For Immediate Release Contact: Sean O'Leary or Linda Frame, 304-720-8682, lframe@wvpolicy.org Shortchanging Public Universities and Colleges Reduces Access to Higher Education, Hurts Economy – Even as most states have begun to restore funding for higher education that was cut during the recession, West Virginia has continued to cut funding for public universities and colleges, according…
Education
A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that West Virginia is not alone in making cuts to higher education in recent years, but unlike West Virginia, most states are starting to reverse those cuts, as the effects of the recession fade away. The report shows that after adjusting for inflation,…
On September 5, 2013, Executive Director Ted Boettner presented to the WV Early Childhood Planning Taskforce on the importance of quality early childhood care and education. View his presentation here.
As we've said before, one of West Virginia's biggest challenges to creating stronger economic growth and better paying jobs is increasing the number of workers with a college degree. Unfortunately, as Chris pointed out here and here, the state and the federal government are making it increasingly more difficult to attend college by raising the…
by Chris Nyden On Tuesday, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) approved an increase in average tuition for West Virginia public college students from $5,687 to $6,067. These increases were partly a result of a $30 million budget cut to higher education in the FY 2014 budget. This is just the second time…
by Christopher Nyden, Research Associate Barring another last-minute agreement, the interest rates on subsidized Stafford student loans are set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1. These loans are offered to students who depend on them to attend college. Doubling rates will significantly increase the debt burden for West Virginia college…
Central Appalachian Broadband Policy Recommendations The Central Appalachia Regional Network (CARN) advocates for policies that support the availability of affordable high-quality broadband services for the citizens of the Central Appalachia region. These include both policies that will support broadband deployment as well as policies to increase public awareness of the need for broadband and digital…
West Virginia is not alone when it comes to cutting funding to Higher Education. According to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, from 2008 - 2013, state spending on public colleges and universities dropped by an average of 28 percent or $2,353 per student. All but two states, North Dakota and…
Over the past few weeks, Ted and I have looked at education in West Virginia, both as a reaction to the governor's education audit, and the likelihood that education reform will be a major topic in the upcoming legislative session. First I broke down West Virginia's education spending, and found that with a few exceptions,…
Today's Charleston Gazette noted that the State Advisory Council of Students is planning to petition Governor Tomblin over proposed budget cuts to the state's higher education system. The students are concerned that any state cuts would result in higher tuition, making college less affordable for many students, and pushing more students into debt. However, even…