The Shadow
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -State officials are still reviewing a report that suggests West Virginia has too many four-year colleges and universities before deciding whether or not to take action.
The legislative audit report – released earlier this month – compared the number of higher education institutions in West Virginia to other states.
“The comparison reveals that West Virginia maintains a larger number of baccalaureate institutions than the other 19 states analyzed, but the number of community and technical colleges is comparable with that of other states,” according to the report.
Delegate Mary Poling, D-Barbour, serves as chairwoman of the House education committee. She said she’s read a summary of the report, but she hasn’t had a chance to review it in its entirety.
“The education committee needs to hear the report and hear what the auditor has to say,” Poling said. “What’s in the written report doesn’t explain all the details.”
The report will be presented to the education committee within the next week or so, and the committee will determine its next step after that.
Poling said the issue may require further study, as is often the case.
Sen. Robert Plymale, D-Wayne, serves as chairman of the Senate education committee. He did not return calls to The Dominion Post in time for this report.
West Virginia has a total of 22 public higher-education institutions, including one independent professional school and 10 community and technical colleges. WVU – the state’s flagship institution – is one of 11 four-year colleges and universities.
But the report indicated that West Virginia doesn’t have enough residents to support so many schools and recommended the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC) and the state Legislature assess the need for all the state’s four-year colleges and universities.
WVHEPC Chancellor Brian Noland said the number of schools in West Virginia has been examined several times in the past 30 years or so, but he doesn’t think there are too many.
“I don’t see our challenge as we have too many institutions,” Noland said. “I see our challenge as we don’t have enough students going to college.”
Though a record 93,712 students were enrolled at West Virginia colleges and universities this fall, Noland said the state’s college-going rate is below the national average.
According to the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, about 57.8 percent of the state’s 17,559 high school graduates went to college in 2006, the most recent year for which data is available. The national average was 61.6 percent.
Noland also noted West Virginia has fewer residents with college degrees than any other state in the nation.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2003 American Community Survey, 17 percent of the state’s residents 25 years or older have a bachelor’s degree. The national average was 26.5 percent.
The HEPC was slated to discuss the report further at a meeting Friday. Noland said state officials will consider efficiency and spending as they tackle financial issues, but closing a school won’t help the state save any money in the long run.
“The only way closing a school really saves money is if those students don’t go to college somewhere else. To me, that’s counterintuitive,” No-land said. “We need as many students as we can get. … If we close a school, we’re shutting down an access opportunity.”
The WVHEPC is responsible for ensuring access to higher education, which Noland said helps the state build a skilled workforce and compete in the global marketplace.
Though geographic conditions make it tough to access some schools, the report said “the number of community colleges and baccalaureate institutions, as well as the dispersed location of these institutions serves to make higher-education geographically accessible to the majority of state residents.”
