Students on the campus
of Concord University.
Photo by Amodeo
Photography.
Enabling College Completion
BY LINDSEY BYARS. This year, Concord
University launched CU FREE, a program
designed to help qualifying students re-
ceive free tuition. CU FREE is the first
program of its kind among West Virginia’s
public four-year institutions and has thus
far received positive feedback from the
community.
For the 2019-2020 school year, incoming
freshmen, current students and transfer
students were eligible to receive the new
CU FREE tuition award. Recipients must
be West Virginia residents and Pell Grant
eligible and have a high school GPA of
3.0 or a transfer college GPA of 2.75.
They must have also submitted their Free
Application for Federal Student Aid—or
FAFSA—before the April 15 deadline.
For students who met the criteria and
registered as a full-time student, Concord
University covered any tuition costs left
over after grants and other awards were
applied.
“West Virginia students need to know
they can get a four-year degree tuition free
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58
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
from Concord University,” says President
Kendra Boggess. “Concord is committed
to helping our residents overcome financial
adversity to achieve their educational goals.”
Boggess, along with Dr. Sarah Beasley,
vice president of student affairs, announced
the new program in early June. CU FREE is
the university’s latest program established
to help West Virginia students overcome
financial difficulties, and administrators
have been eager to spread the word so
students in need can take advantage of it.
“Institutions like Concord are on the
front lines of making college accessible
to low-income students,” says Beasley.
“We are thrilled about this.”
According to Carly Kestner, associate
director of financial aid, while many awards
this year helped incoming freshmen, she
expects the number of award recipients to
increase next year as students are more
aware of the opportunity and the FAFSA
deadline. The overall average award per
student was $1,525.
CU FREE is renewable for four contin-
uous years or eight semesters. Students
must keep a college GPA of 2.5, earn
at least 24 credit hours each year and
make academic progress.
Growing Agriculture Success
BY DR. CHUCK TERRELL. Eastern West
Virginia Community & Technical College
will begin offering agribusiness courses
in the spring 2020 semester. The courses
will allow students to earn an Associate
in Applied Science in business manage-
ment with an emphasis in agribusiness.
This emphasis was added to meet the
demands of the growing agriculture in-
dustry in West Virginia. The program
is critical to maintaining growth in the
college’s region while also supporting the
success of established farmers and agri-
cultural managers.