Representatives of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
meet with a delegation of Chinese students and faculty.
state’s economy and supported more than
1,000 jobs during the 2015-16 academic
year.
“West Virginia needs more college-
educated individuals living and working
in-state in order to grow our economy,”
says Hill. “Plus, international students,
even those who are here temporarily, boost
community development and contribute
valuable ideas and resources.”
International students can also help
colleges stretch tight budgets.
“Attending college in the United States
is a dream among people across the world,
so international students are often willing
and able to pay a premium to attend
college here,” says Egnor. “That addi-
tional tuition revenue can supplement
costs for our in-state students and help
our institutions make ends meet in tough
budgetary climates.”
A Statewide Effort
The financial benefit is a major reason
behind the WVHEPC’s launch of a state-
wide effort focused on international
recruitment.
Egnor’s office provides recruiting
support and legal expertise to help
campuses attract and admit students
Business by Design with
Transform the Look,
Feel & Workflow of
Your Office
• Complete Series of bizhub
Networked Copier/Printers
• Color, Black & White
• Multifunctional Fax & Scan
• Software & Network Solutions
Call TODAY!
304-744-7440 or
1-888-483-7440
500 D Street
South Charleston, WV
304-744-7440
60
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
3135 16th Street Road
Suite 14
Huntington, WV
304-781-7440
The International Students Club at Concord University
participates in the homecoming week parade.
from other countries. The first step was
gaining authorization from the U.S. State
Department to sponsor J-1 visas. The J-1
visa program allows students to partici-
pate in educational exchange programs
in the U.S., but the paperwork involved
in administering these visas can be over-
whelming, especially for the state’s smaller
regional colleges.
“By centralizing the J-1 visa process at
the state level, we’ve been able to lift a
huge administrative burden off the shoul-
ders of our campus recruitment offices,”
says Egnor. “Before we started doing this
work, none of our regional campuses
were able to offer exchange agreements
or host visiting students, scholars, pro-
fessors or researchers. They just didn’t
have the capacity to do it on their own.”
Coordinating recruitment efforts at
the system level also allows colleges to
boost their exposure in highly competitive
and hard-to-reach international markets.
“Being a small, rural state, West
Virginia is not always on their radar,”
says Hill. “We are recruiting on behalf of
our entire higher education system to let
these students know about the exception-
al educational and cultural opportunities
available at the 10 public undergraduate
colleges in our state. And because we’re
taking a collaborative approach, we can
offer students a much wider variety of
degree programs, cultural experiences
and living environments.”
These efforts appear to be paying off.
The Institute of International Educa-
tion’s Open Doors report, released last
fall, shows that during the 2015-16 school
year, West Virginia had the largest percent
increase in international student enroll-
ment of any state in the nation, jumping
nearly 30 percent from the previous year.