Carttll'rr Long

Michael J. Farrcll, Estl
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West Virginia Higher Education Policy Cornmission
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October 22,2018

Dr. E. Gordon Gee, Co-Chair
Blue Ribbon Commission Four-Year Higher Education
West Virginia University
103 Stewart Hall
Post Office Box 6201

Morgantown, West

Virginia

26506-6201

Dr. Kendra Boggess, Co-Chair
Blue Ribbon Commission on Four-Year Higher Education
Concord University

Vermillion Street
Post Offrce Box 1000
Athenso West

Virginia 24712

Dr. Jerome A. Gilbert, Co-Chair
Blue Ribbon Commission on Four-Year Higher Education
Marshall University
One John Marshall Drive
Old Main 216
Huntington, West Virginia 25755-1000

Mr. W. Marston Becker
Chairman, Board of Directors
BrickStreet Insurance
400 Quanier Street
Charleston, V/est Virginia 25301

Ms. Ellen S. Cappellanti, Esq.
Jackson Kelly PLLC

500 Lee Street, East, Suite 1600
Charleston, West Virginia 25301

Dr. Amelia Courls
President and CEO
The Education Alliance
803 Quanier Street, Suite 500
Charleston, V/est Virginia 25301

l¿r¡<line theWa'y: Access. Success. Impact.

 Dr. Anthony Jenkins
President
West Virginia State University
Post Office Box 1000

Campus Box 399
Institute, West Virginia 25112

Mr, Dale Lee
President

WV Education Association
1558 Quarier Street
Charleston, West Virginia
Mr, Eric Lewis
Post Office Box

253

1

 

J

Shepherdstown, West Virginia 25443

Dr. Mifta Maftin
President

Fairmont State University
1201 Locust Avenue
Fainnont, West Virginia 26554

Dr. Steven L. Paine,III
State Superintendent of Schools
West Virginia Departrnent of Education
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East
Capitol Building 6, Room 358
Clrarleston, West Virginia 25305

Mr. Andrew A. Payne,lII
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
300 Capitol Street, Suite 1503
Clrarleston, V/est Virginia 25301

Mr. Gary White
Mountain Health
Chafin Building

Ninth Street, 8tr' Floor
Huntington, West Virginia 2570I
517

The Honorable Martin Atkinson,

iII

West Virginia House of Delegates
4250 Ripley Road
Reedy, West Virginia 25270

The Honorable Brent Boggs
West Virginia House of Delegates
151 Park Street
Gassaway, West

Virginia 26624

 The Honorable Mitch Carmichael
President
West Virginia State Serrate

l8 Colonial Drive
Ripley, West Virgin ia 2527 I
The Honorable Paul Espinosa
West Virginia House of Delegates
107 Hancock Court

Charles Town, West

Virginia 25414

The Honorable Kenny W. Mann

WV State Senate
148 Crossview Estates Road
Ballard, West Virginia 24918

The Honorable Roman W. Prezioso, Jr,
West Virginia State Senate
1806 Dogwood Drive
Fairrnont, West Virginia 26554

I applauded the appointrnent of this Blue Ribbon Commission when GovernorJustice formed it because,
combined with the Legislative mandate that tlie HEPC research and create a funding formula, both the
executive and legislative branches of our State Government were fully engaged with higher education.
The Blue Ribbon Commission Executive Order expressly premised its mission:

WHEREAS, the staff of the Higher Education Policy Commission has proposed a funding formula
for four year institutions of higher education;

WHBREAS, before any funding formula may be adopted in West Virginia, it is imperative that
the State of West Virginia analyze the overall structure of four year institutions of higher education;

4.

The Commission shall review, study and assess the current state of four-year higher

education in the State including, but not lirnited to:

(a) The adequacy of current funding levels for four-year institutions of higher education;

(b) The current
(c)

govenÌance structure relating to four year institutions ofhigher education;

The role and value of the Higher Education Policy Commission;

(d) The identification of bureaucratic inefficiencies that
(e) Measures to

be taken to facilitate the long term

cause a negative impact;

viability of higher education delivery

in communities across the State; and

(fl

Anything else the Commission deems necessary to provide a thorough evaluation in
preparation of its report.

 THE HIGHER EDUCATIoN POLICY COMMISSION

I applaLrd

the work and commitment of our Blue Ribbon Commission on Four-Year Higher Education,
especially given the short timeframe in which we have been given to comþlete our tasks. The urgency of
our mission and brevity of tirne to complete it has deprived the Commission the opportunity to objectively
learn about the value added to all of West Virginia's institutions of higher education by the HEPC, I
acknowledge that Co-Chair Gee is not a fan of the HEPC. The inquiry does not end with his opposition.
Rather, our BRC Mission addresses all higher education institutions. I am confident that you will agree the
HEPC provides extremely talented and experienced human resources that assist and guide our higher
education institutions through federal bureaucratic statutes and regulations. Within this presentation, I will
identify every West Virginia statute that imposes reporting and accountability obligations upon each
institution, The State invests in and provides annual funding to each college and university. The funding
has accountability obligatiorrs. One of the important filnctions the HEPC meets is the implementation of
the State accountability system. Accountability reports are required from each institution. State law requires
the reports and HEPC evaluates the information within each repoft, which enables it to provide systemwide reporting to tlie legislative and executive branches of state government.

You should be concerned about the dearth of objective infonnation that the BRC has received during our
face-to-face meetings regardirrg how the HEPC exceeds the expectations of the colleges and universities
that it serves. To fulfill our resporlsibility to produce a reasoned and objective evaluation of our state's
higher education structure, each of you need to read this presentation and ask why one institution is critical
of the HEPC. Without the information contained in this letter, you will not understand the significant
financial return on investment and positive charrges in the lives of many students who were motivated by
HEPC personnel to enroll in higher education. HEPC unquestionably benefits the State. It would be a
disservice to the Governor, our legislators, our institutions, faculty, staff and, most importantly, our students
if we failto endorse the HEPC and publically recognize its achievements.

CoonnlMTING

VERSUS GÔVERNING

- A BNITT

ISTORY oR WRs-t VIRGTTTA HIGHER EDIICATION

Despite the Co-Chairman's insistence to the contrary, the Higher Education Policy Commission is not a
governing board nor does it fulfill its statutory and regulatory obligations as one.
Since the early days of West Virginia statehood, higher education governance has ranged from six separate
boards of regents, to a board of education combined with K-12, to a singular, powerfulboard of regettts, to
the individual, autonomous local boards of governors we have today.

The structure, services and authority ofthe regional and centralized governing bodies have varied over the
last 151 years, but there has always been a statewide agency charged with ensuring access to higher
education for state citizens, for setting overall higlier education goals and for holding institutions
accountable for the public resources they are provided by the State. Dr. Jay Cole has repetitively told the
BRC members that the FIEPC is not a governing body or agency for any college or universify including
West Virginia University. In comparison with all other state models and as listed in reports published by
national education policy and research organizations, HEPC is classified as a state-level coordinating
agency, providing coordinating and policy research and recommendatioli functions, as well as shared
services and administration. The clamor that it oppressively governs WVU is wrong and not factually
supportable, The WVU Board of Governors governs WVU.

By definition, a statewide govemirrg board has control and extensive administrative powers over

its

institutions. Tliese powers go beyond setting policy, and extend to hiring and evaluating presidents and
developing institutional budgets, in addition to complete academic program control and operational
responsibilities. The Boards of Governors for each institution hire their respective Presidents and exeft

 operational control. WVU and Marshall do not need any approval from the HEPC to start or close a new
academic college, program or discipline. Both were given full academic control in 2005.

Authority under a coordinating board can vary, but generally is a combination of responsibilities including
developing statewide master plans for postsecondary education, as well as approving new institutions or
academic programs to avoid unnecessary duplication and competitiorr among public colleges and to ensure
academic integrity. The Legislature and Governor chose to exempt WVU and Marshall from any academic
program scrutiny because the institutions joirrtly approached the Legislature and Senate Bill 603 was
enacted.

Coordinating boards provide research and information to legislators and governors to support higher
education policymaking. They typically review annual budgets and sometimes set tuition increase limits
for institutions, Coordinating and service functions include facilitating transfer and afticulation among
institutions, resolving student complaints and administering federal and state financial aid programs.

A coordinating body's role is to advance the interests of the

state and its citizens as a whole, whereas a

governing body's role is to oversee the operations of a single institution. In essence, coordinating boards
across the nation commonly perform the exact functions of the HEPC today.

At our last rneeting of the Blue Ribbon Commission, following a repoft of the GoverÍìance Subcommittee,
some members publicly commented that the Higher Education Policy Commission is a "super governing
body," which is overtly contrary to fact, V/est Virginia Code and state history. In fact, Blue Ribbon
Comrnission Co-Chairrnan Gee has used that tenn publicly and in media interviews during the last several
weeks. These comments are incorrect.

An objective review of

documerrts and reports describing the structural changes to the state's higher
education governance system, as well as an examination of major legislation affecting higher education
(sorne of which with I was directly involved in my role as Interim President at Marshall), it is indisputable
that at no time in our state's history have our individual colleges and universities had greater
flexibility and autonomy than they have today. This is particularly true for WVU and Marshall since
the passage of the so-called'oFreedom Billo'in 2017.

This interactive map from the National Conference of State Legislatures identifies the type of higher
education governance structure for each state,

httn:/^vww.ncsl.org/research/eclucation/interactive-euide-to-state-post-secondarvgovernance-and-finance-Dolicies.asnx#/

Again, West Virginia is shown as one of 27 states with a coordinating board or agency, versus a central
goveming authority.
The state's departure from centralized authority to local governance began following a 1989 Carnegie
Foundation repofi on improving public and higher education in West Virginia. The report, among other
recommendations, called for developing a coordinated system of community colleges and for increasing
the management flexibility of the colleges and universities. At the time of that report, the state's strong,
centralized Board of Regents had existed for nearly 20 years, That historic board was considered a super
governirrg body, especially when its powers are compared to the limited authority of the HEPC as the
current coordinating board.
Since that time, through numerous legislative actions, and following additional repofts, including a 1999
study by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), the Board of Regents

 was abolished, individual institution governing boards were created and two state coordínating boards
(HEPC and CTCS) were created. In 2000, Senate Bill 653, following the NCHEMS recommendations,
established a new framework for higher education by separating policymaking from institutional
governallce and by pufting greater ernphasis on the role of comtnunity and technical colleges.

West Virginia Code itself identifìes the Commission as

a

coordinating body, and outlines the

responsibilities in $188-1-1a:
(2) The Councilfor Comntunity and Technical College Education and the Higher Education Policy
Comntission. -- In theìr role as støte-level coordinating boards, the council and comntission
function as important partners with stale policy leaders in providing higher education thal meets
staÍe needs. The council and cr¡ntmission provide serttice to the state in the following ways:
(A) By developing a public policy agendafor various aspects of higher education thaÍ is aligned
v,ith state goals and objectives and the role and responsibilities of each coordinating board;
(ß) By ensuring that institutional missions and goals are aligned with relevant parts of the public
policy ag,enda and that institttlions maxintize the resources available to them tofuffill their mis,sion,s
and make reasonable progress toward meeting established state goals;
(C) By et,aluating, and reporting on progre,ss in implententing, the public policy agenda;

(D) By ¡tromoting syslent fficiencies through collahoration and cooperation across inslitt'ttions
and through.focusing institutional mi,ssions as appropriate; and

(E) By conducting research, collecting data and providing objective recommendations to aid
elected state ollicials in making policy decisions.
THE FREEDOM BILL AND ITS PREDECESSOR
Since the HEPC was established in 2000, West Virginia University and Marshall University have sought,
and succeeded, in gaining significant additional freedom and autonomy, first with Senate Bill 603 in 2005
and followed with House Bill 2815 in 2017, The regional colleges also have gained additional local

governallce authority on the coattails of the "research institution" designation provided to Marshall and
WVU and, rnost recently, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine now shares similar
iridependence.

Among those freedoms from these sweeping bills are the ability to approve their own academic programs
(MU and WVU) without regard to the needs of tlie region, or whether similar programs are offered by other
institutions serving the region. The schools also may hire and fire their presidents without HEPC approval,
purchase iterns up to $50,000 without competitive bidding and develop capital projects up to $3 million
without state approval. With the 2017 legislation, Marshall and WVU now are exempt from the state
compact process and all institutions may increase tuition by as much as l0 percent in a sirrgle year without
seeking HEPC approval.
In addition, all four-year colleges and universities no longer pay for HEPC services, as the Higher Education
Resource Assessment (a per-student fee institutious collected that supported the Policy Commission's
shared services and the Higher Education Grant Program) was removed with HB 2815. The institutions
continue to receive services because the Legislature recognized the importance of these shared student
services and provided arr appropriation in 2018 so the HEPC could continue to support all our institutions.

 A cornplete list of the oversight exemptions provided by HB 2815 has been posted on the Blue Ribbon
Comrníssio¡ website so that each of you can review it and understand that many of the HEPC's initial

gra¡ted agthorities have been withdrawn as the state moved toward a decentralized governance model. In
iact, it is apparent when reviewing these changes that Marshall, WVU and the WVSOM have very little
oversight from the Policy Commission at all.
What has not changed; however, is the requirement, and established need, for statewide coordination and
collaboratio,, a*ong the institutions, to ensure thorough, efficient and effective delivery of higher education
opportunities for Wést Virginians as envisioned by Governor Justice in the Executive Order that established
Uie gnC. The Legislature designed the HEPC as a coordinating and service agency that has consistently
and objectively delivered essential services, including student services, financial aid, consolidated budget
arrd auditing assistance as well as data analysis and research for tl,e legislature.

HEPC BUDGETS AND IMPACT oF PRoPOSED $2 MILLION REDUCTION
The HEPC provides statewide coordination with a general revenue appropriation of about $3.8 million (FY
2019, whicù includes restoration of the operating budget lost through HB 2Sl5). Only about one-third of
the agency's personnel expenses are paid through general revenue appropriations, while the remainder is
through staff-generated federal and private grants and special reventtes, including financial aid support'

Importantly, most of these grants are uniquely available to the HEPC as a statewide, state-level entity, so
they would r-rot simply transfer to an individual college or university that might attempt to assume
responsibility for the service. A singular institution likely would not be eligible to apply for and receive
such revenues in the future.

Looking solely at the current year, and only at direct dollars -- not impact or induced value -- the ratio of
grants received by HEPC staff to total state operating support is nearly 2 to L. So HEPC staff are
receiving more grant dollars for agency operations than state dollars appropriated. HEPC represents
a wise and prudent use of state money.
The FIEPC's Divisioli of Student Affairs alone has received almost $50 million in federal and private grants
since 2008 tl-rat are helping high school students in the poorest of West Virginia's counties find a pathway
to higher education and a better life. HEPC staff wrote and received these grants, which are helping to
increase enrollment in all of our colleges and universities, as well as suppoft continued student success'

Take a look at the attached presentation, Division of Student A"ffairs, An Introduction, Appendix A, which
highlights the innovative and effective programs that are provided by the Division of Student Affairs to
studenls and institutions across the state. The members of Blue Ribbon Commission should recognize that
these student oriented services, provided through grants at no cost to our institutions, are essential to both
K- 12 and higher education statewide.
The attached 2019 HEPC budget breakdown, Appendix B, provides facts that are relevant to any discussion
of funding higher education in West Virginia. Tlie budget document also provides additional information
about how these fur-rds are used for various shared services. The services provided by the HEPC are those
that have been directed by the Governor, the Legislature and by the Policy Commission board itself.

Reducing the HEPC by two million dollars ($2,000,000) will adversely impact every regiotlal institution'
If WVU and Marshall believe that they do not want their share of services and grant dollars, then the
regional colleges and universities should not be punished by underfunding HEPC, Each BRC member
shãuld ask thJregional Presidents whether it would be a responsible decision to eliminate HEPC staff and

 cut agency services based on an arbitrary bLrdget reduction of two milliori dollars ($2,000,000). The BRC
has the time before the final report is due to conduct a formal survey of the institutions that use HEPC
services and have an actual factual basis for making a decision. . The impact of such a dramatic cut would
hurt students, harm our regional institutions as well as community and technical colleges, and
potentially could subject individual HEPC board members to legal action.
IMPAIRING OR ELIMINATING HBPC CAX HAVT ADVERSE IMPACT ON THE

$331M BoNn Dnnr ¡,run

A critical

area

lNoIvlouu HEPC Coururcslot'¡ons

of concenl that has not been addressed by the BRC's Governance Subcommittee is

the

HEPC's role in holding more than $331 milliorr in institutional bond debt,

Each ¿ttdivirløøl HBPC board member, the Interim Chancellor" and the HEPC Chief Financial
Officer has a personal fiduciary and contractual obligation to maintain sufficient revenue streams to pay
bond debt service, A default by any institution would invite lawsuits by bondholders. To avoid the costs
associated with potential lawsuits, the HEPC must support rational and methodical analysis of any new
HEPC structure.
Common sense and fiscal responsibility require that every BRC member must advocate for the maintenance
and strengthening of any financial resources dedicated for debt service and avoid any support or perceived
support for a proposal that accelerates the financial distress of any of the institutions. Bondholders could
view the "die on the vine" comments some BRC members have shared with the media as an abandonment
of the HEPC and its fiduciary and contractual responsibilities. They also could view budget, service and
oversight reductions that are not informed by a rational and methodical analysis to be evidence of such an
abandonment.

It is most surprising that the suggestion by Co-Chair Gee to dismantle the HEPC have come upon the heels
ofthefar-reachingfreedomsgrantedbytheLegislaturelastyeartoWVUandMarshall.Itshouldbe evident
that any perceived burdens or inefficiencies in the HEPC's limited accountability oversight functions have
been addressed through the 2017 legislation, and continue to be modernized with the current progressive
and professiorral staff who have sought to streamline agency processes through cooperation with all

institutions.

HEPC MoNITORS INSTTTUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY BY PROVIDING
Statn-M¡lqoatno RnpoRts to tun LncrsultuRr
Higher education policy decisions are made by the Legislature. The Legislature depends on the HEPC to
enforce its accountability statutes and regulatory standards. The Legislature trusts the HEPC. The
Legislature trusted the HEPC to develop the fundirrg formula that has been criticized by two universities
and praised by the remainder. The Legislature relies on the HEPC because it has a proven track record of
providirrg professionally gathered and prepared objective information as specifically required in West
Virginia Code. The HEPC repofts to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability
(LOCEA), and presents mandated analyses ranging from enrollment and student success to tuition costs,
healthcare provider education and financial aid effectiveness.
Without this critical accountability ftinction, lawmakers would not have a neutral and qualified parfy from
which they could gather this information and rnake informed decisions on state higher education finance
and academic policy, Because HEPC's legislatively designed role is to monitor and report on each public
institntion's progress toward the statewide higher education goals, the motives of those who seek to disable
or eliminate it sliould be carefully scrutinized.

 Shifting HEPC functions from a state-level, statewide entity to individual irrstitutions could allow
institr-ltions to put their own advancement ahead of the needs of the state as a whole, to the detriment of
other institutions and taxpayers. The Legislature sought to protect itself from self-serving informational
sources because ensuring that its investment in higher education is too important to leave to wellinterrtioned advocates from each college or university. An índividuøl instítutÍon responsìblefor gatltering
antl reportìng this type of ínformation about itself to the Legislature naturølly would have ún interest in
ødvancing itself without as muclt regørd to ltow ils decisions negatively could affecl another inslÍtution'
ø region or tlte state.
comprehensive list of statutorily mandated repofts the HEPC provides to lawmakers is attached
Appendix C and available for download from the Blue Ribbon Commission website at:

A

https:/AVvblueribbonhighered.org/files/cll8d 198894- l dde-4d75-90d2-b635cl2079fd
manclates-with-appendix-20 I 8-09-05-fl 433 776xb I Tfd.pdf

I

as

/l -brc-leg-repoft-

Chansins HEPC Central Offïce Function and Structure Would
Adverselv Affect Community and Technical Colleses

Any BRC members who doubt the veracity of the headline above should call CTCS Chancellor
Tucker and ask the question whether underfunding or disrnantling HEPC
technical colleges. The answer will be an emphatic YES' it will!

will

Sarah

affect the community and

West Virginia Code requires the HEPC to provide administrative suppolt and office space to the West
Virginia Council for Community and Technical Education (Council). In order to operate, the Council shares
administrative, academic, finance, human resources, legal and financial aid staff with the HEPC. In fact,
the Council has fewer than 10 of its own employees and could not operate without the statutorily mandated
services provided through the HEPC.
Several members of the BRC in its early meetir-rgs raised concern about the impact of this Commission's
recommendations on the community college system. The potential impact of changes to the higher
education system's finances, system structure and funding models all were suggested as areas that could
not be studied without including the community colleges. In response, Co-Chair Gee sought clarification
from Governor Justice about whether the community colleges also should be involved, and the response
was they would be evaluated aíter the Blue Ribbon Commission's work was complete.

Given that the BRC has not involved the commurrity colleges themselves, or its Chancellor or Council
members in our deliberations, it would be imprudent to recommend changes that would have a direct impact
on another system without its input and an appreciation of the catastrophic irnpact of the proposed
recommendation to reduce funding to the HEPC or otherwise dismantle it.

OTHER HEPC COORDINATING FUNCTIONS WOULD BE
EUvIINITnD IN A Sg¡n¡O SERVICES ONIV MOOrI

The Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability also serves as the legislative rulemaking authority for the Legislative rules promulgated by the Policy Commission. The HEPC has a
longstanding reputation for working closely and effectively with both standing education committees in the
Legislature, as well as the joint interirn LOCEA to ensure state higher education laws are implemented as
the Legislature intended, This is a clearly and strongly designated function the Legislature (and lawmaking

 bodies across the country, as well) have placed in the HEPC and other state central higher education offices

nationwide.

In addition, the HEPC maintains aP-20 database, which combines K-12 and Workforce West Virginia
information to provide a holistic picture of the state's education continuum. The HEPC is now able to
provide a variety of insightful reports that evaluate and document our state's success in educating our
children from preschool through secondary and postsecondary education, all the way to their gainful
employment in Vy'est Virginia.
West Virginia Code S188-1D-8 requires Commission staff to gather vetted, consistent data frorn among
the institutions. This information about the quality and performance of our institutions serves parents,
students, faculty, staff and state policymakers, as well as the leaders of our institutions themselves, who use
it to cornpare their perforrnance against their in-state peers. Through this coordinated effort, a vast amount
of historical and current information is readily available at the state and national levels for all to evaluate
and use.
Because WVU objects to submitting state-mandated reports through the HEPC is not a sufficient reason for
tlie BRC to fall into a march that will be unsuccessful at the Legislature. The Legislature insists upon
accountability as demonstrated by the recent debacle at the Supreme Court of Appeals. Recommending that
the Legislature eliminate or underfund the HEPC would be shortsighted. No legislature and especially our
Legislature will abandon its fiduciary duty to demand accountability for an institution's performance and
compliance with state law. The HEPC is the agency empowered to collect and analyze the accountability
data, Imagine the difficulties and potential anarchy that the Legislature, regional four-year colleges and

two-year community and technical colleges would experience if the BRC made a recotntnendation to
cripple the HEPC by reducing its funding by two million dollars ($2,000,000) and cause it to lose valuable
professional staff.
Such an ill-founded recommendation would deprive these same institutions of more than the treasury of
knowledge developed over the last eighteen ( I 8) years of knowledge, analytical information-gathering and
reporting expertise, and then asking nineteen (19) separate institutions to provide consistent and reliable
data analysis that forms the foundation for all postsecondary higher educatiott. It would deprive the
Legislature of an indispensable resource for charling and making future policy decisions. It would deprive
all of the regional four-year institutions of services that they need but cannot afford. It will deprive the twoyear CTCS institutions of access to a high-quality professional without which the system will stall to a halt.

THn LpCISLATURE WTII ANOPT A FUNDING FORMULA
BECAUSE IT M¡NDaTED HEPC TO PREPARE ONE
West Virgirria remains one of only a handful of states without some form of performance-based funding
for its public institutions. Even Co-Chair Gee has said it's not a question of "if'perfonnance funding is
coming to West Virginia, but rather, "when." Without HEPC acting as a central coordinating body, the
design and implementation would be very difficult, if not impossible, Accountability requires that the
Legislature rneasure institutional performance. Without HEPC to gather, analyze and report that
infonnation without bias, the Legislature would be deprived of valuable information that is necessary to
make informed decisions. Such measurelnent, reporting and recommending is not a shared service, but a
central function on behalf of policymakers.
The Legislative Services Office designated the HEPC as the agency that serves on behalf of all public higher
education institutions to receive, process and respond to fiscal note requests for the Legislature. HEPC
staff cornpile the data and analyze bills to cornplete the fiscal implications of proposed legislation within a
three-day timeframe, Additionally, HEPC staff act as a trusted resource for lawrnakers and their committee

 staffs as legislation is drafted. The HEPC employees interact with Legislative staff on a daily basis during
the regular session and throughout the year for a reason. The Legislature trusts the HEPC.
HEPC staff also support the Governor's Office in handling student and parent concerns as they relate to our
public and private institutions. The HEPC assists with policy questions and information to help the
Governor's Office answer constituent questions and provide the data they need to develop state and national
policies as they relate to higher education.

SururlnRv
The Higher Education Policy Commission operates at the direction of the Legislature as a coordinating
body, created to help our lawmakers and executive branch establish and analyze state higher education
policy.
In recentyears, the origirral, limited authority of the HEPC has been greatly reduced to provide additional
"freedom" and projected efficiencies to local institutional governing boards. Those freedoms are broad and
sLlbstantial and, in the case of the most recent sweeping changes, are untested as to their success and
accountability.
HEPC staff are working and

will continue to work closely with all of the institutions to find additional ways

to reduce administrative burden while maintaining the agency's duty to gather,

analyze and report
institutional performance. The support the HEPC provides to lawmakers and state leaders is indispensable
to good policymaking and it goes well beyond shared services.
Outside of its lirnited program approval and reauthorization authority, the HEPC and its professional staff
provide shared services to all institutions, including financial aid, humall resources, financial audit and
capital projects planning expertise, legal and student advocacy and success initiatives. These services
sLrpport our struggling institutions and save them millions of dollars each year by providing tl"rese services
at no charge. In reality, these are services that the HEPC critics ignore. Most schools, if not all of the
regional colleges and universities cannot afford to provide these services on their own.

The HEPC and its staff are responsive to change when indicated. They embrace it and support a rational
and well-intentioned relationship with the Governor, Legislature and each college and university, with an
eye for student success and public stewardship.
However, if it is to fulfill the worthwhile purposes set out in its Executive Order chafter, the Blue Ribbon
Commission must carefully and thoughtfully evaluate the state's higher education oversight structure. The
Blue Ribbon Commission should seek and value the input and expertise of the HEPC staff, many of whom
have worked with state leaders through previotts reorganizations.
The Blue Ribbon Commission has the opportunity to conduct a deliberative, objective and open process
during the next six (6) weeks that will be respected by the Governor, Senate and House of Delegates. A
recommendation to eliminate or cripple it by a two rnillion dollar ($2,000,000) reduction in its appropriation
will not garner that respect.
Listen to those four-year and two-year institutions that have been served by the HEPC and understand the
indispensable role that HEPC plays in their success.

 Sincerely,

Chairman
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
Attachments

cc: Mrs. Carolyn Long, Interim Chancellor
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission

Members of the Higher Education Policy Commission

Dr. Sarah A. Tucker, Chancellor
West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education
Members of the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education Council
Presidents, West Virginia Public Colleges, Universities, and Community and Technical Colleges

Mr. Ryan Quinn
The Charleston-Gazette Mail

Mr. Hoppy Kercheval
WV Metro News