The proposal was developed after faculty, administration and staff drew comparisons between the College and a benchmark list of schools that included members of the Associated Colleges of the South, a group of premier private institutions in the region. The planners looked at areas like student-faculty ratio, enrollment, SAT scores and cost. Armed with that data, they developed targets for the College to achieve within the five-year span. They include enhancing faculty development and increasing the number of full-time faculty to at least 80 to address critical needs in music theory, math, science, art history and education. Other key objectives include enhancing the use of the library and planning for a new library facility capable of housing 225,000 volumes.
Plans also call for increasing the resident student population.
This will require building additional apartment-style housing and possibly establishing a mandatory campus housing policy for nonlocal students. Currently, the College master planning effort is examining the housing issue and determining the best location for new student housing. Goals and objectives under this heading focus on human resources and budgetary policies and the need to expand third-party funding. While all the above may sound like a lot to tackle, it's important to remember that the document represents a five-year plan. For those who deem it too ambitious, he points to the accomplishments already reached.