MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The WVU Board of Governors met Friday in the Erickson Alumni Center. The board received an update of construction projects on campus and heard reports on enrollment and retention numbers.
The projects at Milan Puskar Stadium, Hodges Hall and the new business school are on schedule. Vice president of strategic initiatives Rob Alsop noted the popularity of bricks from the Stansbury Hall demolition.
Vice president of University Relations and Enrollment Management, Sharon Martin told the board after a rough 2018 enrollment is up for 2019.
Martin said,”We has a difficult year in 2018, but we rebounded this year by about 200 additional first time freshman. So, we are definitely seeing a growth pattern and anticipating that getting even larger in the coming year.”
As for 2018, she cited a decline in student population in West Virginia and contiguous states and falling numbers of international students.
Martin added that there’s still a national conversation about the value of a college degree and they are working to prove to perspective students that higher education has value and WVU is the place to get.
Provost Maryanne Reed says retention has increased more than three percent from last year.
Reed said,”It’s really a team effort so we look at the academic experience of the student, whether they are having other problems outside of that, they might have financial problems.”
“We’ve had a wonderful start to the year.” Said university president Gordon Gee. “We have reformed the way we welcome our students, the way that we had them join the university. It’s been a very progressive time for us.”