Higher education officials say the number of students attending public four-year colleges in West Virginia has dropped 3 percent from a year ago, including a 9 percent dip in the number of first-time freshmen.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the state Higher Education Policy Commission released the figures Friday.
The number of students attending four-year colleges was about 62,700 this fall. About 10,300 of those were first-time freshmen.
Excluding high school students taking "dual enrollment" college classes, the overall enrollment was about 57,300, down 4 percent from last fall. Based on those figures, Fairmont State University, West Liberty University and the West Virginia University Institute of Technology were the only colleges to report enrollment increases.
