West Virginia’s Array of Two-Year Colleges
Getting the Facts About Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College
The state of West Virginia boasts a rich history dating back beyond the American Civil War when the state seceded from its neighboring state of Virginia. Over the years, West Virginia has built up an admirable array of institutions of higher learning, with the first two-year colleges coming to existence over a century ago. Centered around their historically progressive stance, diverse natural landscape and well-educated population, West Virginia has been providing degrees, certificates and different forms of training in the form of university classes, preparatory schools, and continuing education programs. Students who attend these schools and institutions come from throughout the United States. Still, the two-year programs within the state tend to maintain a community-like feel to their campuses, attracting locals to enroll in the majority of the classes that they offer.
Since 1971, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College has been providing academic opportunities, workforce development, and community service offerings. Since the school was first established with a modest building on their Williamson Campus, they have since expanded to include campuses in Mingo and Logan Counties, with the goal of serving the community with academic programs in higher education. Though they primarily serve local communities in West Virginia, the institute has since made new agreements with other counties across the border in Tennessee, allowing some out of state students to pay in-state tuitions. The ability to provide affordable education opportunities for more students is one distinguishable factor that favors this community and technical college. In addition, Southern’s commitment to workforce development and technical training allow more students to hone the skills necessary to entering the changing face of jobs in America.
In addition to Potomac State College’s two-year associate of the arts program, many students also enroll in their fast start programs, which are geared to get students started on their career as soon as possible. These fast track programs can be completed in a number of fields, including restaurant management, equine management, agriculture technology, business technology, criminal justice, as an office specialist or in Machinist Technology. In some cases, selected work is transferable as college-equivalent credit, allowing many adults to complete their two-year degrees in a timely manner as well. Comprehensive general education is the primary goal when starting out, but selecting a specific field of study is where receiving an associate’s degree attains its merit. Though Potomac may be a community college in essence, its $19 residential complex and over twenty buildings make it out to be more than one might expect. Located in Keyser, West Virginia, the heart of the campus is snuggly situated in the beautiful setting of the state’s eastern panhandle.
In response to local needs, Bluefield State College has adjusted and revamped its curriculum in order to supply the community with more educational options. Their goal it is to be the leading provider of higher education opportunities in the region. As a historically black institution, Bluefield State College strives to send out a message of diversity and acceptance. This diversity is exemplified in the student body, which includes students from throughout the state of West Virginia. Though the college does not focus exclusively on two-year technical programs, the associate’s degrees offered at Bluefield suggest an ample amount of selection that cater to a number of student needs. Ethical and cultural growth are top values at this college, in addition to intellectual and personal growth. Improvement for students and faculty is intended to have a positive ripple affect on the larger community.
Though Bluefield was not officially integrated until after 1954, the school saw rapid growth during the 1960s, coming to include a comprehensive 4-year program which later led way to the variety of two-year technical programs that he community demonstrated a need for. A focus on liberal arts is designed to enhance the school’s overall mission.
In conjunction with Fairmont State 911³Ô¹ÏÍø, Pierpont Community and Technical College works cooperatively to serve their combined student population of around 7,500 students. For students that are unsure of what career is right for them, this partnership allows them to choose from 145 skill sets, certificates, associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees and graduate programs. Off campus programs offered through Pierpont allow more options in more than 15 locations throughout North Central West Virginia. Due to the wide variety of options granted to students looking for a degree that’s right for them, Fairmont and Pierpont attract students from surrounding big cities such as Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. With a student to faculty ratio of just 17:1, small and intimate class sizes allow students to develop their individual strengths. This characteristic further validates Pierpont’s commitment to scholarship, opportunity, achievement and responsibility.
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