in West Virginia

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Higher education
Enrollment statistics
Tuition statistics
Financial aid statistics
Retention rates
Graduation rates
Higher education funding

West Virginia's higher education system is composed of 44 colleges and universities. Of these, 22 are public institutions, 11 are nonprofit private schools, and 11 are for-profit private institutions.^[1]

Higher education policy decisions can affect college access, the retention of students and the eventual completion of their degrees, student rights on campus, students' financial burden in the form of debt, and their employment prospects after graduation. Click on the tabs below to learn more about higher education in West Virginia.

Overview[edit]

Overview

Total number of schools: 44

Public schools: 22

State agency: West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission

Retention rate: 68%[2]

Graduation rate: 45.6%[3]

Average public in-state tuition: $5,998

Total funding for public higher education: $505,352,932

Funding per full-time student: $5,530

Higher education in the United States • Education policy • Education policy in the United States • Public education in West Virginia

Overview[edit]

Higher education policy refers to the decisions made by the federal government, state legislatures, higher education boards, and colleges and universities themselves. These decisions can affect how state funding is allocated, who sets tuition and at what level, campus resources available for academically struggling students, degrees and programs offered, and state financial aid eligibility and award amounts, as some examples. Higher education entities also set policies that manage campus environments, such as the prohibition or allowance of guns on campus and rules regarding free speech and student protests.^[4]

Decisions made in higher education policy can affect college access, the retention of students and the eventual completion of their degrees, student rights on campus, students' financial burden in the form of debt, and their employment prospects after graduation.^[4]

Generally speaking, there are four types of postsecondary educational institutions in the United States:^[5][6]

1. Public two-year institutions, which are most commonly known as community colleges, typically "award associate degrees in vocational fields [and] prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions." These schools are financed in large part with public funds. Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College is an example of a public two-year institution in West Virginia.^[5][6]
2. Public four-year colleges and universities award baccalaureate and/or graduate degrees. Traditionally, a distinction has been made between colleges and universities, with colleges awarding only four-year degrees and universities awarding both four-year and graduate-level degrees; however, these two terms are often used interchangeably today. Like their two-year counterparts, public four-year colleges and universities are financed largely with public funds. Marshall University and West Virginia State University are examples of public four-year institutions in West Virginia.^[5][6]
3. Private nonprofit institutions can vary dramatically in size, course offerings and mission. These institutions do not receive public funding directly. Instead, private nonprofit schools are financed primarily by tuition, gifts, and endowments. These schools do not generate profit. Bethany College and the University of Charleston are examples of private nonprofit institutions in West Virginia.^[5][6]
4. Private for-profit institutions typically specialize in vocational education. Like their nonprofit counterparts, these schools do not receive public funds. These mainly online universities generally serve older students and endeavor to generate profits. Examples in West Virginia include ITT Technical Institute and West Virginia Business College.^[5][6]

The oldest postsecondary institution in West Virginia is Bethany College. It is a private, Christian-affiliated liberal arts college and was founded in 1840.^[7]

As of July 2016, there were 22 public colleges and universities in West Virginia, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. These are listed in the table below.^[1]

State agencies[edit]

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission is the state's higher education agency. The commission is made up of a ten-member board that works to enact policies that better higher education in the state. It deals with issues such as financial aid, facilities, academic affairs, legal services and more.^[8]

The commission's "Master Plan" is an approach it has devised that creates a series of clear goals to be achieved by the year 2018. The plan focuses on three specific areas dealing with higher education: access, success and impact. By improving access, prospective students will find it easier to enter into postsecondary education. Improving success will make West Virginia programs more effective. Increasing the impact of higher education is an approach that hopes to improve the rest of the state and country through higher education.^[9]

Admissions[edit]

Enrollment[edit]

See also: Higher education enrollment statistics

According to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, college enrollment typically rises during economic downturns and declines as the economy improves. In 2014, higher education enrollment nationwide was 8.6 percent higher than pre-recession levels in 2008. However, enrollment has been declining since 2012. Full-time enrollment in higher education institutions rose sharply following the recession before peaking in 2011 and then dropping off.^[10]

College enrollment in West Virginia followed this trend; between 2012 and 2014, full-time enrollment decreased from about 80,193 to about 76,202. In 2014, full-time college enrollment in West Virginia was 3.6 percent higher than in 2008. Click [show] on the green bar below the bar chart to view full-time public university enrollment in West Virginia as compared to surrounding states.

Demographics[edit]

Enrollment by race and ethnicity[edit]

In West Virginia, total enrollment—full-time and part-time—in all public and private higher education institutions amounted to 157,954 in fall 2013. About 75.3 percent of these students were white. Black students comprised approximately 12.6 percent of the total postsecondary student population in West Virginia. During that time, 77.0 percent of the state's general population was white and 12.9 percent was black, with other ethnic groups comprising the remainder. The table below lists demographic information for both postsecondary students and the general population in West Virginia and surrounding states.^[11]

Enrollment by sex[edit]

In 2013, 50.1 percent of all postsecondary students in West Virginia were female, which was lower than the national rate of 56.5 percent. The table below lists postsecondary student enrollment by sex in West Virginia and surrounding states.^[12]

Affirmative action[edit]

See also: Affirmative action and Affirmative action in West Virginia

Federal law requires government contractors and other departments and agencies receiving federal funding to develop and implement affirmative action plans for the hiring process. Public colleges and universities are considered federal contractors and must utilize affirmative action in their employment practices. However, many private and public colleges and universities across the country have also implemented similar measures in their admissions processes. These actions are typically voluntary, although a handful of states have adopted rules that require state universities to take affirmative action in admissions.^[13][14][15]

Affirmative action admissions programs were undertaken by public and private universities alike, beginning in the late 1960s and 1970s. Some universities initially established quotas in order to achieve a demographically diverse student body; these quotas were outlawed by the United States Supreme Court in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke in 1978.^[13][16]

Affirmative action can also take other forms, such as targeted outreach campaigns. Today, a common form of affirmative action in college admissions is that of racial preferences. A preference occurs when a group of applicants is more likely to be admitted than other applicants with similar or better qualifications due to other factors, such as race or ethnicity. Preferences are also sometimes extended towards women, athletes, and children of alumni. The use of racial preferences may be related to college selectivity: scholars such as law professor Richard Sander have found that preferences are strongest at elite institutions.^{[13][16][17][18]}

Eight states have enacted laws banning the consideration of race in university admissions. As of March 2015, West Virginia was not one of these states. Of 10 public four-year universities in West Virginia, one considers race in admissions, as indicated in the chart below.

Consideration of race at public four-year universities in West Virginia
School	Race/ethnicity is...				School selectivity*
	Very important	Important	Considered	Not considered
Bluefield State College					Very selective
Concord University					Very selective
Fairmont State University					Somewhat selective
Glenville State College					Very selective
Marshall University					Less selective
Shepherd University					Less selective
West Liberty University					N/A
West Virginia State University					Very selective
West Virginia University					Less selective
West Virginia University Institute of Technology					Somewhat selective
Sources: The College Board, "Big Future," accessed March 30, 2015 CollegeData, "College 411," accessed March 30, 2015 *Note: This scale of college selectivity comes from The College Board and is measured as follows: Most selective, less than 25 percent admitted; Very selective, 25 percent to 50 percent admitted; Somewhat selective, 50 percent to 75 percent admitted; Less selective, more than 75 percent admitted; Open admission, all or most admitted.

Student costs[edit]

See also: Higher education tuition statistics

In-state and private tuition[edit]

Tuition accounts for just a portion of student costs; in many states, the cost of room and board equals or surpasses the cost of tuition at public universities. However, unlike room and board, tuition has risen much faster than inflation, increasing by 40 percent between the 2005-2006 and the 2015-2016 school years. The consumer price index increased by 21.5 percent over the same time period. Some studies suggest that universities have increased tuition as a response to state budget cuts, while others correlate rising tuition with the availability of financial aid.^[19][20][21]

In the 2013-2014 academic year, the national average in-state cost for tuition and required fees at a public four-year school totaled $8,312. For a private four-year school, the average was $25,696. In West Virginia, these figures were lower: $5,998 and $11,050, respectively. Public university tuition in the state increased 52 percent between 2005-2006 and 2015-2016. The graph below displays average tuition prices in West Virginia as compared to the nationwide average for each year during that time. Hover over the points to view precise figures. The table below the graph compares 2013-2014 average annual tuition costs in West Virginia with those in surrounding states.^[20][22]

Note: Discrepancies in data between the line graph and the table below are due to differing sources of information.

Out-of-state tuition[edit]

See also: Higher education tuition statistics

Public postsecondary schools receive some of their funding from their state's government. This money in turn comes from taxation of the state's residents. Since neither out-of-state students nor their parents paid that state's taxes, the schools charge these students additional tuition to account for the difference. This additional charge is a significant increase over in-state tuition in all 50 states. In the 2013-2014 school year, out-of-state students nationwide paid an average of $22,603 in annual tuition and required fees, 272 percent higher than the in-state average of $8,312.^[20]

Students attending public postsecondary institutions in West Virginia from outside of the state were required to pay an average of $17,270, a 288 percent difference over the average in-state tuition of $5,998. The average out-of-state tuition price for West Virginia was lower than the national average by about $5,333. The table below compares in-state and out-of-state tuition figures for West Virginia with those of surrounding states.

Financial aid[edit]

See also: Higher education financial aid statistics

The federal government provides financial aid to undergraduate students in the form of grants and loans. Notable grants administered by the United States government include Pell Grants and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG). Loan programs administered by the federal government include the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and Federal Perkins Loan Program. Perkins Loans have an interest rate of 5 percent, while Direct Loans have interest rates that vary based on the date of disbursement and the loan type: loans disbursed between July 1, 2014 and July 1, 2017 have interest rates ranging from 3.76 percent to 7.21 percent. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average default rate on Perkins Loans was 11.8 percent for borrowers who entered into repayment in 2012; the rate reflects borrowers who defaulted prior to September 30, 2014. This is compared to average default rates of 7.2 percent on home loans and 2.23 percent on credit card loans in 2014.^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]}

In addition, colleges and universities often offer institution-specific financial aid to their students, and individual states may also administer student financial aid programs. According to the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs, the states disbursed approximately $11.7 billion in state-based financial aid to postsecondary students in the 2013-2014 academic year. This represented about 5 percent of all financial aid provided to undergraduate students, according to The College Board. West Virginia awarded $141.27 million in state-based financial aid during that time. The table below provides state-based aid figures for West Virginia and surrounding states in 2013-2014.^[29][30]

Student debt[edit]

See also: Student debt in higher education in the United States

Student debt is a major concern for both parents and students. According to the Institute for College Access and Success, in school year 2013-2014, an average of 62 percent of all students nationwide graduated with debt at an average of about $27,779 per borrower. The state with the lowest average debt held by students was Utah, where average student debt was about $18,921. Conversely, students who graduated from colleges and universities in Delaware held an average of about $33,808 in debt, the highest in the country.^[31][32]

During the 2013-2014 school year, about 69 percent of postsecondary students at both public and private schools in West Virginia graduated with debt. Average debt held amounted to about $26,854, ranking 22nd highest in the country. The table below compares the average student debt, percentage of graduates with debt, and national rankings of West Virginia and surrounding states.

While tuition for private schools is typically higher than that of public schools, debt does not always follow this same pattern. The Institute for College Access and Success analyzed data on student debt held by graduates of public and private schools. They found that in the 2013-2014 school year, about 60 percent of students nationwide who graduated from a public institution had debt, which averaged about $25,665 per borrower. For private schools, they found that approximately 65 percent of students graduated with an average of $28,498 in debt. However, in some states, such as New Hampshire, students on average graduated from private schools with less debt than those who graduated from public schools.^[31][32]

During the 2013-2014 school year, about 69 percent of graduates from West Virginia's public schools graduated with an average of $26,659 in debt. About 76 percent of private school students graduated with an average of $29,325 in debt. As this data shows, students who graduated from public schools during this year had less debt on average than those who graduated from private schools. The table below compares these statistics for West Virginia with those of its surrounding states.

Outcomes[edit]

Retention rates[edit]

See also: Higher education retention rates

Retention rates indicate the percentage of freshmen postsecondary students who enroll the following academic year as sophomores. According to the NCHEMS Information Center for Higher Education Policymaking and Analysis:^[33]

Compared to neighboring states, West Virginia had the second-highest total retention rate in the 2013-2014 school year at 68 percent. The table below compares retention rates in West Virginia and surrounding states.^[35]

Graduation rates[edit]

See also: Higher education graduation rates

The table below, built from data compiled by The Chronicle of Higher Education, details graduation rates for West Virginia and surrounding states. Although postsecondary schools are classified as four-year and two-year institutions, relatively few students actually complete degrees within these time frames. At four-year schools, students commonly take between four and six years to complete their degrees. Likewise, students at two-year institutions commonly take three years to complete their degrees. To illustrate this point, both four-year and six-year graduation rates are provided in the table below (only three-year rates are provided for two-year institutions, owing to a lack of information regarding two-year completion rates).^[36]

At public four-year colleges in West Virginia, 24.7 percent graduated within four years, while 45.6 percent graduated within six years. The six-year completion rate was lower than in neighboring states. About 11.8 percent of West Virginia students at public two-year colleges graduated within three years; this figure was lower than those of neighboring states.^[37]

Study on college affordability and outcomes[edit]

College affordability and student debt have become major issues in higher education policy, particularly since the 2008 recession. The College Affordability Guide is an organization that evaluates colleges for their value, which is defined as providing a high-quality education that is affordable "not only for the average student, but for lower-income students as well." According to the College Affordability Guide, there are 10 colleges in West Virginia that provide high-quality education at an affordable price. The College Affordability Guide's rankings consider a number of factors and are based on the idea that income-appropriate tuition, completing one's studies, and being able to pay back one's loans are the key elements of a worthwhile college experience. Colleges considered the best value by the guide meet the following criteria:^[38]

• Tuition at an average net price of $15,000 per year or less after financial aid for families making $48,000 per year or less
• At least 50 percent of students graduate or transfer
• At least 50 percent of students are actively paying down student loan debt three years after graduation

Additionally, all colleges considered are not-for-profit, offer associate or higher degrees, and have at least one non-standard way for students to earn college credits, such as AP or CLEP credit. The table below lists the colleges in West Virginia that the College Affordability Guide considers to be the best value. The colleges are in no particular order. Full rankings and descriptions of the colleges can be found here.

Funding[edit]

Total state funding[edit]

See also: Higher education funding and West Virginia state budget and finances

Higher education funding mechanisms differ depending on the type of institution. Public colleges receive the lion's share of their funding from state and local governments. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, state and local appropriations accounted for 53 percent of higher education revenues nationwide in 2013. By contrast, private institutions do not receive direct government funding. Instead, these institutions rely primarily on tuition, gifts, and endowments.^[39][40]

The 2008 recession led to decreased public higher education funding as college enrollment increased:

While there have been moderate increases in state allocations between 2012 and 2015, the average amount of spending "is still 15 percent less, per student, than before the economic downturn," according to a study by the State Higher Education Executive Offices (SHEEO).^[42]

According to Grapevine, which is published by Illinois State University's Center for the Study of Education Policy and SHEEO, financial support for public higher education in West Virginia totaled $505 million in fiscal year 2015, a 7.5 percent decrease over fiscal year 2013. The table below lists higher education fiscal support figures for West Virginia and surrounding states.^[43]

Funding per student[edit]

According to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, average adjusted public postsecondary appropriations per full-time student declined 13.3 percent from fiscal year 2009 to 2013 on average in the United States. In West Virginia, appropriations per full-time student declined 12.5 percent during that same period. The table below lists adjusted public higher education appropriations per full-time student for West Virginia and surrounding states in fiscal years 2009, 2013, and 2014.^[10]

Faculty[edit]

Faculty[edit]

See also: Higher education faculty statistics

Across the country, as student enrollment at postsecondary institutions has changed, so has the faculty. To meet rising demand, the number of faculty increased nationwide by just over 55 percent, from 515,684 to 800,611, between the 1993-1994 and 2013-2014 school years. In West Virginia, the total number of faculty rose from 6,226 to 7,101. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the college faculty profession has one of the fastest growth rates in the nation and will see a 19 percent increase in jobs between 2012 and 2022.^[44][45][46]

Employment status[edit]

Employment of faculty at four-year public institutions in West Virginia

While the total number of faculty at public colleges and universities continued to rise over the previous two decades, the portion of faculty who work part time rose more quickly. By the mid-1990s, part-time faculty comprised over half of total instructional faculty, a figure which continued to increase before leveling off in 2013. In the 2013-2014 school year, just over 55 percent of instructional faculty nationwide worked part time. The number of part-time faculty, including teaching and research assistants, outnumbered full-time faculty in all but 11 states. The number of teaching and research assistants alone outnumbered full-time faculty in five states. West Virginia was not one of these states. According to the Southern Regional Education Board,^[44][45]

In West Virginia, the percentage of all part-time faculty, including graduate assistants, decreased from 48.0 percent to 47.9 percent between the 1993-1994 and 2013-2014 school years. Below is a table that provides figures on full-time and part-time faculty employment in West Virginia as compared to surrounding states.^[45]

Salaries[edit]

According to the Southern Regional Education Board, although the salaries of full-time faculty at public four-year institutions are higher than the those of the average American worker, their growth has not kept pace with the average rate of salary increases across all professions. However, salary growth at private institutions has outpaced the national average rate. From the 2008-2009 to the 2013-2014 school years, the average salary for full-time instructional faculty at public four-year institutions nationwide rose from $76,009 to $79,293. In West Virginia, the average salary increased from $64,962 to $68,673. The table below provides faculty salary information for the school years 2008-2009 and 2013-2014 for West Virginia and surrounding states. Dollar figures have not been adjusted for inflation.^[45]

Demographics[edit]

Over the previous two decades, the proportions of female, black, and Hispanic faculty members at public colleges and universities nationwide increased to reach their highest levels ever in the 2013-2014 school year. In West Virginia, 40.7 percent of full-time college faculty were female, 3.4 percent were black, and 1.4 percent were Hispanic. Female, black, and Hispanic representation in college faculty at that time was higher than in the 1993-1994 school year. However, it still fell below the proportions of both the general and college student populations who were female, black, and Hispanic. Click [show] on the green bar below the pie charts to view demographic information for full-time faculty at public four-year colleges and universities in West Virginia from the 1993-1994 to the 2013-2014 school years. For this reason, the pie chart displays a different figure for 'Other' than the table.

Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms West Virginia higher education. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also[edit]

• Public education in West Virginia
• West Virginia state budget and finances
• Historical higher education information in West Virginia

Higher education in the 50 states[edit]

Click on a state below to read more about higher education in that state.

Footnotes[edit]

	v • e State of West Virginia Charleston (capital)
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