WVNCC, Wheeling University sign articulation agreement

WHEELING -- Officials from West Virginia Northern Community College and Wheeling University came together Friday to sign an articulation agreement that promises to fill the need for a more accessible pathway toward a bachelor of science degree in engineering.

Wheeling University President Ginny Favede and WVNCC President Daniel Mosser came together at Northern on Friday afternoon, where they publicly signed the new agreement.

"We've been working on this agreement for many, many months," Mosser said, noting that decades ago, community colleges were not initially "welcomed at the table" in the same arena of four-year colleges when they first emerged on the scene.

"But we made our way onto that table by creating the associate's degree. Our doors at the community colleges are wide open, and we create opportunities for students who never would have those opportunities before."

At WVNCC, acceptance is guaranteed to all students who apply, and tuition is affordable, Mosser noted. The associate degree programs offer two lanes -- one for the community colleges offering two-year degrees, and the other for the four-year colleges and universities offering undergraduate and graduate programs.

This new articulation agreement creates a new lane to allow students at Northern to obtain their associates in science degree with a concentration in engineering and construction management, then transfer to Wheeling University to pursue their bachelor of science degree in engineering.

"This agreement is a natural fit for the missions of both of our institutions," Favede said. "We're building relationships, and that benefits our community, the students and the local workforce. As long as we're benefiting one another, we're benefiting the community, and we're providing jobs. If we can assist that effort by providing an affordable way to accomplish that, it's something that's very important."

Favede said Wheeling University and WVNCC are now considered "sister schools" in light of their working relationship, collaborations and continued support through articulation agreements and other ventures.

"It was brilliant to embed the construction management certificate into the program," Favede added. "We're training workforces, and we're meeting the needs of our community. We are changing lives and are providing practical degrees that ensure real jobs."

Provost Jill Loveless of WVNCC and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Jacqueline McGlade of Wheeling University also spoke about the new agreement, expressing their excitement about the partnership and the opportunities it opens for students.

The agreement comes in the wake of lingering drama over recent protests by three local colleges -- WVNCC, Wheeling University and West Liberty University -- over the city of Wheeling's efforts to help Bluefield State College establish a new Engineering and Manufacturing Center in a vacant building at the former Ohio Valley Medical Center, which is now owned by the city.

Local college presidents have underscored their stance against having an outside university come to the area, indicating the local institutions work hard to serve the educational needs of the community, and another college in the area would likely draw students away from the local higher learning institutions, and ultimately, cause financial harm.

On Friday, Favede and Mosser stressed that the new articulation agreement for the engineering and construction management program is something that has been in the works for months, and the timing of this happening in the wake of the public discussions involving Bluefield's intentions are strictly coincidental.

"Honestly, it has nothing to do with this," Favede said. "These articulation agreements are part of our strategic plans. We did one in December of 2020 with Belmont College, and you're going to see another one coming up with Belmont College. These create pipelines for students to send to higher education on a more affordable route. It creates an avenue for folks who may not want to -- or can't -- go to a four-year school right away."

WVNCC has 22 articulation agreements in all with other local schools, including a number with Wheeling University and West Liberty University in various educational programs.

Officials from Bluefield State College have indicated a willingness to work with the other local colleges to provide reputable and accredited associates and bachelor degrees in civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, programs they say fill a vital need in the Ohio Valley that is not being met.

Officials from Bluefield State could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

While the new articulation agreement opens a new pathway to students, the programs themselves that are offered at the local colleges remain the same.

It has been asked whether local institutions can provide the types of accredited programs Bluefield is proposing to meet the needs of the local business community.

"We'll have an announcement on that later this year," Mosser said. "We have a variety of ways that we check, we confirm, we verify that there's a need in the community for a program before we become involved in it. We utilize those sources and data and so forth, and Bluefield is one of them. Bluefield found a group of employers who anecdotally say they need these programs. That's one piece of evidence. There's lots of other pieces of evidence that we look at before we develop a new program. But that's one piece of evidence, sure."

Officials at the state have explained that because WVNCC is already operating in this area, another institution cannot offer any two-year degree programs in the same territory without Northern's blessing.

Mosser indicated that they have been clear on this matter, but did not reveal on Friday whether officials from WVNCC would meet with representatives of Bluefield State College to discuss these issues that for two weeks have raised fierce public debate.

"Our board will speak on that soon, I'm sure," Mosser said of any potential discussions with Bluefield, noting that the presidents of the local universities have already discussed it at length.