Like much of America, West Virginia is seeing the effects of declining college enrollment. College enrollment in West Virginia at the state’s public colleges and universities went from 90,899 in 2013 to 69,599 at the end of the 2022-’23 school year, according to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. There are also fewer students in the state’s K-12 system, and the graduating classes are smaller. WVHEPC data shows that in 2013, 53% of high school seniors in West Virginia went to college. In 2022, the percentage dropped to 46%. Eyewitness News reported that while public universities have seen shrinking enrollment, the University of Charleston is a private school and enrollment there has grown over the past 10 years. In 2013, UC had 1,935 students. This year, they enrolled 2,728.