US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

§18B-1A-2. Institutional compacts with state institutions of higher education; establishment and review process.

(a) Each state college and university shall prepare an institutional compact for submission to the Commission. Each community and technical college shall prepare an institutional compact for submission to the Council. When the process herein provided is completed, the institutional compacts shall form the agreements between the institutions of higher education and the Commission or Council, respectively, and, ultimately, between the institutions of higher education and the people of West Virginia on how the institutions will use their resources to address the intent of the Legislature and the goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter. The compacts shall contain the following:
(1) A step-by-step process to accomplish the intent of the Legislature and the goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter as organized by the Commission and Council. The step-by-step process shall be delineated by objectives and shall set forth a time line for achieving the objectives which shall, where applicable, include benchmarks to measure institutional progress as defined in subsection (e) of this section.
(2) A determination of the mission of the institution which specifically addresses changes, as applicable, in the areas of research, graduate education, baccalaureate education, revised admission requirements, community and technical colleges and such other areas as the Commission or Council determines appropriate. In the determination of mission, the institutions and the Commission or Council shall consider the report completed by the national center for higher education management systems pursuant to the legislative study as provided in section seven, article three of this chapter;
(3) A plan which is calculated to make any changes in institutional mission and structure within a six-year period;
(4) A statement of the geographic areas of responsibility, where applicable, for each goal to be accomplished as provided in subsection (d) of this section;
(5) A detailed statement of how the compact is aligned with and will be implemented in conjunction with the master plan of the institution;
(6) Such other items, requirements or initiatives, required by the Commission or Council, designed to accomplish the intent of the Legislature and the goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter or other public policy goals established by the Commission or Council.
(b) Each institutional compact shall be updated annually and shall follow the same general guidelines contained in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Development and updating of the institutional compacts is subject to the following:
(1) The ultimate responsibility for developing and updating the institutional compacts at the institutional level resides with the institutional board of advisors or the board of governors, as appropriate;
(2) The ultimate responsibility for developing and adopting the final version of the state college and university institutional compacts resides with the Commission and the ultimate responsibility for developing and adopting the final version of the community and technical college institutional compacts resides with the Council;
(3) Each institution shall submit its compact to the Commission or Council annually by the fifteenth day of November;
(4) The Commission and Council shall review each compact of the institutions under their respective jurisdictions and either adopt the compact or return it with specific comments for change or improvement. The Commission and Council, as appropriate, shall continue this process as long as each considers advisable;
(5) By the first day of May annually, if the institutional compact of any institution as presented by that institution is not adopted by the Commission or Council, then the Commission or Council is empowered and directed to develop and adopt the institutional compact for the institution and the institution is bound by the compact so adopted; and
(6) As far as practicable, the Commission and Council each shall establish uniform processes and forms for the development and submission of the institutional compacts by the institutions under their respective jurisdictions. As a part of this function, the Commission and Council shall organize the statements of legislative intent and goals contained in section one-a, article one of this chapter in a manner that facilitates the purposes of this subdivision and the purposes of this section.
(d) Assignment of geographic areas of responsibility. --
(1) The Commission shall assign geographic areas of responsibility to the state institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction, except for the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University. For institutions other than the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University, the geographic areas of responsibility are made a part of their institutional compacts to ensure that all areas of the state are provided necessary programs and services to achieve the public policy agenda.
(2) Pursuant to the provisions of section four, article three-c of this chapter, the Council shall assign geographic areas of responsibility to the state institutions of higher education under its jurisdiction, including 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 and the regional campus known as West Virginia University at Parkersburg.
(3) The geographic areas of responsibility for the state institutions of higher education known as Marshall University and West Virginia University are assigned by the Legislature.
(4) The benchmarks established in the institutional compacts shall include measures of programs and services by geographic area throughout the assigned geographic area of responsibility.
(e) The compacts shall contain benchmarks used to determine progress toward meeting the goals established in the compacts. The benchmarks shall meet the following criteria:
(1) They shall be as objective as possible;
(2) They shall be directly linked to the goals in the compacts;
(3) They shall be measured by the indicators described in subsection (f) of this section; and
(4) Where applicable, they shall be used to measure progress in geographic areas of responsibility.
(f) The Commission and Council each shall establish by legislative rule indicators which measure the degree to which the goals and objectives set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter are being addressed and met by the institutions under their respective jurisdictions. The benchmarks established in subsection (e) of this section shall be measured by the indicators.
(1) The rules pertaining to benchmarks and indicators in effect for the Commission and the Council on the effective date of this section remain in effect for the institutions under their respective jurisdictions.
(2) The legislative rules shall set forth at the least the following as pertains to all state institutions of higher education:
(A) The indicators used to measure the degree to which the goals and objectives are being met;
(B) Uniform definitions for the various data elements to be used in establishing the indicators;
(C) Guidelines for the collection and reporting of data; and
(D) Sufficient detail within the benchmarks and indicators to:
(i) Provide measurable evidence that the pursuits of the institution are targeting the educational needs of the citizens of the state and the components of the compacts and master plans;
(ii) Delineate the goals and benchmarks for an institution so that the Commission, or Council can precisely measure the degree to which progress is being made toward achieving the goals for post-secondary education provided in section one-a, article one of this chapter; and
(iii) Distinctly identify specific goals within the master plan or compact of an institution that are not being met or toward which sufficient progress is not being made.
(3) In addition to any other requirement, the legislative rule established by the Council shall set forth at the least the following as pertains to community and technical college education:
(A) Benchmarks and indicators which are targeted to identify:
(i) The degree to which progress is being made by institutions toward meeting the goals for post-secondary education and the essential conditions provided in section three, article three-c of this chapter;
(ii) Information and data necessary to be considered by the Council in making the determination required by section three, article two-c of this chapter;
(iii) The degree to which progress is being made in the areas considered by the Council for the purpose of making the determination required by section three, article two-c of this chapter; and
(B) Sufficient detail within the benchmarks and indicators to provide clear evidence to support an objective determination by the Council that an institution's progress toward achieving the goals for post-secondary education and the essential conditions is so deficient that implementation of the provisions of section four, article two-c of this chapter is warranted and necessary.
(g) The Commission or the Council, as appropriate, shall approve the master plans developed by the boards of governors and the institutional boards of advisors pursuant to section four, article two-a of this chapter or section one, article six of this chapter, as appropriate.