Tag: Community and Technical College System

Community, Technical Colleges Raise Number of Degrees Given

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.

Board Approves Tuition Increase for 3 Community Colleges

The governing board for West Virginia’s community colleges has approved tuition increases for three institutions.

The Charleston Gazette reports that the Community and Technical College System’s board on Thursday approved increases of almost 8 percent at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, 10 percent at Weest Virginia Northern Community College and slightly more than 10 percent for West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

Other institutions are also increasing tuition, but not above 5 percent. Only increases above that percentage require board approval.

The system-wide average tuition and fees for next year will be $3,576, a 5.4 percent increase over this school year.

W.Va. Community, Technical College System Chief Leaving

  The chancellor of West Virginia’s community and technical college system is leaving after 11 years on the job.

Chancellor James L. Skidmore announced Thursday he will leave his post on June 30. He was the first chancellor of the system.

Since his start in 2004, Skidmore said he worked to secure a 35 percent increase in community and technical college budgets. He also sought improvements to infrastructure and the creation of two advanced technology centers.

A search committee will be formed to find a successor.

Number of CTC Degrees Awarded in W.Va. Growing

The Community and Technical College System of West Virginia has announced more than 4,500 degrees were awarded during the 2013-2014 school year.

Between 2009 and 2014, the number of certificate degrees awarded in the state more than doubled from 539 to 1,476.

The number of associate degrees awarded increased 31 percent from 2,250 to 2,949.

“Students are getting a college credentials because more and more jobs today require some type of college degree in order to enter that particular field,” Chancellor of the state’s Community and Technical College System James Skidmore said Wednesday.

According to a report by the Georgetown Center on Education and Workforce, by 2018, nearly half of all of the jobs in the state will require some post-secondary education.

Skidmore said the state is working to increase the output of educated students to help meet the growing demand.

W.Va. Gets NASA Funding for STEM Education

West Virginia is sharing more than $17.3 million from NASA to increase student and faculty engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at community colleges and technical schools.

Officials say the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia is getting funding through the National Space Grant and Fellowship Program.

Thirty-five awards were granted after a solicitation to members of the national Space Grant Consortia.

NASA says the winning proposals outlined ways to attract and retain more students from community and technical colleges in STEM education.

The Community and Technical College System of West Virginia is working to increase the number of degrees awarded in advanced manufacturing, energy and information technology at its nine colleges on 24 campuses.

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