Guilford hasn’t been so popular since 1965.
This year Guilford College beat its previous enrollment record, set over three decades ago. In 1965, enrollment peaked at 1,862. This year, the student body numbers 2,125. The 303 first years helped.
“We’ve only had five consecutive years of 300 or more once before, and we’re on our fourth year now,” said Randy Doss, Vice President for Enrollment and Campus Life. “Obviously our goal is to have 300 every year.”
Simultaneously, however, Guilford has raised its standards. Acceptance rates have dropped 12% in the last two years, meaning it is increasingly harder to get into Guilford.
Grade-point averages of first-years have improved.This year, the average high school GPA was 3.05, compared to last year’s 2.97.Average ACT and SAT scores have also increased.
Doss was equally impressed by the students. “I’ve met many of them and I am encouraged by their enthusiasm and their willingness to get involved in Avanti and CHAOS programs,” he said. “They seem like a very energetic bunch.”
This year’s CHAOS (Community, Health, Advisement, Orientation, Services) program featured standards such as a hypnotist and Playfair, as well as new events like diversity training and a “Pirates of the Caribbean”-themed night.
For first-year Noah Forman, however, “the best part of CHAOS was the non-organized events-just meeting people and playing foosball.
“Iguess you could sum up CHAOS in that it was just a little too name game-y.”
In addition to the Avanti programs and CHAOS, First Year Experience courses integrate continuing orientation with academics.
Will Pizio, a Justice and Policy Studies professor, teaches an FYE class called ‘America’s Criminal Justice System: Functional or Fictional?’. “I have high hopes because the [First Year Center’s] organization is better than last year,” said Pizio. “They work hard in the First Year Center … Makes my life easier as a teacher.”
This year the First Year Experience includes a new course taught by Scott Pierce Coleman. Students who enroll in Coleman’s “The Search for a Life’s Work” live together on the second floor of Binford Hall.
“It’s experimental and I love it,” said Pixie Horsmann, a student in the course. “We’re all really getting to know each other. Everywhere we go, we’re going as a whole.”
This and other first-year programs emphasize Guilford’s academic principles, including values and ethics as well as cultural and global perspectives. Avanti programs like “Multicultural Greensboro” and “Homelessness Awareness” also highlight the diversity in and around Greensboro.
“It’s a whole potpourri of backgrounds,” said Bill Stevens, Dean of Continuing Education and Director of Summer School.
Students from nine countries and 29 states make up the first-year class. These diverse demographics include 29 African American students, 27 Quakers, and 12 international students.
One third of the 2007 class are in-state students, three of whom graduated last May from the Early College at Guilford.
In addition, 57 transfer students and 350 CCE students enrolled at Guilford College this year.
“Given the economy, given all the challenges of small private colleges nationwide, we are very encouraged by this class,” Doss said.