Implementation of the College’s new Strategic Plan will have an impact on the life of the community. To share information about how the changes are being managed, two of the College’s top officers recently helped us address some of the questions that have arisen among members of our community.
Because ours is a residential college where academic and social life are integrated, we asked both the dean of the College and the dean of students to address the topic of community. As dean of the College, William A. Coulter is responsible for providing leadership and oversight of academic programs. Sarah L. Swager, dean of students, provides leadership and supervision for programs, personnel, and services relating to the cocurricular life of students.
Below are their responses to some frequently asked questions about how life will change at Randolph in the coming years.
Q: How much do you expect the student body to grow?
A: Our projected goal is 1,100 students. Our current campus infrastructure is built to support an enrollment of no more than 1,000 students, although our enrollment has never reached full residential capacity. While we are committed to remaining small and close-knit, we need to grow to at least 1,000 students to fully utilize our resources and to qualify for many foundation grants and funding programs. Of course, as the size of the student body increases, we will adjust our housing and amenities to accommodate both the number and the expectations of our students.
While there is no way to predict precisely how many students we will add in the coming years, we can be confident of certain things:
One, the market research and internal studies that the College used to inform the strategic planning process indicate that our recruitment efforts will attract substantially more students than we enroll currently.
Two, we will not lower academic standards to admit more students. Two out of every three students in the Class of 2010 were in the top 25 percent of their high school classes. That academic standard will not be compromised. Our research indicates that a coeducational environment with an international focus and significant academic rigor will attract more students of the same or better quality than our current student academic profile.
Q: The College is well known for its close working relationships between faculty and students. Won’t this change if you admit more students?
A: Today, we have just nine students for every faculty member. This number is “too rich” to be affordable and in many cases leaves our students with too few peers in their classes. At this point, we believe a ratio on the order of 11:1 is desirable, but we may adjust that figure based on our experience. In no case will we compromise students’ easy access to professors when they need guidance or the ability of professors to devote considerable one-on-one time to students.
Close student-faculty relationships are at the core of who we are and what we do. If anything, these relationships will become more important as the curriculum places greater emphasis on individualized academic goal-setting.
Increased student enrollment and the demands of the new program will, in time, mean hiring more faculty to keep the student-faculty ratio at an advantageous level.
Q: The introduction of men will certainly change the culture of the College. What plans have you made to ensure a positive transition and outcome?
A: Our new Strategic Plan isn’t just about admitting male students. Our plan is to become a nationally recognized coeducational college where gender equity is a hallmark of our culture. We will take proactive steps in all aspects of the College’s life to ensure that this change has educational value and that the overall college experience is enhanced for all of our students. To support the work of the administration, we have established a formal working group focused on campus life and the coeducational environment that is recommending improvements and refinements in residential life, student activities, volunteer and service opportunities, and global initiatives for student benefit.
Q: What are the objectives of the Coeducational Environment/ Campus Life Working Group? Can I contribute ideas?
A: The Coeducational Environment/ Campus Life Working Group is charged with improving the cocurricular lives of students with the ultimate goal of producing female and male graduates of distinction. The group includes administrators, faculty members, graduates, current students, alumnae, trustees, and parents. Its principles and goals may be found at www.randolphcollege.edu/strategicplan. That page also provides a form for submitting ideas to the group.
Q: What impact will the new global emphasis have on student life?
A: As friends of the College know, there are already quite a few global markers on campus: international students prominent in classrooms, clubs, and the dining hall; the flags of their nations in Main Hall corridor; and our Quillian international professor teaching and giving public lectures. We expect to add more: a center for international news; more global awareness in many of our 100- and 200- level courses; new courses in subjects such as intercultural communication; international newspapers in readily accessible places; and students studying abroad in all parts of the world (including some parts where we have sent few or none in the past) and returning to present their experience in helpful ways to the rest of the community. Public events— symposia, visiting speakers, etc.—will likely reflect a global theme each year. We intend to raise the level of global awareness so that all students, regardless of their major interest, will find themselves frequently prompted to think and talk about these perspectives.
Q: The College has many distinctive traditions, such as the Even and Odd rivalry. What will become of these?
A: Some of them will likely change, just as they have done in the past. We no longer have sororities or a May Court, and recently, the new tradition of Declaration Day replaced Junior Smorgasbord. Other traditions such as Ring Night and Pumpkin Parade have remained important to students for generations, although their specific rituals have changed. With the changes in our student body, we are certain that new traditions will emerge. The Coeducational Environment/ Campus Life Working Group will help us preserve the spirit of our existing traditions while we welcome new ones. Students themselves have initiated and continued traditions over the ages, and we are confident they will continue to do so. If students wish to continue some traditions for women only, the community will support that approach. Some traditions will readily appeal to both sexes, and will likely continue relatively unchanged in the new environment.
Q: What will become of the College’s Honor System, particularly the self-scheduled exam process?
A: As alumnae know well, the Honor System requires that students abide by the highest standards of honesty and integrity in their academic, social, and personal lives. We have every intention of retaining that. Our new recruitment materials will feature the Honor System prominently to ensure that enrolling students both understand and accept this important responsibility. We expect to remain a community of trust.
Q: Where will male students live?
A: At present, Randolph College has six traditional-style residence halls, each with its own unique character.
We are currently under enrollment capacity, so no new buildings need to be constructed to accommodate men or a larger student body in the near-term. Of course, we are prepared to make changes to our housing facilities as warranted by a larger student body with changing housing needs. The Coeducational Environment/Campus Life Working Group is currently considering various scenarios regarding housing for the near-term and into the future. We expect that men will be housed together on floors within our residence halls in the first year. As our enrollment of both men and women increases, we expect that some halls will be coeducational and others will remain single-sex. Students will be highly involved in decisions about housing, and we have established a housing committee of students and staff to advise us as we make the transition to coeducation. As our enrollment numbers change, we will make adjustments in where male students are housed in consultation with the new housing committee.
Q: What impact will the introduction of male students have on athletics?
A: Randolph College will add women’s teams as well as men’s. Beginning in the fall, the College will field intercollegiate men’s teams in basketball, cross country, riding, soccer, and tennis. A men’s lacrosse team will face off for the first time the following year. In women’s intercollegiate sports, cross country will be added this fall, joining teams in basketball, field hockey, riding, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. Women’s lacrosse, like men’s, will begin play in 2008.
The Randolph WildCats will continue to compete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, the second-largest conference in the NCAA’s Division III, with such rivals as Guilford, Washington and Lee, Hollins, and Sweet Briar.
Planned additions to the College’s athletic center will accommodate both our female and male students.
Q: The College has a wide range of student clubs. How will these change?
A: We currently have about 40 student groups focused on academic and personal interests such as international affairs, movies, music, politics, religion, social issues, and student government. The number and character of student groups change continually as student interests do. We already have two new clubs chartered for Randolph College that want to promote travel and challenging experiences compatible with our global honors emphasis. We expect that coeducation and new curricular opportunities will bring changes to the cocurriculum as well.
