US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

§18B-1-7. Fairmont State Community and Technical College merged.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, on the first day of July, two thousand six, Fairmont State Community and Technical College shall be known as Pierpont Community and Technical College and shall merge and consolidate with Fairmont State University and become a fully integrated division of the university. All administrative and academic units shall be consolidated with primary responsibility for direction and support assigned to Fairmont State University.
(1) Fairmont State Community and Technical College ceases to be an individual higher education institution, as defined by subsection (h), section two of this article.
(2) The advisory board previously appointed for Fairmont State Community and Technical College is continued as the advisory board for Pierpont Community and Technical College. The advisory board:
(A) Serves to advise the Fairmont State University Board of Governors and president on issues regarding the delivery of community and technical college education; and
(B) Continues to function pursuant to the provisions of section one, article six of this chapter.
(b) Any reference in this code to Fairmont State Community and Technical College means Pierpont Community and Technical College, a division of Fairmont State University.
(c) In the delivery of community and technical college education and programs, Fairmont State University shall adhere to all provisions set forth in this code and rules promulgated by the council for the delivery of such education and programs, including, but not limited to, council review and approval of academic programs, institutional compacts, master plans, charge-back agreements and tuition and fee rates, including capital fees. The only provision of this code that Fairmont State University is not required to adhere to is the requirement related to independent accreditation of community and technical colleges.
(d) Pierpont Community and Technical College shall continue to exist as an administrative division of Fairmont State University, pursuant to the provisions of article ten, chapter four of this code, until the first day of July, two thousand nine, unless sooner terminated, continued or reestablished pursuant to the provisions of that article.
(e) During the time period Pierpont Community and Technical College exists as an administrative division of Fairmont State University pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, the council shall determine if the following conditions are being met:
(1) Pierpont Community and Technical College meets or exceeds all of the benchmarks contained in its approved compact required by section two, article one-a of this chapter;
(2) Pierpont Community and Technical College has established and is meeting or exceeding the goals of its approved consortium compact pursuant to section four, article three-c of this chapter;
(3) Pierpont Community and Technical College meets or exceeds the service needs of its consortium planning district according to its approved consortium compact;
(4) Pierpont Community and Technical College meets or exceeds Council goals as defined in the community and technical college performance indicators and institutional compacts established pursuant to section two, article one-a of this chapter and national averages for the delivery of comprehensive community and technical college education in the following areas:
(A) Providing access to the following groups of students in the community and technical college's consortium planning district:
(i) Traditional students eighteen to twenty-four years of age;
(ii) Nontraditional students twenty-five to forty-four years of age; and
(iii) High school students seeking college credit through early entrance and earn-a-degree-graduate-early (EDGE) courses;
(B) Serving the state's workforce development goals by:
(i) Increasing the number of graduates with career technical certificates and associate degrees;
(ii) Ensuring that students who earn certificates and degrees are placed in the workforce;
(iii) Providing workforce education and training programs for employers; and
(iv) Maintaining community and technical college student freshman-to-sophomore retention rates and graduation rates that equal or exceed state and national averages;
(5) The costs of operating Pierpont Community and Technical College as an independently accredited community and technical college administratively linked to Fairmont State University exceed the benefits of such an arrangement to the achievement of community and technical college system goals;
(6) A consortia arrangement, centralized processing alternative or other cost-saving measure is not available to offset the costs determined to be excessive pursuant to subdivision (5) of this subsection; and
(7) Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community and Technical College demonstrate that they are required:
(A) By the United States Department of Education to operate separate offices for student financial aid processing; and
(B) By the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools to maintain a separate library for each institution.
(f) The council shall report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability concerning its findings and its final recommendations. The report shall be filed by the first day of December, two thousand nine.
(g) If the council determines that the merger of Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community and Technical College has not resulted in enabling the community and technical college to meet the conditions established in this section, the community and technical college shall pursue independent accreditation status. If Pierpont Community and Technical College fails to achieve independent accreditation by the first day of January, two thousand eleven, the council shall choose one of the following options:
(1) Create the administratively linked institution as a free-standing community and technical college under the jurisdiction of its own institutional board of governors established pursuant to section one, article two-a of this chapter; or
(2) Assign the responsibility for obtaining independent accreditation to another state institution of higher education.