Topic: WV Colleges Deal With Debt

[Flat Tire 2]

Interesting article about financial debt at several schools. I didn't know MU has a $28 million structural debt.

Shepherd is latest state university that must address financial issues.

"Shepherd University, a small, public university in the Eastern Panhandle, is the latest West Virginia higher education institution to announce that it has made staff reductions and program changes in an effort to deal with its debt.
The university is trying to address a $6 million structural deficit in the next two years through what it called ?rightsizing.?

"West Virginia University is dealing with a $45 million deficit and has cut more than 200 positions and dozens of majors at its Morgantown campus to address the shortfall. Marshall University, which has seen an enrollment increase, has a $28 million structural deficit; its leaders hope to make the school in Huntington profitable by 2027."

https://huntingtonnewsnetwork.com/?p=2837

[svherd]

Interesting article about financial debt at several schools. I didn't know MU has a $28 million structural debt.

Shepherd is latest state university that must address financial issues.

"Shepherd University, a small, public university in the Eastern Panhandle, is the latest West Virginia higher education institution to announce that it has made staff reductions and program changes in an effort to deal with its debt.
The university is trying to address a $6 million structural deficit in the next two years through what it called ?rightsizing.?

"West Virginia University is dealing with a $45 million deficit and has cut more than 200 positions and dozens of majors at its Morgantown campus to address the shortfall. Marshall University, which has seen an enrollment increase, has a $28 million structural deficit; its leaders hope to make the school in Huntington profitable by 2027."

https://huntingtonnewsnetwork.com/?p=2837

I trust Brad will get it done. Growing the enrollment via on campus and online, should help.

[CJHerdgrad]

I trust a proven business leader to turn things around more than I do a career university administrator that was horrible every place he's been (Gordon Gee).  I know this is a Marshall board, but that school up north uses my tax dollars, so it's in my best interest that they are well-run.  They haven't been that in a long time.

[HerdEcon]

Eliminating a $28 million structural deficit by 2027 will be a big job.  I can't imagine eliminating that amount of structural deficit in such a short amount of time without some jobs and degree programs being impacted.  Even if enrollment increases the school would have expenses associated with providing services to those students. 

[MUther]

Even if enrollment increases the school would have expenses associated with providing services to those students.

That should be baked into tuition and fees and is certainly a healthier model than losing enrollment like we have been.  Even small amounts per students in cashflow will go a long ways to help with debt. Having nationally recognized sports, again, couldn't come at a better time to complement the push for enrollment.  I'm sure if we've made a large dent in the deficit by '27, we'll be fine, even if not quite profitable.

[coalherd]

State government support of higher education has been abysmal in West Virginia for some time now.  Wouldn't doubt if a survey of the educational levels of all the State legislatures in the US was performed, the collective educational level WV's legislators would be at or near the bottom, at least in the bottom 5 States.  Too many in State government overall put little importance on formal educational attainment in West Virginia.  Hence, little to no interest by too many in State government to provide it adequate State funds year in and year out, IMO!

[HerdEcon]

WV State got an increase in funding this year and in the future from the legislature.  It will never happen but some believe WV State should have been merged into Marshall years ago.  Great idea if the land grant status could be transferred to Marshall.

https://www.wsaz.com/2023/09/27/feds-claim-unequal-funding-wva-state-university/

[Flat Tire 2]

WV State got an increase in funding this year and in the future from the legislature.  It will never happen but some believe WV State should have been merged into Marshall years ago.  Great idea if the land grant status could be transferred to Marshall.

https://www.wsaz.com/2023/09/27/feds-claim-unequal-funding-wva-state-university/

At one time, wvsc was a HBC. According to the below site its enrollment is now 77.1% White with a 96.6% acceptance rate 56% retention  rate and it student body is nearly 60% part time. Full time enrollment is only 2,784. I don't see how this school can be labeled a HBC. It should be merged with the MU South Charleston branch.

https://datausa.io/profile/university/west-virginia-state-university

[HerdsHerd]

How would a merger work?  I'm not sure how that process would go but it would be a major boom for Marshall

[wasbarryb]

At one time, wvsc was a HBC. According to the below site its enrollment is now 77.1% White with a 96.6% acceptance rate 56% retention  rate and it student body is nearly 60% part time. Full time enrollment is only 2,784. I don't see how this school can be labeled a HBC. It should be merged with the MU South Charleston branch.

https://datausa.io/profile/university/west-virginia-state-university

Are you really that historically uninformed? Do you not understand what the letters in the acronym HBC stands for?

At a time when separate but equal was the law of the land WV State was the "negro" college.  That is why both it and WVU are both land grant universities when the federal government supported segregation they would award two land grant schools to each state that had both white and black colleges.  States that didn't have segregated college structures got only one land grant university.

Given it's history as the black college during segregation it was and always will be the states HBC, whether it remains primarily black majority enrollment or not.

[marshallmark]

Are you really that historically uninformed? Do you not understand what the letters in the acronym HBC stands for?

At a time when separate but equal was the law of the land WV State was the "negro" college.  That is why both it and WVU are both land grant universities when the federal government supported segregation they would award two land grant schools to each state that had both white and black colleges.  States that didn't have segregated college structures got only one land grant university.

Given it's history as the black college during segregation it was and always will be the states HBC, whether it remains primarily black majority enrollment or not.

Bluefield was also a HBC

[Flat Tire 2]

Are you really that historically uninformed? Do you not understand what the letters in the acronym HBC stands for?

At a time when separate but equal was the law of the land WV State was the "negro" college.  That is why both it and WVU are both land grant universities when the federal government supported segregation they would award two land grant schools to each state that had both white and black colleges.  States that didn't have segregated college structures got only one land grant university.

Given it's history as the black college during segregation it was and always will be the states HBC, whether it remains primarily black majority enrollment or not.

I am well aware of the reason for existence of wvsc and the land situation. FYI wvsc gave its land grant status years ago and just renewed it a couple of years ago. Land Grants schools were mainly set up to teach agricultural studies and WV now is not a major agricultural state.  You also forgot to mention the other WV state supported college, Bluefield State. The 1950 census list the population of WV prior to Supreme Court decision of Brown vs BOE at 2,005,552 with a Black population of 114,867.
https://archive.wvculture.org/history/teacherresources/censuspopulationrace.html

The 2020 US Census lists WV's population at 1,793,716 with a Black population of about 66,300.
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/west-virginia-population-change-between-census-decade.html
Unlike many Southern states, WV has had a dramatic decline of Black residents. Unlike Virginia; North Carolina and Florida where I have lived, the HBC have flourished and are important parts of those state's societies. Thank goodness that all the public colleges in WV have embraced Black students, while the WV HBC have become majority white institutions. Integration has worked in the WV college system!  The WV HBC have outlived their usefulness like several smaller state colleges in the WV higher institution system. By the way, wvsc gave up it status as a land grant school years ago and just recently renewed the program to receive federal funding.

When WV didn't have a medical school, the state purchased spots in medical schools for WV students. If a Black WV resident wants to go a real HBC, maybe WV should support those students to attend out of state HBC with financial aid like we did for medical students.

I don't believe in separate but equal, but you seem to want that choice.

[elginherd]

At one time, wvsc was a HBC. According to the below site its enrollment is now 77.1% White with a 96.6% acceptance rate 56% retention  rate and it student body is nearly 60% part time. Full time enrollment is only 2,784. I don't see how this school can be labeled a HBC. It should be merged with the MU South Charleston branch.

https://datausa.io/profile/university/west-virginia-state-university

Historically Black Colleges & Universities.

It is historically. So the label is accurate.
Mergering colleges & universities can cost more than it saves. It's not a panacea.

[elginherd]

State government support of higher education has been abysmal in West Virginia for some time now.  Wouldn't doubt if a survey of the educational levels of all the State legislatures in the US was performed, the collective educational level WV's legislators would be at or near the bottom, at least in the bottom 5 States.  Too many in State government overall put little importance on formal educational attainment in West Virginia.  Hence, little to no interest by too many in State government to provide it adequate State funds year in and year out, IMO!

Truth.
But the underfunding of higher ed is not confined to WVa by the state legislatures through the US.

[Flat Tire 2]

Historically Black Colleges & Universities.

It is historically. So the label is accurate.
Mergering colleges & universities can cost more than it saves. It's not a panacea.

Well, wvu gobbled up WV Tech and that worked. MU took over or replaced the Graduate College that use to be located in Charleston .

[wasbarryb]

I don't believe in separate but equal, but you seem to want that choice.

That is an even stupider statement than saying WV State wasn't an HBC.

[Flat Tire 2]

State government support of higher education has been abysmal in West Virginia for some time now.  Wouldn't doubt if a survey of the educational levels of all the State legislatures in the US was performed, the collective educational level WV's legislators would be at or near the bottom, at least in the bottom 5 States.  Too many in State government overall put little importance on formal educational attainment in West Virginia.  Hence, little to no interest by too many in State government to provide it adequate State funds year in and year out, IMO!

We should close a lot of the smaller state colleges and then put the focus and  financial resources into the existing school. Most the smaller state colleges were state "normal" schools set up to train teachers when travel was non existent in WV. We don't need a lot of teacher colleges in WV and the cost of running them in this era of declining population.

[Flat Tire 2]

That is an even stupider statement than saying WV State wasn't an HBC.

I said that wvsc is no longer a majority Black institution. I wonder if you believe in segregated dorms that are based on race that are now on some college campuses?

I guess this tread should be moved to another section. I take leave now, I have to work on my portfolio.

[wasbarryb]

I said that wvsc is no longer a majority Black institution. I wonder if you believe in segregated dorms that are based on race that are now on some college campuses?

I guess this tread should be moved to another section. I take leave now, I have to work on my portfolio.

No you said

I don't see how this school can be labeled a HBC.

https://datausa.io/profile/university/west-virginia-state-university

That you are repeatedly trying to misrepresent my views rather than recognizing the inaccuracy of your own words says a lot more about you than it does me.

[Ovaltine Jenkins]

Bluefield State is still recognized as an HBCU. Although WV State and BSU were bitter sports rivals, Bluefield recently joined the CIAA Conference for sports.

https://bluefieldstate.edu

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/10/18/236345546/the-whitest-historically-black-college-in-america?fbclid=IwAR10zsswAdHw-TFlNFWEZ7D6o2vTOOuNGnyfh67Y720pUfBKG2PScnSOFNI