As Chestnut Hill College Makes Coed Transition, Applications Increase 67 Percent

Business Wire, July 23, 2003

Business Editors/Education Writers

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 2003

Chestnut Hill College announced today that undergraduate applications for the freshman class beginning fall 2003 have increased 67 percent from the previous year. Applications are up from 640 in 2002 to 1,071 this year. This class will be the first in the 79-year history of the college to include males.

The college's goal is to enroll 180 incoming freshman. That number has been surpassed with more than 200 freshman deposits, which indicate acceptance of an offer to attend. Deposits are up 71 percent from the previous year and 37 percent of the deposits are from males. Students from Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and as far away as Florida and Texas have submitted deposits. Chestnut Hill College employs a rolling admissions process, which allows the school to accept deposits up to the first day of classes.

"This is an admissions success story for Chestnut Hill College, not just a transition story," said Carol Jean Vale, SSJ, Ph.D., president of Chestnut Hill College. "We set out to not only attract males to the school, but also to increase our female population. Chestnut Hill College wants to provide the best educational setting for both males and females."

Chestnut Hill College made the decision to open its traditional age, full-time, liberal arts undergraduate degree program to men after reviewing the findings of a professionally-conducted study on the viability of women's colleges. Funded by the Teagle Foundation, the study found that only 3 percent of today's high school girls will consider a single-gender college. It also cited the decline in the number of women's colleges from 298 in 1960 to less than 64 today and the density of colleges in the Greater Philadelphia area as marketing challenges faced by single-gender institutions.

Chestnut Hill College announced its transition to a coed institution on November 13, 2001. The school opted for a two-year transition to properly prepare faculty, staff, facilities and current students.

About Chestnut Hill College

Chestnut Hill College is a four-year Catholic college offering a traditional liberal arts undergraduate program, as well as accelerated undergraduate degrees, masters and doctoral programs. Since its inception, the college has offered a rigorous curriculum that provides students with a broad background in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. The goal of Chestnut Hill College has been to prepare students for life's challenges by helping them to grow intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and socially.