CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission is announcing a series of Regional Public Forums aimed at assessing higher education’s progress in meeting the goals and objectives as outlined in Charting the Future 2007-2012: A Master Plan for West Virginia Higher Education.

The forums will be hosted and sponsored by various four-year public colleges and universities and held at the respective campuses.

The forums will provide an opportunity to receive feedback from community members, higher education officials and policymakers regarding the current master plan and the development of a new master plan.

Each of the forums will highlight one of the key areas of the master plan including: access; cost and affordability; economic growth; innovation; and learning and accountability and will promote linkages with civic, community and corporate partners.

Through these key areas and over the course of the master planning cycle, the state’s four-year public colleges and universities have embraced and promoted public accountability and educational access for all West Virginians.

The commission will be at Shepherd University on Oct. 14. The gathering, dubbed the “Learning and Accountability Regional Public Forum,” will begin at 10 a.m. at Erma Ora Byrd Hall. And, like all other regional forums, it will be followed up by a community engagement workshop at 1 p.m.

The workshops will provide an overview of the commission’s statewide college access and student success initiatives and highlight opportunities for campuses to collaborate with the commission, the college access community and their local community stakeholders to maximize the impact of these outreach efforts and build a grassroots infrastructure to support the educational attainment and success of West Virginia’s citizens.

For information about Charting the Future 2007-2012: A Master Plan for West Virginia Higher Education, visit www.hepc.wvnet.edu/masterplan.