Potomac State College of West Virginia University is a two-year junior college

Junior college

The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...

 affiliated as a division of West Virginia University

West Virginia University

West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...

. West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

's only residential junior college, it is located in Keyser

Keyser, West Virginia

Keyser is a city in and the county seat of Mineral County, West Virginia, United States. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,303 at the 2000 census.- History :...

, approximately 90 miles (144.8 km) away from WVU's main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia

Morgantown, West Virginia

Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. 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.