill 547, chapter ninety-nine,
acts of the Legislature, was decidedly mixed.
(15) That Senate Bill 547, chapter ninety-nine, acts of the
Legislature, had widely varying impact on the availability of
community and technical college services throughout West Virginia.
The scope of services in several regions of the state, especially
those with component colleges, has fallen far short of the kind
of comprehensive, dynamic services envisioned in Senate Bill 547,
chapter ninety-nine, acts of the Legislature.
(16) That since the enactment of Senate Bill 547, chapter
ninety-nine, acts of the Legislature, increasing attention has
been given to the related priority of workforce development.
(17) That since the enactment of Senate Bill 547, chapter
ninety-nine, acts of the Legislature, changes have accelerated
dramatically in post-secondary education demand and delivery
systems.
(18) That the substantive goal of Senate Bill 547, chapter
ninety-nine, acts of the Legislature, to ensure access to
community and technical college programs and services remains
valid and is even more important today than five years ago.
(19) That there are essential conditions which must be met
by each community and technical college in West Virginia in order
to address the needs of the people of the state.
(b) Legislative Intent. It is the intent of the Legislature,
that the process for achieving independently-accredited community
and technical colleges be carried out using the most effective and
most efficient method available. In implementing this process the
governing boards and institutions of higher education should
utilize facilities that already are available. These include, but
are not limited to, the facilities of public high schools and
vocational education centers. It is further the intent of the
Legislature that this article not be implemented in such a manner
as to require an extensive building program. Prior to pursuing
any capital project, an institution shall follow the guidelines
for developing capital projects provided for in section four,
article one-b of this chapter.
§18B-3C-2. Purposes of article.
The general purposes of this article are the following:
(a) To establish community and technical college education
that is well articulated with the public schools and four-year
colleges; that makes maximum use of shared facilities, faculty,
staff, equipment and other resources; that encourages traditional
and nontraditional students and adult learners to pursue a life-
time of learning; that serves as an instrument of economic
development; and that has the independence and flexibility to
respond quickly to changing needs;
(b) To charge the respective governing boards with providing
community and technical college education at state institutions
of higher education under their jurisdiction that have the
administrative, programmatic and budgetary control necessary to
allow maximum flexibility and responsiveness to district and
community needs consistent with the goal of sharing facilities,
faculty, staff, equipment and other resources within and among the
districts, the other systems of public and higher education and
other education and training programs;
(c) To establish the essential conditions for community and
technical college programs and services, as defined in section
three of this article, necessary to insure that each region of
West Virginia is served by a community and technical college
meeting the needs of the people of the region;
(d) To establish a mechanism for assuring that, where
applicable, a transition plan for meeting the essential conditions
is developed by each relevant community and technical college;
(e) To establish responsibility districts for each of the
community and technical colleges to ensure accountability that the
full range of community and technical education programs and
services are provided in all areas of the state;
(f) To define the full range of programs and services that
every community and technical college has the responsibility to
provide; and
(g) To establish such other policies and procedures necessary
to ensure that the needs of West Virginia, its people and its
businesses are met for the programs and services that can be
provided through a comprehensive system of community and technical
colleges.
§18B-3C-3. Essential conditions for community and technical
college programs and services.
The Legislature hereby establishes the following essential
conditions for community and technical college programs and
services:
(a) Independent accreditation by the Commission on
Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) reflecting external validation that
academic programs, services, faculty, governance, financing, and
other policies are aligned with the community and technical
college mission of the institution;
(b) A full range of community and technical college services
offered as specified in section seven of this article;
(c) Programmatic approval consistent with the provisions of
section of this article;
(d) A fee structure competitive with its peer institutions;
(e) Basic services, some of which may be obtained under
contract with existing institutions in the region. These basic
services shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Student services, including, but not limited to,
advising, academic counseling, financial aid, and provision of the
first line of academic mentoring and mediation;
(2) Instructional support services;
(3) Access to information and library services;
(4) Physical space in which courses can be offered;
(5) Access to necessary technology for learners, faculty and
mentors;
(6) Monitoring and assessment; and
(7) Administrative services, including, but not limited to,
registration, fee collection, and bookstore and other services for
the distribution of learning materials;
(f) A president who is the chief academic and administrative
officer of the community and technical college appointed and
serving pursuant to the terms of section six, article one-b of
this chapter;
(g) A board of governors or an institutional board of
advisors appointed and serving as required by law;
(h) A full-time core faculty, complemented by persons engaged
through contract or other arrangements, including college and
university faculty, to teach community college courses, and
qualified business, industry and labor persons engaged as adjunct
faculty in technical areas;
(i) A faculty personnel policy, formally established to be
separate and distinct from that of other institutions, which
includes, but is not limited to, appointment, promotion, workload,
and, if appropriate, tenure pursuant to section ten of this
article. These policies shall be appropriate for the community
and technical college mission and may not be linked to the
policies of any other institution;
(j) Community and technical colleges designed and operating
as open-provider centers with the authority and flexibility to
draw on the resources of the best and most appropriate provider
to ensure that community and technical college services are
available and delivered in the region in a highly responsive
manner. A community and technical college may contract with other
institutions and providers as necessary to obtain the academic
programs and resources to complement those available through a
sponsoring college, where applicable, in order to meet the
region's needs.
(k) Separately identified state funding allocations for each
of the community and technical colleges. The president of the
community and technical college has full budgetary authority for
the entity, subject to accountability to its governing board,
including authority to retain all tuition and fees generated by
the community and technical college for use to carry out its
mission.
(l) Where independently-accredited community and technical
colleges are linked administratively to a sponsoring state college
or university in order to ensure efficient use of limited
resources, the following conditions shall apply:
(1) The community and technical college shall be accredited
separately from the sponsoring institution;
(2) All state funding allocations for the community and
technical college shall be transferred directly to the community
and technical college. The sponsoring institution may charge fees
for administrative overhead costs subject to a schedule approved
by the commission.
(3) Policies shall be formally established to ensure the
separation of academic and faculty personnel policies of the
community and technical college from those of the sponsoring
institution. These policies include, but are not limited to,
appointment, promotion, workload, and, if appropriate, tenure.
§18B-3C-4. Responsibility districts.
(a) Each community and technical college is hereby assigned
a responsibility district in which it is responsible for providing
the full array of community and technical college programs and
services as defined in section eight of this article, addressing
the public policy agenda, compact elements and goals for post-
secondary education established in section one-a, article one of
this chapter as they relate to community and technical colleges,
and addressing other goals which may be established by the
commission. The responsibility districts shall be comprised of contiguous areas of the state which have similar economic,
industrial, educational, community and employment characteristics
to facilitate specialization in mission and programming. For the
purposes of initial implementation and organization, the districts
shall be comprised as follows and assigned to the designated
community and technical colleges:
(1) West Virginia northern community and technical college -
Ohio, Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Tyler and Wetzel counties;
(2) West Virginia university at Parkersburg - Wood, Jackson,
Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler and Wirt counties;
(3) The community and technical college serving the advantage
valley area and established in accordance with article three-f of
this chapter - Kanawha, Putnam, Clay, Cabell, Mason, Wayne,
Fayette and Raleigh counties;
(4) Southern West Virginia community and technical college -
Logan, Boone, Lincoln, McDowell, Mingo, Raleigh and Wyoming
counties;
(5) Bluefield state community and technical college - Mercer,
Greenbrier, McDowell, Monroe, Pocahontas, Raleigh and Summers
counties;
(6) Glenville state community and technical college - Gilmer,
Barbour, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Lewis, Nicholas, Upshur and
Webster counties;
(7) Fairmont state community and technical college - Marion,
Doddridge, Harrison, Monongalia, Preston, Randolph, Taylor,
Barbour and Tucker counties;
(8) Shepherd community and technical college - Jefferson,
Berkeley, and Morgan counties;
(9) Eastern West Virginia community and technical college -
Mineral, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Tucker and Pendleton counties;
and
(10) Potomac state college of West Virginia university -
Mineral, Hampshire, Tucker, Preston, Grant and Hardy counties, but
only if it is determined by the commission, as provided in
subdivision (7), subsection (c), section nine of this article that
this institution should continue to have a community and technical
college mission. If such a determination is made by the
commission, Potomac state college of West Virginia university
shall work in close collaboration with eastern West Virginia
community and technical college.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that, where
counties are listed in more than one district, the county shall be the joint responsibility of each community and technical
college assigned that county, or shall be divided as determined
by the commission. The boundaries of the districts may be
modified from time to time by the commission to serve better the
needs within the districts. Such modifications are not required
to follow county boundaries.
§18B-3C-6.Appointment of community and technical college
presidents.
The administrative head of a community and technical college
shall be the president or the provost, who shall be chosen
pursuant to the terms of section six, article one-b of this
chapter.
§18B-3C-7. Community and technical college programs.
(a) The mission of each community and technical college
includes the following programs which may be offered on or off
campus, at the work site, in the public schools and at other
locations, and at times that are convenient for the intended
population:
(1) 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;
(2) Transfer education associate of arts and associate of
science degree programs for students whose educational goal is to
transfer into a baccalaureate degree program;
(3) Developmental/remedial education courses, literacy
education, 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;
(4) Workforce training and retraining, contract education
with business and industry to train or retrain employees;
(5) Continuing development assistance and education credit
and non-credit courses for professional and self-development,
certification and licensure, and literacy training; and
(6) 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.
(7) Cooperative arrangements with the public school system
for the seamless progression of students through programs of study
which are calculated to begin at the secondary level and conclude
at the community and technical college level.
(b) All administrative, programmatic and budgetary control
over community and technical education within the district shall
be vested in the president or provost, subject to rules adopted
by the governing boards and the commission. The president and the
provost with the institutional board of governors or institutional
board of advisors, as appropriate, shall be responsible for the
regular review, revision, elimination and establishment of
programs within the district to assure that the needs of the
district for community and technical college programs are met.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the program review and
approval process for community and technical education be separate
and distinct from baccalaureate education and subject to the
provisions of section ten of this article. The president and
institutional board of advisors shall seek assistance from and
utilize a district consortium committee in fulfilling this
responsibility.
(c) Independently-accredited community and technical colleges
will serve as higher education centers for their regions by
brokering with colleges, universities and other providers, in
state and out of state to ensure the coordinated access of
students, employers, and other clients to needed programs and
services.
§18B-3C-8. District consortia committees.
(a) The president or provost of each community and technical
college shall form a district consortium committee which shall
include representatives, distributed geographically to the extent
practicable, of the major community and technical college
branches, vocational-technical centers, comprehensive high
schools, four-year colleges and universities, community service
or cultural organizations, economic development organizations,
business, industry, labor, elected public officials and employment
and training programs and offices within the district. The
consortium committee shall be chaired by the president or provost,
or his or her designee, and shall advise and assist the president
or provost with the following:
(1) Completing a comprehensive assessment of the district to
determine what education and training programs are necessary to
meet the short and long-term workforce development needs of the
district;
(2) Coordinating efforts with regional labor market
information systems to identify the ongoing needs of business and
industry, both current and projected, and to provide information
to assist in an informed program of planning and decision making;
(3) Planning and development of a unified effort to meet the
documented workforce development needs of the district through
individual and cooperative programs, shared facilities, faculty,
staff, equipment and other resources and the development and use
of distance learning and other educational technologies;
(4) Regularly reviewing and revising curricula to ensure that
the workforce needs are met, developing new programs and phasing
out or modifying existing programs as appropriate to meet such
needs, streamlining procedures for designing and implementing
customized training programs and accomplishing such other
complements of a quality comprehensive community and technical
college.
(5) Increasing the integration of secondary and post-
secondary curriculum and programs that are targeted to meet
regional labor market needs, including implementation of a
comprehensive school-to-work transition system that accomplishes
the following:
(A) helps students focus on career objectives;
(B) establishes cooperative programs and student internships
with business and industry,
(C) builds upon current programs such as high schools that
work, tech prep associate degree programs, registered apprenticeships and rural entrepreneurship through action
learning, and
(D) addresses the needs of at-risk students and school
dropouts;
(6) Planning and implementation of integrated professional
development activities for secondary and post-secondary faculty,
staff and administrators and other consortium partners throughout
the district;
(7) Ensuring that program graduates have attained the
competencies required for successful employment through the
involvement of business, industry and labor in establishing
student credentialing;
(8) Performance assessment of student knowledge and skills
which may be gained from multiple sources so that students gain
credit toward program completion and advance more rapidly without
repeating coursework in which they already possess competency;
(9) Cooperating with workforce development investment
councils in establishing one-stop-shop career centers with
integrated employment and training and labor market information
systems that enable job seekers to assess their skills, identify
and secure needed education training and secure employment and
employers to locate available workers;
(10) Increasing the integration of adult literacy, adult
basic education, federal job opportunities and basic skills, and
community and technical college programs and services to expedite
the transition of adults from welfare to gainful employment; and
(11) Establishing a single point of contact for employers and
potential employers to access education and training programs
throughout the district.
§18B-3C-9. Process for achieving independently-accredited
community and technical colleges.
(a) Over a six-year period beginning the first day of July,
two thousand one, West Virginia shall move from having "component"
community and technical colleges to having a statewide network of
independently-accredited community and technical colleges serving
every region of the state. This section does not apply to the
freestanding community and technical colleges, West Virginia
university at Parkersburg and Potomac state college of West
Virginia university: Provided, That if the commission determines
pursuant to subdivision (7), subsection (c) of this section, that
Potomac state college of West Virginia university shall retain a
community and technical college mission, the provisions of this
section shall apply to that institution.
(b) To be eligible for funding from the investment fund for
the development of independently-accredited community and
technical colleges, a state institution of higher education shall
demonstrate the following:
(1) That it has as a part of its institutional compact
approved by the commission a step-by-step plan with measurable
benchmarks for developing an independently-accredited community
and technical college that meets the essential conditions set
forth in section three of this article, except as limited in
subdivisions (2) and (4), subsection (c), of this section;
(2) That it is able to offer evidence annually to the
satisfaction of the commission that it is making progress toward
accomplishing the benchmarks established in its institutional
compact for developing an independently-accredited community and
technical college; and
(3) That it has submitted an expenditure schedule approved
by the commission which sets forth a proposed plan of expenditures
for funds allocated to it from the fund.
(c) The following are recommended strategies for moving from
the current arrangement of "component" community and technical
colleges to the legislatively-mandated statewide network of
independently-accredited community and technical colleges serving every region of the state. The Legislature recognizes that there
may be other means to achieve this ultimate objective; however,
it is the intent of the Legislature that the move from the current
arrangement of "component" community and technical colleges to the
legislatively-mandated statewide network of independently-
accredited community and technical colleges serving every region
of the state shall be accomplished. The following recommendations
are designed to reflect significant variations among regions and
the potential impacts on the sponsoring institutions.
(1) The community and technical college serving the advantage
valley area and established in accordance with article three-f of
this chapter. - The community and technical college will be
created as a new community and technical college built on the base
of existing components at Marshall university, West Virginia state
college and West Virginia university institute of technology as
provided for in article three-f of this chapter.
(2) Bluefield state community and technical college. -
Bluefield state community and technical college, including the
Lewisburg center, should retain its relationship as a component
of Bluefield state college. The president of Bluefield state
college and the institutional board of governors are accountable
to the commission for ensuring that the full range of community and technical college services are available throughout the region
and that the community and technical college adheres, as nearly
as possible, to the essential conditions pursuant to section three
of this article with the possible exception of independent
accreditation.
(3) Independently-accredited community and technical college
at Beckley. - The president of Bluefield state college and the
governing board are responsible, according to a plan approved by
the commission, for the step-by-step implementation of a new
independently-accredited community and technical college which
adheres to the essential conditions pursuant to section three of
this article. The new community and technical college serves
Raleigh, Summers, and Fayette counties and is headquartered in
Beckley. The coordinating council appoints a separate community
and technical college institutional boards of advisors for
Bluefield, Beckley and Lewisburg, although these boards should
have overlapping membership to promote coordination across the
district. In addition to the other duties assigned to
institutional boards of advisors, the boards would advise the
president of Bluefield state college, the president of the new
community and technical college in Beckley, and the director of
the Lewisburg center on a comprehensive assessment of the needs in the region, on coordinating efforts with regional labor market
information systems, and on other areas as provided for
institutional boards of advisors. The boards facilitate the
planning and development of a unified effort involving multiple
providers and facilities such as Concord college, the college of
West Virginia, Marshall university, West Virginia university, West
Virginia university institute of technology, and other entities
to meet the documented workforce development needs in the region.
The community and technical college in Beckley also serves as a
higher education center to provide the facilities and support
services for other public institutions delivering courses,
programs and services in Beckley. The objective would be to
assure students and employers in the area that there would be
coordination and efficient use of resources among the separate
programs and facilities, existing and planned, in the Beckley
area. If, at a future time, the commission believes it
appropriate, it may recommend to the Legislature that the Beckley
institution be created as a freestanding institution.
(4) Glenville state community and technical college. -
Glenville state community and technical college, including the
centers in Nicholas, Lewis and Roane counties, should retain its
relationship as a component of Glenville state college. The president of Glenville state college and the governing board are
accountable to the commission for ensuring that the full range of
community and technical college services are available throughout
the region and that the community and technical college adheres
as nearly as possible to the essential conditions pursuant to
section three of this article, with the possible exception of
independent accreditation.
(5) Fairmont state community and technical college. -
Fairmont state community and technical college will be an
independently-accredited community and technical college serving
Marion, Doddridge, Barbour, Harrison, Monongalia, Preston,
Randolph, and Taylor counties. The community and technical
college is developed on the base of the existing component
community and technical college of Fairmont state college. The
president of Fairmont state college and the governing board are
responsible, according to a plan approved by the commission, for
step-by-step implementation of the independently-accredited
community and technical college which adheres to the essential
conditions pursuant to section three of this article. The
community and technical college will remain administratively
linked to Fairmont state college to reduce costs in areas such as
personnel management, records, payroll, accounting, legal services, registration, student records and other areas. Nothing
herein shall be construed to require Fairmont state college to
discontinue any associate degree program 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.
(6) Shepherd community and technical college. - Shepherd
community and technical college should become an independently-
accredited community and technical college. It should serve
Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan counties. The new community and
technical college is developed on the base of the existing
component community and technical college of Shepherd college.
The president of Shepherd college and the governing board are
responsible, according to a plan approved by the commission, for
step-by-step implementation of the new independently-accredited
community and technical college which adheres to the essential
conditions pursuant to section three of this article.
(7) Potomac state college of West Virginia university. -
(A) Potomac state college of West Virginia university is an
established accredited two-year residential institution of higher
education incorporating a mission balanced between delivery of transfer and technical education. Potomac State College of West
Virginia university should increase the transfer function for
students intending to transfer to West Virginia university and
strengthen the current responsibility for serving as a regional
learning center in collaboration with other institutions, in
particular, eastern West Virginia community and technical college.
(B) By the first day of December, two thousand, West Virginia
university shall propose to the commission a refined and clarified
mission and programmatic offerings for Potomac state college of
West Virginia university. This plan shall center upon a
collaborative process for the coordinating of community and
technical college education, transfer education, and community
outreach while seeking to minimize unnecessary duplication of
academic programs. If the commission determines that Potomac
state college should retain, as part of its mission, a community
and technical college, the commission shall direct the institution
to adhere to the appropriate essential conditions for the
independently-accredited community and technical college as
provided in section three of this article.
§18B-3C-10. Increasing flexibility for community and technical
colleges.
(a) Notwithstanding any rules or procedures of the governing
boards to the contrary, the community and technical colleges have
the authority and the duty to:
(1) Incorporate the most effective and efficient use of
technology in accessing and delivering courses and programs in
order to make the best use of available resources and to control
costs;
(2) Incorporate a model to offer occupational program
curricula in smaller modules to accommodate specific student and
employer needs and to gain sufficient flexibility in formatting
courses;
(3) Serve as a facilitator for education programs from
outside delivery sources to meet the needs of the residents and
employers of the district; and
(4) Employ faculty in the most effective manner to serve the
core mission of the community and technical college.
(A) To that end, the freestanding community and technical
colleges may employ faculty for an indefinite period without a
grant of tenure and shall work toward a staffing goal of no more
than twenty percent of the faculty holding tenure or being tenure-
track employees: Provided, That tenured faculty employed by the
freestanding community and technical colleges before the first day of July one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine shall not be
affected by this provision.
(B) All community and technical colleges, other than those
set forth in paragraph (A) of this subdivision, may employ faculty
for an indefinite period without a grant of tenure. The immediate
goal is to use this provision as a tool to assist the community
and technical colleges in meeting the essential conditions
provided for in section three of this article and in gaining
independent accreditation status. The ultimate goal is to provide
the flexibility community and technical colleges need to meet the
needs of the state by working toward having no more than twenty
percent of the core faculty holding tenure or being tenure-track
employees: Provided, That tenured faculty employed by community
and technical colleges other than freestanding community and
technical colleges on the effective date of this section may not
be affected by this provision: Provided, however, That tenure
shall not be denied to a faculty member solely as a result of
change in employing institution necessitated by the change to
independently-accredited community and technical colleges.
(b) The governing boards shall adopt a model of program
approval for the community and technical colleges that permits
occupational programs to be customized to meet needs without requiring approval by any governing board or other agency of
government and, furthermore, that incorporates a post-audit review
of such programs on a three-year cycle to determine the
effectiveness of such programs in meeting district needs.
(c) The governing boards shall promulgate rules to implement
the provisions of this section and shall file these rules for
review and approval with the chancellor no later than the first
day of December, two thousand.
§18B-3C-11. Freestanding community and technical colleges;
tuition and fees.
(a) During the transition year, beginning the first day of
July, two thousand, and ending the thirtieth day of June, two
thousand one, the appropriate governing board may fix tuition and
establish and set such other fees to be charged students at
community and technical colleges as it considers appropriate, and
shall pay such tuition and fees collected into a revolving fund
for the partial or full support, including the making of capital
improvements, of any community and technical college. Funds
collected at any such community and technical college may be used
only for the benefit of that community and technical college. The
appropriate governing board also may establish special fees for
such purposes as, including, but not limited to, health services, student activities, student recreation, athletics or any other
extracurricular purposes. Such special fees shall be paid into
special funds in the state treasury and used only for the purposes
for which collected.
(b) After the first day of July, two thousand one, the
appropriate governing board may fix tuition and establish and set
such other fees to be charged students at community and technical
colleges as it considers appropriate, subject to the provisions
of subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(1) As used in this subsection, "appropriate governing board"
means:
(A) In the case of a freestanding community and technical
college, the governing board of the institution;
(B) In the cases of Glenville community and technical college
and Bluefield community and technical college, the governing
boards of Glenville state college and Bluefield state college,
respectively; and
(C) In all other cases, the institutional board of advisors.
(2) The appropriate governing board, in consultation with the
coordinating council, also may establish special fees for such
purposes as, including, but not limited to, health services,
student activities, student recreation, athletics or any other extracurricular purposes: Provided, That the coordinating council
shall determine which fees, if any, do not apply to the entire
student population, and to which students such fees do not apply.
Such special fees may be used only for the purposes for which
collected.
(3) A community and technical college may contract with any
other state institution of higher education for the participation
of its students in programs, activities or services of the other
institution and for the use of such fees collected.
§18B-3C-12. Shared facilities and resources
; memoranda of
agreements; and joint administrative boards.
(a) To the maximum extent feasible, community and technical
colleges shall be developed as multi-site institutions utilizing
existing facilities, including cooperative use of existing
vocational education institutes and centers, offering services on
the campuses of existing baccalaureate and graduate institutions,
at work sites in collaboration with employers and other
appropriate venues. Subject to the limitation of section four,
article one-b of this chapter, new public capital investment in
physical facilities shall be kept to a minimum. All community and
technical colleges shall have missions encompassing the full range
of services and programs.
(b) The governing boards may accept federal grants and funds
from county boards of education, other local governmental bodies,
corporations or persons. The governing boards may enter into
memoranda of understanding agreements with such governmental
bodies, corporations or persons for the use or acceptance of local
facilities and for the acceptance of grants or contributions
toward the cost of the acquisition or construction of such
facilities. Such local governmental bodies may convey capital
improvements, or lease the same without monetary consideration,
to the governing boards for the use by the community and technical
college and the governing boards may accept such facilities, or
the use or lease thereof, and grants or contributions for such
purposes from such governmental bodies, the federal government or
any corporation or person. In addition, the various educational
agencies shall establish cooperative relationships to utilize
existing community and technical colleges and programs, public
school vocational centers and other existing facilities to serve
the identified needs within the community and technical college
district.
(c) To facilitate the administration, operation and financing
of programs in shared facilities of any institution of public
higher education and a county board or boards of education, the affected governing boards and county board or boards of education
may appoint a joint administrative board consisting of such
membership and possessing such delegated authorities as the
respective boards consider necessary and prudent for the operation
of such shared facilities. If appointed, such joint
administrative board shall consist of five members to be appointed
as follows: The county board of education shall appoint two
members; the appropriate governing board shall appoint two
members; and one at-large member, who shall chair the joint
administrative board, shall be appointed by mutual agreement of
the respective boards. When two or more county boards of
education are participating in such shared program, such county
board appointments shall be made by mutual agreement of each of
the participating county boards. Members shall serve for
staggered terms of three years. With respect to initial
appointments, one member appointed by the county board or boards
of education and one member appointed by the governing board shall
serve for one year, one member appointed by the county board or
boards of education and one member appointed by the governing
board shall serve for two years and the at-large member shall
serve for three years. Subsequent appointments shall be for three
years. A member may not serve more than two consecutive terms. Members shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses
actually incurred in the performance of their duties as board
members from funds allocated to the shared facility, except that
members who are employed by a board of education, governing board
or state institution of higher education shall be reimbursed by
their employer.
ARTICLE 3F. COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE TO SERVE ADVANTAGE
VALLEY AREA.
§18B-3F-1. Legislative intent and findings.
(a) Legislative Intent. By establishing a community and
technical college to serve the advantage valley area, the
following is the intent of the Legislature:
(1) to recognize that an area of West Virginia between the
Kentucky border near Kenova and the area in and around Montgomery,
including, but not limited to, the areas of Huntington, Putnam
County and the greater Charleston metropolitan area, has been
designated the "advantage valley" area of West Virginia;
(2) to focus on the benefits available to the advantage
valley and to the state of providing quality community and
technical college education;
(3) to create a community and technical college to serve as
a delivery platform for higher education in the advantage valley.
(b) Findings. The Legislature finds the following:
(1) That the advantage valley is an area of the state that
is underserved for community and technical college education and
that deserves more convenient access to higher education
opportunities, including access to workforce development programs;
(2) That, in order to satisfy the growing needs of the
advantage valley region for access to quality higher education
programs, the community and technical college serving the
advantage valley area must meet the goals for comprehensive
community and technical college education described in section
two, article three-c of this chapter and must meet the essential
conditions for a comprehensive community and technical college
education as described in section three, article three-c of this
chapter.
§18B-3F-2. Establishment and operation of a community and
technical college serving the advantage valley area;
authority and duty to purchase property, expend
appropriations and conduct programs.
(a) There is hereby established a community and technical
college to serve the advantage valley area, built on the base of
the existing components at Marshall university, West Virginia
state college and West Virginia university institute of technology. The central administration of the college shall be
located in the greater Charleston metropolitan area.
(b) The community and technical college serving the advantage
valley area shall be developed as a multi-site institution with
alliances with the vocational education institutes and centers in
the region and shall endeavor to make maximum use of existing
resources and facilities on the campuses of Marshall university,
West Virginia state college and West Virginia university institute
of technology.
(c) The president and board of governors of Marshall
university are responsible, according to a plan approved by the
commission, for step-by-step implementation of the new
independently-accredited community and technical college which
will adhere to the essential conditions pursuant to section three,
article three-c of this chapter.
(d) The community and technical college serving the advantage
valley area will remain administratively linked to Marshall
university to reduce costs in areas such as personnel management,
records, payroll, accounting, legal services, registration,
student records and other areas; and
(e) The component community and technical colleges at
Marshall university, West Virginia state college and West Virginia university institute of technology shall migrate from their
current status to the new community and technical college serving
the advantage valley area. West Virginia university institute of
technology may retain selected associate degree programs in
engineering that require high levels of proficiency in mathematics
and science and are integrated with its baccalaureate programs.
Nothing herein shall be construed to require Marshall university,
West Virginia state college and West Virginia university institute
of technology to discontinue any associate degree program 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.
§18b-3F-3. Official name for the community and technical college
serving the advantage valley area.
The institutional board of advisors of the community and
technical college serving the advantage valley area shall
recommend a name or names for the community and technical college
to the commission. The commission shall choose an official name
for the community and technical college serving the advantage
valley area.
ARTICLE 4. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
§18B-4-1. Officers of governing boards.
(a) At its annual meeting in June of each year, each
governing board shall elect from its members appointed by the
governor a president chairperson and other officers as it may
consider necessary or desirable pursuant to section one, article
two-a of this chapter.
(b) For the transition year beginning on the first day of
July, two thousand through the thirtieth day of June, two thousand
one only, each governing board may employ a chancellor who shall
serve at the will and pleasure of the employing board and shall
assist the governing board in the performance of its duties and
responsibilities. No chancellor may hold or retain any other
administrative position within the system of higher education
while employed as chancellor. Each chancellor is responsible for
carrying out the directives of the governing board by which he or
she is employed and shall work with the board in developing policy
options. For the purpose of developing or evaluating policy
options, the chancellors may request the assistance of the
presidents and other administrative heads of the institutions
under their jurisdiction and their staffs. The respective
chancellors shall jointly agree to and shall hire one senior
administrator who shall serve at their will and pleasure in
accordance with section two of this article.
(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 senior administrator and other
staff shall be provided in Charleston.
(e) The chancellor of the university of West Virginia board
of trustees and the chancellor of the board of directors of the
state college system shall establish a plan and funding
recommendations for development and implementation of a
multifaceted instructional technology strategy that includes, but
is not limited to, a goal that every full-time freshman student
beginning in the fall semester, one thousand nine hundred ninety-
six, and thereafter, and as many other students and faculty as
possible will own or lease a computer, and alternatively that
computers be available for part-time students through on-site
labs; the integration of computer usage into all course work; the
involvement of faculty in the development and use of technology-
based instruction and instructional courseware for community and
technical colleges, colleges and universities; and the expansion
of distance learning and technology networks throughout the higher
education systems to enhance teaching and learning, promote access to quality educational offerings with minimum duplication of
effort, increase the delivery of instruction to nontraditional
students, provide services to business and industry, and increase
the management capabilities of the higher education system. The
chancellors shall submit the plan to the Legislature on or before
the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven.
The chancellors of the university of West Virginia board of
trustees and the chancellor of the board of directors of the state
college system shall supervise the administration, oversight,
coordination and implementation of the plan, or portions of the
plan, subject to the availability of funds and the direction of
the governing boards. In addition, the chancellors shall review
all technology related matters within the department of education
and the arts and suggest appropriate integration and compatibility
of the technology systems within the department and the
institutions governed by the boards.
(f) The governing boards shall jointly employ a vice
chancellor for community and technical education pursuant to the
provisions of section three-a, article three of this chapter.
§18B-4-2. Employment of vice chancellor for administration;
office; powers and duties generally.
(a) With the consent of the commission, the chancellor for
higher education shall employ the vice chancellor for
administration who shall serve at the will and pleasure of the
chancellor.
(a) (b) The senior administrator vice chancellor for
administration has a ministerial duty, in consultation with and
under direction of the chancellors, to perform such functions,
tasks and duties as may be necessary to carry out the policy
directives of the governing boards commission and such other
duties as may be prescribed by law.
(b) (c) The senior administrator vice chancellor for
administration may employ and discharge, and shall supervise, such
professional, administrative, clerical and other employees as may
be necessary to these duties and shall delineate staff
responsibilities as considered desirable and appropriate. The
senior administrator vice chancellor for administration shall fix
the compensation and emoluments of such employees: Provided, That
effective the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety,
those employees whose job duties meet criteria listed in the
system of job classifications as stated in article nine of this
chapter shall be accorded the job title, compensation and rights
established in the article as well as all other rights and privileges accorded classified employees by the provisions of this
code.
(d) Effective on the first day of July, two thousand, the
office of the senior administrator and all personnel employed on
the thirtieth day of June, two thousand, within the higher
education central office, the West Virginia network for
educational telecomputing, and the offices of the chancellor of
the board of trustees and the chancellor of the board of
directors, shall be transferred to the jurisdiction of the
chancellor for higher education: Provided, That prior to the first
day of October, two thousand, no employee shall be terminated or
have his or her salary and benefit levels reduced as the sole
result of the governance reorganization that becomes effective on
the first day of July, two thousand.
(c) (e) The senior administrator vice chancellor for
administration shall follow state and national education trends
and gather data on higher educational needs.
(d) (f) The senior administrator vice chancellor for
administration, in accordance with established guidelines and in
consultation with and under the direction of the chancellors
chancellor shall administer, oversee or monitor all state and
federal student assistance and support programs administered on the state level, including those provided for in chapter
eighteen-c of this code.
(e) (g) The senior administrator vice chancellor for
administration has a fiduciary responsibility to administer the
tuition and registration fee capital improvement revenue bond
accounts of the governing boards.
(f) (h) The senior administrator vice chancellor for
administration shall administer the purchasing system or systems
of the governing boards commission, the office of the chancellor,
and the governing boards.
(g) (i) The senior administrator vice chancellor for
administration shall be is responsible for the management of the
West Virginia network for educational telecomputing (WVNET). The
senior administrator vice chancellor for administration shall
establish a computer commission advisory board, which shall be
representative of both the university system and the college
system higher education and other users of the West Virginia
Network for Educational Telecomputing as the chancellor for higher
education determines appropriate. It shall be is the
responsibility of the computer commission advisory board to
recommend to the secretary of the department of education and the
arts chancellor policies for a statewide shared computer system.
(j) The central office, under the direction of the vice
chancellor for administration, shall provide necessary staff
support to the commission and the office of the chancellor.
(h) (k) Effective on the first day of July, two thousand, the
vice chancellor for administration may administer any program or
service authorized or required to be performed by the governing
boards board of trustees or the board of directors on the
thirtieth day of June, two thousand and not specifically assigned
to the board of trustees or the board of directors another agency.
In addition, the vice chancellor for administration may administer
any program or service authorized or required to be performed by
the commission or the chancellor for higher education, but not
assigned specifically to the commission or the chancellor. Such
program or service may include, but shall not be limited to,
telecommunications activities and other programs and services
provided for under grants and contracts from federal and other
external funding sources.
§18B-4-8. West Virginia Anatomical Board; powers and duties
relating to anatomical gifts; requisition of bodies;
autopsies; transportation of bodies; expenses of
preservation; bond required; offenses and penalties.
(a) There is hereby established the "West Virginia Anatomical
Board" which consists of the following four members: (1) the dean of the school of dentistry, West Virginia university, (2) the
chairperson of the department of anatomy, West Virginia
university, (3) the chairperson of the department of anatomy,
school of medicine, Marshall university and (4) the dean of the
school of medicine, West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine.
(b) The board shall have authority to appoint such officers,
employees and agents as may be necessary to carry out the purposes
for which the board is organized. It shall keep a full and
complete record of its transactions, showing, among other things,
every dead human body coming under its authority, giving name,
sex, age, date of death, place from which received, and when and
from whom received, which record shall be open at all times to the
inspection of the attorney general and any prosecuting attorney
in the state.
(c) The board shall be responsible for making requisition
for, receiving, and making disposition of the dead human bodies
for the scientific uses and purposes of reputable educational
institutions, within the state and elsewhere, having medical,
osteopathy, dentistry or nursing schools. The board shall have
full power to establish rules for its own government and for the
requisition, use, disposition and control of such bodies as may
come under its authority by way of gift, pursuant to this section or pursuant to section four, article nineteen, chapter sixteen of
this code.
(d) All dead human bodies which may come under the charge or
control of any mortician, any officer or agent of the department
of welfare or of any county commission or municipality, or any
superintendent, officer or agent having the supervision of any
prison, morgue, hospital, or other public institution in this
state, and which may be required to be buried at public expense,
shall be subject to the requisition of the board as provided in
this section. No such body shall be delivered to the board if any
person related to the deceased by blood or marriage shall make a
statement in writing to that effect, and shall claim such body for
burial, or shall make affidavit that the relative is unable to
bear the expense of burial and desires that the deceased be buried
at public expense. This statement and affidavit may be filed by
any such relative with the person having charge and control of the
body of the person so claimed, either before or after the death
of such person.
(e) No autopsy shall be performed on any unclaimed body
without the written permission of the board, except upon the
proper order of a duly authorized law-enforcement officer.
(f) It shall be the duty of any person who has charge or
control of any unclaimed body, subject to requisition by the
board, to give notice to the board of that fact by telephone or
telegraph within twenty-four hours after such body comes under
that person's control. Thereafter, such person shall hold the
body subject to the order of the board for at least twenty-four
hours after the sending of such notice. If the board makes
requisition for the body within the twenty-four hour period, it
shall be delivered, pursuant to the order of the board, to the
board or its authorized agent for transportation to any
educational institution which the board considers to be in bona
fide need of the body and able to adequately control, use and
dispose of the body. The board shall make suitable arrangements
for the transportation of any body, or part or parts of any body,
which may come under its authority to the educational institution.
All expenses incurred in connection with the preservation,
delivery and transportation of any body delivered pursuant to the
order of the board shall be paid by the educational institution
receiving the body.
(g) No dead body shall be received or requisitioned by the
board until the members of the board have filed a bond with the
clerk of the circuit court of Kanawha County in a penalty of one thousand dollars, with good security, signed by a responsible
person or persons, or by some surety company authorized to do
business in this state, or have proved to the clerk that they are
covered by a suitable bond in at least that amount, conditioned
for the faithful performance of their duties.
(h) Any person who shall neglect, refuse or fail to perform
any duty required by this section relating to the board shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by
imprisonment in the county or regional jail for not more than ten
days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Any person who fails
to give the required notice that that person has charge of an
unclaimed body subject to requisition by the board shall also be
personally liable for all burial expenses, if such body was buried
at public expense, to the public agency that paid for the burial.
ARTICLE 6. ADVISORY BOARDS.
§18B-6-1.
Institutional boards of advisors for regional campuses
and administratively-linked community and technical colleges.
(a) Effective the first day of July, two thousand, there is
established at each of the following state institutions of higher
education, hereinafter referred to as the "institution", excluding
centers and branches thereof, an institutional board of advisors: (1) For the transition year beginning on the first day of
July, two thousand through the thirtieth day of June, two thousand
one only, the lay members of the institutional board of advisors
established for each of the regional campuses of West Virginia
university are appointed by the president of the respective
institution. Effective the first day of July, two thousand one,
the lay members of the institutional boards of advisors for the
regional campuses of West Virginia university are appointed by the
institutional board of governors.
(2) The lay members of the institutional board of advisors
established for the community and technical college serving the
advantage valley area in accordance with article three-f of this
chapter, Beckley community and technical college, Fairmont
community and technical college, and Shepherd community and
technical college are appointed by the coordinating council.
(b) The board of advisors consists of fifteen members,
including an administrative officer of the institution appointed
by the president of the institution; a full-time member of the
faculty with the rank of instructor or above duly elected by the
faculty; a member of the student body in good academic standing,
enrolled for college credit work and duly elected by the student
body; a member of the institutional classified staff duly elected by the classified staff; and appointed by the appropriate
governing board, eleven twelve lay persons appointed pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section who have demonstrated a sincere
interest in and concern for the welfare of that institution and
who are representative of the its population of its responsibility
area and fields of study. At least seven of the twelve lay
persons appointed shall be residents of the state. Of the lay
members who are residents of the state, at least two shall be
alumni of the institution, and no more than a simple majority may
be of the same political party.
(c) The administrative officer and student member shall serve
for a term of one year beginning upon appointment in July, two
thousand, and ending on the thirtieth day of April, two thousand
one. Thereafter the term shall begin on the first day of June.
The faculty member and the classified staff member shall serve for
a term of two years beginning upon appointment in July, two
thousand, and ending on the thirtieth day of April, two thousand
two. Thereafter the term shall begin on the first day of June;
and the eleven lay members shall serve terms of four years each
beginning upon appointment in July, two thousand, and ending on
the thirtieth day of April, two thousand four. Thereafter the
term shall begin on the first day of June. All members, except the administrative officer, are eligible to succeed themselves for
no more than one additional term. A vacancy in an unexpired term
of a member shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired
term within thirty days of the occurrence thereof 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 the thirtieth day of
April first day of July preceding the commencement of the term.
(d) Each board of advisors shall hold a regular meeting at
least quarterly, commencing in July of each year. Additional
meetings may be held upon the call of the chairman, president of
the institution or upon the written request of at least four
members. A majority of the members constitutes a quorum for
conducting the business of the board of advisors.
(b) (e) One of the eleven lay members shall be elected as
chairman by the board of advisors in July of each year: Provided,
That no member may serve as chairman for more than two consecutive
years. at a time.
(f) The president of the institution shall make available
resources of the institution for conducting the business of the
board of advisors. The members of the board of advisors shall be
reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their official duties under this
section upon presentation of an itemized sworn statement thereof.
All expenses incurred by the board of advisors and the institution
under this section shall be paid from funds allocated to the
institution for that purpose.
(c) (g) The board of advisors shall review, prior to the
submission by the president to its governing board, all proposals
of the institution in the areas of mission, academic programs,
budget, capital facilities and such other matters as requested by
the president of the institution or its governing board or
otherwise assigned to it by law. The board of advisors shall
comment on each such proposal in writing, with such
recommendations for concurrence therein or revision or rejection
thereof as it considers proper. The written comments and
recommendations shall accompany the proposal to the governing
board and the governing board shall include the comments and
recommendations in its consideration of and action on the
proposal. The governing board shall promptly acknowledge receipt
of the comments and recommendations and shall notify the board of
advisors in writing of any action taken thereon.
(d) (h) The board of advisors shall review, prior to their
implementation by the president, all proposals regarding institution-wide personnel policies. The board of advisors may
comment on the proposals in writing.
(e) (i) The board of advisors shall provide advice and
assistance to the president in establishing closer connections
between higher education and business, labor, government,
community and economic development organizations to give students
greater opportunities to experience the world of work, such as
business and community service internships, apprenticeships and
cooperative programs; to communicate better and serve the current
workforce and workforce development needs of their service area,
including the needs of nontraditional students for college-level
skills upgrading and retraining and the needs of employers for
specific programs of limited duration; and to assess the
performance of the institution's graduates and assist in job
placement.
(f) (j) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of
president of the institution, the board of advisors shall serve
as a search and screening committee for candidates to fill the
vacancy under guidelines established by its governing board. When
serving as a search and screening committee, the board of advisors
and its governing board are each authorized to appoint up to three
additional persons to serve on the committee as long as the search and screening process is in effect. The three additional
appointees of the board of advisors shall be faculty members of
the institution. Only for the purposes of the search and
screening process, the additional members shall possess the same
powers and rights as the regular members of the board of advisors,
including reimbursement for all reasonable and necessary expenses
actually incurred. Following the search and screening process,
the committee shall submit the names of at least three candidates
to the governing board for consideration and appointment. If the
governing board rejects all candidates submitted, the committee
shall submit the names of at least three additional candidates,
and this process shall be repeated until the governing board
appoints one of the candidates submitted. The governing board
shall provide all necessary staff assistance to the board of
advisors in its role as a search and screening committee.
§18B-6-1a. Institutional boards of advisors for universities,
state colleges and free-standing community and technical
colleges.
(a) For the transition year beginning on the first day of
July, two thousand through the thirtieth day of June, two thousand
one only, there is established at the following state institutions
of higher education, excluding centers and branches thereof, an
institutional board of advisors: Bluefield state college, Concord college, eastern West Virginia community and technical college,
Fairmont state college, Glenville state college, Marshall
university, Shepherd state college, 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
college, and West Virginia University.
(b) The boards of advisors are established as follows:
(1) Each institutional board of advisors shall consist of
twelve persons: Provided, That the institutional boards of
advisors shall for Marshall university and West Virginia
university shall consist of fifteen persons. Each board of
advisors shall include:
(A) A full-time member of the faculty with the rank of
instructor or above duly elected by the faculty;
(B) A member of the student body in good academic standing,
enrolled for college credit work and duly elected by the student
body;
(C) A member of the institutional classified staff duly
elected by the classified staff; and
(D) Nine lay members appointed by the governor by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate: Provided, That for the institutional boards of advisors at Marshall university and West
Virginia university, the governor shall appoint twelve members by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate: Provided, That of
the appointed lay members, the governor shall appoint one
superintendent of a county board of education from the area served
by the institution: Provided, That in making the initial
appointments only, the governor shall endeavor to make all
appointments from a pool of those persons who, on the thirtieth
day of June, two thousand, are members of the board of trustees
and the board of directors.
(2) Of the nine members appointed by the governor, no more
than five may be of the same political party: Provided, That for
the appointed members of the institutional boards of advisors of
Marshall university and West Virginia university, no more than
seven may be of the same political party. At least six of the
members shall be residents of the state: Provided, That for the
appointed members of the institutional boards of advisors of
Marshall university and West Virginia university, at least eight
of the members shall be residents of the state. All members shall
serve for a term of one year. 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 the thirtieth day of June preceding the
commencement of the term: Provided, That election of officers for
the term beginning in July, two thousand shall be made in July.
Each board of governors shall elect one of its appointed lay
members to be chairperson in June of each year.
(3) Each board of advisors shall hold a regular meeting at least
quarterly, commencing in July, two thousand. Additional meetings
may be held upon the call of the chairperson or upon the written
request of at least four members: Provided, That for the
institutional boards of advisors of Marshall university and West
Virginia university, additional meetings may be held upon the call
of the chairperson or upon the written request of at least five
members. A majority of the members constitutes a quorum for
conducting the business of the board of advisors.
(4) One of the appointed lay members shall be elected as
chairperson by the board of advisors in July, two thousand.
(5) The president of the institution shall make available
resources of the institution for conducting the business of the
board of advisors. The members of the board of advisors shall
serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the
performance of their official duties under this section upon
presentation of an itemized sworn statement thereof. All expenses
incurred by the board of advisors and the institution under this
section shall be paid from funds allocated to the institution for
that purpose.
(6) The board of advisors shall review, prior to the
submission by the president to its governing board, all proposals
of the institution in the areas of mission, academic programs,
budget, capital facilities and such other matters as requested by
the president of the institution or its governing board or
otherwise assigned to it by law. The board of advisors shall
comment on each such proposal in writing, with such
recommendations for concurrence therein or revision or rejection
thereof as it considers proper. The written comments and
recommendations shall accompany the proposal to the governing
board and the governing board shall include the comments and
recommendations in its consideration of and action on the
proposal. The governing board shall promptly acknowledge receipt
of the comments and recommendations and shall notify the board of
advisors in writing of any action taken thereon.
(7) The board of advisors shall review, prior to their
implementation by the president, all proposals regarding
institution-wide personnel policies. The board of advisors may
comment on the proposals in writing.
(8) The board of advisors shall provide advice and assistance
to the president in establishing closer connections between higher
education and business, labor, government, community and economic
development organizations to give students greater opportunities
to experience the world of work, such as business and community
service internships, apprenticeships and cooperative programs; to
communicate better and serve the current workforce and workforce
development needs of their service area, including the needs of
nontraditional students for college-level skills upgrading and
retraining and the needs of employers for specific programs of
limited duration; and to assess the performance of the
institution's graduates and assist in job placement. The
administrative officer of the institution serving on the advisory
council may be assigned the responsibility for coordinating the
institution's activities related to economic development.
(9) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of
president of the institution, the board of advisors serves as a
search and screening committee for candidates to fill the vacancy under guidelines established by its governing board. When serving
as a search and screening committee, the board of advisors and its
governing board are each authorized to appoint up to three
additional persons to serve on the committee as long as the search
and screening process is in effect. The three additional
appointees of the board of advisors shall be faculty members of
the institution. Only for the purposes of the search and
screening process, the additional members shall possess the same
powers and rights as the regular members of the board of advisors,
including reimbursement for all reasonable and necessary expenses
actually incurred. Following the search and screening process,
the committee shall submit the names of at least three candidates
to the governing board for consideration and appointment. If the
governing board rejects all candidates submitted, the committee
shall submit the names of at least three additional candidates,
and this process shall be repeated until the governing board
appoints one of the candidates submitted. The governing board
shall provide all necessary staff assistance to the board of
advisors in its role as a search and screening committee.
(c) The institutional boards of advisors created under this
section have the following additional duties:
(1) The responsibility to develop the institutional compacts
for their respective institutions under the guidance and direction
of the commission pursuant to section two, article one-a of this
chapter.
(2) The authority to participate in any orientation or
leadership training or education opportunities provided or
arranged by the commission.
§18B-6-2a. State advisory council of faculty.
(a) Effective the first day of July, two thousand one, there
is hereby established the state advisory council of faculty. For
the purposes of this section, the state advisory council of
faculty shall be referred to as the "council".
(b) During the month of April of each odd-numbered year,
beginning in the year two thousand one, each president or other
administrative head of a state institution of higher education,
including, but not limited to, Potomac state college of West
Virginia university, West Virginia university at Parkersburg, West
Virginia university institute of technology, Robert C. Byrd health
sciences Charleston division of West Virginia university and the
Marshall university graduate college, at the direction of the
council and in accordance with procedures established by the
council, shall convene a meeting or otherwise institute a balloting process to elect one faculty to serve on the state
advisory council of faculty. Terms of the members of each council
shall be for two years and shall begin on the first day of July
of each odd-numbered year and members of the council shall be
eligible to succeed themselves.
(c) The council of faculty shall meet at least once each
quarter. One of the quarterly meetings shall be during the month
of July, at which meeting the council shall elect a chairman:
Provided, That the chair shall serve no more than two consecutive
terms as chair. No member may vote by proxy at the election. In
the event of a tie in the last vote taken for such election, a
member authorized by the council shall select the chairman by lot
from the names of those persons tied. Immediately following the
election of a chairman, the council shall elect, in the manner
prescribed by this section for the election of a chairman, a
member of the council to preside over meetings of the council in
the chairman's absence. Should the chairman vacate the position,
the council shall meet and elect a new chairman to fill the
unexpired term within thirty days following the vacancy.
(d) The state advisory council of faculty, through its
chairman and in any appropriate manner, shall communicate to the policy commission, through the chancellor, matters of higher
education in which the faculty members may have an interest.
(e) The policy commission annually, between the months of
October and December, shall meet with the advisory council of
faculty to discuss matters of higher education in which the
faculty members or the commission may have an interest.
(f) Members of each advisory council shall serve without
compensation, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual
and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
official duties from funds allocated to the state institution of
higher education served.
(g) Each advisory council shall cause to be prepared minutes
of its meetings, which minutes shall be available, upon request,
to any faculty member of a state institution of higher education
represented on the council.
§18B-6-3a. State advisory council of students.
(a) Effective the first day of July, two thousand one, there
is hereby established the state advisory council of students. For
the purposes of this section, the state advisory council of
students shall be referred to as the "council".
(b) During the month of April of each year, beginning in the
year two thousand one, each student government organization at each state institution of higher education, including, but not
limited to, Potomac state college of West Virginia university,
West Virginia university at Parkersburg, West Virginia university
institute of technology, Robert C. Byrd health sciences Charleston
division of West Virginia university and the Marshall university
graduate college, at the direction of the council and in
accordance with procedures established by the council, shall elect
a student, who may be the elected head or president of the
organization, to serve on the state advisory council of students.
Terms of the members of each council shall be for one year and
shall begin on the first day of July of each year and members of
the council shall be eligible to succeed themselves.
(c) The council of students shall meet at least once each
quarter. One of the quarterly meetings shall be during the month
of July, at which meeting the council shall elect a chairman. No
member may vote by proxy at the election. In the event of a tie
in the last vote taken for such election, a member authorized by
the council shall select the chairman by lot from the names of
those persons tied. Immediately following the election of a
chairman, the council shall elect, in the manner prescribed by
this section for the election of a chairman, a member of the
council to preside over meetings of the council in the chairman's absence. Should the chairman vacate the position, the council
shall meet and elect a new chairman to fill the unexpired term
within thirty days following the vacancy.
(d) The state advisory council of students, through its
chairman and in any appropriate manner, shall communicate to the
policy commission, through the chancellor, matters of higher
education in which the student members may have an interest.
(e) The policy commission annually, between the months of
October and December, shall meet with the advisory council of
students to discuss matters of higher education in which the
student members or the commission may have an interest.
(f) Members of each advisory council shall serve without
compensation, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual
and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
official duties from funds allocated to the state institution of
higher education served.
(g) Each advisory council shall cause to be prepared minutes
of its meetings, which minutes shall be available, upon request,
to any student of a state institution of higher education
represented on the council.
§18B-6-4a. State advisory councils of classified employees.
(a) Effective the first day of July, two thousand one, there
is hereby established the state advisory council of classified
employees. For the purposes of this section, the state advisory
council of classified employees shall be referred to as the
"council".
(b) During the month of April of each odd-numbered year,
beginning in the year two thousand one, each president or other
administrative head of a state institution of higher education,
including, but not limited to, Potomac state college of West
Virginia university, West Virginia university at Parkersburg, West
Virginia university institute of technology, Robert C. Byrd health
sciences Charleston division of West Virginia university and the
Marshall university graduate college, at the direction of the
council and in accordance with procedures established by the
council, shall convene a meeting or otherwise institute a
balloting process to elect one classified employee to serve on the
state advisory council of classified employees. Terms of the
members of each council shall be for two years and shall begin on
the first day of July of each odd-numbered year and members of the
council shall be eligible to succeed themselves.
(c) The council of classified employees shall meet at least
once each quarter. One of the quarterly meetings shall be during the month of July, at which meeting the council shall elect a
chairman: Provided, That the chair shall serve no more than two
consecutive terms as chair. No member may vote by proxy at the
election. In the event of a tie in the last vote taken for such
election, a member authorized by the council shall select the
chairman by lot from the names of those persons tied. Immediately
following the election of a chairman, the council shall elect, in
the manner prescribed by this section for the election of a
chairman, a member of the council to preside over meetings of the
council in the chairman's absence. Should the chairman vacate the
position, the council shall meet and elect a new chairman to fill
the unexpired term within thirty days following the vacancy.
(d) The state advisory council of classified employees,
through its chairman and in any appropriate manner, shall
communicate to the policy commission, through the chancellor,
matters of higher education in which the classified employees may
have an interest.
(e) The policy commission annually, between the months of
October and December, shall meet with the advisory council of
classified employees to discuss matters of higher education in
which the classified employees or the commission may have an
interest.
(f) Members of each advisory council shall serve without
compensation, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual
and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
official duties from funds allocated to the state institution of
higher education served.
(g) Each advisory council shall cause to be prepared minutes
of its meetings, which minutes shall be available, upon request,
to any classified employee of a state institution of higher
education represented on the council.
ARTICLE 10. FEES AND OTHER MONEY COLLECTED AT STATE INSTITUTIONS
OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
§18B-10-1. Enrollment, tuition and other fees at educational
institutions; refund of fees.
(a) Each governing board shall fix tuition and other fees for
each school term for the different classes or categories of
students enrolling at each state institution of higher education
under its jurisdiction and may include among such fees any one or
more of the following: (1) Health service fees; (2) infirmary
fees; (3) student activities, recreational, athletic and
extracurricular fees, which said fees may be used to finance a
student's attorney to perform legal services for students in civil
matters at such institutions: Provided, That such legal services
shall be limited to only those types of cases, programs or services approved by the administrative head of such institution
where such legal services are to be performed; and (4) graduate
center fees and branch college fees, or either, if the
establishment and operations of graduate centers or branch
colleges are otherwise authorized by law. All fees collected at
any graduate center or at any branch college shall be paid into
special funds and shall be used solely for the maintenance and
operation of the graduate center or branch college at which they
were collected: Provided, however, That the governing boards
shall use the median of the average tuition and required fees at
similarly classified institutions in member states of the southern
regional education board as a goal in establishing tuition and
required fee levels for residents at state institutions of higher
education under their jurisdiction: Provided further, That the
governing boards shall use the actual instructional cost as the
same shall be determined in accordance with board rule, in
establishing nonresident undergraduate fees, with the goal of
having tuition and fees cover the actual cost by fiscal year one
thousand nine hundred ninety-six: And provided further, That
effective the first day of July, two thousand one, tuition and
fees shall, at a minimum, cover the actual cost: And provided
further, That students enrolled in undergraduate courses offered at off-campus locations shall pay an off-campus instruction fee
and shall not pay the athletic fee and the student activity fee.
The off-campus instruction fee shall be used solely for the
support of off-campus courses offered by the institution. Off-
campus locations for each institution shall be defined by the
appropriate governing board. The schedule of all fees, and any
changes therein, shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting
of the appropriate governing board, and the board shall file with
the legislative auditor a certified copy of such schedule and
changes.
(b) In addition to the fees mentioned in the preceding
paragraph, each governing board may impose and collect a student
union building fee. All such building fees collected at an
institution shall be paid into a special student union building
fund for such institution, which is hereby created in the state
treasury, and shall be used only for the construction, operation
and maintenance of a student union building or a combination
student union and dining hall building or for the payment of the
principal of and interest on any bond issued to finance part or
all of the construction of a student union building or a
combination student union and dining hall building or the
renovation of an existing structure for use as a student union building or a combination student union and dining hall building,
all as more fully provided in section ten of this article. Any
moneys in such funds not immediately needed for such purposes may
be invested in any such bonds or other securities as are now or
hereafter authorized as proper investments for state funds.
(c) The boards shall establish the rates to be charged full-
time students enrolled during a regular academic term. For fee
purposes a full-time undergraduate student shall be one enrolled
for twelve or more credit hours in a regular term, and a full-time
graduate student shall be one enrolled for nine or more credit
hours in a regular term. 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.
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 above provisions.
(d) All fees are due and payable by the student upon
enrollment and registration for classes except as provided for in
this subsection:
(1) The governing boards shall permit fee payments to be made
in up to three installments over the course of the academic term.
The payments shall include interest at a rate set by the governing
board: Provided, That all fees must be paid prior to the awarding
of course credit at the end of the academic term.
(2) The governing boards shall also authorize the acceptance
of credit cards or other payment methods which may be generally
available to students for the payment of fees: Provided, That 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 any student was
adversely, financially affected by a legal work stoppage that
commenced on or after the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-three, it may allow the student an additional six
months to pay the fees for any academic term: Provided, That the
governing board shall determine if a student was adversely,
financially affected on a case-by-case basis.
(e) On or before the first day of July, two thousand one, the
commission shall review policy series twenty-two of the board of
regents and board of trustees related to assessment, payment and
refund of fees and determine whether The governing boards shall
establish legislative rules a new rule should be adopted regarding
the refund of any fees upon the voluntary or involuntary
withdrawal from classes of any student which. The rules shall
comply with all applicable state and federal laws and shall be
uniformly applied throughout the system.
(f) The governing boards shall establish legislative rules
using the fee structure or other penalties to provide a
disincentive for students to register for classes in excess of the
typical full-time course load, that being from twelve to eighteen
credit hours for an undergraduate student and from nine to fifteen
credit hours for a graduate student, and then to withdraw from
such excess classes after the semester has begun.
(g) (f) In addition to the fees mentioned in the preceding
subsections, each governing board may impose, collect and
distribute a fee to be used to finance a nonprofit, student-
controlled public interest research group: Provided, That the
students at such institution demonstrate support for the increased
fee in a manner and method established by that institution's elected student government: Provided, however, That such fees
shall not be used to finance litigation against the institution.
(h) (g) Any proposed fee increase which would become
effective on or after the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-seven, which has been approved by the governing
boards, shall then be submitted by the governing boards to the
secretary of education and the arts for approval. Such approval
shall only be granted upon the certification that such institution
requesting a fee increase is in compliance with the strategic
plans required to be submitted, pursuant to section one-b, article
one of this chapter. Notice, in the form of a report, shall be
provided by the secretary to the legislative oversight commission
on education accountability describing such fee increases and
showing of how such increases compare with the average tuition and
fees charged at comparable peer institutions in member states of
the southern regional education board: Provided, That effective
the first day of July, two thousand one, tuition and fees rates
shall be determined in accordance with subsection (h), subsection
(i) and subsection (j) of this section.
(h) Effective the first day of July, two thousand one,
institutions will retain tuition and fee revenues not pledged for
bonded indebtedness or other purposes in accordance with a revised tuition policy adopted by the respective governing boards and
approved by the commission. The revised tuition policy shall:
(1) Provide a basis for establishing nonresident tuition and
fees;
(2) Allow institutions to charge different tuition and fees
for different programs; and
(3) Where applicable, establish methodology that ensures 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.
(i) There shall be no penalty imposed by the commission upon
any institution based on the number of nonresidents who attend the
institution unless the commission determines that admission of
nonresidents to any institution or program of study within the
institution is unreasonably impeding the ability of the resident
students to attend the institution or participate in the programs
of the institution. The institutions shall report annually to the
commission on the numbers of out-of-state residents and such other
enrollment information as the commission may request.
(j) No governing board may increase tuition and fees more
than four percent or increase tuition and fees to more than one
hundred percent of the tuition and fees of peer institutions, as
determined by the commission, without the approval of the
commission.