Reduced Tuition and Increased Admissions Standards Position Benedict College as the School of Choice in South Carolina
Columbia, SC – August 22, 2018- The start of the new academic year at Benedict College will include the addition of over 750 new students. The Eye of the Tiger Freshman and New Student Orientation activities, welcomed new students from 29 states and territories in the domestic U.S, including Puerto Rico and Washington, DC, and five countries including Colombia, England, Ethiopia, and South Africa.
“I applaud the efforts of the staff and faculty of who are committed to demonstrating the BESTof BC in all that we do. This new cohort is one example of their excellent work, said Dr. Roslyn C. Artis, President and CEO. “In the past year, we engaged our campus and the community in our efforts to formulate a competitive, yet, affordable tuition price, partnered with industry to align our academic programs to ensure consistency with industry expectations, and completed a strategic planning process that emphasizes customer service, technology innovation and increased academic standards, including in our student admissions. We are not only excited about the future of our new students at Benedict, but also for our returning students who play a key role in the great things happening at BC!”
Incoming freshman, Amaya Shepard represented Benedict College at the Google Computer Science Summer Institute for HBCUs said, “Google SSI was truly a life and game-changing experience.” The Alabama native joined three other members of the Benedict College Class of 2022 for an intense 3-week summer institute where they learned Python coding directly from Google engineers.
“Armed with new admission standards, our enrollment management team worked tirelessly to execute on the bold vision Dr. Artis wanted for Benedict College and we are excited to see the fruits of our labor,” noted Dr. Emmanuel Lalande, Vice President for Enrollment Management.
Following an analysis of the cost of tuition at colleges and universities across the country and the increasing tuition discount rates rising at an all-time high, Benedict College, developed a strategy to reduce the cost of tuition to an affordable and competitive rate. The goal was not to increase enrollment, in fact, an enrollment cap was imposed. Rather, the ultimate goal was to reasonably align the cost of tuition with the market and to position Benedict as an institution of choice and accessibility for students and families, thereby reducing student debt and increasing persistence and completion.
For example, parents Janice and Michael Brown, from Stone Mountain, Georgia, who are the parents of retuning Benedict Tiger Jaleyn, a sophomore majoring in sports management, will save nearly $6,000 on the costs of their daughter’s education compared to previous years.
“This is so refreshing, I loved the signs that are guiding people and welcoming the students back to campus, commented Janice Brown. “I feel the change. Registration was a breeze this year,” said Michael Brown.
In addition to reducing the cost of tuition, Benedict also increased its admissions standards. This summer, Benedict hosted its inaugural Summer Bridge Program to offer students extra academic support in order to successfully join this year’s cohort of new students. Forty-seven students completed the rigorous program and have joined Benedict’s new freshman class with six credit hours towards graduation.
“We are so very proud of our Summer Bridge students and we look forward to their continued success as Benedict College freshmen,” said Dr. Janeen Witty, Vice President for Academic Affairs.
The Career Pathways Initiative (CPI) at Benedict College was launched to support and expand the academic programs by working with employers in the public and private sectors to better align students’ courses with industry expectations and standards. In addition, Benedict is in the process of reviewing and transforming its academic offerings to further prepare students for relevant and sustainable careers.
According to Dr. Artis, “it has been a busy year at Benedict College and I could not be more proud of the staff and faculty who worked diligently to implement Phase 1 of our Strategic Plan. Their efforts have yielded the largest freshman class in years. More importantly, the profile for the class is significantly higher than in prior years. This is proof positive that you can increase academic standards without decreasing yield. We are well on our way to realizing The BEST of Benedict College!”
About Benedict College
Founded in 1870, by a woman, Bathsheba Benedict, the private co-educational liberal arts institution currently has 24 baccalaureate degree programs. In the fall of 2018, Benedict College welcomed over 750 new scholars to the campus. Over the last nine years, Benedict College has been ranked one of the top baccalaureate colleges in the nation by Washington Monthly Magazine for creating social mobility, producing cutting-edge scholarship and research. Benedict has high in demand programs such as Cyber Security, Mass Communication, Sports Management, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, and Biology. Over the past 10 years, three out of five BC alumni have attended professional or graduate schools. There are over 17,000 proud alumni Tigers throughout the nation. Benedict has been a community leader for over 148 years and is a major contributor to the region and South Carolina, with a local and annual economic impact of over $130 million. The College is under the leadership of HBCU Digest’s 2018 Female President of the Year, Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, the fourteenth and first female President and CEO of Benedict College.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kymm Hunter, Assistant Vice President for Communications and Marketing
803.705.4519 or Kymm.Hunter@Benedict.edu
