WVU is Making Smart Choices in Its Program Review Last month, West Virginia University (WVU) announced that 15 programs had been recommended for merger or discontinuation following a program review. Generally, these decisions are consistent with the Cardinal Institute’s report in September, Bad Returns, which focused on graduates’ debt and income two years after graduation,…

History of the Opioid Epidemic in West Virginia Over the last decade, the rate of overdose-related deaths and illnesses due to opioid use has skyrocketed across the country. However, this tragedy has impacted the Mountain State more than any other. West Virginia has reliably had the highest overdose rate in the nation.   In 2015,…

On Wednesday, November 10, 2021, West Virginia officially approved the first three charter schools in its history. Schools will open in the Nitro, Morgantown, and Eastern Panhandle areas of West Virginia. While it is much too early to know whether these schools will be successful – that’s up to families in those respective areas –…

Here’s to the parents who made education choice possible before it really was there A little more than 18 years ago, I was wrapping up middle school and getting ready to start high school. At the time, I was supposed to go to Herbert Hoover High School near Clendenin. My mom didn’t think that Hoover…

Introduction In August of this year, I moved from Northern Virginia to Charleston. I had accepted the position of Education Outreach Coordinator with the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy. My job is to promote the Hope Scholarship in West Virginia. During my two months on the job, I have had the privilege of connecting…

Improve Quality & Access - Not Insurance Coverage Rising health care costs, lack of access, and a pandemic have helped to solidify a belief that health care is, or should be, a right. But this monumental shift from seeing health care as a right rather than a good has failed to provide any favors for…

Private & Homeschool Families Ask About Sports My role as the Education Outreach Coordinator has taken me to many events to promote the Hope Scholarship. I have spoken with families, parents, and children about the program as well as other education related policy issues. During my first event, I spoke with a family who asked,…

Over the last 18+ months, we’ve all watched a vast number of changes unfold as it relates to education. Some of these have been troubling, like the widespread turn to remote or virtual schooling as a means of mitigating the spread of COVID. Others have been more hopeful, like the record number of freedom-friendly reforms…

The Cardinal Institute is about to embark on a multi-town, multi-month barnstorm across West Virginia to discuss healthcare reform. The reasons for the subject matter are obvious, and legion, as the statistics around West Virginia’s healthcare system are sobering. Yet, the options for reform are far less obvious. So, of course, a conversation is a…

The death of actor Michael K. Williams has brought discussion of the opioid crisis and overdose deaths back to the forefront of many people’s minds. The opioid crisis often fades into the background until a celebrity dies or overdoses. But, I think it’s fair to say that in West Virginia, most people know someone struggling…