§18B-3C-2 Purposes of article.
§18B-3C-2. Purposes of article.
The general purposes of this article are the following:
(a) To establish community and technical college education that is well articulated with the public schools and four-year colleges; that makes maximum use of shared facilities, faculty, staff, equipment and other resources; that encourages traditional and nontraditional students and adult learners to pursue a lifetime of learning; that serves as an instrument of economic development; and that has the independence and flexibility to respond quickly to changing needs;
(b) To charge the respective governing boards with providing community and technical college education at state institutions of higher education under their jurisdiction that has the administrative, programmatic and budgetary control necessary to allow maximum flexibility and responsiveness to district and community needs. Education services shall be provided consistent with the goal of sharing facilities, faculty, staff, equipment and other resources within and among the districts, the other systems of public and higher education and other education and training programs;
(c) To establish the essential conditions for community and technical college programs and services, as defined in section three of this article, necessary to ensure that each region of West Virginia is served by a community and technical college meeting the needs of the people of the region;
(d) To establish a mechanism for assuring that, where applicable, a transition plan for meeting the essential conditions is developed by each relevant community and technical college;
(e) To establish community and technical college consortia districts for each of the community and technical colleges to ensure accountability that the full range of community and technical college education programs and services is provided in all areas of the state, including the implementation of seamless curricula and the West Virginia EDGE, "Earn a Degree Graduate Early" program;
(f) To define the full range of programs and services that each community and technical college has the responsibility to provide; and
(g) To establish such other policies and procedures necessary to ensure that the needs of West Virginia, its people and its businesses are met for the programs and services that can be provided through a comprehensive system of community and technical colleges.