§18B-2C-3. Authority and duty of council to determine progress of community and technical colleges; conditions; authority to create West Virginia Community and Technical College.

(a) The council annually shall review and analyze all the state community and technical colleges, and any branches, centers, regional centers or other delivery sites with a community and technical college mission, to determine their progress toward meeting the goals, objectives, priorities, and essential conditions established in articles one, one-d and three-c of this chapter.

(b) The analysis required in subsection (a) of this section shall be based, in whole or in part, upon the findings made pursuant to the rule establishing benchmarks and indicators promulgated by the council pursuant to section six, article two-b of this chapter.

(c) Based upon their analysis in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the council shall make a determination whether any one or more of the following conditions exists:

(1) A community and technical college required to do so has not achieved or is not making sufficient, satisfactory progress toward achieving the essential conditions, including independent accreditation;

(2) One or more of the public community and technical colleges, branches, centers, regional centers and other delivery sites with a community and technical college mission requires financial assistance or other support to meet the goals and essential conditions set forth in this chapter;

(3) It is in the best interests of the people of the state or a region within the state to have a single, accredited institution which can provide an umbrella of statewide accreditation;

(4) One or more of the state community and technical colleges, branches, centers, regional centers or other delivery sites with a community and technical college mission requests from the council the type of assistance which can best be delivered through implementation of the provisions of section four of this article. Institutional requests that may be considered by the council include, but are not limited to, assistance in seeking and/or attaining independent accreditation, in meeting the goals, priorities and essential conditions established in articles one, one-d and three-c of this chapter, or in establishing and implementing regional networks;

(5) One or more state community and technical colleges, branches, centers, regional centers or other delivery sites with a community and technical college mission has not achieved, or is not making sufficient, satisfactory progress toward achieving, the goals, objectives and essential conditions established in articles one, one-d and three-c of this chapter; and

(6) The council determines that it is in the best interests of the people of the state or a region of the state to create a statewide, independently accredited community and technical college.

(d) The council may not make a determination subject to the provisions of this section that a condition does not exist based upon a finding that the higher education entity lacks sufficient funds to make sufficient, satisfactory progress.