74-32,402. Same; powers and duties; credit hour funding distribution formula; vice-president of workforce development and executive director of authority. (a) The postsecondary technical education authority shall:

(1) Have delegated authority from the board of regents to coordinate state-wide planning for postsecondary technical education, new postsecondary technical education programs and contract training. Such planning shall be conducted in coordination with federal agencies, the state board of education and other state agencies and Kansas business and industry;

(2) recommend for adoption by the state board of regents rules and regulations for the supervision of postsecondary technical education;

(3) review existing and proposed postsecondary technical educational programs and program locations and make recommendations to the state board of regents for approval or disapproval of such programs for state funding purposes;

(4) review requests of state funding for postsecondary technical education and make recommendations to the state board of regents for amounts of state funding and the distribution thereof;

(5) develop benchmarks and accountability indicators of programs to be utilized in the awarding of state funding and make recommendations relating thereto to the state board of regents;

(6) develop and advocate annually a policy agenda for postsecondary technical education;

(7) conduct continuous studies of ways to maximize the utilization of resources available for postsecondary technical education and make recommendations for improvement in the use of such resources to the state board of regents;

(8) conduct studies to develop strategies and programs for meeting needs of business and industry and make recommendations relating thereto to the state board of regents;

(9) make reports on the performance of its functions and duties together with any proposals and recommendations it may formulate with respect thereto to the state board of regents and the legislature;

(10) coordinate the development of a seamless system for the delivery of technical education between the secondary-school level and the postsecondary-school level; and

(11) (A) develop and recommend to the state board of regents a credit hour funding distribution formula for postsecondary technical training programs that (i) is tiered to recognize and support cost differentials in providing high-demand, high-tech training, (ii) takes into consideration target industries critical to the Kansas economy, (iii) is responsive to program growth and (iv) includes other factors and considerations as deemed necessary or advisable; and (B) establish and recommend to the state board of regents the rates to be used in such funding distribution formula.

(b) Recommendations adopted by the authority pursuant to subsection (a) shall be submitted to the state board of regents. A recommendation of the authority shall be implemented by the state board unless the state board, by majority vote thereof, vetoes the recommendation within 45 days of the submission of the recommendation to the state board.

(c) (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2), the state board of regents and the postsecondary technical education authority shall appoint a vice-president of workforce development who shall serve as the executive director of the postsecondary technical education authority. The vice-president for workforce development shall be in the unclassified service under the Kansas civil service act. Such person shall not be a member of the authority and shall serve at the pleasure of the state board of regents.

(2) The state board of regents shall develop a procedure for the appointment of the vice-president of workforce development. Such procedure shall provide for the participation of the Kansas association of community college trustees and the Kansas association of technical schools and colleges, or the successor organizations thereof, in the selection of the vice-president of workforce development.

History: L. 2007, ch. 199, § 2; L. 2009, ch. 24, § 24; July 1.