In a final fall 2004 enrollment report to the Higher Education Policy Commission, in Charleston, Potomac State College of West Virginia University reported that there are 451 new freshmen enrolled this semester, a headcount equal to last years. There is a total of 1,305 students on campus this fall marking the third consecutive year enrollment has exceeded 1,300 students.

The College also reported that enrollment of full-time students is up 2 percent over fall 2003 and that the number of students taking classes on the Keyser campus has increased by nearly 2 percent.

According to Beth Little, Director of Enrollment Services, the academic profile of the new freshmen class has significantly improved as measured by all indicators, including high school grade point average, ACT and SAT scores.We definitely believe the significant improvement in these indicators reflects recognition by incoming students of the quality of our academic programs. Additionally, better prepared students tend to be retained at a higher rate than less prepared students which should lead to improvements in our retention rate of first-time freshmen,said Little.

Again this year, Potomac State enrolled more than 100 PROMISE scholars with 108 students attending this fall as recipients of this state-funded scholarship. Last year, the College had one of the highest retention rates in the state for students retaining their PROMISE scholarship by meeting the academic criteria. Again this year the retention rate was excellent, with 85 percent of freshmen recipients retaining their scholarship into their sophomore years and 93 percent of sophomores meeting the criteria to renew their scholarships into their junior years.

We are extremely proud of the performance and accomplishments of our PROMISE Scholars,said Potomac State College Interim President Kerry Odell.They have brought us significant recognition and are a reflection on the quality of our academic programs and faculty.

The PROMISE scholarship program provides in-state tuition, regardless of family income, to West Virginia high school graduates who maintain a 3.0 grade-point average. Students also must have a composite score of 21 on the ACT college entrance exam or a 1,000 combined score on the SAT . PROMISE offers a full tuition scholarship to a state college or university or an equivalent dollar scholarship to an in-state private college.

More than 65 percent of the new freshmen are from West Virginia, compared to 60 percent in 2003. West Virginia students come from 25 counties with Mineral, Hampshire, Hardy, Grant, Randolph, and Preston being the top six counties. Approximately 35 percent of new students are from other states with the majority coming from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Again this year as in the past three years, the residence halls were filled to over 100 percent capacity.

Dean of Student Affairs Bill Letrent believes this will be an ongoing trend as renovations continue to residence halls and to other facilities on campus. He also points out that an emphasis has been placed on social, cultural and educational programming on campus to provide students with healthy alternatives when they are not in class.Students are taking notice of the positive movements here on campus,said Dean Letrent.

The recent enrollment upswing began in fall 2001 with a 13 percent increase earning the institution the highest percentage increase in enrollment throughout the states higher education system in the 2001-2002 academic year. Then, in fall 2002, enrollment jumped another 4 percent bringing the total to 1,308 students, the first time enrollment had exceeded 1,300 since 1990. And then in 2003, the College experienced its highest enrollment in history with 1,330 students, another nearly 2 percent increase over the previous year.