New River Community and Technical College is West Virginia’s newest independently accredited institution of higher education. Founded July 1, 2003, by enactment of the WV Legislature, the College was independently accredited February 8, 2005, by the Higher Learning Commission. Although newly founded and named, the College’s origins span more than one hundred thirty years of service to West Virginia through its two parent institutions, Bluefield State College and Glenville State College.
New River CTC serves a nine-county area including Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Raleigh, Summers and Webster Counties and offers a full range of community college programs and services at the following campuses: Greenbrier Valley (Lewisburg), Mercer County (Princeton), Nicholas County (Summersville), and Raleigh County (Beaver). Technical programs are also offered at the Advanced Technology Center in Ghent.
New River CTC offers Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees; Associate of Science (A.S.) degrees; Collegiate Certificates; and Collegiate Skill Set Certificates. A number of the associate degree programs transfer to four-year baccalaureate programs at other state-supported institutions. Courses are offered online and through an interactive video network to increase access for students across the large geographic area served by the College.
New River CTC’s Workforce, Technical and Community Education, headquartered at the Advanced Technology Center in Ghent, offers a variety of customized training and workforce development programs that address the training needs of employers within the College’s designated service district. During the past decade, programs and training have been provided that impact more than 7,000 employees from more than 60 companies. Additionally, in partnership with local vocational centers, the Region 1 Workforce Investment Board, and other educational partners, New River CTC designs customized certificate programs that emphasize industries and skills in which participants can obtain employment quickly and help to alleviate workforce shortages in critical industries that are targeted for growth and economic impact. These programs are designed specifically for adults with little or no postsecondary education, thus increasing adult access to higher education while providing training that is immediately relevant to the adult’s employment goal.
Details regarding the creation of New River CTC and the College’s first ten years, have been recorded in Navigating A True Course: A History of the Creation and First Decade of New River Community and Technical College.
