H. B. 2003

 

         (By Delegates Doyle, T. Campbell, Duke and Manchin)

         [Introduced January 11, 2012

; referred to the

         Committee on Education then Finance.]

 

 

 

 

A BILL to repeal §18B-10-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §5-6-4a of said code; to amend and reenact §5G-1-2 of said code; to amend and reenact §12-3-5 and §12-3-8 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-1-3 and §18B-1-6 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-1B-4 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-2A-3 and §18B-2A-4 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-4-5, §18B-4-5a, §18B-4-6 and §18B-4-7 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-5-4, §18B-5-7 and §18B-5-9 of said code; and to amend and reenact §18B-10-1, §18B-10-6 and §18B-10-6a of said code, all relating to providing more flexibility and freedom to all publicly funded state institutions of higher education for running their respective colleges and universities.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §18B-10-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; that §5-6-4a of said code be amended and reenacted; that §5G-1-2 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §12-3-5 and §12-3-8 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18B-1-3 and §18B-1-6 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18B-1B-4 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18B-2A-3 and §18B-2A-4 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18B-4-5, §18B-4-5a, §18B-4-6 and §18B-4-7 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18B-5-4, §18B-5-7 and §18B-5-9 of said code be amended and reenacted; and that §18B-10-1, §18B-10-6 and §18B-10-6a of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR, SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS; MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS, OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.

ARTICLE 6. STATE BUILDINGS.

§5-6-4a. Review of real property contracts and agreements; master plan for office space.

    (a) The Secretary of Administration shall provide to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance a copy of a contract or agreement for real property exceeding $1 million and a report setting forth a detailed summary of the terms of the contract or agreement, including the name of the owner of the property and the agent involved in the sale, at least thirty days prior to any sale, exchange, transfer, purchase, lease purchase, lease or rental of real property, any refundings of lease purchases, leases or rental agreements, any construction of new buildings and any other acquisition or lease of buildings, office space or grounds by any state agency, but excepting the transactions of the Higher Education Policy Commission, Council for Community and Technical College Education, all publicly funded state institutions of higher education and the Division of Highways for state road purposes pursuant to article two-a, chapter seventeen of this code: Provided, That a contract or agreement for the lease purchase, lease or rental of real property by any state agency, where the costs of real property acquisition and improvements are to be financed, in whole or in part, with bond proceeds, may contain a preliminary schedule of rents and leases for purposes of review by the committee.

    (b) For renewals of contracts or agreements required to be reported by this section, the Secretary of Administration shall provide a report setting forth a detailed summary of the terms of the contract or agreement, including the name of the owner of the property.

    (c) Within thirty days after receipt of the contract, agreement or report, the committee shall meet and review the contract, agreement or report.

CHAPTER 5G. PROCUREMENT OF ARCHITECT-ENGINEER

SERVICES BY STATE AND ITS SUBDIVISIONS.

ARTICLE 1. PROCUREMENT OF ARCHITECT-ENGINEER SERVICES.

§5G-1-2. Definitions.

    As used in this section:

    (a) The term "agency" means all state departments, agencies, authorities, quasipublic corporations and all political subdivisions, including cities, counties, boards of education and public service districts, except, for the purposes of this section, the term "agency" does not include the any of the publicly funded state institutions of higher education. known as Marshall University and West Virginia University.

    (b) The term "architectural and engineering services" includes those professional services of an architectural or engineering nature as well as incidental services that members of those professions and those in their employ may logically or justifiably perform.

    (c) The term "director of purchasing" means any individual assigned by any agency to procure the services of architects and engineers.

    (d) The term "firm" or "professional firm" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity permitted by law to practice the professions of architecture and engineering.

CHAPTER 12. PUBLIC MONEYS AND SECURITIES.

ARTICLE 3. APPROPRIATIONS, EXPENDITURES AND DEDUCTIONS.

§12-3-5. When requisition to Auditor sufficient authority for issuing warrant.

    (a) When an appropriation has been made by law, subject to the order or payable on the requisition of a particular officer, board or person, the order or written or electronic requisition is sufficient authority to the Auditor to issue a warrant for the same or any party thereof.

    (b) The Auditor:

    (1) Shall accept an electronic requisition from Marshall University and West Virginia University all publicly funded state institutions of higher education in an unaltered format approved by the Auditor;

    (2) May accept or require an electronic requisition from any entity other than Marshall University or West Virginia University at his or her discretion in an unaltered format approved by the Auditor; and

    (3) (2) May not issue a warrant for an amount that exceeds the appropriation or for an expired appropriation.

§12-3-8. Requisition on behalf of institutions to be accompanied by statement showing funds on hand.

    A requisition made upon the Auditor for any money appropriated for a state correctional facility; the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind; state mental health facilities; state hospitals; corrections facilities; Marshall University; West Virginia University; or any other publicly funded state institution of higher education; any other public institution for education, charity or correction; or institutions under the jurisdiction of the Higher Education Policy Commission or the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education shall be accompanied by a written or electronic statement of a financial officer of the institution, showing the amount of money in his or her hands to the credit of the institution, or otherwise in its control, on the day the requisition is forwarded for payment.

CHAPTER 18B. HIGHER EDUCATION.

ARTICLE 1. GOVERNANCE.

§18B-1-3. Transfer of powers, duties, property, obligations, etc.

    (a) All powers, duties and authorities transferred to the board of Regents pursuant to former provisions of chapter eighteen of this code and transferred to the board of trustees and board of directors which were created as the governing boards pursuant to the former provisions of this chapter and all powers, duties and authorities of the board of trustees and board of directors, to the extent they are in effect on June 17, 2000, are hereby transferred to the Interim Governing Board created in article one-c of this chapter and shall be exercised and performed by the Interim Governing Board until July 1, 2001, as such powers duties and authorities may apply to the institutions under its jurisdiction.

    (b) Title to all property previously transferred to or vested in the board of trustees and the board of directors and property vested in either of the boards separately, formerly existing under the provisions of this chapter, are hereby transferred to the Interim Governing Board created in article one-c of this chapter until July 1, 2001. Property transferred to or vested in the board of trustees and board of directors shall include:

    (1) All property vested in the board of Governors of West Virginia University and transferred to and vested in the West Virginia Board of Regents;

    (2) All property acquired in the name of the state Board of Control or the West Virginia Board of Education and used by or for the state colleges and universities and transferred to and vested in the West Virginia Board of Regents;

    (3) All property acquired in the name of the state Commission on Higher Education and transferred to and vested in the West Virginia Board of Regents; and

    (4) All property acquired in the name of the board of Regents and transferred to and vested in the respective board of trustees and board of directors.

    (c) Each valid agreement and obligation previously transferred to or vested in the board of trustees and board of directors formerly existing under the provisions of this chapter is hereby transferred to the Interim Governing Board until July 1, 2001, as those agreements and obligations may apply to the institutions under its jurisdiction. Valid agreements and obligations transferred to the board of trustees and board of directors shall include:

    (1) Each valid agreement and obligation of the board of Governors of West Virginia University transferred to and considered deemed the agreement and obligation of the West Virginia Board of Regents;

    (2) Each valid agreement and obligation of the State Board of Education with respect to the state colleges and universities transferred to and deemed considered the agreement and obligation of the West Virginia Board of Regents;

    (3) Each valid agreement and obligation of the State Commission on Higher Education transferred to and deemed considered the agreement and obligation of the West Virginia Board of Regents; and

    (4) Each valid agreement and obligation of the board of Regents transferred to and deemed considered the agreement and obligation of the respective board of trustees and board of directors.

    (d) All orders, resolutions and rules adopted or promulgated by the respective board of trustees and board of directors and in effect immediately prior to July 1, 2000, are hereby transferred to the Interim Governing Board until July 1, 2001, and shall continue in effect and shall be deemed considered the orders, resolutions and rules of the Interim Governing Board until rescinded, revised, altered or amended by the commission or the governing boards in the manner and to the extent authorized and permitted by law. Such orders, resolutions and rules shall include:

    (1) Those adopted or promulgated by the board of Governors of West Virginia University and in effect immediately prior to July 1, 1969, unless and until rescinded, revised, altered or amended by the board of Regents in the manner and to the extent authorized and permitted by law;

    (2) Those respecting state colleges and universities adopted or promulgated by the West Virginia Board of Education and in effect immediately prior to July 1, 1969, unless and until rescinded, revised, altered or amended by the board of Regents in the manner and to the extent authorized and permitted by law;

    (3) Those adopted or promulgated by the State Commission on Higher Education and in effect immediately prior to July, 1, 1969, unless and until rescinded, revised, altered or amended by the board of Regents in the manner and to the extent authorized and permitted by law; and

    (4) Those adopted or promulgated by the board of Regents prior to July 1, 1989, unless and until rescinded, revised, altered or amended by the respective board of trustees or board of directors in the manner and to the extent authorized and permitted by law.

    (e) Title to all real property transferred to or vested in the Interim Governing Board pursuant to this section of the code is hereby transferred to the Commission effective the first day of July, two thousand one. The board of Governors for each institution may request that the Commission transfer title to the board of Governors of any real property specifically identifiable with that institution or the Commission may initiate the transfer. Any such request must be made within two years of the effective date of this section and be accompanied by an adequate legal description of the property. In the case of real property that is specifically identifiable with Marshall University or West Virginia University a publicly funded state institution of higher education, the commission shall transfer title to all real property, except real property that is used jointly by institutions or for statewide programs under the jurisdiction of the commission or the council, to the board of Governors of Marshall University or West Virginia University those state institutions of higher education to which the property is identified with, as appropriate, upon receipt of a request from the appropriate governing board accompanied by an adequate legal description of the property.

    The title to any real property that is jointly utilized by institutions or for statewide programs under the jurisdiction of the commission or the council shall be retained by the commission.

    (f) Ownership of or title to any other property, materials, equipment or supplies obtained or purchased by the Interim Governing Board or the previous governing boards on behalf of an institution is hereby transferred to the board of Governors of that institution effective July 1, 2001.

    (g) Each valid agreement and obligation previously transferred to or vested in the Interim Governing Board and which was undertaken or agreed to on behalf of an institution or institutions is hereby transferred to the board of Governors of the institution or institutions for whose benefit the agreement was entered into or the obligation undertaken effective July 1, 2001.

    (1) The obligations contained in revenue bonds issued by the previous governing boards under the provisions of section eight, article ten of this chapter and article twelve-b, chapter eighteen of this code are hereby transferred to the commission and each institution shall transfer to the commission those funds the commission determines are necessary to pay that institution’s share of bonded indebtedness.

    (2) The obligations contained in revenue bonds issued on behalf of a state institution of higher education pursuant to any other section of this code is hereby transferred to the board of Governors of the institution on whose behalf the bonds were issued.

    (h) All orders, resolutions, policies and rules:

    (1) Adopted or promulgated by the respective board of trustees, board of directors or Interim Governing Board and in effect immediately prior to July 1, 2001, are hereby transferred to the commission effective July 1, 2001, and continue in effect until rescinded, revised, altered, amended or transferred to the governing boards by the commission as provided in this section and in section six of this article.

    (2) Adopted or promulgated by the commission relating solely to community and technical colleges or community and technical college education, or rules which the council finds necessary for the exercise of its lawful powers and duties pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, may be adopted by the council and continue in effect until rescinded, revised, altered, amended or transferred to the governing boards under the jurisdiction of the council pursuant to section six of this article. Nothing in this section requires the initial rules of the commission that are adopted by the council to be promulgated again under the procedure set forth in article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code unless such rules are rescinded, revised, altered or amended.

    (3) Adopted or promulgated by the commission relating to multiple types of public institutions of higher education or community and technical college education as well as baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate education are transferred to the council in part as follows:

    (A) That portion of the rule relating solely to community and technical colleges or community and technical college education is transferred to the council and continues in effect until rescinded, revised, altered, amended or transferred to the governing boards by the council as provided in this section and in section six of this article;

    (B) That portion of the rule relating to institutions or education other than community and technical colleges is retained by the commission and continues in effect until rescinded, revised, altered, amended or transferred to the governing boards by the commission as provided in this section and in section six of this article.

    (i) The commission may, in its sole discretion, transfer any rule, other than a legislative rule, to the jurisdiction of the governing boards of the institutions under its jurisdiction who may rescind, revise, alter or amend any rule so transferred pursuant to rules adopted by the commission pursuant to section six of this article.

    The council may, in its sole discretion, transfer any rule, other than a legislative rule, to the jurisdiction of the governing boards of the institutions under its jurisdiction who may rescind, revise, alter or amend any rule so transferred pursuant to rules adopted by the council pursuant to section six of this article.

    (j) As to any title, agreement, obligation, order, resolution, rule or any other matter about which there is some uncertainty, misunderstanding or question, the matter shall be summarized in writing and sent to the commission which shall make a determination regarding such matter within thirty days of receipt thereof.

    (k) Rules or provisions of law which refer to other provisions of law which were repealed, rendered inoperative or superseded by the provisions of this section shall remain in full force and effect to such extent as may still be applicable to higher education and may be so interpreted. Such references include, but are not limited to, references to sections and prior enactments of article twenty-six, chapter eighteen of this code and code provisions relating to retirement, health insurance, grievance procedures, purchasing, student loans and savings plans. Any determination which needs to be made regarding applicability of any provision of law shall first be made by the commission.

§18B-1-6. Rulemaking.

    (a) The commission is hereby empowered to promulgate, adopt, amend or repeal rules, in accordance with the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, subject to the provisions of section three of this article.

    (b) The council is hereby empowered to promulgate, adopt, amend or repeal rules in accordance with the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code and subject to the provisions of section three of this article. This grant of rulemaking power extends only to those areas over which the council has been granted specific authority and jurisdiction by law.

    (c) As it relates to the authority granted to governing boards of state institutions of higher education to promulgate, adopt, amend or repeal any rule under the provisions of this code:

    (1) "Rule" means any regulation, guideline, directive, standard, statement of policy or interpretation of general application which has institution wide effect or which affects the rights, privileges or interests of employees, students or citizens. Any regulation, guideline, directive, standard, statement of policy or interpretation of general application that meets this definition is a rule for the purposes of under this section.

    (2) Regulations, guidelines or policies established for individual units, divisions, departments or schools of the institution, which deal solely with the internal management or responsibilities of a single unit, division, department or school or with academic curricular policies that do not constitute a mission change for the institution, are excluded from this subsection, except for the requirements relating to posting.

    (3) The commission and council each shall promulgate a rule to guide the development and approval of rules made by their respective governing boards, including the governing boards of all state institutions of higher education Marshall University, and West Virginia University. The rules promulgated by the commission and council shall include, but are not limited to, the following provisions which shall be included in the rule on rules adopted by each governing board of a state institution of higher education:

    (A) A procedure to ensure that public notice is given and that the right of interested parties to have a fair and adequate opportunity to respond is protected, including providing for a thirty day public comment period prior to final adoption of a rule;

    (B) Designation of a single location where all proposed and approved rules, guidelines and other policy statements are posted and can be accessed by the public; and

    (C) A procedure to maximize Internet access to all proposed and approved rules, guidelines and other policy statements to the extent technically and financially feasible.

    (d) Nothing in this section requires that any rule reclassified or transferred by the commission or the council under this section be promulgated again under the procedures set out in article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code unless the rule is amended or modified.

    (e) The commission and council each shall file with the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability any rule it proposes to promulgate, adopt, amend or repeal under the authority of this article.

    (f) The governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, respectively all publicly funded state institutions of higher education, shall promulgate and adopt any rule which they are required to adopt by this chapter or chapter eighteen-c of this code no later than July 1, 2006. On and after this date:

    (1) Any rule of either governing board which meets the definition set out in subsection (c) of this section and which has not been promulgated and adopted by formal vote of the appropriate governing board is void and may not be enforced;

    (2) Any authority granted by this code which inherently requires the governing board to promulgate and adopt a rule is void until the governing board complies with the provisions of this section.

    (g) Within thirty days of the adoption of a rule, including repeal or amendment of an existing rule, the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, respectively, all publicly funded state institutions of higher education, shall furnish to the commission or the council, as appropriate, a copy of each rule which has been formally adopted;

    (h) Not later than October 1, 2005, and annually thereafter, each governing board of a state institution of higher education shall file with the commission or the council, as appropriate, a list of all institutional rules that were in effect for that institution on July 1 of that year, including the most recent date on which each rule was considered and adopted, amended or repealed by the governing board. For all rules adopted, amended or repealed after the effective date of this section, the list shall include a statement by the chair of the governing board certifying that the governing board has complied with the provisions of this section when each listed rule was adopted.

ARTICLE 1B. HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION.

§18B-1B-4. Powers and duties of Higher Education Policy Commission.

    (a) The primary responsibility of the commission is to develop, establish and implement policy that will achieve the goals and objectives found in section one-a, article one and article one-d of this chapter. The commission shall exercise its authority and carry out its responsibilities in a manner that is consistent and not in conflict with the powers and duties assigned by law to the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education and the powers and duties assigned to the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, respectively all publicly funded state institutions of higher education. To that end, the commission, has the following powers and duties relating to the institutions under its jurisdiction:

    (1) Develop, oversee and advance the public policy agenda pursuant to section one, article one-a of this chapter 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 article one-d of this chapter and including specifically those goals and objectives pertaining to the compacts created pursuant to section seven, article one-d of this chapter and to develop and implement the master plan described in section five, article one-d of this chapter for the purpose of accomplishing the mandates of this section;

    (2) Develop, oversee and advance the promulgation and implementation of a financing rule for state institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction. The rule shall meet the following criteria:

    (A) Provide for an adequate level of educational and general funding for institutions pursuant to section five, article one-a of this chapter;

    (B) Serve to maintain institutional assets, including, but not limited to, human and physical resources and eliminating deferred maintenance;

    (C) Invest and provide incentives for achieving the priority goals in the public policy agenda, including, but not limited to, those found in section one-a, article one of this chapter; and

    (D) Evaluate institutions’ requests for tuition and fee increases except Marshall University and West Virginia University which are subject to the provisions of section one, article ten of this chapter;

    (3) In collaboration with the council, create a policy leadership structure capable of the following actions:

    (A) Developing, building public consensus around and sustaining attention to a long-range public policy agenda. In developing the agenda, the commission and council shall seek input from the Legislature and the Governor and specifically from the State Board of Education and local school districts in order to create the necessary linkages to assure smooth, effective and seamless movement of students through the public education and post-secondary education systems and to ensure that the needs of public school courses and programs can be fulfilled by the graduates produced and the programs offered;

    (B) Ensuring that the governing boards carry out their duty effectively to govern the individual institutions of higher education; and

    (C) Holding the higher education institutions and the higher education systems 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) Serve as the accountability point to state policymakers:

    (A) The Governor for implementation of the public policy agenda; and

    (B) The Legislature by maintaining a close working relationship with the legislative leadership and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability;

    (7) Jointly with the council, promulgate legislative rules pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to fulfill the purposes of section five, article one-a of this chapter;

    (8) Establish and implement a peer group for each institution as described in section three, article one-a of this chapter;

    (9) Establish and implement the benchmarks and performance indicators necessary to measure institutional progress in achieving state policy priorities and institutional missions pursuant to section seven, article one-d of this chapter;

    (10) Report to the Legislature and to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability annually during the January interim meeting period on a date and at a time and location to be determined by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates. The report shall address at least the following:

    (A) The performance of its system of higher education during the previous fiscal year, including, but not limited to, progress in meeting the goals, objectives, and priorities set forth in article one and article one-d of this chapter and in the commission’s master plan and institutional compacts;

    (B) The commission’s priorities for new operating and capital investments and the justification for the priority;

    (C) Recommendations of the commission for statutory changes necessary or expedient to achieve state goals and objectives;

    (11) Establish a formal process for identifying capital investment needs and for determining priorities for these investments for consideration by the Governor and the Legislature as part of the appropriation request process pursuant to article nineteen of this chapter;

    (12) Develop standards and evaluate governing board requests for capital project financing in accordance with article nineteen of this chapter;

    (13) Ensure that governing boards manage capital projects and facilities needs effectively, including review and approval or disapproval of capital projects, in accordance with article nineteen of this chapter;

    (14) Acquire legal services that 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;

    (15) Employ a Chancellor for Higher Education pursuant to section five of this article;

    (16) Employ other staff as necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the commission and the council, in accordance with article four of this chapter;

    (17) Provide suitable offices in Charleston for the chancellor, vice chancellors and other staff;

    (18) Advise and consent in the appointment of the presidents of the institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction pursuant to section six of this article. The role of the commission in approving an institutional president is to assure through personal interview that the person selected understands and is committed to achieving the goals and objectives as set forth in the institutional compact and in section one-a, article one of this chapter;

    (19) Approve the total compensation package from all sources for presidents of institutions under its jurisdiction, as proposed by the governing boards. The governing boards shall 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;

    (20) Establish and implement the policy of the state to assure that parents and students have sufficient information at the earliest possible age on which to base academic decisions about what is required for students to be successful in college, other post-secondary education and careers related, as far as possible, to results from current assessment tools in use in West Virginia;

    (21) Approve and implement a uniform standard jointly with the council to determine which students shall be placed in remedial or developmental courses. The standard shall be aligned with college admission tests and assessment tools used in West Virginia and shall be applied uniformly by the governing boards throughout the public higher education system. The chancellors shall develop a clear, concise explanation of the standard which they shall communicate to the State Board of Education and the state superintendent of Schools;

    (22) Jointly with the council, develop and implement an oversight plan to manage systemwide technology by:

    (A) Expanding distance learning and technology networks to enhance teaching and learning, promote access to quality educational offerings with minimum duplication of effort; and

    (B) Increasing the delivery of instruction to nontraditional students, to provide services to business and industry and increase the management capabilities of the higher education system;

    (C) Notwithstanding any other contrary provision of law or this code to the contrary, the council, commission and state institutions of higher education are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Chief Technology Officer for any purpose;

    (23) Establish and implement policies and procedures to ensure that a student may transfer and apply toward the requirements for a bachelor’s degree the maximum number of credits earned at any regionally accredited in-state or out-of-state community and technical college with as few requirements to repeat courses or to incur additional costs as is consistent with sound academic policy;

    (24) Establish and implement policies and procedures to ensure that a student may transfer and apply toward the requirements for a degree the maximum number of credits earned at any regionally accredited in-state or out-of-state higher education institution with as few requirements to repeat courses or to incur additional costs as is consistent with sound academic policy;

    (25) Establish and implement policies and procedures to ensure that a student may transfer and apply toward the requirements for a master’s degree the maximum number of credits earned at any regionally accredited in-state or out-of-state higher education institution with as few requirements to repeat courses or to incur additional costs as is consistent with sound academic policy;

    (26) Establish and implement policies and programs, in cooperation with the council and the institutions of higher education, through which a student who has gained knowledge and skills through employment, participation in education and training at vocational schools or other education institutions, or Internet-based education programs, may demonstrate by competency-based assessment that he or she has the necessary knowledge and skills to be granted academic credit or advanced placement standing toward the requirements of an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree at a state institution of higher education;

    (27) Seek out and Attend regional, national and international meetings and forums on education and workforce development-related topics, as in the commission’s discretion is critical for the performance of their duties as members, for the purpose of keeping abreast of education trends and policies to aid it in developing the policies for this state to meet the established education goals and objectives pursuant to section one-a, article one of this chapter and article one-d of this chapter;

    (28) Promulgate and implement a rule for higher education governing boards and institutions to follow when considering capital projects pursuant to article nineteen of this chapter;

    (29) Consider and submit to the appropriate agencies of the executive and legislative branches of state government an appropriation request that reflects recommended appropriations for the commission and the institutions under its jurisdiction. The commission shall submit as part of its appropriation request the separate recommended appropriation request received from the council, both for the council and the institutions under the council’s jurisdiction. The commission annually shall submit the proposed institutional allocations based on each institution’s progress toward meeting the goals of its institutional compact;

    (30) The commission may assess institutions under its jurisdiction, including the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University, for the payment of expenses of the commission or for the funding of statewide higher education services, obligations or initiatives related to the goals set forth for the provision of public higher education in the state;

    (31) Promulgate rules allocating reimbursement of appropriations, if made available by the Legislature, to institutions of higher education for qualifying noncapital expenditures incurred in providing services to students with physical, learning or severe sensory disabilities;

    (32) Make appointments to boards and commissions where this code requires appointments from the state College System Board of Directors or the University of West Virginia System Board of Trustees which were abolished effective June 30, 2000, except in those cases where the required appointment has a specific and direct connection to the provision of community and technical college education, the appointment shall be made by the council. Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of this code to the contrary, the commission or the council may appoint one of its own members or any other citizen of the state as its designee. The commission and council shall appoint the total number of persons in the aggregate required to be appointed by these previous governing boards;

    (33) Pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code and section six, article one of this chapter, promulgate rules necessary or expedient to fulfill the purposes of this chapter. The commission and the council shall promulgate a uniform joint legislative rule for the purpose of standardizing, as much as possible, the administration of personnel matters among the state institutions of higher education;

    (34) Determine when a joint rule among the governing boards of the institutions under its jurisdiction is necessary or required by law and, in those instances, in consultation with the governing boards of all the institutions under its jurisdiction, promulgate the joint rule;

    (35) Promulgate and implement a rule jointly with the council whereby course credit earned at a community and technical college transfers for program credit at any other state institution of higher education and is not limited to fulfilling a general education requirement;

    (36) By November 1, 2010, promulgate a rule pursuant to section one, article ten of this chapter, establishing tuition and fee policy for all institutions of higher education under the jurisdiction of the commission, including Marshall University and West Virginia University. The rule shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

    (A) Comparisons with peer institutions;

    (B) Differences among institutional missions;

    (C) Strategies for promoting student access;

    (D) Consideration of charges to out-of-state students; and

    (E) Such other policies as the commission and council consider appropriate;

    (37) (36) Implement general disease awareness initiatives to educate parents and students, particularly dormitory residents, about meningococcal meningitis; the potentially life-threatening dangers of contracting the infection; behaviors and activities that can increase risks; measures that can be taken to prevent contact or infection; and potential benefits of vaccination. The commission shall encourage institutions that provide medical care to students to provide access to the vaccine for those who wish to receive it; and

    (38) (37) Notwithstanding any other contrary provision of this code to the contrary, sell, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or part of any real property that it owns, in accordance with article nineteen of this chapter; and

    (38) All publicly funded state institutions of higher education may participate directly or indirectly with any public or private entity in any capital project which has the potential to exceed $1 million in cost. 

    (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 of the system;

    (3) Development and implementation of institutional mission definitions, including use of incentive funds to influence institutional behavior in ways that are consistent with public priorities;

    (4) Academic program review and approval for institutions under its jurisdiction, including the use of institutional missions as a template to judge the appropriateness of both new and existing programs and the authority to implement needed changes. The commission’s authority to review and approve academic programs for either the state institution of higher education known as Marshall University or West Virginia University publicly funded state institutions of higher education is limited to programs that are proposed to be offered at a new location not presently served by that institution;

    (5) Distribution of funds appropriated to the commission, including incentive and performance-based funding;

    (6) Administration of state and federal student aid programs under the supervision of the Vice Chancellor for Administration, including promulgation of any rules necessary to administer those programs;

    (7) Serving as the agent to receive and disburse public funds when a governmental entity requires designation of a statewide higher education agency for this purpose;

    (8) Developing, establishing and implementing information, assessment and accountability systems, including maintaining statewide data systems that facilitate long-term planning and accurate measurement of strategic outcomes and performance indicators;

    (9) Jointly with the council, promulgating and implementing rules for licensing and oversight for both public and private degree-granting and nondegree-granting institutions that provide post-secondary education courses or programs in the state pursuant to the findings and policy recommendations required by section eleven of this article;

    (10) Developing, implementing and overseeing statewide and regional projects and initiatives related to providing post-secondary education at the baccalaureate level and above such as those using funds from federal categorical programs or those using incentive and performance-based funding from any source; and

    (11) Quality assurance that intersects with all other duties of the commission particularly in the areas of research, data collection and analysis, planning, policy analysis, program review and approval, budgeting and information and accountability systems.

    (c) In addition to the powers and duties provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section and any other powers and duties as may be assigned to it by law, the commission has any other powers and duties necessary or expedient to accomplish the purposes of this article.

    (d) The commission may withdraw specific powers of a governing board of an institution under its jurisdiction for a period not to exceed two years, if the commission makes a determination that any of the following conditions exist:

    (1) The governing board has failed for two consecutive years to develop or implement an institutional compact as required in article one-d of this chapter;

    (2) The commission has received information, substantiated by independent audit, of significant mismanagement or failure to carry out the powers and duties of the board of Governors according to state law; or

    (3) Other circumstances which, in the view of the commission, severely limit the capacity of the board of Governors to carry out its duties and responsibilities.

    Specific powers of a governing board may not be withdrawn for a period exceeding two years. During that time the commission may take all steps necessary to restore sound, stable and responsible institutional governance.

ARTICLE 2A. INSTITUTIONAL BOARDS OF GOVERNORS.

§18B-2A-3. Promulgation of rules.

    (a) The governing boards are subject to the supervision of the Commission or the Council, as appropriate, except for the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University as it relates to the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University. The Chancellor for Higher Education and the Chancellor for Community and Technical College Education, under the supervision of their respective boards, are responsible for the coordination of policies and purposes of the governing boards and shall provide for and facilitate sufficient interaction among the governing boards and between the governing boards and the state Board of Education to meet the goals and objectives provided in the compacts and in section one-a, article one of this chapter.

    (b) The governing boards and the State Board of Education shall provide any and all information requested by the commission or the council in an appropriate format and in a timely manner.

§18B-2A-4. Powers and duties of governing boards generally.

    Each governing board separately has the following powers and duties:

    (a) Determine, control, supervise and manage the financial, business and education policies and affairs of the state institution of higher education under its jurisdiction;

    (b) Develop a master plan for the institution under its jurisdiction.

    (1) The ultimate responsibility for developing and updating each master plan at the institutional level resides with the board of Governors, but the ultimate responsibility for approving the final version of each institutional master plan, including periodic updates, resides with the commission or council, as appropriate.

    (2) Each institutional master plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

    (A) A detailed demonstration of how the institutional master plan will be used to meet the goals and objectives of the institutional compact;

    (B) 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 a plan to assure that the needs of the institution’s area of responsibility for a quality system of higher education are addressed;

    (C) Documentation showing how the governing board involved the commission or council, as appropriate, institutional constituency groups, clientele of the institution and the general public in the development of all segments of the institutional master plan.

    (3) The plan shall be established for periods of not fewer than three nor more than five years and shall be revised periodically as necessary, including adding or deleting degree programs as the governing board in its discretion determines is necessary;

    (c) Develop a ten-year campus development plan in accordance with article nineteen of this chapter;

    (d) Prescribe for the institution, under its jurisdiction, in accordance with its master plan and compact, specific functions and responsibilities to achieve the goals, objectives and priorities established in articles one and one-d of this chapter to meet the higher education needs of its area of responsibility and to avoid unnecessary duplication;

    (e) Direct the preparation of an appropriation request for the institution under its jurisdiction, which relates directly to missions, goals and projections as found in the institutional master plan and the institutional compact;

    (f) Consider, revise and submit to the commission or council, as appropriate, an appropriation request on behalf of the institution under its jurisdiction;

    (g) Review, at least every five years, all academic programs offered at the institution under its jurisdiction. The review shall address the viability, adequacy and necessity of the programs in relation to established state goals, objectives and priorities, the institutional master plan, the institutional compact and the education and workforce needs of its responsibility district. As a part of the review, each governing board shall require the institution under its jurisdiction to conduct periodic studies of its graduates and their employers to determine placement patterns and the effectiveness of the education experience. Where appropriate, these studies should coincide with the studies required of many academic disciplines by their accrediting bodies;

    (h) Ensure that the sequence and availability of academic programs and courses offered by the institution under its jurisdiction is such that students have the maximum opportunity to complete programs in the time frame normally associated with program completion. Each governing board is responsible to see that the needs of nontraditional college-age students are appropriately addressed and, to the extent it is possible for the individual governing board to control, to assure core course work completed at the institution is transferable to any other state institution of higher education for credit with the grade earned;

    (i) Subject to article one-b of this chapter, 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 commission may select and use one nationally recognized teacher education program accreditation standard as the appropriate standard for program evaluation;

    (j) Involve faculty, students and classified employees in institutional-level planning and decisionmaking when those groups are affected;

    (k) Subject to the provisions of federal law and pursuant to articles seven, eight and nine of this chapter and to rules adopted by the commission and the council, administer a system for the management of personnel matters, including, but not limited to, personnel classification, compensation and discipline for employees at the institution under its jurisdiction;

    (l) Administer a system for hearing employee grievances and appeals. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the procedure established in article two, chapter six-c of this code is the exclusive mechanism for hearing prospective employee grievances and appeals;

    (m) Solicit and use or expend voluntary support, including financial contributions and support services, for the institution under its jurisdiction;

    (n) Appoint a president for the institution under its jurisdiction subject to section six, article one-b of this chapter;

    (o) Conduct written performance evaluations of the president pursuant to section six, article one-b of this chapter;

    (p) Employ all faculty and staff at the institution under its jurisdiction. The employees operate under the supervision of the president, but are employees of the governing board;

    (q) Submit to the commission or council, as appropriate, any data or reports requested by the commission or council, as appropriate, within the time frame set by the commission or council;

    (r) 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 state institutions of higher education or at off-campus locations in the institution’s responsibility district. To accomplish this goal, the boards may share resources among the various groups in the community;

    (s) Provide and transfer funding and property to certain corporations pursuant to section ten, article twelve of this chapter;

    (t) Delegate, with prescribed standards and limitations, the part of its power and control over the business affairs of the institution to the president in any case where it considers the delegation necessary and prudent in order to enable the institution to function in a proper and expeditious manner and to meet the requirements of its master plan and compact. If a governing board elects to delegate any of its power and control under this subsection, it shall enter the delegation in the minutes of the meeting when the decision was made and shall notify the commission or council, as appropriate. Any delegation of power and control may be rescinded by the appropriate governing board the commission or council, as appropriate, at any time, in whole or in part; except that the commission may not revoke delegations of authority made by the governing boards of Marshall University or West Virginia University as they relate to the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University;

    (u) Unless changed by the commission or the council, as appropriate, continue to abide by existing rules setting forth standards for acceptance of advanced placement credit for the institution under its jurisdiction. Individual departments at a state institution of higher education may, upon approval of the institutional faculty senate, require higher scores on the advanced placement test than scores designated by the governing board when the credit is to be used toward meeting a requirement of the core curriculum for a major in that department;

    (v) Consult and 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 appropriated and nonappropriated revenue at the institution under its jurisdiction that ensures that properly submitted requests for payment be paid on or before the due date but, in any event, within fifteen days of receipt in the State Auditor's office;

    (w) In consultation with the appropriate chancellor and the Secretary of the Department of Administration, develop update as necessary and maintain a plan to administer a consistent method of conducting personnel transactions, including, but not limited to, hiring, dismissal, promotions and transfers at the institution under its jurisdiction. Each personnel transaction shall be accompanied by the appropriate standardized system or forms, which shall be submitted to the respective governing board and the Department of Finance and Administration;

    (x) Notwithstanding any other contrary provision of this code to the contrary, transfer funds from any account specifically appropriated for its use to any corresponding line item in a general revenue account at any agency or institution under its jurisdiction as long as the transferred funds are used for the purposes appropriated;

    (y) Transfer funds from appropriated special revenue accounts for capital improvements under its jurisdiction to special revenue accounts at agencies or institutions under its jurisdiction as long as the transferred funds are used for the purposes appropriated in accordance with article nineteen of this chapter;

    (z) Notwithstanding any other contrary provision of this code to the contrary, acquire legal services that are necessary, including representation of the governing board, its institution, employees and officers before any court or administrative body. The counsel may be employed either on a salaried basis or on a reasonable fee basis. In addition, the governing board may, but is not required to, call upon the Attorney General for legal assistance and representation as provided by law; and

    (aa) Contract and pay for disability insurance for a class or classes of employees at a state institution of higher education under its jurisdiction.

    (bb) Maintain guidelines for institutions under its control to follow concerning extensive capital project management. The guidelines are to 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 $1 million.

ARTICLE 4. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.

§18B-4-5. Campus police officers; appointment; qualifications; authority; compensation and removal.

    (a) The governing boards may appoint bona fide residents of this state to serve as campus police officers upon any premises owned or leased by the State of West Virginia and under the jurisdiction of the governing boards, subject to the conditions and restrictions established in this section.

    (1) A person who previously was qualified for employment as a law-enforcement officer for a state agency or political subdivision of the state is considered certified for appointment as a campus police officer at all publicly funded the state institutions of higher education. under the jurisdiction of the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University.

    (2) Before performing duties as a campus police officer in any county, a person shall qualify as is required of county police officers by:

    (A) Taking and filing an oath of office as required by article one, chapter six of this code; and

    (B) Posting an official bond as required by article two, chapter six of this code.

    (b) A campus police officer may carry a gun and any other dangerous weapon while on duty if the officer fulfills the certification requirement for law-enforcement officers under section five, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code or meets the requirements of subsection (a) of this section.

    (c) It is the duty of a campus police officer to preserve law and order:

    (1) On the premises under the jurisdiction of the governing board; and

    (2) On any street, road or thoroughfare, except controlled access and open country highways, immediately adjacent to or passing through premises, to which the officer is assigned by the president of the state institution of higher education.

    (A) For the purpose of this subdivision, the campus police officer is a law-enforcement officer pursuant to the provisions of section one, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code.

    (B) The officer has and may exercise all the powers and authority of a law-enforcement officer as to offenses committed within the area assigned;

    (C) The officer is subject to all the requirements and responsibilities of a law-enforcement officer;

    (D) Authority assigned pursuant to this subdivision does not supersede in any way the authority or duty of other law-enforcement officers to preserve law and order on such premises.

    (E) Campus police officers may assist a local law-enforcement agency on public highways. The assistance may be provided to control traffic in and around premises owned by the state when:

    (i) Traffic is generated as a result of athletic or other activities conducted or sponsored by a state institution of higher education; and

    (ii) The assistance has been requested by the local law-enforcement agency.

    (F) Campus police officers may assist a local law-enforcement agency in any location under the agency’s jurisdiction at the request of the agency.

    (d) The salary of a campus police officer is paid by the appropriate governing board. Each state institution may furnish each campus police officer with a firearm and an official uniform to be worn while on duty. The institution shall furnish and require each officer while on duty to wear a shield with an appropriate inscription and to carry credentials certifying to the person's identity and authority as a campus police officer.

    (e) A governing board may at its pleasure revoke the authority of any campus police officer and such officers serve at the will and pleasure of the governing board. The president of the state institution shall report the termination of employment of a campus police officer by filing a notice to that effect in the office of the clerk of each county in which the campus police officer's oath of office was filed.

§18B-4-5a. Crimes committed on campus of institutions of higher education.

    (a) The president or a designee of each state institution of higher education shall on a regular and timely basis provide information to the public concerning alleged crimes occurring on the institution's property which have been reported to a campus police officer or any other officer of the institution.

    (1) A crime is considered reported when:

    (A) A campus police officer or other officer of the institution determines that the report is credible;

    (B) The report is submitted in writing and attested to by the victim on forms at the institution for such purpose; or

    (C) The institution is notified by a law-enforcement agency of the reporting of a crime alleged to have occurred on the institution's property.

    (2) Such reports are referred within twenty-four hours to the appropriate law-enforcement agencies, as defined in section one, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code, for further investigation.

    (b) For the At all publicly funded state institutions of higher education under the jurisdiction of the Governing Board of Marshall University and for the state institution of higher education known as West Virginia University only, the campus police shall investigate a crime within their respective jurisdictions for up to thirty days if the county prosecuting attorney does not reassign the case to another agency sooner.

    (c) The information required to be made available to the public regarding the crime report shall be available within ten days of the report. The information shall include the nature of the criminal offense, the date of the offense, the general location of the offense (such as a designation of a specific building or area of the campus) and the time of day when the offense occurred.

    (1) This subsection does not require the release of any information which may disclose the identity of the victim.

    (2) The institution shall withhold the information required to be made available to the public for a longer period upon certification of investigative need that the information be withheld from the public.

    (A) The certification shall be filed by an officer of one of the investigating law-enforcement agencies with the president of the institution or the designee to whom the duties required by this section have been delegated.

    (B) The required information may not be withheld after an arrest has been made in connection with the crime report.

    (d) For purposes of this section, "crime" is defined as those offenses required to be reported under the federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, as amended. “Crime” includes murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arrests for liquor, drug or weapons laws violations.

    (e) The council and commission shall provide crime reporting forms to institutions under their respective jurisdictions and promulgate a rule pursuant to the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code as necessary to implement this section.

§18B-4-6. Regulation of parking, speed flow of traffic on campus roads and driveways; civil and criminal penalties; disposition of revenue.

    (a) Notwithstanding any other contrary motor vehicle or traffic law or regulation to the contrary, a governing board may regulate and control at any state institution under its jurisdiction the speed, flow and parking of vehicles on campus roads, driveways and parking facilities or areas.

    (1) Rules for this purpose shall be promulgated by the governing boards in the manner as prescribed in section six, article one of this chapter.

    (2) When so promulgated, the rules have the force and effect of law.

    (3) The governing board shall post in a conspicuous location in each parking facility or area, a summary of the rules governing the use of the facility or area including, but not limited to, the availability of temporary parking permits and where these permits may be obtained and the penalties which may be imposed for violations of the rules.

    (4) The governing board shall post in a conspicuous location along each campus road and driveway notice signs pertaining to the speed of vehicles, spaces available for parking, directional flow of traffic and penalties which may be imposed for violations of the rules.

    (b) Any person parking or operating a vehicle in violation of the rules shall be issued a citation:

    (1) Describing the offense charged; and

    (2) Ordering an appearance:

    (A) Within ten days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays observed by the state institution, before a designated official of the institution;

    (B) Before a magistrate located in the county if the person cited fails to appear within the ten days; or

    (C) Before the judge of the municipal court, if the state institution is located within a municipality having such an official and the person cited fails to appear within the ten days.

    (c) The designated official of the state institution has exclusive jurisdiction of the offense during the ten-day period until the citation is forwarded to a magistrate. For the state institutions of higher education under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University and for the state institution of higher education known as West Virginia University only, the designated official of the institution has exclusive jurisdiction of the offense for thirty days following the violation. After thirty days the official shall forward the citation to a magistrate. Any person cited may plead no contest to the offense and, by so pleading, is subject to a civil penalty to be determined uniformly by the designated official and commensurate with the severity of the offense. For the state institutions under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University and for the state institution of higher education known as West Virginia University only, For all publicly funded state institutions of higher education the amount imposed may not exceed $20. For all other institutions the amount may not exceed $10, for each offense as partial reimbursement to the state institution of higher education for the cost of regulating traffic and parking. In the case of the state institutions under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University and in the case of the state institution of higher education known as West Virginia University only, the The designated official shall determine the penalty uniformly, commensurate with the severity of the offense, and may apply academic restrictions in lieu of requiring a student to appear in court and receive penalties otherwise provided in this section. Moneys derived from civil penalties imposed in this subsection shall be deposited in the institution’s auxiliary and auxiliary capital fees fund.

    (d) Upon expiration of the ten-day or thirty-day period, as applicable, or upon a pleading of not guilty before the designated official of the state institution within the applicable period, the magistrate or judge of the municipal court has jurisdiction of the offense. Any person cited under this section, upon a finding of guilty by the magistrate or municipal judge, is subject to a fine for each offense by the state institutions under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University and for the state institution of higher education known as West Virginia University only, of up to $40, and at all other state institutions not less than $10 nor more than $20, the amount to be commensurate with the severity of the offense.

    (e) Each designated official of a state institution presiding over a case under this section shall keep a record of every citation which alleges a violation of the provisions, or the rules promulgated in accordance with this section, and shall keep a record of every official action in reference to the citation including, but not limited to, a record of every plea of no contest, conviction or acquittal, of the offense charged, and the amount of the fine or civil penalty resulting from each citation.

    (f) Whenever a vehicle is parked on any state institution campus road, driveway or parking facility or area in a manner which violates posted rules and substantially impedes the flow of traffic or endangers the health and safety, in addition to issuing a citation and any procedures set forth in this section, the institution may remove the vehicle, by towing or otherwise, to an area owned by the institution or areas designated for this purpose. The vehicle, having been towed to the designated area or areas, may be rendered immovable by use of locking wheel blocks or other device not damaging to the vehicle. The state institution of higher education shall maintain any vehicle towed in the same condition as it was immediately prior to being towed, but is not liable for any damage to a vehicle towed to, or kept in, a designated area pursuant to this section. The state institution of higher education shall pay for the cost of removing the vehicle and has a right to reimbursement from the owner for this cost and for the reasonable cost of keeping the vehicle in the designated area. Until payment of these costs, the state institution of higher education may retain possession of the vehicle and the institution shall have a lien on the vehicle for the amount due. The state institution of higher education may enforce this lien in the manner provided in section fourteen, article eleven, chapter thirty-eight of this code for the enforcement of other liens. For the state institutions of higher education under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University and for the state institution of higher education known as West Virginia University only, This subsection also apply applies when a vehicle is subject to three or more unpaid citations.

    (g) If, at any time, Mountwest Community and Technical College ceases to share a physical campus location with Marshall University, it may not be included as an institution under the jurisdiction of the governing board of Marshall University for the purposes of subsections (c), (d) and (f) of this section.  

§18B-4-7. Accreditation of institutions of higher education; standards for degrees.

    The council shall make rules for the accreditation of community and technical colleges in this state and shall determine the minimum standards for conferring degrees. The commission shall make rules for the accreditation of colleges and universities in this state, except the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University shall make rules for the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University, and shall determine the minimum standards for conferring degrees. The governing boards of all publicly funded state institutions of higher education shall make rules for their institutions and shall determine the minimum standards for conferring degrees. The governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University all publicly funded state institutions of higher education shall promulgate rules pursuant to the provisions of section six, article one of this chapter for the accreditation of the state institutions of higher education. known as Marshall University and West Virginia University. An institution of higher education may not confer any degree on any basis of work or merit below the minimum standards prescribed by the council, commission or the governing boards. Nothing in this section infringes upon the rights, including rights to award degrees, granted to any institution by charter given according to law, or by actions of the council or commission or their predecessors, prior to the effective date of this section. With the approval of the commission, governing boards of institutions which currently offer substantial undergraduate course offerings and a master's degree in a discipline are authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees in that discipline.

    Except as otherwise provided in this section, a charter or other instrument containing the right to confer degrees of higher education status may not be granted by the State of West Virginia to any institution, association or organization within the state, nor may any such degree be awarded, until the condition of conferring the degree has first been approved in writing by the council, commission or appropriate governing board.

ARTICLE 5. HIGHER EDUCATION BUDGETS AND EXPENDITURES.

§18B-5-4. Purchase or acquisition of materials, supplies, equipment, services and printing.

    (a) The council, commission and each governing board shall purchase or acquire all materials, supplies, equipment, services and printing required for that governing board or the council or commission, as appropriate, and the state institutions of higher education under their jurisdiction, except the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, respectively, all publicly funded state institutions of higher education are subject to subsection (d) of this section.

    (b) The commission and council jointly shall adopt rules governing and controlling acquisitions and purchases in accordance with this section. The rules shall ensure that the following procedures are followed:

    (1) No person is precluded from participating and making sales thereof to the council, commission or governing board except as otherwise provided in section five of this article. Providing consulting services such as strategic planning services does not preclude or inhibit the governing boards, council or commission from considering a qualified bid or response for delivery of a product or a commodity from the individual providing the services;

    (2) Specifications are established and prescribed for materials, supplies, equipment, services and printing to be purchased;

    (3) Purchase order, requisition or other forms as may be required are adopted and prescribed;

    (4) Purchases and acquisitions in such quantities, at such times and under contract, are negotiated for and made in the open market or through other accepted methods of governmental purchasing as may be practicable in accordance with general law;

    (5) Bids are advertised on all purchases exceeding $25,000, and made by means of sealed or electronically-submitted bids and competitive bidding or advantageous purchases effected through other accepted governmental methods and practices. Competitive bids are not required for purchases of $25,000 or less.

    (6) Notices for acquisitions and purchases for which competitive bids are being solicited are posted in the purchasing office of the specified institution involved in the purchase, at least two weeks prior to making the purchases. The rules shall ensure that the notice is available to the public during business hours;

    (7) Purchases are made in the open market;

    (8) Vendors are notified of bid solicitation and emergency purchasing; and

    (9) No fewer than three bids are obtained when bidding is required, except if fewer than three bids are submitted, an award may be made from among those received.

    (c) When a state institution of higher education submits a contract, agreement or other document to the Attorney General for approval as to form as required by this chapter the following conditions apply:

    (1) "Form" means compliance with the Constitution and statutes of the State of West Virginia;

    (2) The Attorney General does not have the authority to reject a contract, agreement or other the document based on the substantive provisions in the contract, agreement or document or any extrinsic matter as long as it complies with the Constitution and statutes of this state;

    (3) Within fifteen days of receipt, the Attorney General shall notify the appropriate state institution of higher education in writing that the contract, agreement or other document is approved or disapproved as to form. If the contract, agreement or other document is disapproved as to form, the notice of disapproval shall identify each defect that supports the disapproval; and

    (4) If the state institution elects to challenge the disapproval by filing a writ of mandamus or other action and prevails, then the Attorney General shall pay reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred.

    (d) Pursuant to this subsection, the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, respectively, all publicly funded state institutions of higher education may carry out the following actions:

    (1) Purchase or Acquire all materials, supplies, equipment, services and printing required for the governing board without approval from the commission or the Vice Chancellor for Administration and may issue checks in advance to cover postage as provided in subsection (f) of this section;

    (2) Make purchases from cooperative buying groups, consortia, the federal government or from federal government contracts if the materials, supplies, services, equipment or printing to be purchased is available from these groups and if this would be the most financially advantageous manner of making the purchase;

    (3) Select and acquire by contract or lease all grounds, buildings, office space or other space, and capital improvements, including equipment, if the rental is necessarily required by the governing board; and

    (4) Use purchase cards under terms approved for the commission, the council and governing boards of state institutions of higher education and participate in any expanded program of use as provided in under subsection (u) of this section.

    (e) The governing boards shall adopt sufficient accounting and auditing procedures and promulgate and adopt appropriate rules subject to section six, article one of this chapter to govern and control acquisitions, purchases, leases and other instruments for grounds, buildings, office or other space, and capital improvements, including equipment, or lease-purchase agreements.

    (f) The council, commission or each governing board may issue a check in advance to a company supplying postage meters for postage used by that board, the council or commission and by the state institutions of higher education under their jurisdiction.

    (g) When a purchase is to be made by bid, any or all bids may be rejected. However, all purchases based on advertised bid requests shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder taking into consideration the qualities of the articles to be supplied, their conformity with specifications, their suitability to the requirements of the governing boards, council or commission and delivery terms. The preference for resident vendors as provided in section thirty-seven, article three, chapter five-a of this code applies to the competitive bids made pursuant to this section.

    (h) The governing boards, council and commission shall maintain a purchase file, which shall be a public record and open for public inspection.

    (1) After the award of the order or contract, the governing boards, council and commission shall indicate upon the successful bid the following information:

    (A) Designation as the successful bid;

    (B) The reason any bids were rejected; and

    (C) The reason for rejection, if the mathematical low vendor was not awarded the order or contract.

    (2) A record in the purchase file may not be destroyed without the written consent of the Legislative Auditor. Those files in which the original documentation has been held for at least one year and in which the original documents have been reproduced and archived on microfilm or other equivalent method of duplication may be destroyed without the written consent of the Legislative Auditor.

    (3) All files, no matter the storage method, shall be open for inspection by the Legislative Auditor upon request.

    (i) The commission and council, also jointly, shall promulgate rules to prescribe qualifications to be met by any person who is to be employed as a buyer pursuant to this section. These rules shall require that a person may not be employed as a buyer unless that person, at the time of employment has one of the following qualifications:

    (1) Is a graduate of an accredited college or university; or

    (2) Has at least four years' experience in purchasing for any unit of government or for any business, commercial or industrial enterprise.

    (j) Any person making purchases and acquisitions pursuant to this section shall execute a bond in the penalty of $50,000, payable to the State of West Virginia, with a corporate bonding or surety company authorized to do business in this state as surety thereon, in form prescribed by the Attorney General and conditioned upon the faithful performance of all duties in accordance with this section and sections five through eight, inclusive, of this article and the rules of the governing board and the council and commission. In lieu of separate bonds for these buyers, a blanket surety bond may be obtained. The bond shall be filed with the Secretary of State and the cost of the bond shall be paid from funds appropriated to the applicable governing board or the council or commission.

    (k) All purchases and acquisitions shall be made in consideration and within limits of available appropriations and funds and in accordance with applicable provisions of article two, chapter five-a of this code relating to expenditure schedules and quarterly allotments of funds. Notwithstanding any other contrary provision of this code to the contrary, only those purchases exceeding the dollar amount for competitive sealed bids in this section are required to be encumbered and they may be entered into the state's centralized accounting system by the staff of the commission, council or governing boards to satisfy the requirements of article two, chapter five-a of this code to determine whether the amount of the purchase is within the quarterly allotment of the commission, council or governing board, is in accordance with the approved expenditure schedule and otherwise conforms to the article.

    (l) The governing boards, council and commission may make requisitions upon the State Auditor for a sum to be known as an advance allowance account, not to exceed five percent of the total of the appropriations for the governing board, council or commission, and the State Auditor shall draw a warrant upon the Treasurer for those accounts. All advance allowance accounts shall be accounted for by the applicable governing board or the council or commission once every thirty days or more often if required by the State Auditor.

    (m) Contracts entered into pursuant to this section shall be signed by the applicable governing board or the council or commission in the name of the state and shall be approved as to form by the Attorney General. A contract which requires approval as to form by the Attorney General is considered approved if the Attorney General has not responded within fifteen days of presentation of the contract. A contract or a change order for that contract and notwithstanding any other contrary provision of this code to the contrary, associated documents such as performance and labor/material payments, bonds and certificates of insurance which use terms and conditions or standardized forms previously approved by the Attorney General and do not make substantive changes in the terms and conditions of the contract do not require approval as to form by the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall make a list of those changes which he or she considers to be substantive and the list, and any changes to the list, shall be published in the State Register. A contract that exceeds the dollar amount requiring competitive sealed bids in this section shall be filed with the State Auditor. If requested to do so, the governing boards, council or commission shall make all contracts available for inspection by the State Auditor. The governing board, council or commission, as appropriate, shall prescribe the amount of deposit or bond to be submitted with a bid or contract, if any, and the amount of deposit or bond to be given for the faithful performance of a contract.

    (n) If the governing board, council or commission purchases or contracts for materials, supplies, equipment, services and printing contrary to sections four through seven of this article or the rules pursuant to this article, the purchase or contract is void and of no effect.

    (o) A governing board or the council or commission, as appropriate, may request the director of purchasing to make available the facilities and services of that department to the governing boards, council or commission in the purchase and acquisition of materials, supplies, equipment, services and printing. The director of purchasing shall cooperate with that governing board, council or commission, as appropriate, in all such purchases and acquisitions upon that request.

    (p) Each governing board or the council or commission, as appropriate, may permit private institutions of higher education to join as purchasers on purchase contracts for materials, supplies, services and equipment entered into by that governing board or the council or commission. A private institution desiring to join as purchaser on purchase contracts shall file with that governing board or the council or commission, as appropriate, an affidavit signed by the president or designee of the private institution requesting that it be authorized to join as purchaser on purchase contracts of that governing board or the council or commission, as appropriate. The private institution shall agree that it is bound by such terms and conditions as that governing board or the council or commission may prescribe and that it will be responsible for payment directly to the vendor under each purchase contract.

    (q) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the governing boards, council and commission, as appropriate, may make purchases from cooperative buying groups, consortia, the federal government or from federal government contracts if the materials, supplies, services, equipment or printing to be purchased is available from that source, and purchasing from that source would be the most financially advantageous manner of making the purchase.

    (r) An independent performance audit of all purchasing functions and duties which are performed at any state institution of higher education, except Marshall University and West Virginia University, shall be performed each fiscal year. The Joint Committee on Government and Finance shall conduct the performance audit and the governing boards, council and commission, as appropriate, are responsible for paying the cost of the audit from funds appropriated to the governing boards, council or commission.

    (1) The governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, respectively, all publicly funded state institutions of higher education shall provide for independent performance audits of all purchasing functions and duties on their campuses at least once in each three-year period.

    (2) Each audit shall be inclusive of the entire time period that has elapsed since the date of the preceding audit.

    (3) Copies of all appropriate documents relating to any audit performed by the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University all publicly funded state institutions of higher education shall be furnished to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability within thirty days of the date the audit report is completed.

    (s) The governing boards shall require each institution under their respective jurisdictions to notify and inform every vendor doing business with that institution of section fifty-four, article three, chapter five-a of this code, also known as the Prompt Pay Act of 1990.

    (t) Consultant services, such as strategic planning services, do not preclude or inhibit the governing boards, council or commission from considering any qualified bid or response for delivery of a product or a commodity because of the rendering of those consultant services.

    (u) Purchasing card use may be expanded by the council, commission and state institutions of higher education pursuant to this subsection.

    (1) The council and commission jointly shall establish procedures to be implemented by the council, commission and any institution under their respective jurisdictions using purchasing cards. The procedures shall ensure that each meets the following conditions:

    (A) Appropriate use of the purchasing card system;

    (B) Full compliance with article three, chapter twelve of this code relating to the purchasing card program; and

    (C) Sufficient accounting and auditing procedures for all purchasing card transactions.

    (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the council, commission and any institution authorized pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection may use purchasing cards for the following purposes:

    (A) Payment of travel expenses directly related to the job duties of the traveling employee, including, but not limited to, fuel and food; and

    (B) Payment of any routine, regularly scheduled payment, including, but not limited to, utility payments and real property rental fees.

    (3) The commission and council each shall evaluate the capacity of each institution under its jurisdiction for complying with the procedures established pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection. The commission and council each shall authorize expanded use of purchasing cards pursuant to that subdivision for any institution it determines has the capacity to comply.

§18B-5-7. Disposition of obsolete and unusable equipment, surplus              supplies and other unneeded materials.

    (a) The commission, the council and the governing boards shall dispose of obsolete and unusable equipment, surplus supplies and other unneeded materials, either by transfer to other governmental agencies or institutions, by exchange or trade, or by sale as junk or otherwise. The commission, the council and each governing board shall adopt rules governing and controlling the disposition of all such equipment, supplies and materials.

    (1) At least ten days prior to the disposition, the commission, the council or the governing boards, as applicable, shall advertise, by newspaper publication as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, in the county in which the equipment, supplies and materials are located, the availability or sales of such disposable equipment, supplies and materials.

    (2) The commission, the council or governing boards, as applicable, may sell the disposable equipment, supplies and materials, in whole or in part, at public auction or by sealed bid, or may transfer, exchange or trade the same to other governmental agencies or institutions (if by transfer, exchange or trade, then without advertising), in whole or in part, as sound business practices may warrant under existing circumstances and conditions.

    (3) The requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this section apply to Marshall University and West Virginia University publicly funded state institutions of higher education relating only to those items of obsolete and unusable equipment, surplus supplies and other unneeded materials that exceed $5,000 in recorded net book value. Marshall University and West Virginia University These institutions may dispose of obsolete and unusable computers and computer-related equipment pursuant to the provisions of section two, article three of this chapter.

    (b) The commission, council or governing board, as appropriate, except for Marshall University and West Virginia University, shall report annually to the Legislative Auditor, all sales of commodities made during the preceding six months.

    (1) The report shall include a description of the commodities sold, the name of the buyer to whom each commodity was sold, and the price paid by the buyer.

    (2) Marshall University and West Virginia University shall Publicly funded state institutions of higher education must report biennially to the Legislative Auditor the total sales of commodities made during the preceding biennium along with the total recorded net book value of such commodities.

    (c) The proceeds of sales or transfers shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit on a pro rata basis of the fund or funds from which the purchase of the particular commodities or expendable commodities was made. The commission, council or governing board, as appropriate, may charge and assess fees reasonably related to the costs of care and handling with respect to the transfer, warehousing, sale and distribution of state property that is disposed of or sold pursuant to the provisions of this section.

§18B-5-9. Higher education fiscal responsibility.

    (a) The institutions of governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University publicly funded state institutions of higher education each shall ensure the fiscal integrity of its operations using best business and management practices.

    (1) The practices include at least the following:

    (A) Complying with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GAAP); and the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards of the Government Accountability Office (GAGAS);

    (B) Operating without material weakness in internal controls as defined by GAAP, GAGAS and, where applicable, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133;

    (C) Maintaining annual audited financial statements with an unqualified opinion;

    (D) Presenting annual audited financial statements to the respective governing board;

    (E) Maintaining quarterly financial statements certified by the chief financial officer of the institution; and

    (F) Implementing best practices from Sarbanes-Oxley, or adopting the applicable tenets of Sarbanes-Oxley as best practices.

    (2) Marshall University, West Virginia University and the research corporation of each:

    (A) Shall comply with the OMB Circular A-133 annual grant award audit requirements; and

    (B) Is exempt from the provisions of section fourteen, article four, chapter twelve of this code.

    (3) Within thirty days of the completion of the financial audit report, the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University each shall furnish to the commission, the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance copies of the annual audited financial statements.

    (b) The commission or council, as appropriate, shall ensure the fiscal integrity of any electronic process conducted at its offices and at all other institutions using best business and management practices.

    (c) Marshall University, West Virginia University Regarding all publicly funded state institutions of higher education, the council and the commission each shall implement a process whereby, to the maximum extent practicable, employees of Marshall University, West Virginia University publicly funded higher education institutions, the council, commission and all other state institutions of higher education receive their wages via electronic transfer or direct deposit.

    (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of section ten-a, article three, chapter twelve of this code, and except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the amount of any purchase made with a purchasing card used by the council, the commission or any other state institution of higher education may not exceed $5,000.

    (1) Subject to approval of the Auditor, any emergency payment and any routine, regularly scheduled payment, including, but not limited to, utility payments, contracts and real property rental fees, may exceed this limit by an amount to be determined by the Auditor.

    (2) The council, commission and any state institution of higher education may use a purchasing card for travel expenses directly related to the job duties of the traveling employee. Where approved by the Auditor, such expenses may exceed $5,000 by an amount to be determined by the Auditor. Traveling expenses may include registration fees and airline and other transportation reservations, if approved by the president of the institution. Traveling expenses may not include fuel or food purchases. except, the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University may include in traveling expenses the purchase of fuel and food.

    (3) The All state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University each shall maintain one purchasing card for use only in a situation declared an emergency by the institution’s president. The council and commission and all other institutions shall maintain one purchase card for use only in a situation declared an emergency by the president of the institution and approved by the appropriate chancellor. Emergencies may include, but are not limited to, partial or total destruction of a campus facility; loss of a critical component of utility infrastructure; heating, ventilation or air condition failure in an essential academic building; loss of campus road, parking lot or campus entrance; or a local, regional, or national emergency situation that has a direct impact on the campus.

    (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of section ten-f, article three, chapter twelve of this code, or any other contrary provision of this code or law to the contrary, the Auditor shall accept any receiving report submitted in a format utilizing electronic media. The Auditor shall conduct any audit or investigation of the council, commission or any institution at its own expense and at no cost to the council, commission or institution.

    (f) The council and the commission each shall maintain a rule in accordance with the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The rule shall provide for institutions individually or cooperatively to maximize their use of any of the following purchasing practices that are determined to provide a financial advantage:

    (1) Bulk purchasing;

    (2) Reverse bidding;

    (3) Electronic marketplaces; and

    (4) Electronic remitting.

    (g) Each institution shall establish a consortium with at least one other institution, in the most cost-efficient manner feasible, to consolidate the following operations and student services:

    (1) Payroll operations;

    (2) Human resources operations;

    (3) Warehousing operations;

    (4) Financial transactions;

    (5) Student financial aid application, processing and disbursement;

    (6) Standard and bulk purchasing; and

    (7) Any other operation or service appropriate for consolidation as determined by the council or commission.

    (h) An institution may charge a fee to each institution for which it provides a service or performs an operation. The fee rate shall be in the best interest of both the institution being served and the providing institution, as approved by the council and commission.

    (i) Any community and technical college, college and university may provide the services authorized by this section for the benefit of any governmental body or public or private institution.

    (j) Each institution shall strive to minimize its number of low-enrollment sections of introductory courses. To the maximum extent practicable, institutions shall use distance learning to consolidate the course sections. Marshall University, West Virginia University, the council and commission shall report the progress of reductions as requested by the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability.

    (k) An institution shall use its natural resources and alternative fuel resources to the maximum extent feasible. The institution:

    (1) May supply the resources for its own use and for use by any other institution;

    (2) May supply the resources to the general public at fair market value;

    (3) Shall maximize all federal or grant funds available for research regarding alternative energy sources; and

    (4) May develop research parks to further the purpose of this section and to expand the economic development opportunities in the state.

    (l) Any cost-savings realized or fee procured or retained by an institution pursuant to implementation of the provisions of this section is retained by the institution.

    (m) The provisions of Subsection (b) of this section do does not apply to the state institutions known as Marshall University and West Virginia University. Each is publicly funded state institutions of higher education. All are authorized, but not required, to comply with the provisions of subsections (f), (g) and (h) of this section.

    (1) The governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, respectively, each publicly funded state institutions of higher education shall promulgate a rule on purchasing procedures pursuant to the provisions of section six, article one of this chapter. Neither institution is All institutions are subject to the rules required by subsection (f) of this section.

    (2) If either the governing board elects to implement the provisions of said subsection (g) of this section, the following conditions apply:

    (A) The governing board makes the determination regarding any additional operation or service which is appropriate for consolidation without input from the council or commission;

    (B) The governing board sets the fee charged to any institution for which it provides a service or performs an operation. The fee rate shall be in the best interest of both the institution being served and the providing institution, but it is not subject to approval by the council or commission; and

    (C) The governing board may not implement the provisions of this subdivision in a manner which supercedes the requirements established in section twelve, article three-c of this chapter.

ARTICLE 10. FEES AND OTHER MONEY COLLECTED AT STATE INSTITUTIONS               OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

§18B-10-1. Enrollment, tuition and other fees at education institutions; refund of fees.

    (a) Each governing board shall fix tuition and other fees for each school term for the different classes or categories of students enrolling at each state institution of higher education under its jurisdiction and may include among the tuition and fees any one or more of the following as defined in section one-b of this article:

    (1) Tuition and required educational and general fees;

    (2) Auxiliary and auxiliary capital fees; and

    (3) Required educational and general capital fees.

    (b) An institution may establish a single special revenue account for each of the following classifications of fees:

    (1) All tuition and required educational and general fees collected;

    (2) All auxiliary and auxiliary capital fees collected; and

    (3) All required educational and general capital fees collected to support existing systemwide and institutional debt service and future systemwide and institutional debt service, capital projects and campus renewal for educational and general facilities.

    (4) Subject to any covenants or restrictions imposed with respect to revenue bonds payable from the accounts, an institution may expend funds from each special revenue account for any purpose for which funds were collected within that account regardless of the original purpose for which the funds were collected.

    (c) The purposes for which tuition and fees may be expended include, but are not limited to, health services, student activities, recreational, athletic and extracurricular activities. Additionally, tuition and fees may be used to finance a student's attorney to perform legal services for students in civil matters at the institutions, Provided, That If the legal services are limited only to those types of cases, programs or services approved by the administrative head of the institution where the legal services are to be performed.

    (d) The commission and council jointly shall propose a rule for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to govern the fixing, collection and expenditure of tuition and other fees.

    (e) The schedule of all tuition and fees, and any changes in the schedule, shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting of the appropriate governing board and the board shall file with the commission or council, or both, as appropriate, and the Legislative Auditor a certified copy of the schedule and changes.

    (f) The boards shall establish the rates to be charged full-time students, as defined in section one-b of this article, who are enrolled during a regular academic term.

    (1) Undergraduate students taking fewer than twelve credit hours in a regular term shall have their fees reduced pro rata based upon one twelfth of the full-time rate per credit hour and graduate students taking fewer than nine credit hours in a regular term shall have their fees reduced pro rata based upon one ninth of the full-time rate per credit hour.

    (2) Fees for students enrolled in summer terms or other nontraditional time periods shall be prorated based upon the number of credit hours for which the student enrolls in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.

    (g) All fees are due and payable by the student upon enrollment and registration for classes except as provided in this subsection:

    (1) The governing boards shall permit fee payments to be made in installments over the course of the academic term. All fees shall be paid prior to the awarding of course credit at the end of the academic term.

    (2) The governing boards also shall authorize the acceptance of credit cards or other payment methods which may be generally available to students for the payment of fees. The governing boards may charge the students for the reasonable and customary charges incurred in accepting credit cards and other methods of payment.

    (3) If a governing board determines that a student's finances are affected adversely by a legal work stoppage, it may allow the student an additional six months to pay the fees for any academic term. The governing board shall determine on a case-by-case basis if the finances of a student are affected adversely.

    (4) The commission and council jointly shall propose a rule in accordance with the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code defining conditions under which an institution may offer tuition and fee deferred payment plans through the institution or through third parties.

    (5) An institution may charge interest or fees for any deferred or installment payment plans.

    (h) In addition to the other fees provided in this section, each governing board may impose, collect and distribute a fee to be used to finance a nonprofit, student-controlled public interest research group if the students at the institution demonstrate support for the increased fee in a manner and method established by that institution's elected student government. The fee may not be used to finance litigation against the institution.

    (i) Institutions shall retain tuition and fee revenues not pledged for bonded indebtedness or other purposes in accordance with the tuition rule proposed by the commission and council jointly pursuant to this section. The tuition rule shall:

    (1) Provide a basis for establishing nonresident tuition and fees;

    (2) Allow institutions to charge different tuition and fees for different programs;

    (3) Provide that a board of Governors may propose to the commission, council or both, as appropriate, a mandatory auxiliary fee under the following conditions:

    (A) The fee shall be approved by the commission, council or both, as appropriate, and either the students below the senior level at the institution or the Legislature before becoming effective;

    (B) Increases may not exceed previous state subsidies by more than ten percent;

    (C) The fee may be used only to replace existing state funds subsidizing auxiliary services such as athletics or bookstores;

    (D) If the fee is approved, the amount of the state subsidy shall be reduced annually by the amount of money generated for the institution by the fees. All state subsidies for the auxiliary services shall cease five years from the date the mandatory auxiliary fee is implemented;

    (E) The commission, council or both, as appropriate, shall certify to the Legislature annually by October 1, the amount of fees collected for each of the five years;

    (4) Establish methodology, where applicable, to ensure that, within the appropriate time period under the compact, community and technical college tuition rates for community and technical college students in all independently accredited community and technical colleges will be commensurate with the tuition and fees charged by their peer institutions.

    (j) A penalty may not be imposed by the commission or council upon any institution based upon the number of nonresidents who attend the institution unless the commission or council determines that admission of nonresidents to any institution or program of study within the institution is impeding unreasonably the ability of resident students to attend the institution or participate in the programs of the institution. The institutions shall report annually to the commission or council on the numbers of nonresidents and such other enrollment information as the commission or council may request.

    (k) Tuition and fee increases of the governing boards, except for the governing boards of the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University, are subject to rules adopted by the commission and council jointly pursuant to this section and in accordance with the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.

    (1) Subject to the provisions of subdivisions (4) and (8) of this subsection, a governing board of an institution under the jurisdiction of the commission may propose tuition and fee increases of up to nine and one-half percent for undergraduate resident students for any fiscal year. The nine and one-half percent total includes the amount of increase over existing tuition and fees, combined with the amount of any newly established specialized fee which may be proposed by a governing board.

    (2) A governing board of an institution under the jurisdiction of the council may propose tuition and fee increases of up to four and three-quarters percent for undergraduate resident students for any fiscal year, except a governing board may propose increases in excess of four and three-quarters percent if existing tuition and fee rates at the institution are below the state average for tuition and fees at institutions under the jurisdiction of the council. The four and three-quarters percent total includes the amount of increase over existing tuition and fees, combined with the amount of any newly established, specialized fee which may be proposed by a governing board.

    (3) The commission or council, as appropriate, shall examine individually each request from a governing board for an increase.

    (4) (1) Subject to the provisions of subdivision (8) of this subsection, the institutions or governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, as these provisions relate to the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University, each all publicly funded state institutions of higher education may annually:

    (A) Increase tuition and fees for undergraduate resident students to the maximum allowed by this section without seeking approval from the commission; and

    (B) Set tuition and fee rates for post-baccalaureate resident students and for all nonresident students, including establishing regional tuition and fee rates, reciprocity agreements or both.

    (C) The provisions of This subdivision do does not apply to tuition and fee rates of the administratively linked institution known as Marshall Community and Technical College, the administratively linked institution known as the Community and Technical College at West Virginia University Institute of Technology, the regional campus known as West Virginia University at Parkersburg and, until July 1, 2007, the regional campus known as West Virginia University Institute of Technology.

    (5) Any proposed tuition and fee increase for state institutions of higher education other than the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University requires the approval of the commission or council, as appropriate. In determining whether to approve or deny the governing board's request, the commission or council shall determine the progress the institution has made toward meeting the conditions outlined in this subdivision and shall make this determination the predominate factor in its decision. The commission or council shall consider the degree to which each institution has met the following conditions:

    (A) Has maximized resources available through nonresident tuition and fee charges to the satisfaction of the commission or council;

    (B) Is consistently achieving the benchmarks established in the compact of the institution pursuant to the provisions of article one-a of this chapter;

    (C) Is continuously pursuing the statewide goals for post-secondary education and the statewide compact established in articles one and one-a of this chapter;

    (D) Has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commission or council that an increase will be used to maintain high-quality programs at the institution;

    (E) Has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commission or council that the institution is making adequate progress toward achieving the goals for education established by the southern regional education board; and

    (F) To the extent authorized, will increase by up to five percent the available tuition and fee waivers provided by the institution. The increased waivers may not be used for athletics.

    (6) (2) This section does not require equal increases among institutions or require any level of increase at an institution.

    (7) The commission and council shall report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability regarding the basis for each approval or denial as determined using the criteria established in subdivision (5) of this subsection.

    (8) (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (4) subdivision (1) of this subsection, tuition and fee increases at state institutions of higher education which are under the jurisdiction of the commission, including the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University, are subject to the following conditions:

    (A) Institutions may increase tuition and fees for resident, undergraduate students by no more than an average of seven and one-half percent per year during any period covering four consecutive fiscal years, with the first fiscal year of the first four fiscal-year cycle beginning on July 1, 2007;

    (B) The seven and one-half percent average cap does not apply to an institution for any fiscal year in which the total state base operating budget appropriations to that institution are less than the total state base operating budget appropriations in the fiscal year immediately preceding;

    (C) A new capital fee or an increase in an existing capital fee is excluded from the tuition and fee increase calculation in this subdivision:

    (i) If the new fee or fee increase is approved by an institutional governing board or by a referendum of an institution's undergraduate students, or both, on or before February 1, 2006; or

    (ii) If the following conditions are met:

    (I) The new fee or fee increase was approved by an institutional governing board or by a referendum of an institution's undergraduate students, or both, on or before July 1, 2006;

    (II) The institution for which the capital fee is approved has been designated a university pursuant to the provisions of section six, article two-a of this chapter by the effective date of this section; and

    (III) The institutional board of Governors previously oversaw a community and technical college that achieved independent accreditation and consequently acquired its own board of Governors;

    (D) Institutions shall provide, in a timely manner, any data on tuition and fee increases requested by the staff of the commission. The commission shall:

    (i) Collect the data from any institution under its jurisdiction; and

    (ii) Annually by July 1, provide a detailed analysis of the institutions' compliance with the provisions of this subdivision to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability.

18B-10-6. Fee waivers – Professional and graduate schools.

    In addition to the fee waivers authorized for undergraduate study by the provisions of section five of this article, each Each governing board periodically may establish fee waivers for study in graduate and professional schools under its jurisdiction, including medicine and dentistry, entitling the recipients to waiver of tuition, capital and other fees subject to the following conditions and limitations:

    (a) Graduate and professional fee waivers established by the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, respectively, are subject to the provisions of section six-a of this article;

    (b) For the governing boards of state institutions of higher education other than the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University, the following conditions apply:

    (1) An institution may not have in effect at any time graduate and professional school fee waivers totaling more in value than five percent of the tuition and required fees assessed for all full-time equivalent graduate and professional students registered during the corresponding fall semester, spring semester and summer term of the immediately preceding academic year. In addition to the five percent in this subdivision, all graduate assistants employed by these institutions shall be granted a fee waiver.

    (2) Each graduate or professional school fee waiver entitles the recipient to waiver of the tuition, capital and other fees as may be prescribed by the governing boards and is for a period of time not to exceed the number of semesters normally required in the recipient's academic discipline.

    (3) The governing boards shall make rules pursuant to the provisions of section six, article one of this chapter governing the award of graduate and professional school fee waivers; the issuance and cancellation of certificates entitling the recipients to the benefits of the waivers; the use of the fee waivers by the recipients; and the rights and duties of the recipients with respect to the fee waivers. These rules may not be inconsistent with the provisions of this section.

    (4) The awarding of graduate and professional school fee waivers shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting of each governing board.

    (5) An institution may grant fee waivers to its employees, their spouses and dependents, and these waivers are not counted when determining the maximum percentage of waivers permitted by this section.

    (6) Any fee waivers mandated by this article or by section three, article nineteen, chapter eighteen of this code are not counted when determining the maximum percentage of waivers permitted by this section.

§18B-10-6a. Undergraduate, graduate and professional fee waivers.

    (a) Undergraduate fee waivers. -–

    (1) The governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, respectively state institutions of higher education, may establish fee waivers for students in undergraduate studies at institutions under their jurisdiction which entitle recipients to waiver of tuition, capital and other fees, in whole or in part.

    (2) Each undergraduate fee waiver is for a period of time not to exceed eight semesters of undergraduate study.

    (3) Each governing board shall promulgate rules pursuant to the provisions of section six, article one of this chapter to govern the award of undergraduate fee waivers; the issuance and cancellation of certificates entitling the recipients to the benefits thereof; the use of the fee waivers by the recipients; and the rights and duties of the recipients with respect to the fee waivers. These rules may not be inconsistent with the provisions of this section.

    (4) The awarding of undergraduate fee waivers shall be entered in the minutes of the meetings of the governing board.

    (5) Students enrolled in an administratively linked community and technical college shall be awarded a proportionate share of the total number of undergraduate fee waivers awarded by a governing board. The number to be awarded to students of the community and technical college is based upon the full-time equivalent enrollment of that institution.

    (b) Graduate and professional school fee waivers. -–

    (1) In addition to the fee waivers authorized for undergraduate study by subsection (a) of this section, the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, respectively, each may establish fee waivers for study in the graduate and professional schools under its jurisdiction, including medicine and dentistry, which entitle the recipients to waiver of tuition, capital and other fees, in whole or in part.

    (2) Each graduate or professional school fee waiver entitles the recipient to waiver of the tuition, capital and other fees, in whole or in part, as may be prescribed by the governing board and is for a period of time not to exceed the number of semesters normally required in the recipient's academic discipline.

    (3) The governing boards each shall promulgate a rule pursuant to the provisions of section six, article one of this chapter, governing the award of graduate and professional school fee waivers; the issuance and cancellation of certificates entitling the recipients to the benefits thereof; the use of the fee waivers by the recipients; and the rights and duties of the recipients with respect to the fee waivers. These rules may not be inconsistent with the provisions of this section.

    (4) The awarding of graduate and professional school fee waivers shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting of each governing board.

    NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to give state institutions of higher education more flexibility in the planning and operation of their schools.

    Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.