W. Va. Code R. § 135-20-9

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 135-20-9 - Criteria for Authorization Essential Conditions

9.1. Essential Conditions. -- An institution seeking initial authorization shall meet the following essential conditions.

9.1.1. The institution shall provide evidence that it is familiar with and understands its accreditor's accreditation procedures and State authorization rules and procedures. The statement shall indicate perceived strengths and weaknesses with respect to accreditation criteria and assess the institution's ability to achieve accreditation status. It shall state the name of the accreditor from which the institution is seeking accreditation. If the institution has secured full accreditation, it shall submit a copy of the final accreditation report to the Council.

9.1.2. The institution shall provide a copy of its mission statement, which has been formally adopted by the institution's governing body and made public, and 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 and the institution must plan to award degrees.

9.1.3. Institutional organization, administration, and delivery sites.

9.1.3.a. The institution shall have an established governing board that possesses and exercises necessary legal power to enact and review basic policies that govern the institution. The board shall include among its members people who represent the public interest and are sufficiently autonomous from the administration and ownership to assure the integrity of the institution. The institution shall submit a list of the members of the board with a brief resume of each.

9.1.3.b. Documentation that the governing board has designated a chief executive officer to provide administrative leadership for the institution, including the chief executive officer's name, title, current vita, and the physical and mailing address of the administrative office, if different.

9.1.3.c. If faculty members are employed at the time of application, the institution shall submit their names, their academic credentials (degrees, previous experience, etc.), and their teaching fields. If no faculty members have been employed, the institution shall describe the qualifications of the faculty it is recruiting and the procedures it is using to find and contract with faculty members.

9.1.3.d. The institution shall provide a description of the method of program delivery and/or the physical location of course delivery. If a program is designed for online delivery, it shall meet best practice guidelines for distance education delivery as outlined by the accreditor. If the program is designed for traditional classroom delivery, the institution shall identify the proposed physical location.

9.1.3.e. To assure that instructional delivery sites meet applicable State standards for health and safety, institutions shall secure a certificate of occupancy and recent fire inspection report from the State Fire Marshal's office for each instructional delivery site. If delivery is in a public building that already has regular health, safety, and fire inspections, the institution may instead submit a copy of the building's last approved inspection report. If the nature of the building changes, the institution shall submit updated inspection reports.

9.1.3.f. Instructional delivery sites shall comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

9.1.4. Degrees and academic programs. - The institution shall provide:

9.1.4.a. A list of the degrees it proposes to award;

9.1.4.b. A description of how the planned educational programs are compatible with the proposed institutional mission;

9.1.4.c. A description of how the fields of study upon which the academic programs are to be based are recognized as appropriate for a postsecondary institution and appropriately named. This may 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;

9.1.4.d. Documentation that the content and length of the proposed academic program follows practices common to institutions of higher education. The maximum program length is 60 semester credit hours for associate degrees, unless institutional or program accreditation requires otherwise;

9.1.4.d.1. Certification that the institution shall award academic credit upon the student's completion of each unit of the course of study and grant a formal postsecondary credential upon the student's successful completion of the academic program;

9.1.4.d.2. A list of requirements for each degree program, including representative course syllabi specifying goals and requirements, course content, methods of evaluation, and bibliography;

9.1.4.d.3. Documentation that the student-teacher ratio is reasonable at all times in keeping with generally accepted teaching modes for the subject matter and that the institution will employ at least one full-time faculty for each degree program.

9.1.4.e. Documentation that any proposed associate degree program includes a coherent general education component that is consistent with the institution's mission and appropriate to its educational programs. General education is defined as follows:

9.1.4.e.1. General education curriculum may not be directly related to a student's formal technical, vocational, or professional preparation; it is a component of every student's course of study, regardless of the area of emphasis the student is pursuing; and it is intended to impart common knowledge, intellectual concepts, and a diverse range of perspectives that every educated person should possess.

9.1.4.e.2. The minimum requirement for general education for all undergraduate programs delivered through the traditional distributed curricula is 15 semester credits for technical and applied associate degrees and 24 for academic associate degrees. If the general education component is delivered through integrated, embedded, interdisciplinary, or other accepted models, institutions shall demonstrate that the program meets minimum requirements equivalent to the distributed model.

9.1.4.f. A description of the learning resources and support services that the institution will provide to students on a regular, dependable basis, including access to library and online resources; laboratories; and academic advising, financial aid counseling, and support for special, targeted constituencies;

9.1.4.g. Documentation demonstrating that academic standards for all programs or courses offered electronically or by other distance learning methods are the same as those for other courses delivered at the institution and that any programs offered primarily through asynchronous or synchronous technology meet the standards of good practice for distance education delivery as prescribed by the accreditor.

9.1.5. Admission policies. -- Documentation that the institution's admission policies are consistent with its mission and appropriate to the educational program, including a copy of the institution's admission policies (which shall require at least a high school diploma for equivalent for associate degree programs), tuition and fees, 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;

9.1.6. Financial resources. -- Documentary evidence that the institution has financial resources adequate to support start-up activities and sources of funds sufficient to ensure that the institution can sustain operations once students are admitted, including:

9.1.6.a. A current financial statement compiled or audited by an independent certified public accountant or a copy of the most recent income tax return if the financial statement is unaudited or internally generated;

9.1.6.b. 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) and a projection of expenditures and revenues for the upcoming year.

9.1.6.c. Documentation that the institution has the financial resources and planning sufficient to realize its mission over an extended period of time including financial resources sufficient 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.

9.1.7. Faculty credentials. -- A description of how the institution will 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 meet qualifications as required by the accreditor;

9.1.8. Evaluation and assessment. -- Documentation explaining the clearly defined process by which the institution establishes, reviews, and evaluates its curriculum as well as how it will provide for appropriate and regular evaluation of its program and course effectiveness, including assessment of student learning, retention, graduation rates and student, graduate, faculty, and employer satisfaction.

9.1.9. Tuition policies. -- A copy of the institution's tuition policy, which shall provide at a minimum:

9.1.9.a. That the total tuition for any specific program is the same for all persons enrolled at the same time;

9.1.9.b. That tuition charges for programs are objectively justifiable, effective on specific dates, and applicable to all who enroll thereafter;

9.1.9.c. That additional charges and costs are provided to prospective students before they are enrolled;

9.1.9.d. That true and accurate costs of courses and program completion are published and made readily available to all prospective and current students; and

9.1.9.e. That the institution has a tuition and fee refund policy that is available to all students. If the institution is Title IV eligible, the refund policy shall comply with the federal regulations governing institutional refunds.

9.1.10. Financial Aid. -- A copy of the policy that provides prospective students and applicants with basic opportunities for student financial aid. This information includes, but is not limited to:

(1) types of federal, State, local, private, and institutional aid the institution offers;

(2) description of the financial aid application process and the method the institution uses to determine student eligibility for aid;

(3) methods and schedules the institution uses to determine and disburse financial aid to students; and

(4) statement of the rights and responsibilities of financial aid recipients, including an explanation of student responsibility for repayment of loans and other financial aid and the consequences of non-payment and delinquent or default repayment of loans.

9.1.11. Library Resources. -- A description of how the institution maintains or ensures that students have reasonable and reliable access to a library with a collection, staff, services, equipment, and facilities that are adequate and appropriate for the mission and enrollment of the institution; including clear and concise methods for on-campus and/or remote access of library electronic media resources.

9.1.12. Institutional and student records.

9.1.12.a. A detailed explanation of how the institution maintains accurate records of all enrolled students. The institution shall maintain, at a minimum, the following student records:

9.1.12.a.1. 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 shall reflect the requirements and justification for admission of the student to the institution. The institution shall retain admission records for five years;

9.1.12.a.2. Transcript of the student's academic work at the institution and student financial aid records, which the institution shall retain permanently in either hard copy or in a database with backup;

9.1.12.a.3. A non-transcript record of student progress at the institution including, but not limited to, course evaluations, grade change documents, and advisor records, which the institution shall retain for five years after the student leaves the institution.

9.1.12.b. The institution shall retain its financial records and produce them to the Chancellor for inspection upon request in accordance with Section 10.2. of this rule.

9.1.12.c. Institutions administering financial aid programs shall maintain a ledger and a record of financial aid administered which includes a chronological record of debits and credits which is understandable to the financial aid recipient.

9.1.12.d. The institution shall have a policy concerning retention, disposal, and release of student records that is compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

9.1.12.e. The institution shall have a written plan for the retention, custody, and retrieval of student records, including but not limited to academic transcripts, financial aid documents, international student forms, and tax information, in the event of closure of the institution or discontinuance of service. The plan shall include a method by which students and alumni of the institution will be able to retrieve such records upon request in accordance with Section 12 of this rule.

9.1.13. Catalog and official publications. -- A copy of or link to the institution's official catalog, which shall conform to the standards established by the institution's accreditor, and certification by the institution's chief executive officer that the institution's official publications are and will be true and accurate and otherwise comply with applicable consumer protection laws;

9.1.14. Student grievances. -- A copy of the institution's student grievance policy addressing the receipt, investigation, and resolution of student complaints. The policy shall include, at a minimum:

9.1.14.a. An appropriate time frame for investigating and resolving the complaint;

9.1.14.b. A requirement that those persons charged with resolving the complaint are fair and impartial and authorized to resolve the complaint;

9.1.14.c. Procedures to ensure that a student will not be subject to unfair actions as a result of submitting a complaint or participating in an investigation of a student complaint; and

9.1.14.d. A requirement that the institution retain the records related to student complaints, including the disposition of the matter and other pertinent information for at least five years; and

9.1.15. Any additional information or data deemed necessary by the Chancellor to determine whether an institution meets the essential conditions to receive initial authorization.

W. Va. Code R. § 135-20-9