West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 135 - Community And Technical College Education › Title 135 - LEGISLATIVE RULE WEST VIRGINIA COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE EDUCATION › Series 135-20 - Initial Authorization of Degree-Granting Institutions › Section 135-20-9 - Criteria for Authorization Essential Conditions

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
9.1. Essential Conditions. -- An institution
				seeking initial authorization shall meet the following essential conditions.
9.1.1. The institution shall provide evidence
				that it is familiar with and understands its accreditor's accreditation
				procedures and State authorization rules and procedures. The statement shall
				indicate perceived strengths and weaknesses with respect to accreditation
				criteria and assess the institution's ability to achieve accreditation status.
				It shall state the name of the accreditor from which the institution is seeking
				accreditation. If the institution has secured full accreditation, it shall
				submit a copy of the final accreditation report to the Council.
9.1.2. The institution shall provide a copy
				of its mission statement, which has been formally adopted by the institution's
				governing body and made public, and which defines the basic character of the
				institution, including a brief description of the educational programs to be
				offered and their purposes, the students for which the programs are intended,
				the geographical area served by the institution (or the particular constituency
				it serves), and a description of how the institution will fit within the
				broader higher education community. The mission shall be appropriate to an
				institution and the institution must plan to award degrees.
9.1.3. Institutional organization,
				administration, and delivery sites.
9.1.3.a.
				The institution shall have an established governing board that possesses and
				exercises necessary legal power to enact and review basic policies that govern
				the institution. The board shall include among its members people who represent
				the public interest and are sufficiently autonomous from the administration and
				ownership to assure the integrity of the institution. The institution shall
				submit a list of the members of the board with a brief resume of
				each.
9.1.3.b. Documentation that
				the governing board has designated a chief executive officer to provide
				administrative leadership for the institution, including the chief executive
				officer's name, title, current vita, and the physical and mailing address of
				the administrative office, if different.
9.1.3.c. If faculty members are employed at
				the time of application, the institution shall submit their names, their
				academic credentials (degrees, previous experience, etc.), and their teaching
				fields. If no faculty members have been employed, the institution shall
				describe the qualifications of the faculty it is recruiting and the procedures
				it is using to find and contract with faculty members.
9.1.3.d. The institution shall provide a
				description of the method of program delivery and/or the physical location of
				course delivery. If a program is designed for online delivery, it shall meet
				best practice guidelines for distance education delivery as outlined by the
				accreditor. If the program is designed for traditional classroom delivery, the
				institution shall identify the proposed physical location.
9.1.3.e. To assure that instructional
				delivery sites meet applicable State standards for health and safety,
				institutions shall secure a certificate of occupancy and recent fire inspection
				report from the State Fire Marshal's office for each instructional delivery
				site. If delivery is in a public building that already has regular health,
				safety, and fire inspections, the institution may instead submit a copy of the
				building's last approved inspection report. If the nature of the building
				changes, the institution shall submit updated inspection reports.
9.1.3.f. Instructional delivery sites shall
				comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
9.1.4. Degrees and academic programs. - The
				institution shall provide:
9.1.4.a. A list of
				the degrees it proposes to award;
9.1.4.b. A description of how the planned
				educational programs are compatible with the proposed institutional
				mission;
9.1.4.c. A description of
				how the fields of study upon which the academic programs are to be based are
				recognized as appropriate for a postsecondary institution and appropriately
				named. This may be demonstrated by the existence of professional literature in
				the field; the offering of similar programs in already-accredited institutions,
				generally; and by the existence of professional organizations related to the
				field;
9.1.4.d. Documentation that
				the content and length of the proposed academic program follows practices
				common to institutions of higher education. The maximum program length is 60
				semester credit hours for associate degrees, unless institutional or program
				accreditation requires otherwise;
9.1.4.d.1.
				Certification that the institution shall award academic credit upon the
				student's completion of each unit of the course of study and grant a formal
				postsecondary credential upon the student's successful completion of the
				academic program;
9.1.4.d.2. A list
				of requirements for each degree program, including representative course
				syllabi specifying goals and requirements, course content, methods of
				evaluation, and bibliography;
9.1.4.d.3. Documentation that the
				student-teacher ratio is reasonable at all times in keeping with generally
				accepted teaching modes for the subject matter and that the institution will
				employ at least one full-time faculty for each degree program.
9.1.4.e. Documentation that any
				proposed associate degree program includes a coherent general education
				component that is consistent with the institution's mission and appropriate to
				its educational programs. General education is defined as follows:
9.1.4.e.1. General education curriculum may
				not be directly related to a student's formal technical, vocational, or
				professional preparation; it is a component of every student's course of study,
				regardless of the area of emphasis the student is pursuing; and it is intended
				to impart common knowledge, intellectual concepts, and a diverse range of
				perspectives that every educated person should possess.
9.1.4.e.2. The minimum requirement for
				general education for all undergraduate programs delivered through the
				traditional distributed curricula is 15 semester credits for technical and
				applied associate degrees and 24 for academic associate degrees. If the general
				education component is delivered through integrated, embedded,
				interdisciplinary, or other accepted models, institutions shall demonstrate
				that the program meets minimum requirements equivalent to the distributed
				model.
9.1.4.f. A
				description of the learning resources and support services that the institution
				will provide to students on a regular, dependable basis, including access to
				library and online resources; laboratories; and academic advising, financial
				aid counseling, and support for special, targeted constituencies;
9.1.4.g. Documentation demonstrating that
				academic standards for all programs or courses offered electronically or by
				other distance learning methods are the same as those for other courses
				delivered at the institution and that any programs offered primarily through
				asynchronous or synchronous technology meet the standards of good practice for
				distance education delivery as prescribed by the accreditor.
9.1.5. Admission policies. --
				Documentation that the institution's admission policies are consistent with its
				mission and appropriate to the educational program, including a copy of the
				institution's admission policies (which shall require at least a high school
				diploma for equivalent for associate degree programs), tuition and fees, and
				refund policies. The policies shall define the minimum requirements for
				eligibility for admission to the institution and for acceptance at the specific
				degree level or into all specific degree programs. These policies and related
				publications shall provide a true and accurate representation of the
				institution and its programs when recruiting students;
9.1.6. Financial resources. -- Documentary
				evidence that the institution has financial resources adequate to support
				start-up activities and sources of funds sufficient to ensure that the
				institution can sustain operations once students are admitted, including:
9.1.6.a. A current financial statement
				compiled or audited by an independent certified public accountant or a copy of
				the most recent income tax return if the financial statement is unaudited or
				internally generated;
9.1.6.b. A
				budget listing all sources of income and all Educational and General (E&G)
				expenditures and specifying the dollar amounts and percentages for each
				component of the budget for the preceding three fiscal years (including the
				current year) and a projection of expenditures and revenues for the upcoming
				year.
9.1.6.c. Documentation that
				the institution has the financial resources and planning sufficient to realize
				its mission over an extended period of time including financial resources
				sufficient to meet the following: facility maintenance and overhead; staff and
				faculty payroll; books, supplies, and/or equipment utilized by students; and
				general operating costs, including printing and advertising.
9.1.7. Faculty credentials. -- A
				description of how the institution will ensure that each full-time, part-time
				or adjunct instructional faculty member holds appropriate academic credentials
				in the program area or discipline in which the faculty member teaches. Each
				instructional faculty member shall meet qualifications as required by the
				accreditor;
9.1.8. Evaluation and
				assessment. -- Documentation explaining the clearly defined process by which
				the institution establishes, reviews, and evaluates its curriculum as well as
				how it will provide for appropriate and regular evaluation of its program and
				course effectiveness, including assessment of student learning, retention,
				graduation rates and student, graduate, faculty, and employer
				satisfaction.
9.1.9. Tuition
				policies. -- A copy of the institution's tuition policy, which shall provide at
				a minimum:
9.1.9.a. That the total tuition for
				any specific program is the same for all persons enrolled at the same
				time;
9.1.9.b. That tuition charges
				for programs are objectively justifiable, effective on specific dates, and
				applicable to all who enroll thereafter;
9.1.9.c. That additional charges and costs
				are provided to prospective students before they are enrolled;
9.1.9.d. That true and accurate costs of
				courses and program completion are published and made readily available to all
				prospective and current students; and
9.1.9.e. That the institution has a tuition
				and fee refund policy that is available to all students. If the institution is
				Title IV eligible, the refund policy shall comply with the federal regulations
				governing institutional refunds.
9.1.10. Financial Aid. -- A copy of the
				policy that provides prospective students and applicants with basic
				opportunities for student financial aid. This information includes, but is not
				limited to:
(1) types of federal, State,
				local, private, and institutional aid the institution offers;
(2) description of the financial aid
				application process and the method the institution uses to determine student
				eligibility for aid;
(3) methods and
				schedules the institution uses to determine and disburse financial aid to
				students; and
(4) statement of the
				rights and responsibilities of financial aid recipients, including an
				explanation of student responsibility for repayment of loans and other
				financial aid and the consequences of non-payment and delinquent or default
				repayment of loans.
9.1.11. Library Resources. -- A description
				of how the institution maintains or ensures that students have reasonable and
				reliable access to a library with a collection, staff, services, equipment, and
				facilities that are adequate and appropriate for the mission and enrollment of
				the institution; including clear and concise methods for on-campus and/or
				remote access of library electronic media resources.
9.1.12. Institutional and student records.
9.1.12.a. A detailed explanation of how the
				institution maintains accurate records of all enrolled students. The
				institution shall maintain, at a minimum, the following student records:
9.1.12.a.1. Each student's application for
				admission and admissions records containing information regarding the
				educational qualifications of each regular student admitted which are relevant
				to the institution's admission standards. Each student record shall reflect the
				requirements and justification for admission of the student to the institution.
				The institution shall retain admission records for five years;
9.1.12.a.2. Transcript of the student's
				academic work at the institution and student financial aid records, which the
				institution shall retain permanently in either hard copy or in a database with
				backup;
9.1.12.a.3. A
				non-transcript record of student progress at the institution including, but not
				limited to, course evaluations, grade change documents, and advisor records,
				which the institution shall retain for five years after the student leaves the
				institution.
9.1.12.b.
				The institution shall retain its financial records and produce them to the
				Chancellor for inspection upon request in accordance with Section 10.2. of this
				rule.
9.1.12.c. Institutions
				administering financial aid programs shall maintain a ledger and a record of
				financial aid administered which includes a chronological record of debits and
				credits which is understandable to the financial aid recipient.
9.1.12.d. The institution shall have a policy
				concerning retention, disposal, and release of student records that is
				compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
9.1.12.e. The institution shall have a
				written plan for the retention, custody, and retrieval of student records,
				including but not limited to academic transcripts, financial aid documents,
				international student forms, and tax information, in the event of closure of
				the institution or discontinuance of service. The plan shall include a method
				by which students and alumni of the institution will be able to retrieve such
				records upon request in accordance with Section 12 of this rule.
9.1.13. Catalog and official
				publications. -- A copy of or link to the institution's official catalog, which
				shall conform to the standards established by the institution's accreditor, and
				certification by the institution's chief executive officer that the
				institution's official publications are and will be true and accurate and
				otherwise comply with applicable consumer protection laws;
9.1.14. Student grievances. -- A copy of the
				institution's student grievance policy addressing the receipt, investigation,
				and resolution of student complaints. The policy shall include, at a minimum:
9.1.14.a. An appropriate time frame for
				investigating and resolving the complaint;
9.1.14.b. A requirement that those persons
				charged with resolving the complaint are fair and impartial and authorized to
				resolve the complaint;
9.1.14.c.
				Procedures to ensure that a student will not be subject to unfair actions as a
				result of submitting a complaint or participating in an investigation of a
				student complaint; and
9.1.14.d. A
				requirement that the institution retain the records related to student
				complaints, including the disposition of the matter and other pertinent
				information for at least five years; and
9.1.15. Any additional information or data
				deemed necessary by the Chancellor to determine whether an institution meets
				the essential conditions to receive initial authorization.