CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.
The state’s private colleges are growing faster than public ones, government data show.
Enrollment in the state’s private, not-for-profit colleges jumped 30 percent from 1995 to 2005, while enrollment in public colleges increased by 17 percent, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Dr. Claude Pressnell, president of Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities, which represents 32 private four-year universities, said lottery scholarships beginning in 2004 helped make private colleges tuition more affordable.
“When you provide a funded scholarship choice for Tennesseans, then that gives (students) the ability to choose an institution that best fits their academic and social needs,” Pressnell said. “In other words, instead of going to their second- or third-choice institution because of cost, they’re now able to choose their first choice.”
From the beginning of lottery scholarships in 2004 to 2005, private college enrollment grew 4 percent, compared with public colleges’ 1 percent increase.
Phil Cook, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment at the private Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., affiliated with the Church of God, said the increase may be attributed to more students seeking religious-based colleges.
