08/19/2014
Huntingdon College named among the country's fastest-growing colleges
Montgomery, Ala.—"Huntingdon College is one of the hottest private colleges in the South--and now we have national recognition of that fact," said Huntingdon College President J. Cameron West of the news that Huntingdon earned a place on The Chronicle of Higher Education's 2014 list of "Fastest Growing Colleges in America," released August 18. Huntingdon is ranked at #12 among private four-year institutions nationally. The publication recognizes growth in colleges from 2002 to 2012. Huntingdon's overall enrollment jumped 88 percent, from 594 in fall 2002 to 1118 in fall 2012, including students in traditional day and evening programs.
According to West, there are a number of reasons for the enrollment growth. While no single factor outweighs another, there are four cornerstones: realignment with the College's historic mission as a college of the United Methodist Church; NCAA-Division III athletic programs, which West describes as the "gold standard" in college athletics; growth in academic programs; and expansion of evening programs for adult learners.
West, an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and member of the Alabama-West Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church, made a focused, unapologetic reconnection with the College's historic Methodist roots when he took office in 2003. Majors in the liberal arts and especially Religion and Christian Ministries blossomed from those roots, and Huntingdon has sent graduates each year to seminary and graduate schools in religion.
NCAA-Division III athletics—a division in which student-athletes may not receive athletic scholarships but play, instead, for the love of the game—has brought student-athletes to play and to cheer for new teams in football, women's and men's lacrosse, women's golf, and men's tennis, all established during the 2002–2012 decade. Likewise, new academic programs in Physical Education and Sport Management provide avenues for students who are interested in careers in sport science. Huntingdon announced last fall the addition of men's wrestling to the College's intercollegiate teams—the only college in the state to offer the sport. The first group of wrestlers will arrive this fall.
Football also served as the catalyst for the formation of a marching band, the Marching Scarlet and Grey, which attracted students who love music and who simultaneously have filled the classrooms in a variety of majors, in addition to majors reborn, by popular demand, in Music and Music Education. The marching band added a Color Guard and a pom squad. Scores of musicians have recomposed the Concert Choir and built Huntingdon Harmony jazz/show choir, Huntingdon Winds symphonic band, Huntingdon Jazz, Huntingdon Pops ensemble, BallHawks Pep Band, and various vocal and instrumental ensembles. A concentration in worship leadership within the music major provides new career opportunities for musicians who wish to serve the church either vocationally or as an avocation.
The introduction or re-introduction of majors in Accounting, Elementary Education (now combined with teacher preparation in collaborative special education), and Digital Art; and secondary teacher education in biology have also given students new options academically and vocationally. New secondary teacher education areas of preparation in general social studies and general science begin this fall.
"A great deal of our student growth can be attributed to word-of-mouth recruitment—students who are happy and then tell their friends and their brothers and sisters and cousins," said West. "For this reason, I credit greatly expanded student life and academic programming, from establishing the first ever Collegiate Exchange Club in the United States, to academic innovations like our student chapter of the American Chemical Society and our student chapter of the Alabama Association of School Curriculum and Development—the only one of its kind in the state—to growth and enthusiastic leadership in the Black Student Union and the Women's Center. Our faculty will tell you that what they love to do most is to teach and to mentor students, and they have found ways to do so both inside and outside the classroom." The College's Center for Career and Vocation, Staton Center for Learning Enrichment, the Hawks on the Hill Internship Program, and the Hobbs Honors Program, all of which were created in the past decade, have also reinforced students' academic experiences and vocational discernment.
Huntingdon's facilities have been renovated or reconstructed in response to the demands of the growing student body, and that, in turn, has attracted more students. West cited many construction projects that have been completed during the last ten years, with some of the most influential including the construction of W. James Samford Jr. Stadium; a major addition to the College's signature science building, Bellingrath Hall; the complete reconstruction of the tennis facilities and of both gymnasiums; sweeping enhancements to the dining hall; and $1-million projects including Ligon Hall's renovation as a residence for freshman women and the construction of Leo J. Drum Jr. Theater.
While the representation of states among the Huntingdon full-time day enrollment has nearly doubled during the past decade, the main growth in enrollment occurred among students from Alabama. West credits expanded scholarship and financial assistance programs such as the Cross and Flame Award for Methodist students; the River Region Award for students from the tri-county area; and collaborative partnerships with major employers in the area for some of the growth in the traditional day program.
Also contributing to the growth of students from Alabama has been the expansion of the College's evening degree completion program, the Evening Bachelor's Degree (EBD). EBD, formerly known as the Adult Degree Completion Program, grew nearly ten-fold, from 28 students in fall 2002 to 253 students in fall 2012. The program is offered in 13 sites around the state and allows returning learners to complete their degrees by attending class just one night a week in five-week terms. Majors in Business Management and Criminal Justice are offered. Unlike other colleges cited for enrollment growth in the Chronicle's study, Huntingdon offers only limited online courses because of a core belief in the importance of the classroom experience.
Fall term 2014 classes begin August 25.
Huntingdon College, grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition of the United Methodist Church, is committed to nurturing growth in faith, wisdom, and service and to graduating individuals prepared to succeed in a rapidly changing world. Founded in 1854, Huntingdon is a coeducational liberal arts college. Ranked in the top tier of regional colleges by U.S. News and World Report and consistently listed in the Princeton Review's "The Best Colleges: Region by Region," Huntingdon has for three years been recognized on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Washington Monthly, which ranks colleges on the basis of their contributions to the public good, places Huntingdon in the top 20% of 352 baccalaureate colleges.
