Mountain State University (MSU) was a private
nonsectarian not-for-profit university based in Beckley, West Virginia, United States.
The university ceased to operate effective January 1, 2013. All
degrees conferred on or before December 31, 2012 are valid and were
received from an accredited institution.[1]
MSU was previously listed as one of the best universities in the
Southeast by The Princeton Review.[2]
The school had also been named a Military Friendly school by G.I.
Jobs.[3]
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.[4]
UC vacated the former Beckley campus after the 2014-15 academic
year and established a new campus in Beckley.[5]
UC is the permanent holder of MSU's student records.[6]
On December 31, 2014, West Virginia University announced
that it would purchase MSU’s former Beckley campus for $8
million.[7]
On September 1, 2015, the WVU Board of Governors approved a plan to
move the West
Virginia University Institute of Technology from its current
campus in Montgomery to the former MSU campus
in Beckley. It is expected that freshman classes will be offered at
the Beckley campus in 2016. The move will be completed by the fall
2017 semester.[8]
History
The university was founded in 1933 as Beckley College, a
junior college, 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.[9]
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 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
Academy and college credit free of charge (less the cost of books).
Admission to the Academy was based on a student's scholastic merit;
the cost of attending the Academy was based on a student’s
household income. All students with a 3.5 cumulative GPA or above
were designated as honor graduates. However, students were required
to attend the Academy for at least three years in order to be
considered for the titles of Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and
Honorarian.
The Academy was permanently closed in August 2010.[10]
Enrollment stood at approximately 100 students at the school's
closing. All high school diplomas awarded from the Academy are
valid, and were received from an accredited institution. The
Academy's basketball team, which was nicknamed the Falcons,
defeated nationally ranked Oak Hill Academy.[11]
Athletics
Mountain State University competed as a member of the Kentucky
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference of the National
Association of Intercollegiate Athletics with men's basketball,
women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer teams and
cheerleading. Track and cross country were added for the 2008-09
season. Its teams were nicknamed the Cougars.
MSU won the 2004 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
Mountain State was the National Runner-Up in the 2003 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
Additionally, the Cougars were the National Runner-Up in the
2008 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
and in the 2011 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
MSU advanced to the final four in 2012.
Controversy and closure
Former
president
Mountain State University's former president, Dr. Charles H.
Polk, is widely credited for much of the school's previous
success.[12]
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.[13]
Polk and MSU's Board of Trustees were named as defendants in over
300 pending lawsuits arising out of the loss of the university's
accreditation (a settlement has been reached under which MSU
admitted no wrongdoing).[14]
In 2009, Polk received over $1.8 million in compensation.
According to The Chronicle of Higher
Education, Polk was the sixth-highest-paid private-college
president in the country that year.[15]
However, according to Dr. 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.[16]
On January 19, 2012, Dr. 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.[17]
Dr. Richard E. Sours was chosen to replace Polk as interim
president until the university's closing.[18]
Loss of accreditation and
aftermath
On June 28, 2012, the Higher Learning Commission, the
regional accrediting authority for the North
Central Association of Colleges and Schools, withdrew the
accreditation of Mountain State University, effective August 27,
2012.[9]
The date was subsequently extended until December 31, 2012 to allow
the university to 'teach out' those students close to
graduation.
On August 1, 2012, the University of Charleston (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.
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
terminated on December 31, 2012.[9]
All degrees conferred by MSU on or before this date are valid and
are fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. MSU closed
effective January 1, 2013. The Higher Learning Commission was
heavily criticized for its closed door decision-making policies and
lack of the availability of official minutes detailing its
discussions and actions during this time.[19]
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.[20]
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.[21]
MSU's insurance company will pay $8.5 million, and MSU will
liquidate all of its remaining assets. The settlement was given
preliminary court approval on October 6, 2014.[22]
Final court approval was given on March 9, 2015. MSU’s former
Beckley campus was sold to West Virginia University.[23]
MSU maintains its suit against the Higher Learning Commission, and
maintains its $2 million life insurance policy on Dr. Charles
Polk.