Mountain State University (MSU) was a
private university
Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...
in
Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 17,286 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, ninth-most populous city in th ...
. It closed in 2013. It was formerly named Beckley College and then The College of West Virginia.
Its Beckley campus is now the campus of
West Virginia University Institute of Technology
West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech, WVIT, WVU Beckley, or West Virginia Tech) is a public college in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a divisional campus of West Virginia University.
History
The college was founded in 189 ...
. Its other campus in
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Martinsburg is a city in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 18,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making Martinsburg the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia a ...
was sold to a private developer.
History
Early history
The university was founded in 1933 as Beckley College, a
junior college
A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...
, and continued as such until 1991, when it achieved four-year status and was renamed The College of West Virginia. In 2001, the school was renamed Mountain State University.
Later history
Mountain State University's former president since 1990, Charles H. Polk, was widely credited for much of the school's previous success. However, many blamed Polk along with his senior administration and MSU's board of trustees when the university began facing issues over its continued accreditation. Polk and MSU's board of trustees were named as defendants in over 300 lawsuits arising out of the loss of the university's accreditation. A settlement was reached under which MSU admitted no wrongdoing.
In 2009, Polk received over $1.8 million in compensation. According to ''
The Chronicle of Higher Education
''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscription ...
'', Polk was the sixth-highest-paid private-college president in the country that year. However, according to Jerry Ice, then-chairman of the Mountain State University Board of Trustees, Polk’s actual 2009 salary was $450,000, and included a one-time deferred retirement package that the board established in 2004 and was required to pay out in 2009. As a means of recouping the funds for MSU, the board also purchased a $2 million insurance policy on Polk that will be paid back to the institution upon his death.
On January 19, 2012, Jerry Ice, former chairman of Mountain State University's board of trustees, announced the termination of Polk's employment as president of Mountain State University. Richard E. Sours was chosen to replace Polk as interim president until the university's closing.
Loss of accreditation
On June 28, 2012, the
Higher Learning Commission
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...
, the regional accrediting authority for the
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It ...
, withdrew the accreditation of Mountain State University, effective August 27, 2012. The date was subsequently extended until December 31, 2012, to allow the university to "teach out" those students close to graduation.
On August 6, 2012, MSU's board of trustees formally appealed the withdrawal of MSU's accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission. On December 18, 2012, the appeals panel voted to sustain the commission's action. MSU's regional accreditation was terminated on December 31, 2012. All degrees conferred by MSU on or before this date are valid and are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. MSU closed effective January 1, 2013.
In May 2014, the Mountain State University Board of Trustees filed a lawsuit against the Higher Learning Commission seeking to restore the university's accreditation. In 2017, the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia granted the Higher Learning Commission's motion for summary judgment, effectively ending MSU's lawsuit in favor of the Higher Learning Commission.
On August 13, 2014, UC announced that a settlement had been reached between itself, MSU, and the plaintiffs in various lawsuits arising out of the loss of MSU's accreditation. MSU's insurance company established an $8.5 million fund to compensate affected students and MSU liquidated its remaining assets. The settlement was given preliminary court approval on October 6, 2014. Final court approval was given on March 9, 2015. MSU's former Beckley campus was sold to
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...
. MSU ceased to exist as a legal entity on May 17, 2018.
The
University of Charleston
The University of Charleston (UC) is a private university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. It also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley.
History
The school was founded in 1888 as the Barboursville Semin ...
is the permanent custodian of MSU's student records. Transcripts from Beckley College, The College of West Virginia and Mountain State University may be purchased through the National Student Clearinghouse.
Reuse of campuses
On August 1, 2012, the
University of Charleston
The University of Charleston (UC) is a private university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. It also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley.
History
The school was founded in 1888 as the Barboursville Semin ...
(UC) announced that they would assist MSU in the 'teach-out' process, and would admit any MSU student in good standing who chose to attend UC. UC also announced that it would establish new four-year campuses on the Beckley and Martinsburg sites, to be known as the University of Charleston-Beckley and University of Charleston-Martinsburg, respectively.
The University of Charleston established campuses on MSU's former Beckley and Martinsburg, West Virginia locations on January 1, 2013. UC later vacated the former Martinsburg campus (the property was sold to a third-party buyer), and established a new location in Martinsburg.
UC vacated the former Beckley campus after the 2014-15 academic year and established a new campus in Beckley. On December 31, 2014, West Virginia University announced that it would purchase MSU’s former Beckley campus for $8 million. On September 1, 2015, the WVU board of governors approved a plan to move the West Virginia University Institute of Technology from its then-current campus in
Montgomery to the former MSU campus in Beckley.
Academics
The university offered more than 60 undergraduate, master's, and certificate programs, as well as a doctoral degree program. Most of the university's programs focused on the professions in business, technology, and health and human services. Many of MSU's degree programs were available online.
College preparatory school
From 2002 to 2010, Mountain State University operated a private, nonsectarian college preparatory school from grades K–12 known as the Academy at Mountain State University, or Mountain State Academy (MSA), in Beckley, West Virginia. The school was also occasionally referred to as ''MSU Academy''.
Although founded in 2002, MSA classes first began during the 2003–2004 academic year with grades 8–10. During the 2004–2005 academic year, the academy eliminated its eighth grade class, but added an eleventh grade class to accommodate advancing sophomores. During the 2005–2006 academic year, the academy became a full-fledged high school, adding a twelfth grade to accommodate advancing juniors. The class of 2006 became the academy's first graduating class. Members of the class of 2007 were the first students to attend the academy for all four of their respective high school years. The school later added grades 6–8 and eventually grades K–6. The class of 2010 was the academy's last graduating class.
MSA students were permitted to take classes at MSU for both weighted academy and college credit free of charge (less the cost of MSU textbooks). Admission to the academy was based on a student's scholastic merit. The cost of attending the academy was originally approximately $8,000.00 per academic year, plus the cost of textbooks and meals at MSU. However, the academy later adopted a sliding scale for tuition based on a student's household income. All students with a 3.5 cumulative GPA or above were designated as honor graduates. The academy also hosted a chapter of The National Honor Society. MSA students were required to attend the academy for at least three years in order to be considered for the titles of valedictorian, salutatorian, or honorarian.
The academy was permanently closed in August 2010. Enrollment stood at approximately 100 students at the school's closing. The academy's basketball team, which was nicknamed the Falcons, defeated nationally ranked Oak Hill Academy in 2010.
Athletics
The Mountain State athletic teams were called the Cougars. The university was a member of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...
(NAIA), primarily competing in the
Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The River States Conference (RSC), formerly known as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC), is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Although it was historica ...
(KIAC; now currently known as the River States Conference (RSC) since the 2016–17 school year) from 2007–08 to 2011–12 (all sports excluding men's basketball, which only competed as an
NAIA Independent during that tenure until a few seasons after
009–10. The Cougars previously competed in the defunct
West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) was a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which historically operated exclusively in the state of West Virginia, but briefly had one Kentucky member in its early y ...
(WVIAC) (then affiliated with the NAIA, later affiliated in the
Division II ranks of the
National Collegiate Athletics Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...
(NCAA)) from 1946–47 to 1976–77.
Mountain State competed in nine intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports included basketball, cross country, soccer and track & field; while women's sports included cheerleading, cross country, soccer, track & field and volleyball.
Men's basketball
Mountain State won the
2004 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 2004 Buffalo Funds - NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. This was the 67th annual NAIA DI basketball tournament and featured 32 teams playing in a single-eliminat ...
. Mountain State was the national runner-up in the
2003 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 2003 Buffalo Funds - NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held from March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 66th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.
The ...
. Additionally, the Cougars were the national runner-up in the
2008 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 2008 Buffalo Funds - NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament was held from March 19 to 25 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 71st annual NAIA basketball tournament features 32 teams playing in a single-elimination fo ...
and in the
2011 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament. MSU advanced to the final four in 2012.
Notable alumni
*
Charles Sheedy - Member of the
West Virginia House of Delegates
The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature in West Virginia. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates.
Organization
Regular se ...
*
Clovis Watson Jr.
Clovis Watson Jr. (born September 30, 1958) is the former sheriff of Alachua County, Florida. A Democrat, he was elected in 2020 and served from 2021 to 2023. Previously, he served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to ...
- Former member of the
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...
References
External links
Official website
Official athletics website
{{Coord, 37, 46, 33, N, 81, 11, 3, W, region:US-WV_type:edu, display=title
Defunct private universities and colleges in West Virginia
Universities and colleges established in 1933
Educational institutions disestablished in 2012
1933 establishments in West Virginia
Beckley, West Virginia