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The annual State of the College was held at LaGrange College on Thursday morning. Alumni, media and the community gathered to hear from the school’s president, Susanna Baxter, on the university’s past year’s progress. 

Baxter began by highlighting the nursing program, saying that 95 percent of the school’s students passed their nursing exams. As one of the largest programs at LaGrange College, it required more lab and classroom space. The school received a $214,000 grant to expand.

The president discussed the areas of need in the community and how the college is trying to address those needs. Over the summer, administrators toured local manufacturing plants. One of the new programs offered at the school is an Associate’s degree in interdisciplinary studies which aims to address the labor needs in the area’s manufacturing industry. 

According to Baxter, the companies are also looking for more engineers and floor managers. A Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing and Engineering Technology is currently going through the accreditation process. 

“It is the most popular major that we are asked about, ‘Do you have engineering?’ So finally, our answer is yes, and it will help immensely in this area,” Baxter said. 

Other new programs Baxter discussed were:

• Ed.D in Curriculum and Instruction
• M.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership
• MA in Education Studies
• M.S. in Computer Science
• B.S. in Computer Science
• Certificate, Education Curriculum and Instruction
• Certificate, Marriage and Family Therapy
• Exercise Science Concentration in Strength and Conditioning. 
• Minor in Neurosciences

The Doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction is the first PhD program at LaGrange College. The first cohort of 31 students will graduate in 2026. The new aviation program has 15 students, a larger class size than expected necessitating two cohorts. 

Recovering from decreased enrollment during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment at the university rose 21 percent this year to 814 students. Freshman enrollment increased by 30 percent. 

“We have the second largest new student enrollment in the institution’s history,” Baxter said to a round of applause. 

87 percent of the students have a job or have been accepted into graduate school by the time they “get the diploma in their hands,” Baxter said.

The school currently has a 67 percent retention rate for undergraduate students, which has increased by 7 percent this year. 

One of the questions from the audience was on the retention rate of Juniors and Seniors. Baxter replied that it is “Not where we want it to be.” She posits that the transfer portal for college sports is a factor, with more upper-class athletes leaving and coming in than before. 

Baxter also highlighted the pathway programs. The most recent pathway added is a seminary program. 

“They’ll spend three years with us as Religion and Philosophy majors, and then they’ll go to Candler…It’s a three-year program, but after the first year, they will receive their bachelor’s degree from Lagrange College, and then they will finish seminary,” Baxter said. “A year off of the loan debt to go to seminary, into a career that’s not as high paying as others.”