West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 133 - Higher Education Policy Commission › Title 133 - LEGISLATIVE RULE WEST VIRGINIA HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION › Series 133-26 - Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholars Program and Teacher Education Loan Repayment Program › Section 133-26-4 - Administration

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
4.1. The
				Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholars Program shall be administered by the Vice
				Chancellor for Administration or her/his designee.
4.2. The Commission, in consultation with the
				State Superintendent of Schools, shall promulgate reasonable legislative rules
				for the administration of the program and the Vice Chancellor for
				Administration, in accordance with such rules, shall establish appropriate
				guidelines for program operation.
4.3. Recipient awards shall not exceed
				$10,000.00 per year for a maximum of four academic years for a baccalaureate
				degree.
4.4. The Vice Chancellor
				for Administration shall solicit the views of public and private education
				agencies and institutions and other interested parties in developing the
				selection criteria and procedures to be used by the selection panel. These
				views may be solicited by means of written and published selection criteria and
				procedures in final form for implementation. Views may also be solicited by
				means of public hearings on the present and projected teacher needs of the
				state or any other means the Vice Chancellor may deem appropriate to gather
				information.
4.5. The Commission
				and the West Virginia Board of Education jointly shall ensure that
				Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholar award recipients receive additional academic
				support and training from mentors in their academic field beginning with the
				freshman year and continuing through degree completion and the teaching
				obligation.
4.6. Model agreements
				between public education and higher education will be developed by Commission
				staff in collaboration with West Virginia Department of Education
				staff.
4.7. Critical teacher
				shortage fields will be identified by the West Virginia Department of Education
				annually and provided to the Commission.
4.8. Only those institutions that are
				regionally accredited and offer West Virginia Department of Education approved
				programs that lead to teacher certification and West Virginia licensure are
				eligible to participate in the Underwood-Smith Teacher Scholars
				Program.
4.9. An institution
				otherwise eligible to participate in Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholars Program
				under Section 4.8 of this rule shall be excluded from participating by the Vice
				Chancellor for Administration if:
4.9.a. The
				institution does not have a signed participation agreement in place;
				or
4.9.b. The institution has been
				deemed ineligible to participate in federal student financial aid programs by
				the United States Department of Education; or
4.9.c. The Commission determines, based upon
				audits and/or administrative site visits by Commission staff, that the
				institution has seriously mismanaged the Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholars
				Program or other state financial aid funds or lacks adequate institutional
				controls to manage such funds properly.