NEWS

West Virginia University at Parkersburg 300 Campus Drive Parkersburg WV 26104 Phone:  304-424-8203 | Fax:  304-424-8315

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WVU Parkersburg experiences largest fall enrollment in 11 years.

CONTACT:  WVU Parkersburg President Marie Foster Gnage, 304-424-8200.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

West Virginia University at Parkersburg has experienced its largest fall enrollment in 11 years.

For the fall semester, 3,826 area residents are enrolled at the Parkersburg campus and the institution’s Jackson County Center, as of the second week in November. 

The total represents a nearly two percent increase in the overall headcount compared to last year when 3,755 attended classes.  It is the largest fall enrollment since 1993 when three more students – for a total of 3,829 – were enrolled at WVU Parkersburg.

College officials attribute the increase to creative course scheduling strategies. 

"We are making a collective effort to offer courses at times and in delivery modes that are more convenient for our students. The strategy is paying off and resulting in a sustained enrollment increase each fall," said WVU Parkersburg President Marie Foster Gnage.

In addition, college officials note that the institution’s fall full-time equivalency rate is the largest in 29 years.

The FTE rate, a formula that determines full-time instructional activities in terms that can be compared with headcount enrollment, is the highest since 1975.  The college’s fall 2004 FTE is 2,581.  The closing of the local FMC plant swelled enrollment to 5,141 in 1975 at the then Parkersburg Community College and resulted in a 2,667 FTE rate.  The college became WVU Parkersburg in 1989.

Increasing the number of full-time students this fall and contributing to the enrollment jumps is the availability of more alternative delivery and electronic courses.  Nearly 10 percent of the college’s fall classes are either on-line or offered on an alternative delivery basis.

"We have close to 70 courses this fall that are on-line or feature limited classroom attendance," Joseph L. Badgley, dean of academic affairs, observed. "As a result, students are taking more of these courses because they fit conveniently into their personal schedules."

WVU Parkersburg is the state’s only community college accredited to offer baccalaureate degrees. As a WVU regional campus, it offers 10 undergraduate certificates, four certificates, 14 associate in applied science degrees, the associate in arts and associate in science transfer degrees, and three bachelor’s degrees in applied technology, elementary education and business administration.

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