Meeting the Challenge: - The Council of Independent Colleges

Serving Students Well: Independent Colleges Today
The single most
important
ingredient in
Dillard University’s
(Louisiana)
success is
understanding the
needs of each
student and
addressing them
to the fullest
extent possible.
in the Yakima Valley, where Heritage is located, and many
become teachers and community leaders. Ross says that her
two decades at Heritage have transformed her entire view of
higher education: “I have come to realize how many places
there must be where talent exists and if the educational
opportunity is provided it can be of tremendous benefit to
the whole community.”
While Heritage is a relative newcomer in the world of
small and mid-sized independent colleges, Claflin University
in South Carolina and Dillard University in Louisiana both
date back to 1869. They were founded during Reconstruction
to provide college educations to African-American students,
and that remains their primary mission today.
Claflin has faced struggles through its history,
but is now in the midst of a renaissance. A decade ago, it
enrolled students with low SAT scores and then struggled
to retain them (the first-year retention rate was less than
50 percent). Today, the first-year retention rate at Claflin is
nearly 80 percent, average SAT scores are up by 250 points,
and enrollment has climbed from 1,000 to 1,800. The
establishment of an Honors College in 1994 has played a
key role in turning Claflin around. The recent creation of a
Freshman College, which coordinates placement, orientation,
advising, tutoring, and mentoring, has also made an
important difference. Meanwhile, Claflin continues to serve
large numbers of students from low-income families, with
about 70 percent of the current undergraduates coming from
families with annual incomes of less than $25,000.
The university’s focus on its primary mission remains as
strong as ever.
Until the recent devastation by Hurricane Katrina,
Dillard University in Louisiana was also rising after a period
of financial uncertainty—and the institution’s leaders are
optimistic that Dillard will continue to thrive when the
university re-opens in 2006. Members of the university
community are “on a mission to return Dillard to the
superior learning institution it was before the hurricane,”
says president Marvalene Hughes. They want “teaching
56