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WHEELING -- The Ohio County Development Authority is prepping for a new look and vision for The Highlands in the future, but the first moves there might just come via West Liberty University.
Once a popular option to the main WLU campus, the WLU Highlands Center has offered graduate courses and adult programs there for more than a decade.
But WLU President W. Franklin Evans told OCDA members Wednesday night the enrollment numbers there are down, and it's time to re-envision WLU's role at The Highlands.
That may mean options such as establishing an admissions office in the facility, partnering with neighboring restaurants and hotels to strengthen its hospitality degree program, or just teaching "soft skills" classes there that are needed by businesses at The Highlands.
WLU pays the OCDA about $280,000 in rent each year, with overall facility expenses exceeding $300,000 annually, according to Evans.
"To be honest with you, we love this space here but we are not getting our return on investment," Evans said.
"The board has spoken about it, and we have this beautiful space here. So we've got to do a better job of rebranding ourselves and taking advantage of opportunities here …
"Over the next three months, you are going to see a different face of West Liberty University here at this facility "
OCDA members convened Wednesday night at The Highlands Events Center, which is adjacent to the WLU Highlands Center offices and classrooms. Commissioner Randy Wharton, also president of the OCDA, told members the building they were sitting in was constructed at the request of WLU.
"In fact, this room we are sitting in was part of the West Liberty footprint at the time," he explained. "After a number of years — when nothing was done with it — we had the option to take it back, which we did."
He asked Evans if offering more core classes at the WLU Highlands Center "would cannibalize" the student population on the main campus.
"I think we have to look at those other strategies," Evans replied. "We want students — whether they are coming here or to the main campus.
"You may not know it, but across West Virginia there is a decline in enrollment. Fewer children are graduating from high school, and consequently the pool going to college has gone down."
WLU has had to look to nearby states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as other countries to bring in students, he said.
Also at Wednesday's meeting, board members voted Eriks Janelsins, president and CEO of the Oglebay Foundation, in to serve as OCDA vice president. Janelsins succeeds Nancy Weeks, who was removed from the board in May.