The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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September 12, 2012

Interim vice president gives update on MSU enrollment

By Sarah Plummer Register-Herald Reporter

CHARLESTON — Now a month into its fall semester, Mountain State University has a fraction of the students it once had while area two- and four- year colleges are seeing an influx of students.

By 2010, Mountain State University’s student enrollment had increased to 9,000 students across its various campuses.

Thomas Mann, interim vice president of student affairs and interim dean of the School of Arts and Science, said Tuesday the school has 1,080 students enrolled in the teach-out plan.

Of those, about 300 are traditional students who are attending classes in person at Beckley.

Another 550 are online students, he said.

Mann said other students are in cohort groups working toward a specific program or are pursuing independent studies.

“We continue to work with a few students who are trying to work out the right balance for them or who don’t know if they will finish by Dec. 31 (under MSU’s banner) or May 2013 as a University of Charleston student,” he said.

He said the university is working to accommodate students as best they can, including making arrangements with instructors to offer student-directed studies as needed.

Jennie Ferretti, University of Charleston spokesperson, reported that full-time enrollment at the University of Charleston is the second highest it has been in 40 years with a 4 percent increase from last year.

In a press release, Ferretti said the school’s growth has been fueled by 46 transfer students from Mountain State University, as well as the recent addition of a doctoral program in pharmacy and a new downtown graduate school of business.

University of Charleston’s physician assistant program is set to enroll its first cohort bolstered by former MSU students in January.

Barbara Elliott, director of public relations at New River Community and Technical College, said enrollment is at an all-time high for the school as the school expects to exceed last year’s record of 3,165.

She said New River has gained about 80 Mountain State University students.

Bluefield State College’s Beckley Campus has also seen an increase in enrollment due to MSU transfer students though exact numbers were not available Tuesday.

— E-mail: splummer@register-herald.com

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