The improvement of literacy rates, educational levels, and college-going rates are important goals for the betterment of West Virginia and its economy. The college going rate echoes the successes of the Governor, legislators, government agencies, students, and parents in contributing to the State's education system as a whole. This report makes an effort to document progress to identify areas for continued efforts for improvement. Some of the West Virginia College going rate highlights for the Fall 2003 semester include: (1) of the 17,971 students who graduated from public or private high schools in West Virginia during 2002-03, an estimated 10,673 (59.39%) enrolled in higher education institutions in the Fall 2003 semester--this reflects a 2.86% increase over 2002's rate of 56.53%; (2) 8,941 of these West Virginia high school graduates enrolled in one of the state's public (42.07%), independent (4.90%), or degree-granting proprietary (2.79%) colleges or universities generating an in-state college going rate of 49.75%--this is a 3.24% increase over last year's figure of 46.51%; (3) in addition to the high school graduates enrolled in a West Virginia college or university in Fall 2003, it is estimated that another 1,732 (9.64%) were attending a college or university in another state--this reflects a 0.38% decrease from 2002's figure of 10.02%; (4) the most current national data from 2000 showed a 52% enrollment rate for high school graduates, compared to the 57% national average; and (5) The 2000 national data also show that West Virginia had a 74% high school graduation rate, compared to the national average of 66%--this comparatively high graduation rate contributed to the 39% of West Virginia's 9th graders attending college within 4 years, compared to the national average of 38%. [Document prepared by the Office of Research and Technology.]