Antioch College Bucks Enrollment Trends
Enrollment for fall 2020 at Antioch College increased 22% compared to fall 2019. The campus reopened for residential instruction with modifications to occupancy and operations with classes beginning on August 31.
“Overall, our student body is still quite small, yet it is growing decidedly despite the pressures of COVID-19,” says President Tom Manley. “While we suffer no illusions about the infectious nature of the virus, we are prepared to respond if and when the need arises. And this is one case where our smallness is a big advantage, as is our fall schedule with classes and exams concluding by November 13.”
There are currently 116 enrolled full-time degree-seeking students. A small number of students are engaged in distance learning this term. The cohort of new students enrolling in fall 2020 was the largest in several years with 50 enrolling (compared to 26 fall 2019); four deposited students decided to defer their enrollment to the winter or fall of 2021.
A laboratory college where students learn by doing, students spend up to a third of their coursework doing community service, internships, or full-time work through Antioch College’s flagship Cooperative Education program (Co-op). The College recently took steps to build on the strength of Co-op as well as its commitment to educational access with the launch of the Antioch College Works (ACW) program.
Announced in December, ACW addresses the affordability, accessibility, and value of the applied liberal arts with a program providing guaranteed full-tuition scholarships to Pell-eligible students, and real-world work experience and preparedness for all students through campus and community jobs, and both international and post-graduate job placements. The ACW program has drawn a strong response from prospective students and donors with the incoming class of first year students doubling for the fall, and giving for related scholarships totaling $2 million.
“Antioch College has seen a strong, positive response from students and families due to our new Antioch College Works program, which promises access to a high-quality liberal arts education and work experience on campus and in the world,” Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success Gariot Louima explains. “The preparations and planning made across campus for a safe return to in-person learning this fall, along with our small size, also bolstered our incoming students’ confidence in their choice of Antioch College.”
“The students who have chosen to attend Antioch this fall recognize the distinctive choice it offers them,” Manley adds. “They are drawn to a college that lives actively in life-realities rather than constructing a retreat from them. They are attracted to collaboration with teachers and mentors to own their education, to learn experientially, and to find ways to apply that learning in service to others. Our students want and need a college that works.”
The student body at Antioch College is diverse, and the numbers demonstrate the College’s commitment to accessibility, diversity, and equity:
- Pell Eligible, 76% (78% of first-year students)
- Asian, non-Hispanic 2.3%
- Black or African American, non-Hispanic 22.7%
- Hispanic/Latino 11.4%
- White, non-Hispanic 59%
- Not reported 4.5%
“Antioch College has produced the get-it-done problem solvers and undeterrable fighters for human and civil rights throughout its 17 decades,” says Manley. “Our graduates are needed in the world to address the daunting challenges we face today.”
Applications for winter 2021 transfer and for fall 2021 are currently being accepted. More information is available at AntiochCollege.edu/apply.
