Mountain State College at the corner of Spring and 16th streets in Parkersburg has permanently closed with the last day for students held March 14. The school has operated in the area for the last 136 years with over 50,000 students passing through its doors. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — After 136 years of serving the educational needs of the community, Mountain State College has closed.

The college had its last day for students on March 14, said college director Judith Sutton on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, it was a very heartbreaking decision for us,” she said. “As a result, due to low enrollments we decided not to begin our spring term.”

She went on to say the school will be permanently closed.

“Enrollments are down nationwide, and especially in West Virginia,” she said. “We made the decision that we couldn’t continue.

Mountain State College at the corner of Spring and 16th streets in Parkersburg has permanently closed with the last day for students held March 14. The school has operated in the area for the last 136 years with over 50,000 students passing through its doors. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“We had 14 students during the last term so people can understand why it was necessary to close.”

Mountain State College was founded in 1888 by Albert Grant Sine.

The college, which has been located at the corner of Spring and 16th streets since 1929, had offered associate degree programs in a number of fields including dependency disorders technology, medical secretary and more both on their campus as well as online in recent years.

The majority of Mountain State College students were non-traditional with many who are returning to school after many years to seek new skills or retraining.

The college had always worked on continually supplying employers in the Mid-Ohio Valley with knowledgeable graduates who are ready to enter the workforce.

More than 50,000 students have gone through the college during its years of service.

Mountain State prided itself on preparing its students for success beyond the classroom by staying relevant to the changing needs in the local job market. Its small size encouraged one-on-one interaction.

“The mission of Mountain State College is to serve students, employers and the community by providing a content-rich, highly-focused relevant curriculum,” Sutton said in 2018. “The focus and priorities of the college are centered on students and their employment objectives.

“All of our programs are skill oriented. When they graduate, they have those skills that make them employable.”

The West Virginia Junior College in Bridgeport is assisting Mountain State College students with the transfer of credit to their school and they will also be handling Mountain State College’s transcripts for local students, Sutton said Wednesday.

Sutton has been at the college for 50 years. She is attending to some final duties to close out the college’s operations and then she plans to retire.

The end of the college is “very bittersweet,” she said.

Through it all, the success of the students always remained the top priority for the school.

“The college has been in this community for 136 years and many people have graduated from the college and have done really well,” Sutton said. “We are very pleased and proud of our students.

“I will miss all of my students because they were a part of our family.”

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com