CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Enrollment in West Virginia’s public higher education institutions remained mostly flat this fall compared to the same period last year.
The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission says enrollment at the state’s community and technical colleges rose from 15,555 in 2021 to 15,770 in 2022. Public four-year institution enrollment dropped from 57,102 in 2021 to 56,303 in 2022, a 1.4% decline.
First-time freshmen enrollment rose from 2,441 in 2021 to 2,530 in 2022 at community and technical colleges, and from 9,433 in 2021 to 9,802 in 2022 at public universities.
More than 900 additional high school students took dual enrollment classes at higher education institutions compared with 2021. At community and technical colleges, 3,212 took dual enrollment courses in 2022, while 5,908 took the courses at state universities.
West Virginia’s Chancellor of Higher Education Sarah Armstrong Tucker stressed the importance of dual enrollment in a state with a college-going rate of 45.9%.