Associated Press Published

Community, Technical Colleges Raise Number of Degrees Given

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West Virginia’s community and technical colleges have increased the number of degrees awarded in the last five years, despite drops in the student success rate and student retention.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the college system’s chancellor Sarah Armstrong Tucker announced Thursday that the nine-college system has given out 19,000 degrees since 2010. Of those, more than 13,000 were associate degrees.

In 2010, the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education set out to increase the number of degree holders.

The system’s actual student success rate dropped from 31.5 percent to 29.5 percent even though, according to council data, 71.4 percent of graduates are employed.

The system also experienced a 20 percent drop in student enrollment. Five years ago, enrollment was 27,000, while today it’s at 21,040.