West Virginia
State is unlikely to rescue West Virginia University from financial pain – WV MetroNews
Lawmakers are observing the difficult cutbacks at West Virginia University, but they are not proposing additional state funding to ease the pain.
Senators Mike Oliverio and Mike Caputo, who represent the district surrounding the university’s Morgantown campus, issued a joint statement on Friday.
They acknowledged the process is difficult.
“We must remember that the University’s decision-making process is not merely a numbers game for profitability; this situation impacts real people and their families. It affects the very fibers of our community,” wrote Oliverio, a Republican, and Caputo, a Democrat.
But the two senators said the change is also unavoidable.
“We know some of the decisions the University administration is making are not popular and have real costs associated with them. However, we also understand that the University needs to make some serious changes in order to remain the community stalwart it has been in the past,” Oliverio and Caputo wrote.
Cutbacks
The cutbacks are happening because WVU faces the likelihood of being down $45 million this year — potentially growing to $75 million over the next five years if steps aren’t taken to control costs.
University leaders are dealing with the shortfall with a tuition increase of about 3 percent, the use of some financial reserves and by cutting staff and programs.
WVU announced preliminary but significant cutbacks to academic programs last Friday. The proposal included cutting 169 faculty positions and eliminating 32 of 338 majors.
One the programs recommended for discontinuance, World Languages, means eliminating all 32 faculty positions. WVU is also recommending the elimination of several programs in the College of Creative Arts, graduate programs in higher education administration and special education.
Over the next couple of weeks, university officials will consider appeals.
State funding
Several factors have led to this point, but one has been the level of state funding for WVU, a land-grant institution.
If West Virginia lawmakers had kept higher education funding at the same levels as a decade ago, WVU would have an estimated additional $37.6 million in state funding for the coming fiscal year, closing the majority of this year’s budget gap, according to an analysis by the West Virginia Center for Budget & Policy.
“While no single factor is responsible for WVU’s current budget crisis and the loss of hundreds of good-paying jobs, reduced state investment from the legislature no doubt played a role,” said Kelly Allen, executive director of the center, which is a think tank and advocacy organization.
“Further, as colleges and universities had to increase their reliance on tuition revenue as state support declined, enrollment among low-income students has gone down — meaning that reduced state support in some part has helped drive the pre-pandemic enrollment decline.”
The state has money that it could allocate to WVU.
West Virginia’s state government ended the most recent fiscal year with $458 million in unappropriated surplus and worked through a range of appropriations bills during a special session this month. A couple of big approvals were in higher education: $45 million for Marshall University’s cybersecurity program and $25 million for the aviation maintenance program at Pierpont Community and Technical College.
“Those were investments in those institutions to enable them to do things going into the future: the cybersecurity at Marshall, the hangar and training facility at Pierpont. WVU’s came during the legislative session when we gave $50 million to the WVU Cancer Institute,” Oliverio said on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
Caputo and Oliverio noted significant, specific allocations this year for WVU this year.
- $116 million dollars in general funding for WVU
- $55 million for WVU Medicine
- $50 million for WVU Cancer Institute
- $210 million for deferred maintenance for higher education buildings, funded for the first time since 2009. The senators anticipated WVU will receive most of that, based on enrollment.
“The state support has been significant,” Oliverio said on “Talkline.”
He added, “We have done a lot of things to help WVU with their cash flow, and now it will be up to them to make some decisions internally that they need to make.”
Less financial support over time
Allen of the center on budget & policy said the general funding amount needs context.
“The $116.5 million allocated to WVU’s general administration fund this year is $14 million less than the $130.8 million they received a decade ago, which would be over $172 million in inflation-adjusted 2023 dollars. That’s a 32.5 percent inflation-adjusted reduction in state funding for WVU, far outpacing the university’s 11 percent enrollment decline over roughly the same period,” she said.
Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said the state hasn’t provided more financial support during WVU’s crisis because institutions have to make hard decisions.
He agreed that holding state spending steady has meant a longer-term drop in financial support, especially when considering inflation rates.
“Everybody’s heard us talk about holding four years of flat budget, and what that does is a couple things: One is it starts to decrease the spending that normally would increase with inflation over a couple of years, and that squeezes government agencies,” Tarr said on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
“In this respect, I think you could look at WVU as one of the government agencies as you go through that the 3 percent a year that would increase in spending, as you do that, squeezes out efficiencies that otherwise agencies have no incentive to find.”
Many of the cuts at WVU are being recommended because of low student enrollment and the expense of the particular program.
“Here’s the scenario,” Tarr said. “You have these programs that have been continued to be propped up. They’re not producing such as they’re not drawing students or they could be swallowed up by some other educational piece within the university.
“What happens is you can either ask the taxpayer to pay more for an underperforming college or program or you can ask the students to pay more — which is the parents or whoever is paying that — or the university can go in and right-size, so you don’t throw that money unnecessarily back on the taxpayer or back on the student tuition hikes. Those are the options.”
Academic priorities can’t always be reduced to raw numbers, said Dr. Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors. She said faculty should be leading the way in guiding the university’s curriculum decisions, considering their educational value “not just bottom-line decisions of profitability.”
“This university is the driver of the economy, it’s an engine of social mobility, it should be a ladder into the middle class. Many avenues of opportunity for West Virginia students go through WVU, and to see it decimated like this is really, really concerning.”
West Virginia
Community Care of West Virginia receives $500,000 from Biden-Harris Administration to expand hours of operation
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently announced a $60 million investment in 125 HRSA-funded community health centers that serve nearly 4.2 million people to expand their hours of operation to improve access to health care services.
Community Care of West Virginia received $500,000 in funding.
Health centers receiving this new funding will add an additional 20 hours of operation a week on average to support the critical clinical and administrative staff necessary to add early morning (before work), night and weekend hours.
Since health centers see patients regardless of their ability to pay, this expansion of operating hours will be particularly critical for people who are uninsured, underinsured, or have Medicaid coverage and struggle to find affordable care outside of traditional business hours and cannot afford expensive visits to urgent care, retail clinics or emergency departments. This funding will also help health center patients with common challenges in accessing health care such as taking a child to the doctor after work or getting a timely appointment when not feeling well on the weekend. It will help connect patients to preventive services and resources for health-related social needs to improve health outcomes. Many patients currently forgo care altogether in these circumstances, putting their health at greater risk and leading to more expensive visits to emergency departments when conditions get more serious.
“No one should have to delay or skip a trip to the doctor because of work or school. The millions of Americans who can’t miss their daytime work shift, whose kids are in school, who have limited child care, or who face transportation challenges deserve the same access to quality care,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “These investments will help to extend operating hours, especially for patients in rural or underserved communities nationwide. I’m proud to be part of an Administration that leaves nobody behind.”
“Today’s action is another example of the Biden-Harris Administration taking action to address the challenges families face in getting health care services,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “Having the option to get to the doctor before or after work or on the weekend not only helps families get the care they need, but it also helps relieve some of the stress and burden on families trying to arrange care. HRSA’s investment is expanding access to care in a way that recognizes the day-to-day realities of working families across the country.”
HRSA-supported health centers provide access to primary care services — regardless of an individual’s ability to pay — for over 31 million patients at more than 15,000 service sites in high need communities. More than 90 percent of health center patients have incomes below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.
For a list of the awardees, visit: https://bphc.hrsa.gov/funding/funding-opportunities/expanded-hours/fy-25-awards
To find a health center, visit: https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov
The West Virginia Mountaineers (13-3, 3-2) host the Colorado Buffaloes (12-4, 3-2) for game two of the season series and the second ever meeting between the two schools.
West Virginia vs. Colorado Series History
Colorado leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Colorado 65, West Virginia 60 (Dec. 21, 2024, Boulder, CO)
Last Meeting: OSU 68, No. 24 WVU 61 (Feb. 27, 2024, Stillwater, OK)
When: Wednesday, January 15
Location: Morgantown, West Virginia, WVU Coliseum (14,000)
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. EST
Stream: ESPN+
Announcers: Nick Farrell and Meg Bulger
Radio: Andrew Caridi (PBP) Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College(Radio affiliates)
WVU Game Notes
– Frida Forman paces Colorado’s scoring production, averaging 13.9 points per game, while two more Buffs average double figures in Lior Garzon (11.5) and Jade Masogayo (12.6). Sara Smith leads with 6.3 rebounds per game and Kindyll Wetta leads the team with 6.1 assists and 1.9 steals.
– Colorado’s two losses in league play come on the road to then No. 11 TCU and RV Baylor and both came by double digits. CU adds two more league wins, defeating UCF and Kansas at home in their last two contests.
– Senior guard JJ Quinerly (18.3), junior guard Jordan Harrison (14.2) and junior guard Sydney Shaw (12.5) pace the Mountaineers scoring production this season. Harrison’s 5.1 assists per game leads WVU and ranks 8th in the Big 12. Senior guard Kyah Watson has grabbed 7.6 rebounds per game which ranks sixth in the Big 12 while her 3.1 steals per game ranks second and Quinerly’s 3.2 steals per game is first.
– The Big 12’s leaders in steals last season, Watson (50), Quinerly (38) and Harrison (31), are at it again this season averaging over two steals per contest. Junior guard Sydney Shaw and Senior guard Sydney Woodley have also gotten in on the action with 32 and 29 steals this season, giving WVU five players with 29+ steals through 16 games.
– The Mountaineers have forced 15+ turnovers in every game this season, including 20+ in 13 games to average 25.7 per game. The mark ranks fifth in the nation. The Mountaineers have forced 30-plus turnovers in five games, including a season-high 44. WVU ranks second in the nation with 14.8 steals per game and holds a +9.5 turnover margin.
– West Virginia is averaging 80.3 points per game while outscoring their opponents by an average of 28.4 points.
– Quinerly currently sits 11th in points at 1,638, and behind WVU Hall of Famer Liz Repella (2008-11) with 1,641. She also ranks 4th in steals with 279 and is just another Hall of Famer in Rosemary Kosiorek (1989-92) with 293.
West Virginia still has some work to do in terms of replenishing the offensive line room, and over the weekend, they hosted former Princeton offensive tackle Will Reed for an official visit.
“Coach Bicknell and Coach Dressler were awesome,” Reed told West Virginia On SI. “Coach Bicknell’s experience in the NFL is really impressive, not to mention his college experience. The facilities were some of the best I have seen on any visit. Probably the best. It seems like they are bringing in a lot of talent and want to turn things around quickly. It has given me a lot to think about over the next week or two.”
Reed is also considering Georgia Tech, Nebraska, and Virginia but has also received interest from Arizona, Arizona State, Memphis, Pitt, Stanford, UNLV, and Wake Forest.
Coming out of Eastside Catholic High School as a highly-rated three-star prospect in Sammamish, Washington, Reed originally committed to Cal. He decided to flip his commitment to Princeton, choosing the Ivy League route over offers from Air Force, Army, Colorado, Duke, Hawai’i, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, San Diego State, Tennessee, UNLV, Utah, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington State, and a few others.
He will have one year of eligibility remaining. A decision is expected to be made within the next two weeks.
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