BLUEFIELD, WV (WOAY) – Three and a half years ago, the Board of Governors at Bluefield State College made the decision to tackle the school’s decline in one way– by building themselves back up.
Through their vision and hard work, they managed to do just that. In such time, Bluefield State became the fastest-growing college in West Virginia.
The school also experienced a 9% increase in headcount and became one of the most diverse colleges in the country, along with several other accomplishments.
Now, the college has gotten the approval to officially become a university.
“It truly has been a long time coming for this institution…you get emotional. As an alum… there are no words,” says Director of Alumni Affairs at Bluefield State, Deirdre Guyton.
Certain achievements must be met in the state for a college to obtain a university status, such as offering a graduate degree program. After meeting the requirements, the college applied for designation to become a university in February.
Yesterday, the Higher Education Policy Commission in Huntington unanimously approved Bluefield State’s application.
“The designation of the university will not only increase the prestige and the visibility of the school but it will also increase expectations,” President of BSC, Robin Capehart says. “The Board of Governors and the public, in general, are going to expect an even higher quality of education, higher quality student services, and those types of things.”
However, there’s still more work left to be done before the institution can officially obtain the title. The next step is for the board to meet and decide on a date for the transition, as well as the name the school will use.
The board has decided to meet next Thursday, May 19 at 4:00 p.m. in the Boyd Conference Room to further make the plan for transition. At that time, it will be recommended that 12:00 a.m. July 1, 2022, should be the set date for the college to officially become Bluefield State University.
