LevelUp
Lawmakers Should Build on Program
As our economy diversifies and the education and career paths of the past are no longer the right fit for as many of our students, West Virginia’s young people are taking advantage of a program that allows them to take college courses — for free — while they are still in high school.
In fact, since the start of the LevelUp WV program, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission says dual enrollment programs have grown by more than 11% across the state.
That is encouraging news.
“Studies have shown that students who do dual enrollment are more likely to go to college than students who do not, and one thing that is sort of a chink in the armor in dual enrollment is that quite often, you get students who are going to college anyway,” HEPC Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Corley Dennison told WV MetroNews. “This pilot is working to get students who maybe aren’t thinking about postsecondary education to enroll in dual enrollment courses and realize they, too, can succeed in college.”
Those students appear to be responding to such support.
It is an indicator not only that Mountain State students and their families DO understand the importance of a good education in pursuing their desired career paths, but that it takes only a few small changes to nudge them into being able to chase those goals.
According to MetroNews, the commission’s data indicates more than 6,700 students are in the program for the 2024-25 academic year. And, “they can’t just necessarily take a smattering of courses that they choose, they have a curriculum that has a set of designated courses that leads to preparation for some kind of job,” Dennison said.
That so many thousands of students have jumped to take advantage of LevelUp should tell lawmakers these young people and their families are driven, have clear goals, very much value education — and that elected officials CAN do something to help them overcome their challenges in pursuing those goals.
Legislators must not lose sight of that reality, or stop looking for new ways to support these students, when they gather in Charleston this winter.