Latest News
Media Contact
Jessica Tice
304-558-0699
jessica.tice@wvhepc.edu
West Virginia makes it easier to transfer college credits
by George Hohmann for the West Virginia Press Association About 200,000 West Virginians — 20 percent of the state’s adults — have some college credits but no degree and every year about 3,000 seek to transfer their credits, said Paul Hill, the state’s chancellor of higher education. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin thinks one path to improving the state’s last-place ranking in the percentage of residents with a college degree is to make it easier to transfer credits. Gov. Tomblin focused on this in his 2014 State of the State speech. “College students across the Mountain State report problems with the flow of class credits between public institutions of higher learning,” he…
Continue ReadingMarch 1 deadline approaching for PROMISE Scholarship applications
Charleston, W.Va. – High school seniors in the class of 2016 planning to apply for West Virginia’s PROMISE Scholarship program have until March 1 to complete the required forms, the state’s Higher Education Policy Commission office reminded students and families today. Through PROMISE, qualifying high school graduates receive annual awards of up to $4,750 to cover the cost of tuition and mandatory fees at eligible West Virginia higher education institutions. “Since the PROMISE program started, more than $400 million has been provided to more than 35,000 West Virginia students from all 55 counties to attend a public or independent college…
Continue ReadingCollege Goal Sunday event offers free help with college financial aid forms
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia students can get free help completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and other college financial aid forms during the state’s annual College Goal Sunday event. College Goal Sunday financial aid workshops will be held February 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. at 25 locations. “Completing the FAFSA is a critical step for anyone considering going to college,” Brian Weingart, Senior Director of Financial Aid at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, said. “Students must submit this form in order to be considered for a variety of financial aid programs including state and federal grants,…
Continue ReadingCollege Foundation of West Virginia sets goal to increase FAFSA completion rates
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The College Foundation of West Virginia (CFWV) today announced a goal to increase the number of 12th graders who complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or “FAFSA” to 60 percent. Last year, 57 percent of high school seniors completed the FAFSA, which is the primary application for state and federal financial aid for college. As of January 29, eight percent of this year’s 12th graders have completed the form. A complete list of FAFSA completion rates by high school is available at www.cfwvconnect.com/financial-aid-outreach. According to a report from the White House, “The President’s Plan for Early Financial Aid,”…
Continue Reading
Chancellor Hill: Scientific discovery fuels minds, futures
This commentary appeared in the February 25, 2016 edition of the Charleston Gazette-Mail. As a young boy growing up in rural West Virginia, I loved discovery. I was fascinated by the idea of putting two things together and getting something entirely new, how things worked and why frogs croaked in the spring. So I was drawn to science. Scientific research is profoundly fascinating. Something starts as an idea, and with analytical powers, deep study and experimental creation, you end up with a problem solved, questions answered or a discovery made. Students from across our state who are at the Capitol…
Continue Reading