Shepherd University is a state-supported institution within the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. From its beginnings over a century ago, the College has evolved into a comprehensive center of higher learning, serving a number of related, yet distinct roles:

• The University offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of fine arts, and bachelor of science degrees in a wide range of fields, encompassing the liberal arts, business administration, teacher education, the social and natural sciences, and other career-oriented areas.
• The College offers a diverse selection of programs leading to associate's degrees. There is continual planning to expand further the variety of career-oriented programs available to students whose immediate objective is not a baccalaureate degree.
• The College provides credit courses for individuals with no degree aspirations, but who seek to broaden and update their knowledge in either familiar or new fields of intellectual endeavor.
• For the northern Shenandoah Valley region as a whole, the College is a center for noncredit continuing education, public service, and convenient citizen access to extensive programs in art, music, athletics, and other areas of public interest.

Shepherd College has a responsibility to extend its resources beyond the campus, bringing higher education closer to those who seek it. The College has an administrative center in Petersburg, West Virginia, to serve the South Branch Valley counties of the state. Courses are offered regularly at locations away from Shepherdstown, providing college-level study to people throughout eastern West Virginia and the surrounding region.

Mission Statement:
Shepherd College, a fully accredited public institution of higher education founded in 1871 and located in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, offers a wide variety of distinguished degree programs and other learning opportunities to both traditional and non-traditional students. Our College attracts students from the region, the nation, and beyond. Understanding the importance of diversity, we continue to work toward recruiting and retaining a multicultural student body, faculty, and staff. The heart of our baccalaureate curriculum is a formal General Studies Program that prepares a student to take his or her place as an educated citizen in a changing world. Our Community and Technical College provides a curriculum that is both complementary to, and integrated with, the four-year College, offering associate's degrees and continuing education. The College is committed, as well, to developing and implementing a selected number of graduate programs. At Shepherd College we are dedicated to expanding our intellectual and cultural resources with the assistance of technological advance and our advantageous location just 70 miles from the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area. At the same time, the small, residential setting of the College creates an environment in which students are able to work closely with faculty, staff, and administrators who encourage their intellectual growth, personal fulfillment, and academic and professional excellence. Student learning is central to the culture of our institution, and finding ways to improve student learning is a continuing process. Shepherd College, through its alliances with business organizations, industry, and government agencies, promotes economic development in the region. The College enhances the cultural atmosphere of the community with performing arts activities, public lectures, and athletic events. Outreach experiences, such as student internships and cooperative agreements, also link the College to the life of the community. The faculty, staff, and administration of Shepherd College are dedicated to remaining in the forefront of advances in contemporary education and professional programs as we serve our students, community, and region in the 21st ce