Males dominate freshman class at Saint Augustine's - noteworthy news - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Sept 26, 2002

RALEIGH, N.C.

Officials at Saint Augustine's College welcomed a record number of male students to the campus this year. Preliminary numbers indicate that 300 male freshman and transfer students enrolled this semester at the historically Black institution in Raleigh, N.C.

The figure represents a 97 percent increase in the number of males enrolled the same time last year. Preliminary data also indicates that the college has enrolled 206 new female students this semester, representing a 20 percent increase over this time last year.

Overall, the enrollment increase totals a growth of 56 percent from fall 2001 to fall 2002.

"It is refreshing to see so many young people on our campus, focused upon getting an education," says Saint Augustine's President Dianne Boardley Suber. "That feeling is only amplified as we note that we have been successful in attracting African American males--a feat that is a challenge to both minority and majority culture institutions across this nation."

Suber attributes some of the growth to the reinstitution of football on the campus but also points to the efforts of the school's recruitment team.

"Our enrollment management team worked hard, leading a collaborative effort across the board to build the infrastructure necessary to recruit a class of 400. That effort has exceeded our expectations, bringing in a record 513 new students ..." Suber says.