§18B-1-10 Potomac branch of West Virginia university. - West Virginia Statutes

§18B-1-10. Potomac branch of West Virginia university.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, by the first day of July, two thousand five, Potomac state college shall merge and consolidate with West Virginia university, and become a fully integrated division of the university. All administrative and academic units shall be consolidated with primary responsibility for direction and support assigned to West Virginia university. The advisory board previously appointed for Potomac state college shall be known as the board of visitors and shall provide guidance to the division in carrying out its mission.

(b) Operational costs for the Potomac campus may not exceed by more than ten percent the average cost per full-time equivalent student for freestanding community and technical colleges or the southern regional education board average expenditures for two-year institutions. West Virginia university shall reduce these costs to the mandated level within four years.

(c) Auxiliary enterprises shall be incorporated into the West Virginia university auxiliary enterprise system. The West Virginia university board of governors shall determine if operations at the Potomac campus can be operated on a self-sufficient basis when establishing rates for auxiliary services and products.

(d) Potomac state college has a strong reputation in agriculture and forestry instruction, pre-professional programs in business, computer science and education, and basic liberal arts instruction. These programs shall be further cultivated and emphasized as the sustaining mission of the Potomac campus over the next decade, except that the higher education policy commission may change the mission of the Potomac campus at any time the commission determines appropriate. In order to focus its resources on these programs, the campus shall contract through eastern West Virginia community and technical college to provide work force development training, literacy education and technical education programs which are most efficiently offered within a flexible community and technical college curriculum. This collaborative relationship shall serve to strengthen both institutions and generate a model relationship between traditional and community and technical college education for institutions throughout the state.

(e) Beginning the first day of November, two thousand three, and annually thereafter, Potomac state college and eastern West Virginia community and technical college shall report to the higher education policy commission on plans, accomplishments and recommendations in implementing the cooperative relationship authorized in subsection (d) of this section. The commission shall report to the legislative oversight commission on education accountability on the cooperative activities, results and recommendations for changes by the fifteenth day of December, two thousand three, and annually thereafter.