Starting in August, 2011, students at the One Room University in Marlinton can take all general education courses from New River Community and Technical College required for two-year and four-year degrees. General education requirements include core courses such as English Composition 101, College Algebra 109 and General Psychology 103.

Also, starting this fall New River will offer enough additional courses at the ORU so students can take classes needed for degrees in Criminal Justice and Administrative Office Management without attending Lewisburg or other campuses. Several criminal justice courses are taught by former Pocahontas County sheriff Jerry Dale. Other courses will include Accounting, Legal Assisting and Fine Arts.

As New River expands courses in Marlinton students will have even wider curriculum choices and less need to leave Pocahontas County to attend college. A complete schedule of classes available this fall at the ORU will be advertised in The Pocahontas Times in coming weeks or may be accessed at www.newriver.edu.

Whether or not students complete a two-year program at New River all college credits earned at the ORU will transfer to any four-year state college or university in West Virginia.

To be eligible to take classes at the ORU students must be high school graduates or have a GED, and apply to New River for admission. Once admitted, students register with New River for classes at the ORU. New River's class schedules now show which courses are available in Marlinton.

New River's tuition for a three-credit course during the 2011-12 academic year will increase about four percent to $377. Tuition for students taking 12 credit hours or more per semester will be capped at $1,508. The cost of books and fees is extra, but all these expenses qualify for financial assistance using Pell grants and student loans. Payments for tuition, fees and books will be made to New River, not the ORU.

Many New River students are required to take developmental courses in English and math if their ACT or COMPASS test scores indicate they are not ready for college-level work.

Prospective students who are unsure about whether they need to take developmental courses in English and math should contact Wanda Johnson at the Snowshoe Career Center to take the COMPASS test. Although developmental courses are not-for-credit they cost the same as for-credit courses. Fortunately, financial aid may be used to pay tuition for developmental courses.

The One Room University is a unique collaboration involving the Pocahontas County Commission, New River, and City National Bank. The bank is providing rent-free use of the second floor of the Marlinton branch building. New River and the County Commission are sharing costs to staff and equip the facility during the first two years of operation. College courses will be provided by New River via Interactive Video Networking that will be broadcast to student carrels functioning as individual IVN "classrooms."

The Pocahontas County Commission initiated the ORU to demonstrate the practicality of offering a wide range of IVN classes as a low cost alternative for counties where there is insufficient enrollment to justify classrooms and instructors for most courses. If the project is successful after two years, New River will formally establish the Marlinton Center as a campus and negotiate a long-term lease with the bank.

Entrance to the ORU is from the Third Avenue side of City National's building. The ORU could not ask for a more promising location because the bank's classical architectural design makes it look as much like an academic building as a bank. In addition, existing office space on the second floor can be easily adapted for the ORU. Stop in the bank's lobby next week to see a display of conceptual drawings which show how the ORU will initially occupy space on thesecond floor and expand in coming years as it grows.

Each carrel will have a desktop computer, camera and headset to provide two-way, personal communication between the student and remote classroom instructor. In essence, each IVN carrel will be a one-student classroom. More than one student can take the same course at the same time while sitting in different carrels.

New River's IVN classes typically are scheduled Monday through Thursday, starting as early as 8 a.m. and going as late as 10 p.m. Classes are usually held twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays, or Tuesdays and Thursdays. An on-site supervisor will be present at the ORU whenever the facility is open to manage operations and serve as liaison between New River's student services and ORU students.

A unique feature of the ORU will be that each student taking six or more credits will be issued a refurbished laptop computer with Microsoft Windows and Office software installed. The County Commission has provided funds for up to 40 laptops during next school year. A refundable deposit of $100 will be required, but students may keep the laptops as long as they are enrolled. The ORU will be a WiFi hot spot and will include a student lounge, work tables, and printer to do homework and research papers. The student lounge will include vending machines and the ORU is within walking distance of several restaurants in downtown Marlinton.

We currently estimate 10-20 students will register to take New River classes at the ORU this fall. Attendance during the spring 2012 semester is expected to expand by another 10-20 students. One source of uncertainty is that some students from adjacent counties may choose to attend classes in Marlinton rather than New River's other campuses. Because interest in the ORU keeps growing we won't know the exact enrollment until school starts, but we feel sure we will be able to serve everyone wanting to take classes in Marlinton.

The ORU facility will include a conventional classroom so New River can offer developmental English and math classes that are best taught by on-site instructors. New River is planning to offer one developmental English or math class beginning June 27, but has not yet determined which one. Classes probably will be scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday, for five weeks ending July 29.

Recently, West Virginia University announced a new program called WVU Online which allows community college graduates to transfer up to 72 credit hours when they enroll in WVU's Multi-Disciplinary Studies program which provides a pathway for adult students to complete a bachelor's degree by taking online courses. WVU strongly encourages prospective candidates to obtain an associate's degree at their local community college. By taking general education and other transferrable courses through the ORU students could be well on their way to obtaining a four-year degree through WVU Online.

Courses specific to New River's nursing program will be unaffected by the One Room University. Accreditation for the nursing program is tied to specific sites including the county's high school. IVN-based nursing classes which originate at the high school will remain there and will not be available at the ORU. However, nursing students will be able to take general education requirements such as English, math, biology and other non-nursing courses at the ORU.

Please contact Elaine Diller at 304-799-4950 or oruelaine@hotmail.com for information about the One Room University or to arrange a tour.