The leaders of West Virginia's higher education institutions are trying to find ways to operate those colleges and universities more efficiently.

"We're just going to have to be like any other institution, to tighten our belts, look at ways that we can increase efficiency," Glenville State College President Peter Barr told MetroNews on Thursday.

He was one of many college and university presidents from throughout West Virginia in Morgantown this week for a Presidential Summit.

The Summit comes with total college enrollment levels at an all time high in West Virginia, topping 90,000 students for the first time ever.

Glenville State alone has seen a 19% student enrollment increase this year as the economy drives more people back to school.  Barr says Glenville wants to continue to grow.

"Our goal is to reach 2,000," he says.  "We believe 2,000 is the level of enrollment or head count that we would like to see at Glenville State College.  I'm sure a lot happier to be operating with increased enrollment than with level or decreasing enrollment."

Even though there are more students, there is not more state funding for those schools.

That's why Barr says the presidents are looking at all possible ways to save money or generate more money.

Some schools are already offering more distance learning courses, adding to class sizes or using adjunct professors more.  "There's a delicate balance there," Barr says.

He also is not ruling out "modest" tuition and fee increases.