Cleveland: Faith-based growth

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — This fall Lee University enrolled the largest freshman class in the school’s history.

While the college’s student body has grown significantly over the past 20 years, officials say Lee appeals to a growing interest in affordable, faith-based higher education.

“We have an institutional momentum now,” said Phil Cook, assistant vice president for enrollment. “We think we can provide outstanding degrees and provide a values-based, Christ-centered environment that is attractive to many families.”

With 4,147 students enrolled this fall, Lee University is one of the largest private universities in Tennessee and in recent years it has been second only to Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Vanderbilt’s total undergraduate enrollment is 6,637 and total enrollment is 12,093, spokeswoman Amy Wolf said.

Mr. Cook said Lee’s enrollment was 1,214 in 1986 and has set records each year since.

In each of the last four years the school has welcomed the largest freshman classes in its history, and this year 848 new students entered, he said.

Mr. Cook said Lee is now the fourth-largest Christian college in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and the largest in the Southeast.

Yet, though Lee is one of the largest Christian schools it also is one of the least expensive. Tuition for a year is $10,824, said Mr. Cook.

With the availability of the HOPE scholarship and the rising cost of public higher education, more people are seeing Lee as an alternative.

“The tuition gap is getting smaller between us and the cost of public universities,” he said. “It is not that more expensive to go to Lee.”

Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn., charges $16,900 in tuition per year and Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tenn., charges $15,820 per year for tuition. UTC students pay $304 per credit hour and $2,655 for a single semester with a full load of classes, according to the university Web site.

Ashley Stanford, 21, a senior majoring in telecommunications, said she came to Lee because she wanted a faith-based education after graduating from a public high school in Fyffe, Ala.

“I feel like I am just surrounded by friends that are a positive impact on my life and teachers that have a positive impact on my life,” she said.

Ms. Stanford said she believes Lee continues to grow because of positive word of mouth. She learned about Lee from her local church and others do as well. Also, she said the university’s price tag doesn’t scare away families.

Paul Corts, president for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C., said Lee University has grown like many of the more than 100 schools in the CCC.

“We have experienced very good growth over the past 20 years,” he said.

The overall academic reputations of Christian colleges and universities have improved over time and there has been a rise in spiritual interest in the past few years, he said.

“(Students) realize they are getting the quality they want and the career training,” he said.

Also, Mr. Corts said schools such as Lee benefit from momentum.

“It is not just a flash in the pan,” he said. “They have been a strong school and still stay strong.”