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w. W. WHITMIRE
Scene of port of the
сотри»
ot Brevord.
Transitional Education
Most Krevard graduates continue
their education at four-year col¬
leges.
This is a story about Brevard Col¬
lege, a fully accredited two-year co¬
educational college out in Transylvania
County, about thirty miles southwest of
Asheville. It's sponsored by the West¬
ern North Carolina Conference of The
Methodist Church. It is one of several
fine church-related schools in North
Carolina. You must have heard about
the place. It’s pretty well known in
and out of state. When we slopped by a
few weeks ago to visit with President
Emmett K. McLarty. Jr.. Dean John B.
Bennett and Glenn Hardesty, the Pub¬
lic Relations man. we learned that
about fifty per cent of the student body
is from out-of-state. Seventeen states
are represented from Massachusetts to
Florida.
"Things are happening at Brevard,"
and wo wanted to find out first hand
what was going on. Almost everybody
has been reading daily, in almost every
newspaper and magazine, about the
problems that beset everybody in¬
volved in higher education, and that
includes administrators, teachers, trus¬
tees, students, and last, but not least,
parents. We didn't get answers to all
these problems, but I learned things
about Brevard College.
President McLarty wasted no time
in revealing “the reason for Brevard
College.” He reached for the college
catalogue and showed the statement of
purpose. No words are wasted in it.
"Brevard College exists for the pur¬
pose of providing a two-year academic
program primarily designed and ad¬
ministered for the qualified student
who would benefit by a guided tran¬
sition from high school work into col¬
lege work, enabling him to continue
his studies in a four-year college more
effectively. Committed to Christian
concepts, it is dedicated to a way of
life that instills within the student, be¬
ginning the adventure of self-discovery
— intellectually, culturally and spir¬
itually — a greater desire to become
a more responsible and creative mem¬
ber of society." That's pretty succinct
and to the point. "In general terms,”
the president said, "it means that Bre¬
vard College believes the basic con¬
cern of education must be with the
individual, and emphasizes the per¬
sonal relationship by giving attention
to the needs and progress of individual
students.”
It was obvious that this was a cam¬
pus that didn’t display a gate sign that
simply read "Good Courses Taught
Here." We went right into a discussion
of the academic program. And at this
point Dean Bennett had a few words
to say. "Unlike many 'community’
two-year colleges,” he said, "Brevard
doesn't offer a wide variety of courses.
We have only one two-year terminal
course which is in Secretarial Science.
Our program is basically what you will
find the first two years in a good four-
year college of liberal arts, and is
designed to meet the transfer require¬
ments of four-year colleges and uni¬
versities."
How about this transfer business?
Where do the students go from here?
Dean Bennett had figures. He said.
"Eighty-five per cent of our graduates
in the university parallel course con¬
tinue their studies in four-year institu¬
tions." And he added, "Over the past
five years our graduates have trans¬
ferred to some seventy-five four-year
colleges.”
"Most colleges welcome and admit
transfer students," the Dean continued.
To back up his statement he quoted
Arnold L. Goren, Asst. Dean of Ad¬
missions of New York University, who
said, "It is our opinion that the trans¬
fer student is often a better academic
risk than the freshman and that he
brings to the University a better un¬
derstanding of what college work re¬
quires." According to Dean Bennett
this statement expresses the attitude
that most four-year colleges have to¬
ward qualified transfer students.
President McLarty, a big man who
speaks quietly but firmly, spoke up
here and said, "The task of building a
life, of developing habits and skills
and appreciations that make for use¬
ful and creative living is the task of
education. Any college — church-
related or tax supported — whatever its
kind, docs not have a right to exist
unless it seeks to provide advanced
education of superior quality and
worth. But beyond this obligation." he
said, "Brevard, as a church-related col¬
lege is concerned with moral and
spiritual values. And we believe this is
(Continued on page 28)
THE STATE. NOVEMBER 9, 1963
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