College Access is the Key to Equality
May is a month to celebrate education and learning. As we salute the educational achievements of our newest class of high school and college graduates, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the opportunities an education — and particularly a college degree — can provide.
Our state’s public colleges and universities are committed to imparting opportunities for the social and economic advancement of the state’s citizens by increasing access to higher education for all West Virginians.
Fulfillment of this responsibility supports the economic development of our communities and encourages the democratic principals of equal opportunity. For an individual, achieving a college degree is a critical step in obtaining greater social mobility, overcoming socioeconomic barriers, and ensuring a prosperous future. For our state, higher education offers a means toward creating a more engaged, economically sustainable, and innovative citizenry.
Each of us has a stake in developing a statewide culture that values education and encourages the pursuit of advanced learning. Recently, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission hosted West Virginia’s first College Access and Student Success Summit. The event served as a platform for educators, community members, administrators, counselors, and parents to join forces to address the need for improved access, particularly for our underserved populations including low-income and first generation college students. At the end of the Summit, participants were asked to do two things: (1) identify opportunities to collaborate across the public education system to build a more seamless educational experience for our state’s students, and (2) develop a concrete personal action plan outlining strategies to help more students attend and thrive in college.
This sort of collaboration and a sense of personal responsibility are absolute necessities if we are to respond to the needs of our citizens and increase the rates of student success. For many students, leaving home to attend college is a high-risk endeavor, both financially and emotionally. We simply must take every step to ensure that risk pays off by better preparing our students — academically and culturally — to succeed in college and by implementing stronger support systems to guide them along the way.
The State of West Virginia has made great strides toward increasing accessibility and facilitating transitions from secondary to postsecondary education. Last fall, we launched the College Foundation of West Virginia (CFWV), a comprehensive online portal designed to help students and families in the state plan, apply, and pay for education and training beyond high school. CFWV presents an interactive website that streamlines the college readiness process by consolidating previously decentralized resources and allowing students of all ages to create personalized college and career planning portfolios.
Not only have policymakers worked to create resources such as CFWV, they have moved to simplify and streamline the process through which West Virginians apply for financial aid. By reducing red tape and aligning application due dates with federal income-tax deadlines, more needy students across the state will receive state supported financial aid this fall semester. Finally, through the unwavering support of legislative and gubernatorial leadership, West Virginia is among the leading states in the nation in terms of our investment in undergraduate financial aid.
These investments of both time and money can yield huge dividends for our citizens and our communities. By increasing access to education, we can decrease economic inequality, encourage global competitiveness, and put our state on the road to a more prosperous tomorrow. As we move forward, we must all pursue the goal of helping more students walk across stage and receive a college diploma. Their achievements will lead to greater opportunities and a more promising future for all of West Virginia.
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