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West Virginia joins collaboration of states working to make distance education easier for students
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission today announced that West Virginia has become one of the first states approved as a member of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), a nationwide collaborative working to make it easier for students to take online courses offered by campuses in other states. West Virginia’s participation becomes effective on December 1, 2014. “Making distance education courses more readily accepted across state lines will help more students progress toward their degrees,” said Dr. Paul L. Hill, the Commission’s Chancellor. “Our institutions are doing a great job at growing and leveraging online…
Continue ReadingCharleston Gazette: State wants to redefine ‘full-time’ college status
Article: Charleston Gazette September 30, 2014 By Mackenzie Mays Federal financial guidelines require a college student to take 12 credit hours each semester in order to be a labeled full-time student, but more and more education officials say that’s not enough if students want to complete their degrees on time. West Virginia is joining several states across the country in launching a “15 to Finish” campaign, which urges colleges to promote 15-credit semesters in an attempt to get more students to complete courses in the right time frame and subsequently avoid higher tuition costs and a delayed entry to the…
Continue ReadingWest Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission launches ’15 to Finish’ initiative
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Representatives of West Virginia’s public four-year colleges and universities gathered today in Charleston to launch the Higher Education Policy Commission’s statewide 15 to Finish* campaign, an initiative designed to encourage students to take 15 credit hours each semester and promote timely degree completion. “Enrolling in and completing at least 15 credits per semester is essential to completing a degree on time – within four years for a four-year degree,” said Dr. Paul L. Hill, the Commission’s Chancellor. “And the payoffs for taking this full course load extend beyond timely degree completion. Research has shown that taking 15…
Continue ReadingGovernor Tomblin announces West Virginia’s four-year campuses, community technical colleges to help ease student credit transfer process
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin today announced the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (Commission) and the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education (Council) have adopted a joint resolution, which paves the way for a more seamless process for students transferring credits from one public higher education institution to another. According to data from the Commission and Council, the percentage of undergraduate transfers from West Virginia community and technical colleges to four-year institutions has increased by 39.5 percent throughout the last five years. Gov. Tomblin, in his State of the State Address earlier this year,…
Continue ReadingGlenville State College gains national recognition, receives internationalization technology award
Charleston, W.Va. – The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (Commission) today applauded Glenville State College for being one of only three schools nationwide selected by The American Council on Education (ACE) and the State University of New York Collaborative Online International Learning (SUNY COIL) Center for the inaugural internationalization online learning award. The winning institutions, which also included Xavier University (OH) and Fayetteville State (NC), were recently honored at SUNY’s 6th annual Collaborative Online International Learning Conference in New York City. “This promising news aligns well with the Commission’s goal to promote and support the internationalization efforts of our…
Continue ReadingWVROCKS assists Fairmont State students in completing RBA degrees
Through the WVROCKS initiative launched by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, adult students at Fairmont State University have found greater success in completing a four-year degree. WVROCKS is an acronym for West Virginia’s Remote Online Collaborative Knowledge System, which offers Regents Bachelor of Arts (RBA) courses online from different institutions throughout the state. The mission of WVROCKS is to provide a high quality, student-focused, engaging, eLearning higher education collaborative. “The Regents Bachelor of Arts degree is a flexible program that provides adult learners the opportunity to turn life experience into course credit, if that experience is generally equivalent…
Continue ReadingChancellor Hill: Hitting “restart” for those who have stopped out
For so many people who have some college credits but are no longer enrolled, the desire to walk across the stage to a degree is strong, but the prospect of returning to school is daunting. There are hosts of roadblocks, from finances to a lack of extra time and family commitments, so it’s our job at the public higher education level to even out the road for returning students. In West Virginia, we have placed an increased emphasis on helping adult learners complete their postsecondary education. And the good news is that our efforts are paying off. We are graduating…
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Chancellor Hill: 15 to Finish – a simple message to drive college completion
This commentary appeared in the September 30 edition of the Charleston Gazette. When preparing for college, there are so many questions students must consider — from which school and major are the right fit, to choosing from financial aid options and mapping out schedules. Through all of this detailed planning, I believe it’s clear that students enter college with a real desire to graduate on time and start their careers as soon as possible. To help them reach that goal, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission has launched a 15 to Finish campaign — with a simple but critical…
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