West Virginia University at Parkersburg Story Archives

WVU-Parkersburg to Sell Downtown Properties

West Virginia University at Parkersburg is selling two downtown properties that were donated to the school in 2008.

The university’s governing board agreed Wednesday to sell one property to Parkersburg Brewing Company for a brewery and wholesale and retail sales outlet. The purchase price is $251,000.

The Mid-Ohio Valley Area Development Corporation will pay $210,500 for the other property donated by The Erickson Foundation.

Proceeds of the sales will go to the university’s capital improvement fund.

Legislators Address Problems at WVU-Parkersburg

Officials with West Virginia University at Parkersburg have taken responsibility for problems found in a Legislative Audit report regarding purchasing practices and bidding procedures, and have assured lawmakers the problems have been handled.

The News and Sentinel of Parkersburg reports university officials were in Charleston on Monday to address the audit report to the legislative oversight committee.

Legislative Auditor’s Office analyst Jordan Reed says between 2011 and 2014, the university violated competitive bidding procedures in three instances, stringing purchase card transactions together over a short period of time.

University President Fletcher Lamkin told the committee that Chief Financial Officer Alice Harris has implemented steps to address the problems. He apologized for how some of the bidding was done, and said the purchases were likely strung together to quicken the process.

WVU-Parkersburg Suspends Culinary Arts Program

West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s culinary arts program will be put on hold while the school reviews its viability.

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reports that the school’s Board of Governors approved suspending the program on Wednesday.

WVU-Parkersburg President Fletcher Lamkin told the board that tuition isn’t sufficient to pay for the program’s annual cost of about $150,000.

Senior vice president of academic affairs Jane Milley estimated that it will take another semester for five students currently enrolled in the program to complete it. The school then will review the program to determine whether it should continue.

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.