Guilford College has seen some major changes on campus over the past few years, and this year is no exception.Some parts of Guilford had a summer face-lift. King Hall underwent a $1.8 million renovation that created office spaces and classrooms, and added a fresh layer of paint to the walls. $1.1 million of donated money was put into building a new press box, a scoreboard and two brick patios.

“We now really have the best facility in our athletic field,” said Randy Doss, vice president for Enrollment and Campus Life.

“It’s a big step up from last year,” said sophomore Alex Parker, a member of the football team. “We hope the new press box will bring more people out to the games.”

One of the biggest changes this year isn’t from renovations – it’s the first-year class. Though only the second biggest class in the last three years, they boast both the lowest acceptance rate (56 percent) and highest average SAT score (1175) of any class in Guilford history.

“Academically, they are certainly a strong class,” Doss said. “Whether they choose to use their above-average background in the classroom remains to be seen.”

In order to help the new students reach their academic potential, there is a greater focus on the academic tools available at Guilford, such as The Learning Commons. This focus began with CHAOS, when students were getting oriented to the campus.

“A major population we usually lose is students who come and don’t realize how academically challenging Guilford is,” said senior Matthew Steere, one of the CHAOS team leaders. “What we tried to do this year was make sure they knew what tools they had academically.”

CHAOS itself underwent a few changes this year. Avanti was required for the first time. Because of this, all first-years checked in on the same day and had a full week of orientation.

“It was nice to be here for that long to adjust, but it would have been nice to have more time that wasn’t structured,” said first-year Jewel Anderson.

Instead of CHAOS Continues events, first-years now go to a First-Year Experience lab once a week. This lab continues to orient first-years to the college experience, teaching academic skills such as time management, studying and test-taking.

“I think it’s a good class for first-years, but you’re kind of sitting there like ‘Well, shouldn’t this be obvious?'” said first-year Laura Feltman.

The first-year class brings more changes with them than just academics and orientation. Applications last year went up by more than 900. Guilford is growing, and with this growth comes many challenges, such as housing.

There are currently about 20 people living in dorm lounges. Campus Life expects the lounges to empty out by Oct. 1, but there are still plans in the works for a new dorm or relaxing the off-campus policy.

“The decision to build a dorm isn’t just about the dorm and money and location, it’s about what kind of college we want to be,” said President Kent Chabotar.

Guilford’s community is also growing thanks to a new service called the HEAT bus. This free service, funded in part by federal grant money and in part by the colleges in the Greensboro area, runs daily to and from popular spots in Greensboro, such as UNCG’s campus, downtown and the Friendly Center.

“Essentially now you’re on a campus of 30,000, not 2,500,” Chabotar said.

The HEAT bus provides both a convenience for students without cars who need to get around town, and a way to extend social circles beyond the campus.

“I feel like a lot of Guilford students stay in the Guilford bubble,” said sophomore Saron Hardin-Smith. “It’s a good opportunity to get out in the Greensboro community.”

Getting out into the community is also more feasible thanks to the Quaker Card, a system set up this year that allows students to use their college ID card as a credit card at a variety of stores around Guilford.

“It’s nice right now, but it’s going to get nicer,” said Aaron Fetrow, dean for Campus Life.

“I’m glad that you can use the card off campus, but I wish you could use it at more places,” said junior Garrett Fitzgerald.

Growth isn’t the administration’s only focus this year. They’re also working to keep current students from leaving.

“We’re trying to improve retention rate,” Chabotar said. “We’d like it at 80 percent or more, frankly.”

Last year, retention was at 77 percent. Studies show that student-teacher relationships are what keep students at school, so the administration is trying to emphasize those relationships.

In order to reach out to CCE students more effectively, Joylynn Henning was hired as a retention coordinator for the program.

“Essentially, retention is about relationships,” Henning said. “My goal is to reach every new incoming student so they don’t feel they have to navigate Guilford themselves.”

The biggest focus Guilford has this year, be it for traditional students, CCE, Early College, or otherwise, is keeping the classes unified and the campus community strong.

“If we make students feel like they fit here and that Guilford cares, they’ll stay,” Fetrow said.