Wheeling University, West Liberty University and Bethany College are partnering through a formal consortium agreement that offers students from each school the opportunity to complete courses that will be accepted at their home institution through a unique cross-registration collaboration.
Presidents from each of the West Virginia institutions met Thursday, Dec. 19, on the Wheeling University campus to officially sign the consortium agreement that will become effective the spring semester of 2020.
The agreement grants any full- time, undergraduate student the ability to take one course per semester at a partner school, either at Wheeling or West Liberty University,or Bethany College. Students will have the opportunity to take any undergraduate course including online classes, and the home school will accept the credits from the students’ host school toward their degree.
Only fall and spring semester courses are eligible under this cross-registration collaboration. What differentiates this collaboration from a transfer credit agreement is financial aid will be granted to the designated home school, and no exchange of money will occur between the home and host school.
The agreement comes at a pivotal moment for Ohio Valley higher education.
“We recognize the value of joining together for the benefit of all of our students. We view ourselves as a unified set of schools collectively interested in what moves our student population forward,” Wheeling University President Ginny Favede said. “We are not competitors, each school is unique, with different attributes that when shared cooperatively, will better serve the academic interests of our students.”
Dr. Stephen Greiner, West Liberty University president, concurred with the agreement benefits. “West Liberty University welcomes the chance to work with Wheeling University and Bethany College in this new consortium. The cross-registration agreement is a unique opportunity for students and will help them complete their degrees in a timely fashion. That’s important to all of us and the state of West Virginia,” he said.
The Rev. Dr. Tamara Nichols Rodenberg, Bethany College president, added, “This gives the student a much broader pool in which to swim and figure out who they are vocationally, who they want to be in life. The connection to a broader range of courses at partnering institutions is a key concept in our strategic plan, Bethany Connect. Serving students through connections is what Bethany College does best, and we appreciate our partners in this.”
ABOUT WHEELING UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1954, Wheeling University is the only Catholic institution of higher learning in West Virginia. Its mission is to provide a quality, Catholic, liberal arts education in the Ignatian tradition to our students — educating them for life, leadership and service for and among others.
ABOUT WEST LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
West Liberty University is a forward-looking, four-year public university steeped in a rich heritage as West Virginia’s oldest institution. Today it offers more than 70 undergraduate majors, plus a growing number of graduate programs.
ABOUT BETHANY COLLEGE
Bethany College, founded in 1840, is the oldest private college in West Virginia. The Bethany experience focuses on academic excellence in the area of liberal arts and prepares students for a lifetime of work and a life of significance.
