Enrollment roller coasters:
Colleges experience ups & downs
By Annette Bender
While lottery scholarships have helped Tennessee Wesleyan College's enrollment for firstyear students climb 58 percent, the scholarships contributed to a 32 percent decline in Hiwassee College's freshmen enrollment, officials say.
Meanwhile, Emory & Henry College is experiencing the second largest enrollment in the school's history. This fall, total enrollment is 1,021. The record is 1,079, set in 2001. Enrollment for first-year students is also 20 percent higher this year.
Emory & Henry, located in Emory, Va., attributes the enrollment increase to its inclusion in a popular book and web site, "Colleges That Change Lives." The college also receives attention from prospective students because an E&H faculty member has won the "Virginia Professor of the Year" award five times within the last 15 years, according to spokesperson Dirk Moore.
But at Hiwassee, leaders are "frustrated" that a steady annual 5 percent increase in enrollment from 2001 to 2003 was reversed this year. According to Hiwassee President Jim Noseworthy, fewer students chose Hiwassee because Tennessee's lottery scholarships provide $1,500 for students attending two-year colleges, compared to $3,000 for four-year colleges such as Tennessee Wesleyan.
"It's very frustrating, because this situation was somewhat beyond our control," said Noseworthy from the Madisonville, Tenn., campus. "We're going to have to help students understand the difference in the list price and the bottom-line cost to them. If a student compares his or her financial-aid package at Hiwassee to any other private institution, Hiwassee's is one of the best."
Forty percent of Hiwassee's 399 students qualify for such large financial-aid packages that they don't pay out of their own pockets for room, board and tuition, Noseworthy said.
However, to address the negative impact caused by smaller lottery scholarships for two-year colleges, Hiwassee is introducing a "Lottery Equalization Grant" in fall 2005, Noseworthy said. Students who come to Hiwassee with a $1,500 lottery scholarship may qualify for a matching $1,500 financial-aid grant. Hiwassee is also introducing a new "Aspire" scholarship program. The program allows Wesley House, Bethlehem Center, Holston Home for Children and Emerald Youth Foundation each to nominate one student, currently enrolled at Hiwassee, for financial- aid awards up to $8,880.
"It's a way to show that we as a church don't just do something to get our students through junior high and high school and say 'goodbye'," Noseworthy said. "This is a way to continue a partnership in ministry."
Growth & progress
At Tennessee Wesleyan in Athens, officials are celebrating the increase in enrollment as well as preparing for a 150th anniversary celebration in 2007. According to spokesperson Gina Bever, a lottery scholarship pays for about a quarter of TWC's tuition ($12,240), encouraging students who might not otherwise choose a private school. TWC's total enrollment is 814.
Following the controversial resignation of President Thomas Armstrong last spring, TWC is also conducting a search for a new leader by fall 2005.
"The committee has been named, and they are in the process of putting together qualifications and the call for nominations and applications for the presidency," said Alan Duesterhaus, the college's new dean on institutional advancement.
Meanwhile, students are benefiting from a new missions focus, "Grow Into Yourself."
"It's the whole notion that students come with a variety of experiences, at different points in their lives, but all of them have an opportunity to grow further than when they arrive," Duesterhaus said. "It's the culture of the campus. Students now have a better understanding of what it is we provide." At Emory & Henry, officials are celebrating $2 million in grants that will enhance learning and living in the college community. In September, the college received a $1.8 million federal grant that will pay for instructional technology. A $200,000 grant from Arthur Vining Davis Foundations will fund new sidewalks in downtown Emory, spokesperson Dirk Moore said.
These recent grants follow a $10 million bequest, received last spring, that is targeted for scholarships.
Also last month, Comcast announced the launch of EHC-TV, Emory & Henry's own student-produced and directed news and sports channel. Comcast customers in the vicinity can view EHC-TV each Sunday from 8 p.m. until 10:30 p.m., Monday 7-9:30 p.m., and Thursday 5-5:30 p.m.
According to Moore, the cable channel "raises the stature of our mass communications program, which already has a great reputation. It will also pay big dividends for recruitment."
At Hiwassee, students are benefiting from a new service learning program, led by Chaplain Cynthia Pennington.
The program kicked off during fall orientation, when new Hiwasse students visited local nonprofit organizations as part of "service learning day." The organizations included Boys and Girls Clubs, Madisonville Head Start, American Red Cross, Citizens Against Domestic Abuse, Volunteer Humane Society, and Monroe County Beautiful.
According to the Rev. Pennington, more than 90 percent of incoming students participated in the special day, and the program is ongoing. The goal is to encourage students to expand their growth beyond the classroom while supporting nonprofit agencies.
"I received positive feedback from both the students and nonprofit agencies," she said. "It was an experience that benefited everyone."
Hiwassee leaders are also excited about technology advancements that will render the school wireless by the end of this month.The library is already wireless, Noseworthy said, and soon "students will be able to sit out by the fountain and do their homework."
"They're pulling wire through my office right now," Noseworthy said. "So, a lot of things are going right at Hiwassee. It's unfortunate that we have this one little blip with enrollment."
Roller coaster rides
This fall, the conference colleges had varying experiences in enrollment for first-year students:
College 2003 2004 % change
Emory & Henry 225 270 + 20%
Hiwassee 190 130 - 32%
Tennessee
Wesleyan 106 167 + 58%
United Methodist Student Day:
'Lead me in God's truth'
On Sunday, Nov. 28, Holston congregations will join others in the denomination by observing United Methodist Student Day. One of six Special Sundays in the United Methodist Church, Student Day is commemorated with an offering that funds scholarships and grants for Holston students as well as others in the denomination. This year's theme is "Lead Me in God's Truth."
By the end of July 2004, about $3.7 million in scholarship funds had been awarded to more than 2,700 students, according to the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry (GBHEM). The figure will increase to 3,500 after receipt of scholarship nominations from United Methodist-related schools. In Holston, 41 students receive GBHEM loans and scholarships.
For bulletin inserts or worship resources for United Methodist Student Day, visit www.umcgiving.org/ss.
For information on UM scholarships and loans, call (615) 340-7344 (scholarships) or (615) 340-7346 (loans); e-mail umscholar@gbhem.org or umloans@gbhem.org or visit www.gbhem.org.
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