- Comments - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports

November 22, 2008

Higher education: High school grad pool thinning out

Commission addresses 'alarming' enrollment drop

Staff writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - State colleges and universities will likely aggressively court nontraditional students as West Virginia's population of young people declines, a state higher education official said Friday.

At a meeting of the Higher Education Policy Commission, commissioners discussed a fall 2008 enrollment that showed big declines at some schools.

Rob Anderson, policy and planning director for the HEPC, said the state's number of high school graduates is projected to decline 10 percent over the next decade - meaning schools must go after older, nontraditional students in order to keep enrollment up.

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6 Comments

Posted By: skepdoc (4:25pm 11-22-2008)

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Saw this article.Thought I would post an enlightening comment,but I see that smarbap has beat me to the punch[SIGH]but I'll try anyway.

From an Austrian School of Economics perspective this situation of the college enrollee bubble was entirely predictable:make The State use cheap loans to artificially lower the cost of entry into college(or housing)and you get subprime applicants.Yeah, those would be people who should be nowhere near a college campus completing programs which an economy will not support.

So the teacher/professor unions and all the supporters of socialist egalitarianism are flummoxed...and scared.
"Send us more warm bodies for our classrooms...and they can be less literate and more indifferent than tha last batch,such as":
Nursing home residents,home confined felons,truck drivers passing through the Mountain state,under-or-over medicated high school dropouts,graduates of our last program who still can't find work.
WE DON'T CARE!
skepdoc, EoS+C+Pell grants

Posted By: smarbap (2:24pm 11-22-2008)

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This situation should surprise no one. For decades, as progress has progressed, West Virginia has remained economically stagnate. With an aged population that prefers new senior centers to maintenance of existing school buildings, the situation can only get worse. While a naturally beautiful place to visit, younger residents are easily lured away for greater economic opportunity; virtually nothing exists to attract newcomers.
With declining enrollments, the faculties of WV school systems are entrenched veterans whose merit, or lack thereof, becomes secondary to a willingness to remain.
To improve this existing set of circumstances, WV must make the state a far friendlier place in which to operate a business. Only drastic reductions in state tax burdens placed upon businesses, and the implementation of right-to-work laws, can revitalize WV's pool of residents.

Posted By: Earned_My_Degree (12:42am 11-22-2008)

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If Manchin has his way, we'll get a part-time fast food restaurant manager with political connections as the next President of WVU.

Posted By: ceecee (11:08am 11-22-2008)

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I went through the community college system recently as a "nontrad" student. There was a wide selection of programs to choose from. The younger students were different from the time I attended college in the past. Most had families and several jobs to pay.To graduate you had to complete a portfolio and complete a Word Keys Test (ACT test company) I had 30 years of work experience, but could not get academic credit unless I paid for testing. There are talented people from the community who taught mainly night courses, but I found If you had an instructor who had a lot of seniority, or above a masters degree, he or she was frustrated about things. Yes, there are courses in "bonehead" math and English, but trying to find a tudor for math in summer school was impossible. I just went for my certificate. Your advisor has to tell the registrar's office why you want credit when they should help you in the first place. Right now I am frustrated with the system and I'm through with school.

Posted By: KnowItAll (8:25am 11-22-2008)

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I blame part of Marshall's drop in enrollment on their football program. Right or not, we might as well face facts. FOOTBALL MATTERS and winning is everything. I bet a lot of potential students are just too embarrassed about Marshall's football program to enroll there. Huntington and Marshall need to realize that if they want to bring more people into the area to help their economy, they better do something about that terrible football program. A one time very proud program is now an embarrassment for the city and the State.

Posted By: 70sGrad (6:48am 11-22-2008)

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Dave Tyson is right. I'm a WV native and WVU grad, and I have worked in higher education outside of WV for many years. Certainly, the salary needed for a top university president is very high compared to the average West Virginian's salary, but a key to elevating all salaries statewide is a strong university system. The return on the investment in a stellar president will elevate the quality of life for all West Virginians. You will get what you pay for. Don't scrimp on leaders.