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…
Education
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…
Following up on my previous post on education spending, here are some more data on the issue. Last time, I broke down the state's per pupil spending into several categories, and made comparisons to spending nationwide. I found that for the most part, education spending in West Virginia is about on par with spending nationally,…
The education efficiency audit initiated by Governor Tomblin has attracted a great deal of attention in the state, and will likely be a major part of the upcoming legislative session. The audit was produced with two goals for the state: 1) producing the best possible outcome for its students, and 2) receiving the highest return…
As the nation inches closer to the dreaded "fiscal cliff," much of the public's anxiety is focused on spending cuts and income tax increases that will hit middle- and upper-income households unless Congress and the president strike a deal that pulls us back from the edge. Read Comparatively little attention is being paid to the…