H. B. 4513

 

         (By Delegate M. Poling)

         [Introduced February 13, 2014; referred to the

         Committee on Education then Finance.]

 

 

 

 

A BILL to repeal §18B-1A-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §18-2-39; to amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated §18B-1G-1, §18B-1G-2, §18B-1G-3, §18B-1G-4, §18B-1G-5, §18B-1G-6, §18B-1G-7, §18B-1G-8, §18B-1G-9 and §18B-1G-10; and to amend and reenact §18B-3-4 of said code, all relating to creating the College Degree Attainment Act; modifying findings; deleting certain requirements; setting a new date; establishing an implementation strategy; providing definitions; targeting adults to complete their degrees; setting forth financing, budgeting and funding requirements; establishing dates; providing for accelerated and corequisite developmental education delivery; establishing credit requirements; providing for structured schedules; establishing a Guided Pathways to Success program; providing for transfer of course credits; requiring reporting; requiring rulemaking; and eliminating certain graduation statistical requirements.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §18B-1A-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; that §18-2-39 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §18B-1G-1, §18B-1G-2, §18B-1G-3, §18B-1G-4, §18B-1G-5, §18B-1G-6, §18B-1G-7, §18B-1G-8, §18B-1G-9 and §18B-1G-10; and that §18B-3-4 be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.

ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

§18-2-39. College and career readiness initiative.

    (a) The Legislature finds that:

    (1) According to ACT, only twenty-five twenty-six percent of ACT-tested 2012 high school graduates in the nation met college readiness benchmarks in English, reading, mathematics and science and only seventeen twenty percent in West Virginia met the benchmarks in all four subjects;

    (2) The post-secondary remediation rates of students entering post-secondary institutions directly out of high school indicate that a large percentage of students are not being adequately prepared at the elementary and secondary levels;

    (3) This high level of post-secondary remediation is causing both students and the state to expend extra resources that would not have to be expended if the students were adequately prepared at the elementary and secondary levels;

    (4) A strong foundation in English/language arts and math provides a basis for learning in all other subject areas and for on-the-job training; and

    (5) A comparison of the percentages of students considered proficient in eighth grade reading and math by the state assessment and the National Assessment of Educational Progress indicate that the state assessment currently does not accurately reflect national standards.

    (b) Before the 2014-2015 school year, the state board, the Higher Education Policy Commission and the Council for Community and Technical College Education shall collaborate in formally adopting uniform and specific college- and career-readiness standards for English/language arts and math. The standards shall be clearly linked to state content standards and based on skills and competencies rather than high school course titles. The standards shall allow for a determination of whether a student needs to enroll in a post-secondary remedial course. The state board shall develop a plan for gradually bringing the standards for a high school diploma and college and career readiness into uniformity. and report this plan to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability not later than December 31, 2013.

    (c) The results on the comprehensive statewide student assessment program in grade eleven in English/language arts and mathematics shall be used to determine whether a student has met the college- and career-readiness standards adopted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, instead of using the comprehensive statewide student assessment program, the state board may develop and implement end-of-course exams in English/language arts and math courses it determines appropriate. These exams are designed for determining whether a student has met the college- and career-readiness standards. In order to allow for the enrollment in transitional courses in the twelfth grade if necessary pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, the courses, assessments and exams, as applicable, shall be administered before the twelfth grade.

    (d) Under its authority granted in section one, article three, chapter eighteen-a of this code, the state board shall require all teacher preparation programs in the state to include appropriate training for teachers seeking to teach in at least any of grades eight through twelve with respect to teaching the adopted college- and career-readiness standards. This training shall focus on teaching the standards directly, through embedding the standards in other courses or both, as appropriate.

    (e) The state board shall develop a twelfth-grade transitional course for both English/language arts and math for those students who are not on track to be college and career ready based on the assessment or exam, as applicable. required pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. The transitional courses shall be aligned with the standards adopted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section college and career readiness standards. In conformity with section five, article one-g, chapter eighteen-b of this code, the state board in collaboration with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the Council for Community and Technical College Education shall use the American College Testing Program’s Computerized Adaptive Placement Assessment and Support System (COMPASS) or other mutually agreed-upon assessment assess students to determine whether a student has met the college- and career-readiness standards after completion of the transitional course.

    (f) For all West Virginia public high school graduates who graduate during or after the 2016-2017 school year, all state institutions of higher education may use no factor other than the assessment, exam or test, as applicable, required pursuant to subsections (c) and (e) of this section to determine whether a student is to enroll in a remedial course or is to be placed in a college-level introductory course. Nothing in this subsection prohibits an institution from administering a diagnostic test to determine specific areas of weakness so that the specific weaknesses can be remediated rather than requiring a student to take an entire remedial course.

    (g) (f) The state board shall:

    (1) Hold high schools and districts accountable for increasing the percentages of students who meet the college- and career-readiness standards. as indicated by the assessments, exams or tests, as applicable, required pursuant to subsections (c) and (e) of this section. This accountability shall be achieved through the school and school system accreditation provisions set forth in section five, article two-e of this chapter;

    (2) Align the comprehensive statewide student assessment for all grade levels in which the test is given with the college- and career-readiness standards adopted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section or develop other aligned tests at each grade level so that progress toward college and career readiness in English/language arts and math can be measured; and

    (3) Hold all schools and districts accountable for helping students in earlier grade levels achieve scores on math and English/language arts tests that predict success in subsequent levels of related coursework. This accountability shall be achieved through the school and school system accreditation provisions set forth in section five, article two-e of this chapter;

    (h) (g) Except as otherwise specified, all provisions of this section become effective with the 2014-2015 school year.

    (i) (h) On or before December 31, 2013 October 1, 2014, the state board shall promulgate a legislative rule in accordance with article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of this section.

CHAPTER 18B. HIGHER EDUCATION.

ARTICLE 1G. COLLEGE DEGREE ATTAINMENT ACT.

§18B-1G-1. College Degree Attainment Act; implementation strategy.

    (a) This article is designated the “College Degree Attainment Act.”

    (b) The Legislature recognizes the need to dramatically increase West Virginia’s college completion rate and facilitate on-time graduation for all students through state policy change and to build consensus for change among state leaders, higher education, and the national education policy community.

    (c) The Legislature recognizes widely-adopted best practices for addressing the college completion crisis and increasing college graduation rates.

    (d) The Legislature recognizes and supports the following strategies:

    (1) Target Adults. – Increase the educational attainment of individuals who have acquired some college credits but have not earned a degree.

    (2) Performance Funding. – State funding based on outcomes, not just enrollment, utilizing the following strategies: (A) Tie state funding to student progression through programs and completion of degrees and certificates; and (B) include financial incentives to encourage the success of low-income students and the production of graduates in high-demand fields;

    (3) Corequisite Developmental Instruction. – Default under-prepared students into gateway courses while concurrently providing them with supplemental instruction;

    (4) Fifteen to Finish. – Incentivize students to enroll in fifteen course credits per semester to ensure on-time graduation, utilizing the following strategies: (A) Capping tuition so that fifteen credits per semester cost students no more than twelve credits; (B) capping degree credit requirements at one hundred twenty for baccalaureate and sixty for associate to ensure degrees can be completed on time; and (C) ensuring college credits can be transferred;

    (5) Structured Schedules. – Help working community college students balance jobs and school by using structured scheduling of classes to add predictability to their busy lives, thereby enabling many more students to attend college full-time and shortening their time to completion; and

    (6) Guided Pathways to Success (GPS). – Enabled by technology, default all students into highly structured degree plans, not individual courses, utilizing the following strategies: (A) Start students in a limited number of meta majors, which narrow into majors; (B) map out every semester of study for the entire program and guarantee that milestone courses will be available when needed; and (C) use built-in early warning systems to alert advisers when students fall behind to ensure efficient intervention.

    (7) Articulation and transfer. – The Legislature finds that facilitating maximum course credit transferability among state institutions of higher education and enabling student mobility by preventing unnecessary loss of credits are critical components of increasing college completion rates.

    (e) The Legislature establishes the following state goal for increasing the number of West Virginians who have earned college degrees: Each state institution of higher education will increase the number of credentials and degrees awarded by a total of twenty-five percent over the next five-year period, using 2013–2014 as the base academic year.

    (f) The commission, council and governing boards are charged with developing and implementing policies and strategies to achieve the state goal for awarding credentials and degrees established in this section. The commission and council shall develop a time-line for implementation, and each governing board is charged with adhering to the time-line and maintaining consistent progress toward implementation.

§18B-1G-2. Definitions.

    As used in this article, the words and phrases in this section have the meanings ascribed to them.

    “Degree program” means the set of courses, learning experiences and learning outcomes required for a one-year certificate or an associate or baccalaureate degree.

    “Developmental education” means required instruction and support for students who are assessed as academically under-prepared for post-secondary education, which provides skills necessary to successfully complete gateway courses.

    “Gateway course” means the first college-level English or math course of a credential or degree program for which college credit is earned and applied to credential or degree completion requirements.

    “High demand field” means an occupational field that has documented multiple job openings with limited qualified individuals to fill them.

    “Meta-major” means a grouping of first-year, general education courses covering broad content areas that: (A) Introduces students to a broad set of career options; (B) includes a set of courses that meet academic requirements that are common across several disciplines; (C) applies toward specific programs of study; and (D) exposes students to fields of interest that guide them into a desired program of study.

    “On-time graduation” means a baccalaureate degree earned in four years or an associate degree earned in two years, unless extended to satisfy one of the following purposes:

    (A) Specialized accreditation requirements for specific disciplines;

    (B) Specific occupational licensure requirements; or

    (C) Industry-defined five-year baccalaureate or three-year associate degree programs.

    “Reverse transfer” means transferring credits earned at a baccalaureate institution to a student’s sending institution, once the student has earned all required course credits for an associate degree, for the purpose of awarding the associate degree earned.

    “STEM” means science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

§18B-1G-3. Target adults for credential and degree completion.

    (a) The commission, council and governing boards jointly shall implement a strategy to increase the education attainment of individuals who have acquired some college credits but have not earned a credential or degree and are no longer attending a higher education institution. The strategy shall provide for the following:

    (1) A method to identify all such individuals state-wide;

    (2) A recruitment campaign for advertising available education and financial aid opportunities and encouraging the individuals to continue pursuing a college degree;

    (3) A centralized contact point for the individuals to get information about and receive assistance with reenrolling in college;

    (4) An assessment of each individual’s reasons for failing to complete a degree program;

    (5) Clearly articulated information regarding available career and degree options, and programs, pathway and course requirements;

    (6) An individualized analysis of each identified individual:

    (A) Course transcript history;

    (B) Relevant knowledge or education acquired by work, life or military experience that can be credited toward satisfying college course requirements; and

    (C) Credential or degree programs for which the individual’s cumulative acquired credits would apply;

    (7) A method for awarding program specific college credit that satisfies credential or degree program requirements for relevant knowledge or education acquired by work, life or military experience;

    (8) A method for ensuring that relevant course credits acquired will transfer to any state institution of higher education for program specific credit pursuant to the provisions of section eight of this article.

    (b) Notwithstanding any provision of law or this code to the contrary, any state agency or entity and any political subdivision is authorized to provide the commission, council and governing boards such information and data as is necessary to identify or contact an individual targeted by this section, for the sole purpose of achieving the goals of this section.

§18B-1G-4. Financing; institutional operating budgets; funding.

    (a) The commission and council each have the responsibility to develop a budget for the state system of higher education under its respective jurisdiction. The commission submits the budget request for higher education, including the budget request as developed by the council, to the Governor before September 1, annually. The budget requests of the commission and the council specifically shall include the amount of the institutional operating budgets, as defined in section two, article one of this chapter, required for all state institutions of higher education under their respective jurisdictions. The budget appropriation for the state systems of higher education under this chapter and other provisions of the law shall consist of separate control accounts or institutional control accounts, or some combination of these accounts, for appropriation of institutional operating budgets and other funds. The commission and council each is responsible for allocating state appropriations to supplement institutional operating budgets in accordance with this section. In addition to the institutional operating budget and incentive funding, however, the commission and council each are responsible for allocating funds that are appropriated to them for other purposes.

    (b) By July 1, 2015, the commission and council each shall promulgate a procedural rule pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code setting out a procedure to govern appropriation requests pursuant to this section.

    (1) The procedural rules may not be implemented without prior approval of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability.

    (2) Any change the commission or council proposes to the rules required by this subsection after the initial approval and adoption, including amendment or repeal, requires prior approval by the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability.

    (c) The procedural rules shall establish formulae that take into consideration different institutional missions and measure each institution’s success in accomplishing certain goals, including, but not limited to, the following:

    (1) Student success as represented by certificate or degree completion;

    (2) Student progression and persistence towards certificate or degree completion;

    (3) Affordability and productivity represented by on-time certificate or degree completion;

    (4) Institution differentiation as represented by a mission focus on research, job placement, workforce training or other appropriate factors;

    (5) Educating priority populations of adult and low-income students; and

    (6) Increasing certificates or degrees in high need fields.

    (d) The procedural rules shall establish appropriate weights, based on student numbers, to be assigned to each of the goals set forth in subsection (c) of this section. The appropriate weights shall be established to best accomplish the goal of an additional twenty thousand certificates or degrees earned in the state system of higher education by July 1, 2020.

    (e) The formulae established by the procedural rules shall be used in a pilot project for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2015, to determine what changes in request for appropriations from general revenue to each institution would have been made for that fiscal year.

    (1) For the pilot year the formulae shall assume that a total of five percent of the appropriations from general revenue for the previous fiscal year would be reallocated among the institutions in the state system of higher education based on the objectives achieved by each institution within the broad goals set out in this section.

    (2) The results of this application of the formulae for the pilot year shall be reported to each institution and to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability.

    (f) For the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2016, the formulae shall be used by the commission and council in their respective appropriation requests to reallocate among the institutions of higher education under their jurisdiction five percent of the appropriations from general revenue in the prior fiscal year. In each successive fiscal year the appropriation request shall reallocate an additional five percent of general revenue based on the appropriate formula until a total of twenty-five percent of reallocation is included in the appropriation request for each succeeding fiscal year.

    (g) The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates jointly shall appoint a select committee for outcomes-based formulae rules finalization which shall advise the commission and council on promulgation of the procedural rules required by this section. The select committee periodically shall advise the commission and council on amendments to the formulae and procedural rules considered necessary to advance the goals set out in this section.

    (h) The commission or council may not request an increase in appropriations under this section for any institution without an approved compact pursuant to section seven, article one-d of this chapter.

§18B-1G-5. Accelerated and corequisite developmental education delivery.

    (a) A state institution of higher education shall utilize multiple assessment tools when measuring a student’s readiness for college course-work. The tools may include, but are not limited to, a high school transcript, high school grade point average and diagnostic assessments. An institution shall provide a student with test guides, practice tests and a specified period of time to review prior to administering any assessment exam.

    (b) Developmental education shall be delivered as an integrated component of the appropriate gateway course content and include concurrent and intensive academic support. Courses shall be structured in a manner that allows students to complete gateway math and English courses in the first academic year. Developmental education may be delivered through a variety of accelerated and corequisite strategies, including any of the following formats:

    (1) Modularized instruction that is customized and targeted to address specific skills gaps;

    (2) Compressed course structures that accelerate student progression from developmental instruction to college-level course work;

    (3) Contextualized developmental instruction that is related to meta-majors; and

    (4) Corequisite developmental instruction that supplements credit instruction while a student is concurrently enrolled in a credit-bearing gateway course. The supplemental instruction may contain, but is not limited to, elements such as:

    (A) Additional class time or class periods;

    (B) Mandatory tutoring or paired proctored labs; or

    (C) Sequenced content delivery which begins with developmental instruction and transitions to gateway content instruction.

    (c) An institution shall enroll any student that is assessed as academically under-prepared for college level work in developmental education courses as provided in subsection (b) of this section. The student shall be enrolled in a freshman level, credit-bearing, accelerated or corequisite course, as follows:

    (1) A student who has low to moderate basic academic deficits shall be provided additional basic skills instruction delivered as an accelerated or corequisite course requirement;

    (2) A student who has substantial basic academic deficits may be offered an option of taking one accelerated semester of courses focused on remediating the academic deficiencies or an option of pursuing a skill set progressing to a certificate that would allow the student to learn a skill while improving basic academic knowledge; and

    (3) To increase student success, there should be no gaps in terms of the time sequencing between the additional support and the gateway course.

    (d) Each governing board shall develop a plan to implement the developmental education strategies defined in this section for the fall 2014 entering freshman cohort. Each plan shall be submitted for approval to the commission or council, as appropriate, by July 1, 2014.

§18B-1G-6. Fifteen credit hours to finish.

    (a) Beginning with the 2015 fall semester incoming freshman student cohort, the standard number of credits for any baccalaureate degree is one hundred twenty and any associate degree is sixty. A governing board may not require greater than the standard for any degree unless commission or council approval is granted. Upon request by an institution to exceed a credit standard, the commission or council may approve the request only to satisfy one of the following conditions:

    (1) Specialized accreditation requirements for specific disciplines;

    (2) Specific occupational licensure requirements;

    (3) Industry defined five-year baccalaureate or three-year associate degree programs; or

    (4) Concurrent degree awards for multiple programs completed simultaneously.

    (b) The commission, council and governing boards shall make every effort to encourage all students to enroll in at least fifteen credit hours per semester, and may not adopt any policy nor implement any strategy that promotes fewer credits in a semester. For the purposes of setting tuition and fee rates and calculating and awarding student financial aid, full-time enrollment remains twelve credit hours per semester.

§18B-1G-7. Structured schedules.

    To the greatest extent practicable, community and technical colleges shall use structured schedules within career and technical programs of study to accommodate students’ needs for condensed time commitments and predictability in order to best manage their lives and families. The schedules shall be designed to deliver course sequences in a coherent, connected manner, and for full-time students, to contain at least fifteen credits per semester.

§18B-1G-8. Guided Pathways to Success.

    (a) In furtherance of the goals established in section one of this article, each governing board is required to accomplish the following requirements beginning with the fall 2015 freshman student cohort:

    (1) Develop a series of meta-majors from which all degree majors can generate;

    (2) Establish for students who have not declared a major a meta-major comprised of general education courses that will broadly apply to all majors in order to ensure transferability for program degree credit rather than elective credit;

    (3) Enroll all entering students in majors or meta-majors rather than individual courses;

    (4) Define clear, concise and comprehensive academic pathways for each degree program which:

    (A) Identify the specific core and elective courses required for the degree; and

    (B) Stipulate course sequencing and prerequisite requirements;

    (5) Provide to each student upon enrollment in the chosen field of study a term-by-term graduation plan that encompasses the entire academic pathway through graduation and is structured to achieve on-time graduation;

    (6) Require each student to remain in the selected academic pathway unless the college advisor approves alteration of the major;

    (7) Monitor continuously each student’s program progression;

    (8) Institute an early warning system to alert advisors when students fall behind;

    (9) Implement an intervention system to ensure successful student progress, including provision of appropriate student support services as needed, and intrusive advising practices when necessary;

    (10) Require that a student who fails a course, does not take the critical prerequisite courses, or does not adhere to the prescribed schedule, shall register in subsequent terms through the college advisor;

    (11) Ensure that course offerings are available in the designated sequence for any student who adheres to plan requirements;

    (12) Designate a series of meta-majors and the academic pathways that identify the gateway courses associated with each meta-major;

    (13) Align mathematics course requirements with degree programs and design STEM and non-STEM math options in pathways such as the following:

    (A) Technical Pathway shall be designed for community college technical programs requiring mathematics courses as part of the requirements in degree fields such as allied health, automotive, and petroleum technology;

    (B) Statistics Pathway shall be designed for students seeking a college-level statistics course as part of the general education requirement for majors in fields such as health sciences, social sciences, certain liberal arts, and business;

    (C) Quantitative Literacy/Reasoning Pathway shall be designed for students majoring in a field in which general education math is a requirement, such as education, journalism, graphic design, foreign language, certain liberal arts, and law enforcement; and

    (D) STEM Pathway shall be designed for students seeking a STEM major in fields such as math education, engineering, computer science, and biological and other sciences;

    (14) Contact any student who does not enroll for a subsequent term to determine reasons for premature departure, and to the extent practicable, provide student support services to encourage reenrollment; and

    (15) Provide on the institution’s website comprehensive course information on all academic pathways and degree programs offered. The information shall be prominently displayed and easily navigated on the website.

§18B-1G-9. State-wide agreement for course credit transfer.

    (a) In collaboration with the state institutions of higher education, the commission and council jointly shall develop and implement a state-wide agreement for course credit transfer.

    (b) The agreement shall provide for achieving the following requirements:

    (1) Facilitate development and implementation of a statewide agreement for alignment of lower-division and associate degree course work that shall be accepted and fully credited to related baccalaureate degree programs by any state institution of higher education. The agreement shall specify the general education learning outcomes and program-specific prerequisite learning outcomes of the course work. Any lower-division or associate degree course work meeting the learning outcomes specified in the agreement shall be accepted for transfer and degree program credit, whether earned as an individual course or as a program component;

    (2) Develop, implement and maintain a statewide core course-work transfer agreement whereby students can transfer general education courses seamlessly between state institutions of higher education;

    (3) Establish a statewide course classification system and procedures to monitor the transfer and crediting of lower-division course work, including a system of ongoing assessment that ensures comparability for transfer purposes;

    (4) Establish a procedure for approving changes to learning outcomes defined in the core course-work transfer agreement;

    (5) Standardize credit-by-exam equivalencies and common passing scores for national exams transferable for general education courses and program-specific prerequisites courses;

    (6) Develop policies to align statewide articulation and transfer procedures across state institutions of higher education, including admissions criteria, student declaration of major, and student guidance and counseling policies designed to ensure that students pursuing an associate degree program provide timely notification of intent to transfer;

    (7) Develop uniform data collection and reporting methods to facilitate and ensure statewide and institutional compliance with course transfer and credit requirements;

    (8) Guarantee that a graduate of an associate degree program has met all general education requirements;

    (9) Provide that a graduate of an associate degree program which satisfies the prerequisite learning outcomes for a baccalaureate degree program is not required to repeat or take any additional lower-level courses to fulfill the baccalaureate degree requirements, and that such a student is admitted to any related upper-division baccalaureate degree program based on the same criteria as students earning lower-division credits at the institution to which the student is transferring;

    (10) Provide that any courses defined within a meta-major shall transfer to any state institution of higher education as full program credit if the student enrolls in a related degree program or as general education credit in any other degree program;

    (11) Provide that a graduate of an associate degree program receives priority for admission to a state institution of higher education over a nonresident student who meets the same admission criteria;

    (12) Establish and implement a reverse transfer policy whereby a student enrolled in a baccalaureate institution can be awarded an associate degree by an institution in which the student was previously enrolled, if the student has earned all required course credits for the associate degree;

    (13) Ensure that all articulation and transfer policies are consistent with accreditation standards and requirements; and

    (14) Establish an appeal process for resolving disagreements regarding course work transfer.

§18B-1G-10. Legislative rule.

    The commission and council each shall promulgate a rule for legislative approval in accordance with article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of this article. The Legislature recognizes that an emergency exists, and authorizes an emergency rule to be promulgated. The commission and council shall present the rules for approval to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education by October 1, 2014. The governing board of each state institutions of higher education is subject to the rule of the commission or council, as appropriate.

ARTICLE 3. ADDITIONAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF RESEARCH DOCTORAL-GRANTING PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES.

§18B-3-4. Duty of governing boards to address state priorities.

    (a) The expertise of faculty and graduate students at state institutions of higher education is important to every citizen of this state. It is the responsibility of the governing boards to channel this expertise into research and analysis that will yield measurable benefits to the citizens of West Virginia. Therefore, in addition to the goals, objectives and priorities established in section one-a, article one and article one-d of this chapter and goals established elsewhere in this code, it is the responsibility of the governing boards to concentrate attention and resources on certain specific state priorities that have a direct, positive impact on the economic, social and cultural well-being of the people of West Virginia.

    (a) (b) Priorities for Marshall University and West Virginia University in collaboration:

    (1) Developing Regional Brownfield Assistance Centers pursuant to section seven, article eleven of this chapter;

    (2) Performing professional development-related research and coordinating the delivery of professional development to educators in the public schools of the state pursuant to article two, chapter eighteen of this code; and

    (3) Building subject matter expertise in public education finance, including mastery of the theories and concepts used in developing formulas to provide state-level financial support to public education.

    (b) (c) The Legislature may, but is not required to, make additional appropriations for the benefit of Marshall University and West Virginia University to assist them in fulfilling the purposes set forth in subsection (a) of this section.

    (c) (d) Additional priorities for governing boards:

    (d) (e) In addition to the priorities established in subsection (a) (b) of this section, each governing board under the jurisdiction of the commission shall focus resources and attention on improving its graduation rate for full-time undergraduate students as a specific institutional priority. The graduation rate is measured as a percentage of the number of undergraduate students who obtain a degree within six years of the date of enrollment as full-time freshmen.

    (1) By July 1, 2015, the governing board of each state institution of higher education under the jurisdiction of the commission, including the governing boards of Marshall University and West Virginia University, shall attain a graduation rate for full-time undergraduate students that equals or exceeds the graduation rate of its peers established pursuant to section three, article one-a of this chapter.

    (2) The commission shall monitor and report annually by December 1, to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on the progress of the governing boards toward meeting the goals set forth in this subsection.

    NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the College Degree Attainment Act. The bill modifies findings. The bill deletes certain requirements. The bill sets a new date. The bill establishes an implementation strategy. The bill provides definitions. The bill targets adults to complete their degrees. The bill sets forth financing, budgeting and funding requirements. The bill establishes dates. The bill provides for accelerated and corequisite developmental education delivery. The bill establishes credit requirements. The bill provides for structured schedule. The bill establishes a Guided Pathways to Success program. The bill provides for transfer of course credits. The bill requires rulemaking and reporting. The bill eliminates certain graduation statistical requirements.

    §18B-1A-5 is repealed.

 

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

    Article 1G is new; therefore, it has been completely underscored.