Potomac State College of West Virginia University

Potomac State College of West Virginia University
Established	1901
Provost	Kerry S. Odell
Location	Keyser, West Virginia, United States 39°26′19″N 78°58′56″W
Campus	Town, 18 acres (7.3 ha)
Nickname	Catamounts
Website	www.potomacstatecollege.edu

Potomac State College of West Virginia University is a two-year junior college affiliated as a division of West Virginia University. West Virginia's only residential junior college, it is located in Keyser, approximately 90 miles (140 km) away from WVU's main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Potomac State acts largely as a feeder for the WVU main campus, granting associate's degrees while allowing other students to begin the first two years of their college studies before transferring to the main campus.

History

The school was founded in 1901 as the sub-collegiate Keyser Preparatory Branch of West Virginia University. It was soon renamed as the West Virginia Preparatory School. Eventually, it evolved into a full junior college, taking students from the local area and also students from elsewhere in the state who did not meet the full admission requirements for the main campus. Potomac State has since largely moved out of its remedial role, offering many courses that directly transfer to the main campus with full credit.

Affiliation with WVU

After decades as a regional campus of West Virginia University, Potomac State became a fully integrated division of the University on July 1, 2005. At that time, the position of Campus President was replaced with Campus Provost, both jobs being filled by Kerry Odell. Many non-academic services at Potomac State have now come under the control of main campus.

Athletics

The school's athletics teams are known as the Catamounts, named after the cougar. The school's teams compete against other area junior college and community college teams.

See also

• West Virginia University