File this story under higher ed bubble.

The Charleston Daily Mail reports.

W.Va. public higher education enrollment declines

Fall enrollment is down at most of West Virginia’s public four-year colleges and universities compared to the same period in 2013.

About 65,400 students are enrolled in public four-year schools, a 1.6 percent decline from the fall of 2013, figures released by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission show. The figures do not include students enrolled at private or technical schools.

The largest drop occurred at Bluefield State College, where enrollment declined by 10.5 percent to 1,653 students. Enrollment at Concord University fell by 8 percent to about 2,500 students.

West Virginia University’s enrollment fell by 1 percent to 29,175 students.

Enrollment at Shepherd University decreased by 4.3 percent; at Glenville State College by 2.5 percent; at West Liberty University by 3 percent and at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine by 2.2 percent.

Marshall University’s enrollment rose by less than 1 percent to 13,077 students. Enrollment at West Virginia State University increased by 7.7 percent, while West Virginia University Institute of Technology’s enrollment rose by 3.2 percent.

West Virginia State’s increase is due in part to a nearly 10 percent rise in retention rates since the fall of 2013. The number of transfer and out-of-state students also increased, university spokeswoman Kim Osborne told The Charleston Gazette.