Tag: University of Charleston

WVU Exploring Purchase of Beckley Campus

West Virginia University announced Thursday it is exploring the purchase of the former Mountain State University Beckley campus.
The University announced a due diligence agreement in a press release. The agreement allows WVU to explore the facilities, location, and academic programs among many other areas at Mountain State to determine if it meets their academic and fiscal expectations.

WVU Provost Joyce McConnell said in the release the two schools are in the very early stages of the process.

 
“We have entered into an exclusive agreement to explore the possibility of purchasing the Mountain State University campus,” said WVU President Gordon Gee. “This truly is a unique opportunity – and one we feel an obligation to explore – especially as it has the potential to increase West Virginia University’s ability to serve our state.”

Mountain State put the campus up for sale in August to settle litigation brought by some 14,000 MSU students after the school lost its accreditation in 2012.

 
The University of Charleston is currently using the facilities, but said over the summer the school would not buy the campus and is searching for other options in the Beckley area.

14,000 Former MSU Students Closer to Compensation

A Jan. 15 hearing is scheduled in Charleston on a proposed settlement of hundreds of lawsuits against the now defunct Mountain State University.

A three-judge mass litigation panel gave preliminary approval to the settlement Monday following a hearing in Beckley.

The proposed settlement will establish a fund to compensate over 14,000 students who filed claims when the university lost its accreditation in 2012.

Yesterday’s decision allows the former university to begin liquidating its assets.

The compensation fund also would include money from Mountain State’s insurance carrier and the U.S. Department of Education.

The University of Charleston took over Mountain State’s campuses in Beckley and Martinsburg, allowing students to complete their degrees.  UC’s lease runs through June 2015.

The January hearing will discuss the settlement’s final terms.

Strengthening Institutions: Two West Virginia Schools Receive Title III Grants

Two West Virginia higher education institutions got some great news this month from the federal government.Title III Strengthening Institutions grants…

Two West Virginia higher education institutions got some great news this month from the federal government.

Title III Strengthening Institutions grants help schools become more self-sufficient and expand their capacity to serve low-income students. The grants help them improve and strengthen their academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability. West Virginia Wesleyan College and the University of Charleston are the only two West Virginia institutions to receive one of these highly competitive grants during this year’s funding cycle.

UC will receive just under $2 million over five years. University spokeswoman Carrie Stollings says UC’s grant will focus on improving support for distance learning. She says UC plans to develop more on-line programs and programs that are “hybrid” – meaning that while much of the work is done on-line, students do meet face-to-face with faculty on a scheduled basis.

Credit University of Charleston
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The Title III funding will allow UC to provide faculty, academic advisors and technology support staff to focus on the needs of those learners.

Wesleyan’s grant will provide $10 million over five years. Wesleyan President Pamela Balch says applying for the larger amount was a long shot and no other institution has ever received one this large.

“To get this amount of money, how much it will impact a school our size – is so phenomenal, that everybody is just absolutely thrilled!” – Pamela Balch

The grant will allow Wesleyan to focus on student retention, renovate its classrooms with state of the art technology, and put $400,000 a year into its endowment – if the school matches that amount through private fundraising.

President Balch sees these Title III grants as great investments of government money.

“We’re really making a difference,” says Balch. “Our whole philosophy is serving and so when our students come here and they get a great education, they’re also learning how to serve communities and go out into the world, and so, to me, that is the best use of taxpayer money you could ever, ever have.”

The grants run on the federal budget cycle, so they’ll go into effect beginning October 1.

Two W.Va. Colleges Getting Funding for Improvements

  Two West Virginia schools are getting federal funding to improve higher education.

Sens. Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller on Friday said that the University of Charleston and West Virginia Wesleyan College are receiving money from U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutes Program.

Officials say the funding will be used to improve and strengthen their academic programs, management and financial stability, as well as better serve students in need.

West Virginia Wesleyan College is receiving $2 million and the University of Charleston is getting more than $339,000.

Officials of Former Mountain State Sue Commission

  The former Mountain State University is suing an accrediting body over the loss of its accreditation.

The lawsuit says the Higher Learning Commission didn’t follow its policies, rules and practices when it revoked the university’s accreditation in June 2012.

The lawsuit says the loss of accreditation forced the private Beckley-based university to close. Without accreditation, the university was no longer eligible for state and federal funding, including student aid.

A commission spokeswoman told the Charleston Gazette that no one would comment on the lawsuit.

Bridgeport attorney Jack Merinar filed the lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of three Mountain State board members. He tells the newspaper that the lawsuit tells a different side of the accreditation story.

The University of Charleston took over Mountain State’s Beckley and Martinsburg campuses.

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