§18B-1D-6. State compacts; legislative intent; rule required; implementation plans authorized.

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that members of the education partnership to achieve state goals and objectives engage in developing state compacts between and among themselves for the purpose of enhancing the well-being of the citizens of West Virginia. Such a compact constitutes a formal contract and focuses on the goals and objectives established pursuant to this article and section one-a, article one of this chapter. A compact is called for when achievement of specific goals or objectives requires significant collaboration and commitment of resources by more than one member of the partnership.

(b) The rules to be proposed relating to state compacts pursuant to subsection (c), section one of this article shall include, but are not limited to, the following components:

(1) A procedure to determine when a state compact is necessary or desirable;

(2) A procedure for determining the identity of parties to the compact and for establishing compact terms:

(A) Parties to the compact may be any two or more members of the education partnership to achieve state goals and objectives who are positioned to make significant contributions to meeting compact objectives; and

(B) The terms of the compact shall focus on achievement of objectives. The expected outcomes shall be stated in concrete terms that are measurable.

(3) A mechanism for negotiating agreement on compact objectives. The mechanism shall provide for negotiation and development of consensus among the parties and must be reasonable in its operation and outcomes expectations;

(4) A procedure for creating and consolidating commitment between and among parties to the compact. Most state compacts will extend over multiple years and will require that negotiation between education partners and elected state officials take into account the constraints of the political process and the limits on available resources; and

(5) A process for periodic review, assessment and reporting of progress toward meeting the compact objectives. The rule shall provide for objective analysis and reporting to the compact partners and to the elected officials of the state.

(c) In addition to authorizing the commission and the council to enter into state compacts pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section, it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage them strongly to develop implementation plans together with other members of the public higher education community to achieve system and institutional goals and objectives which are consistent with and supportive of the goals and objectives established in this article and section one-a, article one of this chapter.

(1) At a minimum, each implementation plan shall contain the following elements:

(A) Identification of the goal and the objectives to be achieved;

(B) Identification of the parties to the implementation plan and a process for developing consensus among the parties;

(C) A needs assessment or other mechanism to determine current status of the proposed objectives, including a survey of available resources and other data relevant to achieving the objectives;

(D) Identification of challenges or barriers to meeting objectives;

(E) Delineation of tasks to be performed;

(F) A specific time line for meeting objectives;

(G) An evaluation process administered periodically to determine progress in meeting the objectives during the life span of the plan; and

(H) A method for determining success in achieving the objectives following the closing date established by the time line.

(2) Implementation plans are internal documents developed among members of the public higher education community and are not subject to an external approval process.