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finalists, four of whom were scheduled to visit campus in early
April to meet with faculty, staff, and students. The goal is to
have a new provost—who will oversee Birmingham-Southern’s
academic programs—in place before the end of the summer. “I
am so pleased by the quality of the professionals we’re looking
at to fill this very important role,” Flaherty-Goldsmith said. “I
also want to thank the search committee and our acting provost,
Susan Hagen, who have done masterful jobs.”
Articulation Agreements and
Enrollment Growth
One of Flaherty-Goldsmith’s other top priorities upon taking
the position was to make arrangements with two-year colleges
to make it easier for students taking classes there to transfer to
BSC. These articulation agreements, as they’re called, outline
the credits that will be awarded to incoming students from
community colleges, how they’ll fulfill major requirements,
and more. The goal is to ensure that a top-quality liberal arts
education is accessible to the growing number of students taking
less-traditional routes to a degree; it’s also another important
tool for enrollment growth. In fact, a report from the National
Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that close to half
of all students who complete a four-year degree in the United
States were enrolled at a two-year college first; most took at
least three semesters of community college first. BSC has signed
agreements with Lawson State Community College and Jefferson
State Community College; it is also working with Wallace State
Community College and others. “Unless we make it easy for
those students to succeed on the Hilltop, we’re simply closing
our doors to a number of people,” Flaherty-Goldsmith said. “I’m
so pleased we’re on track with this.”
Student Retention
As BSC works to increase the size of the student body, ensuring
that current students succeed plays as much of a role as recruiting
new students. Although some students depart due to poor fit or
medical issues, research shows that students who are more engaged
in campus life better connect to the college and are more likely
to complete their education at BSC. A campus retention team
directed by the Office of Student Development has taken several
steps to help all students find their fit on the Hilltop, enhancing
orientation programs and academic advising for first-year students;
instituting a campus-wide system of early warnings for students
who may be exhibiting issues that professors, coaches, or advisors
can spot; and adding special first-year programming and more
options for free tutoring. This year, BSC will offer its second
session of “‘Southern Exposure,” a summer workshop for first-
generation college students; all of the students who participated
in the first round stayed from their freshman fall to spring. And
the team is exploring more strategies, such as a first-year learning
experience and special January courses for skills development.