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Friday, February 17, 2012

CommunityConcerns™: How Did Glenville State Fare with Its Report Card?

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Throughout central West Virginia there are increasing concerns about the College’s survival.

Dr. Peter Barr and the College’s Board of Governors adamantly assure citizens that concerns are meritless, the institution enjoys unparalleled enrollment growth, and its future is solidly secure.

Are these assessments truly valid based on available information including statistics in the State’s Higher Education Policy Commission document entitled Report Card 2011?


College’s Retention and Graduation Rates

# For first-year, full-time freshmen only 33.1 % of them graduated from the College or any other institution in the State’s higher education system within six years. This percentage ranked the College in 9th place for the graduation rate among the 11 State institutions in its group.

# For incoming, first-time freshmen there was a drop-out rate of 33.7% the first year which was the 7th worst ranking among 11 institutions in the College’s group.


On-Campus Versus Off-Campus Enrollment

There is interest in separating on-and-off campus enrollment for comparisons, but information in the Report Card was inadequate for an evaluation of the issue. Citizens, business owners, and landlords in Gilmer County question if on-campus enrollment is robust as touted by the College’s officials, and confusion escalated when a former Board of Governors member cited an on-campus enrollment of 2,000.


Do Off-Campus Enrollments Explain Reported Enrollment Surges For The College?

# From 2006-2010 there was a 114.7% increase of students 25 years old and older. For the same period male enrollment elevated 39.3%. The unusual increase for males was out of sync with national trends, and the increase of older students at the College for 2006-2010 was the highest among the 11 bachelor’s degree awarding institutions in the College’s group.

# There is a common perception that counts of male inmate students at the all-male federal prison contributed to major enrollment upticks at the College. Also, assuming that off-campus enrollment numbers for high school students taking dual credit instruction and numbers for students at the Morris Criminal Justice Center were included in enrollment figures, those numbers may have contributed to the overall enrollment increase, albeit it was not restricted to the main campus.

# For 2006-2010 the full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment at the College increased 20.7% with an increase of 265 FTEs from 2007-2010. The 20.7% increase ranked the College the highest in its 11 institution group. FTEs are defined by adding up credit hours taken by all students and dividing that number by 15.

# The 265 FTE jump from 2007-2010 fueled speculation that the reported enrollment surge may have been caused by including enrollment numbers for off-campus prison inmates, but counting of off-campus high school students in dual credit classes and State trainees at the Morris Center may have contributed too.


Financial Data for the College Involving Costs to Students

# From 2002-2011 the College had a 98.2% increase in tuition and fees for West Virginia residents. This is the highest increase in the College’s 11 institution group including West Virginia University and Marshall University.

# The College lacks university status with attendant overhead costs, and the average pay for its faculty members ($48,905) is the lowest among the 11 State institutions in its group so faculty pay may have contributed insignificantly to the 98.2% increase in tuition and fees.

# From 2007-2011 the College had a 34.2% increase in cost for West Virginia students residing on- campus. The cost ($13,252) included money for tuition, fees, board and room, but not other expenses including those for books and miscellaneous personal expenditures. The 34.2% increase exceeded that of the other 9 State institutions in the College’s group, at which campus housing was provided.

# The annual student cost for tuition, fees, board and room, but not other expenses is $13,252 ranking the College the 4th most expensive one in West Virginia in its group of 9 State institutions with student housing.

# Information was lacking in the Report Card to verify how much the $13,252 cost per year for on-campus residents may have been affected by the College’s students having to pay off utility bonds approved by the Gilmer County Commission to construct Pioneer Village and the $28,000,000 debt incurred for the Goodwin Hall project.

# The estimated cost per year for on-campus student residents, in addition to the $13,252 cost cited immediately above is $4,316 per year to make the total yearly cost for each student to approximate $17,568. This cost ranks the College the 4th most expensive in its group for annual expenses per student residing on campus.

# From 2006-2010 the average change in debt load for earning a bachelor’s degree graduate at the College increased 48.3% to total to $24,995 for 2010. The percentage increase was the highest among the 11 institutions in the College’s group, and the $24,995 total debt ranked the College 3rd highest among the 11 institutions in its group.  Reasons for the debt may include difficulty for the College’s students to complete degrees in four years in addition to their being required paying off the College’s debt.


Dr. Barr and the College’s Board of Governors, particularly Mrs. I. L. Morris, the Board’s president, are invited to respond to information in this review to ensure full transparency and accuracy.

Also, it would be informative for the officials to reveal plans for improving unfavorable rankings addressed in this review and to define strategies for controlling and lowering costs to make college educations more affordable in Central West Virginia.

GFP - 02.17.2012
Community • Gilmer County • Glenville • CommunityConcerns™ • Education • Permalink

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