Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 135-2-3 - Definitions3.1. "Academically Underprepared Student" means a West Virginia resident student enrolled in a community and technical college who has at least one of the following risk factors: 3.1.1. Cumulative high school grade point average below 2.50; or3.1.2. Admitted to the institution based on standardized test scores (ACT, SAT, or ACCUPLACER) that would qualify the student for developmental or remedial placement in mathematics or English based on placement criteria established by 135 C.S.R. 21, Freshman Assessment and Placement Standards.3.2. "Academic/Technical Certificate Degrees Awarded" means the combined total number of students earning a certificate degree, as defined by 135 C.S.R. 11 § 3 (Degree Designation, General Education Requirements, New Program Approval, and Discontinuance of Existing Programs), during an academic year. Students earning multiple degrees within an academic year shall be counted as a single outcome for model calculations. In such cases, the outcome score will be calculated based on the degree that yields the institution the highest possible total score with all premium multipliers applied.3.3. "Adults or Adult Students" means West Virginia Resident students with an approximate age of 25 and older, calculated by subtracting the individual's year of birth from the submission year for those data used in the calculation of model outcomes.3.4. "Associate and Bachelor's Degrees Awarded" means the combined total number of students earning associate or bachelor's degrees, as defined by 135 C.S.R. 11 § 3, during an academic year. Students earning multiple certificates, associate degrees and/or bachelor's degrees within an academic year shall be counted as a single outcome for model calculations. In such cases, the outcome score will be calculated based on the degree that yields the institution the highest possible total score with all premium multipliers applied.3.5. "Awards per 100 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Students" means the combined total number of unique students earning at least one certificate, associate, or bachelor's degree within an academic year for every 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) degree-seeking students.3.6. "Base Appropriation" means the amount of funding that a community and technical college receives through a state appropriation for its operations and for which there are no significant restrictions on expenditure.3.7. "Chancellor" means the Chancellor for Community and Technical College Education, as that term is defined by W. Va. Code §§ 18B-2-1 and 18B-2B-2(d), or his or her designee.3.8. "Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code" means a numerical identifier assigned by the National Center for Education Statistics to an academic discipline to support tracking and reporting data at the field-of-study level.3.9. "Community and Technical College," in the singular or plural, means the State's public community and technical colleges, as that term is defined by W. Va. Code § 18B-2-1.3.10. "Council" means the Council for Community and Technical College Education as defined by W. Va. Code § 18B-2-1 and as created by W. Va. Code § 18B-2B-1, et seq.3.11. "Focus Population" means West Virginia resident students identified as academically underprepared, adults, and/or low-income based on the criteria defined by this Rule.3.12. "Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Student" is an enrollment metric calculated by dividing the total number of credit hours generated by a degree-seeking student in credit-bearing classes during the summer, fall, and spring semesters of an academic year by 30.3.13. "Higher Education Price Index (HEPI)" is an inflation index designed specifically to track the main cost drivers in higher education and to measure the change in the price of the goods and services purchased by colleges and universities as measured by the Commonfund Institute.3.14. "Hold-Harmless Provision" means a safeguard in the funding formula designed to provide stability and predictability in the formula by preventing an institution's outcomes-based funding allotment from decreasing by more than five percent (5%) from one academic year to the next.3.15. "Low-Income Student" means a West Virginia resident student who, based on current and historical records, is identified as having received financial assistance through the Federal Pell Grant program for at least one semester at any State institution of higher education.3.16. "Premium" is a mathematical weighting factor applied to certain formula calculations for West Virginia resident students identified as belonging to one or more focus populations or certificates or degrees awarded in fields identified as State Priority Fields.3.17. "Progression Outcomes" means the number of full-time and part-time certificate-, associate degree- and/or bachelor's degree-seeking students whose cumulative credits earned at the institution at the beginning of a semester are less than the established credit hour threshold benchmarks of 15, 30, or 45 student credit hours and whose cumulative credit hours earned at the end of the semester are equal to or greater than the credit hour threshold benchmarks during the academic year.3.18. "Residual Funds" means funding that is not obligated through formula calculations as a result of a decline from one year to the next in the total number of outcomes across all institutions.3.19. "Scaling Factor" is a mathematically derived value used in formula calculations for the purpose of adjusting outcome values across different metrics to values of comparable magnitude.3.20. "State Priority Programs" means certificate, associate degree, or bachelor's degree programs identified by the West Virginia Department of Commerce as being aligned with occupations in high or critical demand statewide, or within an institution's service region as defined by W. Va. Code § 18B-3C-4.3.21. "Transfers to a Four-Year Institution" means the number of certificate, associate, or bachelor's degree-seeking students who transferred to any West Virginia public baccalaureate institution in an academic year and accumulated at least 15 student credit hours from the originating community and technical college. The student must have been enrolled at the originating community and technical college at any time one academic year or less prior to transferring (i.e., "continuously enrolled"). Students transferring to a baccalaureate institution in the fall after being enrolled at a community and technical college the previous spring, but not the previous summer, are included in this outcome.3.22. "West Virginia Resident" or "Resident" means an individual enrolled at a community and technical college with an in-state tuition and fee status as defined by 135 C.S.R. 25, Residency Classification for Admission and Fee Purposes.3.23. "Workforce Completions" means the number of individuals completing short-term training programs deemed eligible by the Chancellor, within a 12-month period as defined by the Chancellor, generally in programs of study below the one-year certificate level.3.24. "Workforce Outcomes" means the total number of unduplicated graduates completing a certificate, associate, or bachelor's degree within an academic year who two years after graduation were either enrolled in further higher education or were earning annual reported wages of at least two times the federal poverty level for a single household. Annual wages are based on quarterly earnings reported through the West Virginia Unemployment Compensation Wage Records.3.25. "Workforce Training Contact Hours" means the cumulative total number of instructional hours completed by students enrolled in short-term training programs deemed eligible by the Chancellor, within a 12-month period as defined by the Chancellor, generally in programs of study below the one-year certificate level.