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West Virginia's public higher education system is definitely seeming more wild than wonderful lately. With talk of funding formulas, consultant recommendations, and Blue Ribbon Commissions, there is a natural tendency to think negatively about potential impacts and assume the worst. The idea of lost funding, mergers, and closing institutions is the stuff of nightmares and doom and gloom. While it is true that a contracting population and declining number of students enrolling in undergraduate programs can make small colleges like Glenville State vulnerable, great progress has been made this past year at Glenville in four critical and strategic areas to assure our long-term sustainability and viability. These four critical and strategic areas include improving student access and affordability, institutional efficiency, program quality, and fundraising.
Student Access and Affordability: While other state colleges and universities continue to raise tuition and room and board costs and see their enrollment slipping, Glenville State has committed itself to making college more affordable by lowering its tuition and room and board costs. It is no coincidence that Glenville State saw its first enrollment increase in the last four years this past fall as the only baccalaureate state institution to hold the line on tuition and fees. In addition, this year's summer enrollment was the highest it has been in 5 years. We are actively reducing the financial barriers that students experience through decreasing tuition, book costs, and course fees this coming year and finding other savings for students. Glenville State has also expanded its partnering with Pierpont and New River Community and Technical colleges to provide seamless transition pathways for students that did not exist before. To attract new adult students and those who are place- and time-bound, Glenville State will begin offering six online degrees this fall to expand our reach and opportunity to complete either an Associate or Baccalaureate degree. As a result of our efforts, campus enrollment is already three percent ahead of last year with almost a month to go before classes begin. This is greatly encouraging as the state population and other colleges continue to shrink in terms of their enrollment. At the same time we are growing enrollment, we are also seriously investing in retention through the development of our new Academic Success Center. This one-stop shop will do much to provide advising, tutoring, mentoring, disability, veteran, and career services and improve retention for all Glenville students.
Institutional Efficiency: Our goal is to become the most cost efficient college in West Virginia while enhancing quality. While difficult to achieve, simple measures to manage energy consumption, analyzing and flexing staffing where it is most needed, monitoring and adapting course scheduling to student demand and program plans, and focusing more on preventative maintenance rather than emergency response saves hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. We are constantly on the lookout for institutional efficiencies that we can pass on in terms of savings to the students and their families. It is a culture we are committed to developing and encouraging further. It is no wonder Glenville State is realizing a budget surplus for the first time in several years.
Program Quality: Glenville State stands by the quality of its programs and faculty. Faculty and resources are being provided to programs that have demonstrated need while some very low-enrolled degree concentrations are being revamped or even eliminated. We are expanding our reach through dual enrollment high school programming and through offerings at both state and federal prisons. We have done such an excellent job in the past year that we have been awarded almost $2,000,000 total federal money to deliver dual enrollment and prison related programs this coming year. As we expand online degree offerings, we have made sure they will be delivered with excellence in mind as we use "Quality Matters" best practice principles in our teaching delivery. We continue to upgrade our broadband wireless access on campus by doubling both our wireless coverage and speed. At the same time, we are updating our equipment in labs and student study and research areas. We also have committed to investing in our faculty and staff by making more funding available for professional development than ever before.
Fundraising: While decreasing our dependence on institutional tuition discounting to attract students is an institutional budgetary necessity, the need to replace that money through scholarship fundraising, entrepreneurial initiatives, and grants is critical. We have been exceedingly productive this past year in fund- and friend-raising by engaging almost 800 new donors as compared to the previous year. In addition, almost $2,000,000 more dollars was raised this year as compared to the previous year. We have achieved more financial support from our alumni, students, parents, and friends than ever before.
Glenville State College is like no other. Its enviable story began almost 150 years ago with local leaders rolling up their sleeves and working together. Our need and ability to chart our own future and destiny is as important today as it ever has been. We don't need Blue Ribbon Commissions or out-of-state consultants to tell us what best practices are as we are now modeling many already. Statements and conclusions from the most recent National Center for Higher Education Management Systems report is less meaningful to Glenville today as it was based on the old practices and dated results from the past few years. Glenville State certainly has areas where we can improve and we will continue to be open to suggestions and partnering where it makes sense. However, we will continue to be dedicated to serving West Virginia families and students and providing exceptional quality through affordable and accessible higher education opportunity. We will continue to adapt and be nimble in how we respond to the changing landscape of higher education whether or not other institutions choose to do so.
Higher education in West Virginia is seemingly at another crossroads. As leaders in the state, we must take the opportunity -- not to bemoan the situation or begrudge our fellow institutions -- but to reimagine a college education for all learners and to look at things differently. The Mountain State is counting on it.
Glenville State has much to be proud of in terms of its history and service to the state. More importantly, our future is now brighter based on the direction we are headed, the initiatives we are implementing, and successes we are realizing.