Elon Update: A 10-Year Plan for Growth

The Times News: "Elon University launched its next strategic plan this week, committing to achieving a hefty list of goals in the next 10 years. The plan, 'Boldly Elon,' focuses on engaged learning, diversity in student body and staff, and outreach. It builds on the Elon Commitment from 2010 to 2020, which according to the university was 96 percent completed. The university wants to attract more STEM students by creating a School of Engineering, and create an 'Innovation Quad' in the launch of a STEM center. The four-year engineering degree program launched two years ago and, according to University News Bureau Director Owen Covington, has become a 'popular path for incoming Elon students'."

"According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs within the umbrella of engineering are expected to grow 5 percent to 10 percent, which is above average. Elon also will add a nursing program in fall 2021. This is in direct response to a shortage of nurses in North Carolina. According to a recent report from Georgetown University, North Carolina is projected to have a deficit of nearly 13,000 nurses by 2025."

"Elon also is taking steps to partner with Alamance and Guilford county to support literacy, certification and teacher licensure programs, and college readiness programs. The school will renovate the McMichael Science Center, the Koury Center and the Moseley Center ... Recently, the university launched its LEADS campaign, its commitment to raising $250 million by 2022 ... Not all students have access to study abroad programs, so Covington said the university has “set the goal of 100 percent study abroad access.” Funding will come from the new LEADS campaign."

By State: Which College is Toughest?

USA Today: "24/7 Wall St. reviewed admissions data across thousands of four-year, degree-granting institutions from the National Center for Education Statistics to determine each state’s most selective college. Its index was based on admission rates as well as SAT scores of admitted students to measure the difficulty of being accepted to those universities and colleges."

"The most highly selective institutions by state appear to deserve their high number of applicants, at least based on the income potential of their graduates. The median earnings for students at the schools on this list exceeds that of the vast majority of schools in nearly every case. Over a dozen have median earnings 10 years after matriculation in excess of $70,000. In the majority of colleges and universities, that figure is less than $33,000." You can find the complete list here.

Colby Invests in Downtown Vibe

The New York Times: "Colby is joining a number of smaller colleges that are taking a role in revitalizing flagging downtowns. If colleges are marketing distinctive academic programs and high-quality campus amenities to compete for increasingly discerning students, so, too, are they trying to leverage off-campus assets ... Colgate University, for example, with roughly 3,000 undergraduate students, owns a historic inn with a tavern, a bookstore and a movie theater in the Village of Hamilton, N.Y. Its efforts began in 2000 and have picked up in recent years."

"In Waterville, Colby College is drawing on a fund-raising campaign, cash reserves and debt financing to pump some $82 million into the redevelopment of five major projects on Main Street, about two miles from campus. The first to open was a 200-bed residential hall for students and faculty in 2018, Colby’s only off-campus housing. Across the street, it spent more than $5 million renovating a long-vacant bank building, then dangled low rents to woo an outlet of a Portland-based pizza pub and a software company looking to train local workers. An artisanal chocolate shop with a cafe is on the way."

"And nearby, the college is building a 53-room hotel and restaurant, a visual and performing arts center, and an arts collaborative with studio spaces. All of the buildings will stay on the city tax rolls ... The new residential hall, funded in part by the Harold Alfond Foundation of Maine, is intended to put more feet on downtown streets and strengthen town-gown relations. Students must commit to community volunteerism as a condition of living there. And a 3,800-square-foot meeting space on the ground floor is open for use by community groups and city commissions."