Although it was originally part of West Virginia University, it is now an independent public institution with its own board of governors and degree-granting authority.

[4] It became Parkersburg Community College (PCC) in 1971 and was originally governed by the West Virginia Board of Regents.

In a reorganization of the state's higher education governance structure in 1989, the West Virginia Legislature enacted S.B.

[4] Under Governor Gaston Caperton in 1990, a redesign of the state system of higher education was proposed.

[8][4] Recently completed facilities include the Applied Technology Lab, the Early Childhood Learning Center, and Eldon Miller Plaza.

[4][5] The Jackson County Center, which opened in 1975, is a smaller campus of WVU Parkersburg and offers a limited number of classes for students living closer to its Ripley, West Virginia location.

[12][13] WVU Parkersburg is the first and, thus far, only community college in West Virginia to offer any bachelor's degrees after becoming accredited to do so in 1991.

[16][17] These teams are known as the Riverhawks, which refers to the Osprey that can be found on Blennerhassett Island near Parkersburg on the Ohio River.