Historic women’s college in Columbia will add male students to new program
Change is coming to Columbia College.
For the first time in the school’s 166-year history, it will allow men to enroll as residential students as part of a new program.
The decision was made Jan. 31, when the board of trustees voted for the plan to admit men to the college’s residential day program, spokeswoman Erika Dawkins said in a news release.
This is a significant change for Columbia College, which was founded in 1854 as Columbia Female College, according to the release.
And the change could go into effect as soon as the Fall 2021 semester.
“We are excited about the possibility of making Columbia College a place that can accommodate all students in the future,” board of trustees chair Toby Goodlett said in the release. “With our rich history, our quest is to always provide learning opportunities that prepare students for a successful future.”
This will not be the first time a man has studied at the college, as the release said male students have previously participated in co-ed evening, graduate and online programs. But this will be the first time men can study in a “co-ed residential day program,” according to Dawkins.
Columbia College said it made the change to enroll men as a result of “shifts in student demographics, cultural shifts and population trends.”
It’s the most recent change for the college, which has had several in the past four years. In 2016, the college eliminated five academic majors that it said had too few students and 80 staff positions as part of restructuring, The State reported.
There are currently about 1,200 male and female students in undergraduate and graduate courses at Columbia College, according to the release.
Despite the significant change to the student body, Columbia College said it’s not dropping its designation as a women’s college.
“While this model is being developed and reviewed, one underlying thing remains clear — the need to maximize and preserve our historic women’s education,” Columbia College President Dr. Carol A. Moore said in the release.
Columbia College is located in between North Main Street and Colonial Drive, not far from Eau Claire High School on Monticello Road.
