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Report Recommends Merger of WVSU, 3 Other Schools
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A report looking at higher education in West Virginia has recommended merging the governing boards of Bluefield State College, Concord University, Glenville State College and West Virginia State University.
The report labels those four schools “medium risk to high risk” in sustainability. It says the four are “sustainable in the short-term, but their futures are uncertain.”
The document cited declining enrollment and increasing reliance on enrollment rather than state funding, plus competition for students from West Virginia and Marshall universities.
The report, which includes other recommendations, was issued by the nonprofit National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.
It also lists negative effects of the state government’s decisions to separate community colleges from public four-year schools, weaken the power of the state Higher Education Policy Commission and cut higher education funding.
The headline on a previous version of this story incorrectly identified the fourth school as West Virginia University instead of West Virginia State University