March 22nd, 2016 by WCBC Radio

In an effort to encourage students to complete their degree, West Virginia University students will soon need fewer general education credits to graduate. Starting this fall, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports, students will need to take between 31 and 37 general education credits as part of their 120 credit hour graduation benchmark. General education study currently requires 41 to 43 credits, depending upon the major. The changes affect each WVU campus, including Potomac State College and the Institute of Technology.

Before the change, several majors required students to have 128 hours prior to graduating.

Other major changes including eliminating a university-wide writing requirement.

The university's current general education requirements have changed little since they were put in place in 2005. The changes were approved by the faculty senate in 2014.