- Coker College scores higher than the national benchmark for enriching educational experience, active and collaborative learning, and student-faculty interaction (2008 National Survey for Student Engagement - NSSE).
- The Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) has given
Coker special commendations for the quality of interaction
between faculty, students and staff and the attractiveness
of the campus grounds and facilities.
- U.S.
News & World Report ranks Coker one of "America's
Best Colleges" for 2010. The magazine has named Coker
a "Best College" for 14 consecutive years. (2010 Top Tier (#15) Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the South.)
- The
Princeton Review has selected Coker College a “Best
Southeastern College” in its 2010 rankings based on academic
excellence and student satisfaction. This is the 6th consecutive
year the College has received this honor.
- Coker
College's Fall 2009 enrollment is 1156 full-
and part-time students in the Day and Eveing programs. This includes a record Day Program enrollment of 665 students.
- Of Coker freshmen
this year,
the average SAT score is 1004.
- Coker’s
students are from 27 states and 9 foreign countries (Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Great Britain, Guatemala, Japan, Lithuania ); 61% are women and 39% are men; 23% are African-American (all minorities: 27%).
- Coker has
68 faculty and 88% hold the highest degree
in their field (Ph.,D, Ed.D., MFA). In addition to these professors, Coker
utilizes more than 50 adjunct and part-time faculty.
- Instituted
in 1985, Coker’s unique, interactive "Round
Table" teaching style is recognized as a model
learning experience in Smart Parents Guide
to College (© Peterson’s, 1997) for
promoting the discussion of ideas while building leadership and
communication skills.
- Coker has one
of the smallest average class sizes in the country
with just 12 students. Many classes at Coker have 10 or fewer
students.
- In 2001, Coker
established the May Study/Travel Interim that gives students
the opportunity to learn abroad with Coker professors,
most recently in Europe and Mexico.
- Coker awards
more than $5.1 million in financial aid in addition
to state and federal loans and grants.
- Barron’s consistently
names Coker one of the nation's 300 Best Buys in College Education.
- Coker’s
alumni giving percentage - a gauge of alumni satisfaction - recently
reached 52%, highest among all of South Carolina's colleges
and universities and equal to the top 25 liberal arts colleges
nationally. Coker’s alumni giving percentage is typically
24% to 34% - higher than most of the South’s Best Comprehensive
Colleges.
- Coker recently
established the Center for Research in Leadership and
Community Development, a clearinghouse of information
and a laboratory for successful community improvement and leadership
programs. Under the auspices of the Center, the Institute
for Applied Leadership offers educational opportunities
for students and the community at large by working with Stedman
Graham & Associates and the Leadership Institute of Chicago.
The Institute will also provide leadership training and seminars
for businesses and industry.
- The Coker
College Cobras (12 men’s and women’s
sports) have increasingly gained national recognition in
the past 20 years. The Cobras are NCAA II and compete in
the Conference Carolinas. Coker
teams have won numerous conference and district championships,
and have competed in regional and national tournaments. The
Cobras are often nationally ranked, and Coker's student-athletes
have been featured in USA Today, Sports Illustrated and ESPN,
The Magazine, and frequently earn Player-of-the-Week,
All-American, and similar honors and awards. Coker athletes
have also gone on to play professionally in the United States
and abroad.
- In 1997, Coker
opened the 40,000 square-foot, $6.5 million Elizabeth
Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center, a state-of-the-art
educational and cultural facility that houses the Department
of Dance, Music and Theater and the communication program. In
addition to college productions, the Center hosts a variety of
professional cultural events for the community at large.
- In 1996, Coker
became the first college in South Carolina to be awarded the Governor's
Community Leadership and Support Award in the Humanities.
- Kalmia
Gardens of Coker College, a 30-acre botanical
preserve for educational use and public enjoyment, recently
completed a very successful fund-raising campaign to establish
a formal garden, enhance teaching facilities, renovate the
historic Hart House and increase the plant collection. Kalmia
adjoins the 700+ acre Segars-McKinnon Heritage Preserve.
- Coker College
successfully completed the $22.6 million Gateway to the
New Century Campaign in summer 2005, raising more than $23
million to enrich the College’s programs and activities
and greatly increase the quality of the living and learning environment
on campus. A cornerstone of the campaign is the Charles
W. and Joan S. Coker Library-Information Technology Center,
which opened in January 2008 and offers students unparalleled access
to collections and the latest information technology. The Campaign
has also enabled Coker to undertake campus-wide construction
and landscaping improvements.
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