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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, September 28, 2007
CONTACT Aubrey Streit, (785) 227-3311, ext. 8274
BETHANY SEES POSITIVE TRENDS IN ENROLLMENT DIVERSITY AND RETENTION
LINDSBORG, Kan.—Twenty-day enrollment figures for Bethany College have given Bethany President Edward F. Leonard III faith in the college’s ability for future growth.
Bethany College today announced total student enrollment for fall 2007 as 537 students, including 512 full-time students.
Last year, Bethany’s total fall enrollment of 554 students included 509 full-time students.
“The stable numbers of full-time students, along with increasing diversity in the student body, are positive indicators for the college’s long-term growth,” said Leonard. “As we plan to increase enrollment in the future, I’m pleased with the healthy student body we have on campus now.”
Overall, the Bethany student population is 49 percent female and 21 percent U.S. ethnic minority, up from 19 percent U.S. ethnic minority last year. Twenty-three percent of first-time freshmen are U.S. ethnic minorities, as are 26 percent of this year’s transfer students.
More Bethany students now come from outside Kansas. Students on campus this fall are from 15 foreign countries and 29 states.
According to preliminary statistics, Bethany retained 75 percent of its non-graduating students from last spring to this fall, up from 71 percent spring to fall retention in the previous year.
The slight percentage rises in diversity and retention are significant distinctions, said Leonard: “On a small, close-knit campus, where everyone knows each other, the addition or retention of several students is immediately noticed and felt. Moreover, both of these increases are at the top of upward-growing trends, which gives us confidence in our future.”
Interim Dean of Students Freda Strack is part of a campus-wide effort aimed at further increasing the retention rate of students, particularly freshmen. First-time freshmen this year took part in a week-long orientation program designed to give them opportunities to socialize and bond as a class; perform service work; and take part in sessions on how to better transition from high school to college.
“This was only the first year for the program, but freshmen students now seem more engaged and enthusiastic on campus,” said Strack.
Bethany also has developed an intervention group to identify at-risk students – either academically or socially – and offer assistance.
First-time freshmen enrollment is 128, down from 168 last year. The class is academically strong, though. Forty-one percent of these freshmen were ranked in the top 25 percent of their high school class.
Total new student numbers were bolstered by the 84 new transfer students on campus this fall, a substantial increase from last year’s 52 transfer students.
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to nurture and challenge individuals in their search for truth and meaning as they live lives of faith, learning and service. Bethany College is on the Web at www.bethanylb.edu.
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