2005 West Virginia Code - §18B-3-6. — Increasing flexibility for freestanding community and technical colleges.

§18B-3-6. Increasing flexibility for freestanding community and technical colleges.
(a) For the purposes of this section, "freestanding community and technical college" means eastern West Virginia community and technical college, southern West Virginia community and technical college, West Virginia northern community and technical college and any other freestanding community and technical college so designated by the Legislature.
(b) Notwithstanding any rules or procedures of the state college system board of directors, the freestanding community and technical colleges under the jurisdiction of the board of directors have the authority and the duty to:
(1) Incorporate the most effective and efficient use of technology in accessing and delivering courses and programs in order to make the best use of available resources and to control costs;
(2) Incorporate a model to offer occupational program curricula in smaller modules to accommodate specific student and employer needs and to gain sufficient flexibility in formatting courses;
(3) Serve as a facilitator for education programs from outside delivery sources that meet the needs of the residents and employers of the district; and
(4) Employ faculty in the most effective manner to serve the core mission of the community and technical college. To that end the freestanding community and technical colleges may employ faculty for an indefinite period without a grant of tenure and shall work toward a staffing goal of no more than twenty percent of the faculty holding tenure or being tenure-track employees: Provided, That tenured faculty currently employed by public institutions of higher education may not be affected by this provision.
(c) The freestanding community and technical colleges may not be required to file a request for approval of certificate and associate degree programs with the board of trustees before implementing a new program pursuant to section eight, article one of this chapter.
(d) Potomac State College of West Virginia University and West Virginia University at Parkersburg may not be required to file a request for approval of certificate and associate degree programs with the board of directors before implementing a new program pursuant to section eight, article one of this chapter.
(e) The board of directors shall adopt a model of program approval for the freestanding community and technical colleges that permits occupational programs to be customized to meet needs without requiring approval by the board of directors and, furthermore, that incorporates a post-audit review by the board of directors of such programs on a three-year cycle to determine the effectiveness of such programs in meeting district needs.
(f) The board of directors shall promulgate legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to effectuate the purposes of this section: Provided, That the board may not promulgate emergency rules. The rules shall be filed with the legislative oversight commission on education accountability no later than the first day of November, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine.