Education - Colleges
Belmont Technical College
Founded in 1971, Belmont Technical College in St. Clairsville offers
a variety of certificate and associate degree programs. Fall enrollment
averages 1,620 students and typical in-state tuition for a full-time
student is $2,500.Belmont Technical College has a multi-million-dollar
high-tech applications building and offers training in a variety
of new technologies, including water cutting, materials testing and
industrial applications of lasers.
The College's mission is to adapt
the workforce to today's rapidly developing changes in technology
as well as to assist
Bethany College
 Founded
by Alexander Campbell in 1840 and affiliated with the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), Bethany College offers 25 majors and serves
850 students on a secluded, wooded 1,600-acre campus in Bethany,
West Virginia, 15 miles from Wheeling.Bethany College maintains a
tradition of academic excellence and is one of the few colleges which
requires students to pass a senior comprehensive examination (oral
and written) for graduation. Tuition and fees are $19,845 which also
includes room and board. As an NCAA Division III school, Bethany
offers intramural, club and league sports as the Bethany "Bisons."The
public is welcome to most of Bethany's cultural, arts and lecture
series.
The school also offers businesses
a quiet retreat and conference center where leadership teams can
take special courses or use the facilities for board retreats,
planning and brainstorming.
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Franciscan University of Steubenville was founded in 1946 to fulfill
the need for an institution of higher learning in the Tri-State area,
offering a Catholic environment.
An easy half-hour drive north of Wheeling,
Franciscan offers more than 40 associate, bachelors and graduate
programs to an enrollment of 2,000.
The University offers undergraduate
and graduate programs during the day (evening and summer) in classes
held on campus, as well as off-campus sites in Cambridge, Ohio
and Beaver, PA, Graduate programs are available and The Master's
Plus Program provides post-graduate level counseling courses to
meet educational requirements for licensure.
Ohio University Eastern
Overlooking the rolling hills of Eastern Ohio, the campus of Ohio
University Eastern a offers the convenience of a 15 minute drive
west of Wheeling on Interstate 70. Enrollment averages 1,100 at the
satellite of Ohio University at Athens. Four-year
degree programs offered are Elementary Education, Nursing, General
Business, Criminal Justice and Specialized Studies. Two-year
programs are geared for transfer to another school for completion
and several master's degree programs are offered.
Social activities, intercollegiate
and intramural athletic programs are available.
West Liberty State College
 Organized as a land grant school in 1837, the college
at West Liberty, located on WV Route 88 about 20 minutes from Wheeling,
is older than the State of West Virginia by 26 years. Enrollment
is about 2,500 students, and tuition for in-state students is approximately
$3,138 per year. Room and board are reasonably priced.
West Liberty State College was ranked
eighth in the nation in a list of "The Best Inexpensive Schools" in
Peterson's Guide to Four-Year Colleges for 1992.
 West
Liberty offers a wide variety of arts and sciences degrees. A number
of area residents have taken advantage of the innovative Regents
Program to earn a four-year Bachelor of Arts Degree. The Regents
Program grants credit to students whose life experiences have exposed
them to the materials required in a particular course.
In keeping with the Wheeling area's
interest in athletics, West Liberty
has an active sports program. The school is a member of the NAIA
and NCAA-Division II. Men's and women's teams compete under the nickname, "The
Hilltoppers." West Liberty's influence extends beyond the
campus with many community service programs and public forums with
nationally known speakers. It provides tailored management programs
for local businesses and associations and has been actively involved
in economic development and marketing studies.
West Virginia Northern Community
College
 Founded in 1972 as a comprehensive community college providing academic,
occupational, technical and general education programs of two years
or less for high school graduates and adults, West Virginia Northern
Community College is headquartered in Wheeling but also operates
regional campuses in New Martinsville and Weirton.Enrollment averages
2,600, with in-state tuition of approximately $1,400 per year. A
reciprocity agreement with Belmont Technical College and Jefferson
Technical College allows students from nine local counties to attend
the three colleges at low in-state tuition rates.The main Wheeling
Regional Campus is housed in the adapted former B&O Railroad
Station. Extensive remodeling of the Hazel-Atlas Building several
blocks away was completed in 1991.The college is currently participating
in the "Electronic Campus," a pilot program implemented
by the Southern Regional Education Board through which students across
the south can take courses at scores of colleges and universities
without leaving their hometowns. In addition, the New Martinsville
and Wheeling campuses are linked by an interactive telecommunications
system, and a similar link is planned for the Weirton campus.Northern
offers 27 programs. Students who plan to continue to work toward
a four-year bachelor's degree can begin by receiving Associate in
Arts (A.A.) or Associate in Science (A.S.) degrees.The college also
offers custom designed programs for business and industry. One example,
the Northern Panhandle LINKS (Lifelong Instruction in New Knowledge
and Skills) program has provided free basic and technical workplace
training to over 1,000 participants and is becoming a model for other
regions of the state to follow when large employers move into the
area with numerous job opportunities.The
college serves as headquarters for the Small Business Development
Center, Area Labor Management Committee (Delta 6), and a Job Training
Partnership Act (JTPA) program. The West Virginia University Industrial
Extension Service at the Wheeling Campus develops and implements
programs to enhance productivity, modernization and economic competitiveness
of area manufacturing firms.
A wide range of student activities
are available at Northern.
West Virginia University Extended
Learning
The WVU Extended Learning at the West Liberty Warwood Center is the
mechanism through which graduate study opportunities at West Virginia
University are made available to local residents, permitting professional
development to parallel career growth. Classes coordinated through
the center meet at a number of sites throughout the Northern Panhandle.For
more information on programs offered, please see our web site at http://elearn.wvu.edu or
call our Morgantown office at 1-800-253-2762.
Tuition (in-state) for a three-credit
graduate cource is $603
West Virginia University Graduate
Center
At West Liberty Warwood Center
 The WVU Graduate Center at the West Liberty Warwood Center is the
mechanism through which graduate study opportunities at West Virginia
University are made available to local residents, permitting professional
development to parallel career growth. Classes coordinated through
the center meet at a number of sites throughout the Northern Panhandle.Several
programs are offered at Warwood: community health promotion; special
education; communications studies (summer only); and safety environmental
management. The executive MBA program is offered at the West Virginia
Northern Community College campus in Wheeling. A coaching correspondence
course offering two credits is available and counselor education
is offered on a periodic basis.
Tuition for a three-credit graduate
course is $420, which includes off-campus fees.
Wheeling Jesuit University
 The first Jesuit college in the United States established as a co-educational
institution, Wheeling Jesuit University was founded as Wheeling College
in 1954. The school became Wheeling Jesuit University in 1996 and
serves approximately 1,600 students of all religious faiths on the
suburban Wheeling campus.Wheeling Jesuit offers 35 fields of study
in the liberal arts, sciences, nursing and pre-professional programs.
Tuition is $19,845 per year for incoming students; a tuition cap
freezes incoming students' tuition for their course of study.A teacher
preparation program in content specialties uses the NASA Classroom
of the Future as a stimulus in math and science education.Master's
Degrees are offered in Business Administration, Applied Theology,
Accountancy, Nursing and Physical Therapy. The Adult and Continuing
Education Division offers bachelor's degrees and continuing education
programs.
Wheeling Jesuit offers a broad range
of intercollegiate and club sports. The school is a member of the
NAIA and NCAA Division II, competing as the "Cardinals." Major
changes took place on campus when the college was selected as the
national site for the National Technology Transfer Center (see Technology section)
and the NASA Classroom of the Future (see Schools).
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