§18B-3C-1 Legislative findings.
§18B-3C-1. Legislative findings.
(a) Findings. -- The Legislature hereby finds:
(1) That community and technical colleges in every region of West Virginia are essential elements of a statewide strategy to prepare students for further post-secondary education, life long learning and development of the workforce necessary to diversity and grow the state's economy.
(2) That, despite progress in the past decade, West Virginia continues to lag behind neighboring states and the nation in the competitiveness of its workforce for the new economy. Specifically, West Virginia:
(A) Ranks fiftieth among the states in the preparation of its workforce for the new economy;
(B) Continues to have low rates of participation among high school graduates in post-secondary education and ranks last among competitor states in the proportion of high school graduates who attend a community college;
(C) Ranks forty-seventh in the nation in the proportion of its adult population at the lowest levels of literacy; and
(D) Ranks tenth among eleven competitor states in the number of certificates and associate degrees granted.
(3) That, despite progress made in developing community and technical colleges pursuant to Senate Bill No. 547, most of these colleges remain subordinated to colleges and universities with four-year and graduate missions.
(4) That, while the number of high school graduates is declining and the needs of adults for further education and training is increasing, less than twenty-five percent of the students enrolled in West Virginia institutions are over age twenty-five.
(5) That only half the enrollment in community and technical colleges is in institutions independently accredited to carry out that mission.
(6) That in most of the component community and technical colleges the majority of faculty are appointed and rewarded according to the policies of the four-year institution, not the community and technical college.
(7) That West Virginia is one of only five states in which most of the enrollment in associate degree programs is in institutions that are not independently accredited as two-year institutions.
(8) That the community and technical college mission in West Virginia continues to be seen by many as narrowly defined and offering primarily associate degree programs and rather than the critical functions of workforce development, developmental education, community outreach and regional economic development as defined in Senate Bill No. 547.
(9) That half the community and technical college students in West Virginia pay the higher tuition and fees of the sponsoring four-year institution and not the lower rate of free-standing community and technical colleges.
(10) That, despite the needs of place-bound adults, adults in the workplace and employers, current higher education financing policy provides strong disincentives for both free-standing and component community and technical colleges to provide off-campus programs and services.
(11) That Senate Bill No. 547 set forth a definition of the kinds of community and technical college programs or service that should be available and accessible in every region of West Virginia.
(12) That over the past forty years, West Virginia has debated forming a distinct system of community and technical colleges with a focused mission in each region of the state. However, the state already had a network of public colleges in each region and, because of severe resource limitation and low population density, West Virginia evolved a system of community and technical colleges that depends in large part on the existing four-year colleges to offer associate degrees and other community and technical college services. West Virginia has established only a limited number of freestanding community and technical colleges.
(13) That Senate Bill No. 547 sought to strengthen the state's community and technical colleges in a number of ways.
(14) That the implementation of specific structural and procedural provisions of Senate Bill No. 547 was decidedly mixed.
(15) That Senate Bill No. 547 had widely varying impact on the availability of community and technical college services throughout West Virginia. The scope of services in several regions of the state, especially those with component colleges, has fallen far short of the kind of comprehensive, dynamic services envisioned in Senate Bill No. 547.
(16) That since the enactment of Senate Bill No. 547 increasing attention has been given to the related priority of workforce development.
(17) That since the enactment of Senate Bill No. 547 changes have accelerated dramatically in post-secondary education demand and delivery systems.
(18) That the substantive goal of Senate Bill No. 547 to ensure access to community and technical college programs and services remains valid and is even more important today than five years ago; and
(19) That there are essential conditions which must be met by each community and technical college in West Virginia in order to address the needs of the people of the state.
(b) Legislative Intent. -- It is the intent of the Legislature, that the process for achieving independently accredited community and technical colleges be carried out using the most effective and most efficient method available. In implementing this process the governing boards and institutions of higher education should utilize facilities that already are available. These include, but are not limited to, the facilities of public high schools and vocational education centers. It is further the intent of the Legislature that this article not be implemented in such a manner as to require an extensive building program. Prior to pursuing any capital project, an institution shall follow the guidelines for developing capital projects provided for in subdivision (13), subsection (a), section four, article one-b of this chapter.