CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s community and technical colleges showed a slight increase in overall student enrollment for the fall semester but the growth is less than the national average.
The state Council for Community and Technical Colleges received the report at its Thursday meeting.
Overall enrollment for the nine two-year schools checks in at 18,300 which is slightly up from last year’s 17,956 count.
HEPC Director of Research and Analysis Zorrie Georgieva said that’s a 2.4 percent growth.
“The last couple fall semesters, in Fall 2023 and Fall 2024, our community colleges passed the growth we have seen nationally but it looks like it has tempered off a little bit,” Georgieva told council members.
There’s been a shift in enrollment from an increase in the number of students taking workforce training.
Georgieva said the number of freshmen students on the nine campuses is at 2,857 which is down from the 2,931 students last year. She said this year’s number is still higher than five years ago.
The schools are doing a better job on retention rates for freshmen and graduation rates, Georgieva said.
“Our institutions have really made significant gains and these are really reflective of those first-time freshmen cohorts really being retained under graduation,” she said.
Dual enrollment students, which represents those still in high school who are taking classes at the two-years schools, makes up 26 percent of the overall enrollment with approximately 4,900 students. Georgieva said that’s a little down from last fall.
“We are looking five community colleges increasing their dual enrollment population and four staying flat or showing decreases,” she said.
Dual enrollment showed significant growth the two previous years.
Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, WVU Parkersburg, BridgeValley CTC typically lead the way in enrollment.