West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 133 - Higher Education Policy Commission › Title 133 - LEGISLATIVE RULE WEST VIRGINIA HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION › Series 133-20 - Initial Authorization of Degree-Granting Institutions › Section 133-20-9 - Criteria For Authorization Essential Conditions

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
9.1. Essential Conditions. An institution
				seeking authorization to operate in West Virginia must meet the following
				essential conditions established by the Commission. To apply for Preliminary
				State Authorization the institution must provide to the Commission full
				documentation that demonstrates fulfillment of the essential conditions
				including evidence of a critical and compelling regional or statewide need or
				demand for the specific academic degree programs(s) in the state.
9.1.a. Familiarity with accreditation and
				state authorization policies and procedures.
The institution shall provide evidence that it is familiar
				  with and understands accreditation procedures of the Higher Learning Commission
				  of the North Central Association and/or other appropriate body and state
				  authorization policies and procedures. The statement should indicate perceived
				  strengths and weaknesses with respect to accreditation criteria and assess the
				  capabilities of the institution in achieving accreditation status. It shall
				  state the name of the accrediting association(s) from which accreditation will
				  be sought. If the institution has secured full accreditation status, a copy of
				  the final accreditation report shall be submitted to the Commission.
9.1.b. Statement of mission.
A statement of mission shall have been developed, formally
				  adopted by the institution's governing body and made public, 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 of higher education and the institution
				  must plan to award degrees.
9.1.c.
				Institutional organization, administration, and delivery sites.
9.1.c.1. A governing board that possesses and
				exercises necessary legal power to establish and review basic policies that
				govern the institution shall have been formally established. The board shall
				include among its members some who represent the public interest and are
				sufficiently autonomous from the administration and ownership to assure the
				integrity of the institution. The Commission shall be provided a list of the
				members of the board with a brief resume of each.
9.1.c.2. An executive officer shall be
				designated by the governing board to provide administrative leadership for the
				institution. This officer's name, title, current vita and the address of the
				administrative office, shall be provided to the Commission.
9.1.c.3. If faculty members are employed at
				the time the application is filed with the Commission, the faculty members'
				names, their academic credentials (degrees, previous experience, etc.), and
				teaching fields shall be identified. If no faculty members have been employed,
				the institution shall describe the qualifications of the faculty that is to be
				recruited and the procedures that will be used to find and contract with
				faculty members.
9.1.c.4. The
				method of program delivery and/or physical location of course delivery shall be
				defined. If a program is designed for online delivery, it shall meet best
				practice guidelines for distance education delivery as outlined by the regional
				accrediting agency. If the program is designed for traditional classroom
				delivery, the proposed physical location shall be identified.
9.1.c.5. To assure that instructional
				delivery sites meet applicable state standards for health and safety,
				institutions must secure a certificate of occupancy and recent fire inspection
				report from the State Fire Marshal's office for each instructional delivery
				site. These requirements are not applicable if delivery is in a public building
				that already has regular health, safety, and fire inspections upon receipt of
				last approved inspection. If the nature of the building is changed, additional
				inspections will be required.
9.1.c.6. Instructional delivery sites must be
				compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines.
9.1.d. Degrees and academic programs.
9.1.d.1. A degree shall be awarded upon
				successful completion of an educational program. The institution shall provide
				a list of the degrees it proposes to award.
9.1.d.2. The planned educational programs
				shall be compatible with the proposed institutional mission. The relationship
				shall be described in documents provided to the Commission.
9.1.d.3. The academic program proposed for
				offering shall be appropriately named and be based on fields of study
				recognized as appropriate for a postsecondary institution. Evidence shall be
				provided to the Commission that the fields of study upon which the academic
				programs are to be based are, in fact, so recognized. Such recognition, for
				example, could 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.d.4. The content and
				length of the proposed academic program shall follow practices common to
				institutions of higher education. The commonly accepted minimum program length
				is: 60 semester credits for associate's degrees, 120 semester credits for
				bachelor's degrees, 30 semester credits beyond the bachelor's degree for
				master's degrees, 30 semester credits beyond the master's degree for
				doctorates.
Academic credit shall be awarded upon completion of each unit
				  of the course of study, leading to a formal award granted by the
				  institution.
Documentation shall be provided to the Commission that lists
				  requirements for each degree program including representative course syllabi
				  specifying goals and requirements, course content, methods of evaluation, and
				  bibliography.
The student-teacher ratio shall be reasonable at all times in
				  keeping with generally accepted teaching modes for the subject matter. The
				  institution must employ at least one full-time faculty for each degree
				  program.
9.1.d.5. Any proposed
				undergraduate degree program shall include a coherent general education
				component that is consistent with the institution's mission and appropriate to
				its educational programs. The undergraduate general education component shall
				be documented.
General education is defined as follows:
General Education is "general" in several clearly
				  identifiable ways: it is not directly related to a student's formal technical,
				  vocational or professional preparation; it is a part of every student's course
				  of study, regardless of his or her area of emphasis; and it is intended to
				  impart common knowledge, intellectual concepts, and attitudes that every
				  educated person should possess.
The minimum requirement for general education for all
				  undergraduate programs delivered through the traditional distributed curricula
				  is 15 semester credits for technical associate's degrees, 24 for transfer
				  associate's degrees, and 30 for bachelor's degrees. If the general education
				  component is delivered through integrated, embedded, interdisciplinary, or
				  other accepted models, institutions must demonstrate that the program meets
				  minimum requirements equivalent to the distributed model.
9.1.d.6. Student access to all necessary
				learning resources and support services shall be provided. Necessary resources
				and support services vary by type of program, but all require some use of
				library resources. Laboratories may be required for some programs. Support
				services such as academic advising, financial aid counseling, and support for
				special, targeted, constituencies may be needed. The institution shall describe
				the learning resources and support services that it will provide and state how
				they will be provided to students on a regular, dependable basis.
9.1.d.7. Distance learning instruction, when
				offered, should be considered part of the total program and be judged by
				criteria as used for sessions and courses offered by the institution in the
				regular academic year. Documentation shall be provided to the Commission that
				shows that academic standards for all programs or courses offered
				electronically are the same as those for other courses delivered at the
				institution. Additionally, any programs that are offered primarily through
				asynchronous or synchronous technology shall meet the standards of good
				practice for distance education delivery as outlined by the regional
				accrediting agency.
9.1.e. Admission policies.
Admission policies shall be consistent with the institution's
				  mission and appropriate to the educational program. The Commission shall be
				  provided with a copy of the institution's admission policies, policies
				  regarding tuition and fees assessment, 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.e.1. Degree
				program admission policies must be at least the following:
9.1.e.1.A. baccalaureate degrees must require
				a high school diploma or equivalency, and
9.1.e.1.B. graduate degrees must require at
				least a baccalaureate degree from an institution judged to be appropriate by
				the Commission.
9.1.e.2.
				These policies and related publications shall provide a true and accurate
				representation of the institution and its programs when recruiting
				students.
9.1.f.
				Financial resources.
The institution shall have financial resources adequate to
				  support start-up activities and sources of funds sufficient to ensure that the
				  institution can sustain itself once students have been admitted. An institution
				  shall continuously ascertain its financial requirements, determine its sources
				  of revenue, plan for current and future needs, and budget its resources
				  accordingly. The Commission shall be provided with:
9.1.f.1. A current financial statement
				  compiled or audited by an independent certified public accountant. If the
				  financial statement is unaudited or internally generated, a copy of the most
				  recent income tax return must also be submitted;
9.1.f.2. 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). A projection of
				  expenditures and revenues for the upcoming year should be included.
9.1.f.3. The institution shall demonstrate
				  that it has the financial resources and planning sufficient to realize its
				  mission over an extended period of time. It shall demonstrate that it has
				  adequate financial resources 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.g. Faculty
				credentials.
9.1.g.1. The institution shall
				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
				either:
(1) possess one or more degrees in an
				appropriate discipline; or
(2) as an
				alternative to formal academic credentials, demonstrate competence by virtue of
				prior experience or academic training, or both, which are related to the field
				in which the instruction will be offered.
9.1.g.2. The institution shall ensure that
				each full-time, part-time or adjunct instructional faculty member holds
				academic credentials appropriate to the degree level of the programs or
				programs in which the faculty member teaches.
9.1.g.2.A. An institution that offers one or
				more degree programs at the baccalaureate level shall ensure that at least
				one-third of the instructional faculty, including at least one instructional
				faculty member teaching in each program, shall hold a doctoral or other
				terminal degree. All other instructional faculty members who teach in programs
				at the baccalaureate level shall either:
9.1.g.2.A.(a) Hold a master's degree;
				or
9.1.g.2.A.(b) Qualify for a
				faculty appointment by virtue of scholarly or professional
				achievements.
9.1.g.2.B.
				All instructional faculty teaching in a program at the master's, first
				professional or doctoral level shall either:
9.1.g.2.B(a) Hold a doctoral or other
				terminal degree; or
9.1.g.2.B.(b)
				Qualify for a faculty appointment by virtue of scholarly or professional
				achievements.
9.1.g.3. An institution must employ faculty
				members whose highest earned degree presented as the credential qualifying the
				faculty member to teach at the institution is from an institution accredited by
				an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Exceptions
				may be made only with the prior consent of the Commission.
9.1.h. Evaluation and assessment.
The institution must have a clearly defined process by which
				  the curriculum is established, reviewed, and evaluated. The institution must
				  provide for appropriate and regular evaluation of the institution and its
				  program and course effectiveness including assessment of student learning,
				  retention, graduation rates and student, graduate, faculty and employer
				  satisfaction. The results must be used to ensure and improve quality of
				  instruction.
9.1.i. Tuition
				policies.
9.1.i.1. A tuition policy shall be
				developed that provides:
9.1.i.1.A. The total
				tuition for any specific program shall be the same for all persons enrolled at
				the same time;
9.1.i.1.B. Tuition
				charges for programs shall be justifiable, effective on specific dates and
				applicable to all who enroll thereafter;
9.1.i.1.C. All extra charges and costs shall
				be revealed to the prospective student before he or she is enrolled;
9.1.i.1.D. The true and accurate costs of
				courses and program completion must be published and made readily available to
				all prospective and current students.
9.1.i.2. Institutions that the U.S.
				Department of Education has approved for eligibility for federal student
				financial aid must comply with the federal regulations governing institutional
				refunds. An institution must develop criteria for refunds of tuition and fees
				and make them available to all students.
9.1.i.3. For institutions not participating
				in federal Title IV financial aid, criteria for refunds of tuition and fees
				must be developed and made available to all students and prospective
				students.
9.1.j.
				Financial aid.
A policy shall have been developed that provides prospective
				  students and applicants with basic opportunities for student financial aid.
				  This information shall include but not be limited to:
(1) types of federal, state, local, private
				and institutional aid offered to students at the institution;
(2) description of the financial aid
				application process and the method for determining student eligibility for aid;
(3) methods and schedules used to
				determine and disburse financial aid to students; and
(4) statement of the rights and
				responsibilities of financial aid recipients. A copy of the policy must be
				attached to Commission submission materials.
Information related to student responsibility for repayment
				  of loans and other financial aid must be readily available to students.
				  Consequences relevant to non-payment and delinquent or default repayment of
				  loans must be published and readily available to students.
9.1.k. Library
				resources.
The institution shall maintain or ensure via current and
				  formal written agreements with other libraries or from other resources that
				  students have adequate access to a library with a collection, staff, services,
				  equipment and facilities that are adequate and appropriate for the purpose and
				  enrollment of the institution. Institutions offering graduate work shall
				  provide library resources that include basic reference and bibliographic works
				  in each field where work is offered and the major journal and serial sets for
				  maintaining currency in each discipline. Utilization of electronic data
				  collections should also be addressed. The institution shall provide clear and
				  concise methods for on-campus and/or remote access of library electronic media
				  resources and there shall be communication to students in a matter to minimize
				  barriers to usage.
9.1.l.
				Institutional and student records.
9.1.l.1.
				The institution shall maintain accurate records on all enrolled students. These
				records minimally shall include:
9.1.l.1.A.
				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 must reflect the requirements and justification for admission of
				the student to the institution. Admission records must be maintained for five
				years.
9.1.1.1.B. Transcript of the
				student's academic work at the institution shall be retained permanently in
				either hard copy forms or in a database with backup.
9.1.1.1.C. A record of student academic
				progress at the institution including programs of study, dates of enrollment,
				courses taken and completed, grades and indication of the student's status
				(graduated probation, etc.).
9.1.l.2. Financial records of the institution
				must be maintained and open for inspection by properly authorized officials of
				the Commission pursuant to compliance with confidentiality laws.
9.1.l.3. Institutions administering financial
				aid programs must maintain a ledger and a record of financial aid administered
				which includes a chronological record of debits and credits which is
				understandable to the enrollee.
9.1.l.4. The institution must have policies
				concerning retention and disposal of records and information-release policies
				which respect the rights of individual privacy, the confidentiality of records
				and the best interests of the student and institution.
9.1.l.5. The institution shall have a written
				plan for the preservation of students' transcripts by another institution or
				agency, as well as for access to the transcripts, in the event of institutional
				closure.
9.1.m. Catalog
				and official publications.
9.1.m.1. Official
				publications of the institution shall reflect the institution's integrity,
				commitment, and reputation and convey its sense of mission, character, goals
				and objectives to the public. All information released by the institution must
				be true and accurate.
9.1.m.2.
				Official catalogs must describe the institutional mission, requirements for
				satisfactory completion of degree programs, student policies, information on
				enrollment, tuition and fees, faculty credentials, academic calendar, student
				grievance procedure, transferability of credit, and other information
				specifically applicable to students.
9.1.n. Student grievances.
An institution shall publish and make available to all
				  students the institution's grievance policies and procedures regarding the
				  receipt, investigation and resolution of student complaints. These policies
				  must include:
9.1.n.1. An appropriate
				time frame for investigating and resolving the complaint;
9.1.n.2. Safeguards that those persons
				charged with resolving the complaint are capable of making a fair and impartial
				judgment;
9.1.n.3. Procedures to
				ensure that a student will not be subject to unfair actions as a result of an
				initiation of a complaint proceeding; and
9.1.n.4. The maintenance of records,
				disposition and other pertinent information concerning institutional complaints
				for at least five (5) years.
9.1.o. Other criteria deemed to be
				pertinent.