“Diversity is a big word,” said Vice President for Enrollment Services Randy Doss, “and people will only define it in the way they want to define it.” In 2005, Guilford took on a Strategic Plan with a goal of not only increasing the number of students, but the number of international students.

The goal of the strategic plan for traditional students was to have 3 percent international students by 2010, and at this point in time, Guilford only has 1 percent.

“We’re more diverse than we’ve ever been. International students are a problem and the problem is cost. Many international students get great amounts of financial aid,” said Doss.

According to Doss, the admissions office has traveled less due to cost and Guilford lacks funds to hire an international admissions counselor.

For the first time since the fall of 1970, the freshmen class is 50 percent in-state, 50 percent out-of-state. The increase in in-state students has impacted Guilford in many ways.

Financially the school has benefited from the rising number of in-state students.

“Guilford is supported almost 80 percent by student enrollment,” said Doss. “The state of N.C. is the largest source of financial aid for Guilford College – it behooves us to a certain extent to use this money.”

This year there were 136 more out-of-state applicants than in-state applicants; however, there were 996 more out-of-state applicants than in-state applicants in 2008.

While the numbers typically fluctuate from year to year, there has been a dramatic shift in the population who applied this year compared to the other applicants within the past 5-10 years. Five hundred forty-four more in-state students applied this year compared to 2008, and there were 316 less out-of-state applicants in 2009.

There have been both more in-state applicants and in-state acceptances in 2009 compared to years past. Last year Guilford accepted 619 more out-of-state applicants than in-state applicants, while in 2009 Guilford only accepted 12 more out-of-state acceptances. Overall, 225 in-state students and 225 out-of-state students were enrolled in the freshmen class of 2009.

There are various conjectures to why the number enrolled from North Carolina has risen and the number of out-of-state and international students has decreased.

“In a time of unparallel economic uncertainty, as people were making decisions, they thought of going closer to home,” said Doss.

Referring to the visible changes on campus, such as the new turf football field and the refurbished gym and cafeteria. Dean of Students Aaron Fetrow said, “In some way, nice things sell.”

“The image of Guilford is slowly shifting,” said tour-guide junior Brian Daniel. “Guilford is becoming more conservative because we’re in a more conservative state. Working in the admissions office you can’t really control the kind of people that come to the school.”

However, Guilford has done little advertising outside of the campus tours, online information and the traveling admissions counselors.

“‘Marketing’ has had no impact on the enrollment to date. We are in the process of creating not only a plan but a commitment to an integrated marketing approach,” explained Senior Director of Communications and Marketing Ty Buckner.

International club president Yazmin Garcia Rico, a junior, said that “Most international students heard through friends about Guilford.”

While the increase in North Carolinians, may detract from some forms of diversity (geographic, cultural, etc.), Doss stressed that “diversity of thought” cannot be ignored in Guilford’s mission.

Similarly Fetrow explained, “The far-left can be close-minded . There is some intention to make Guilford a diverse place and not only through appearance. We are trying to change the campus in a positive way to make it more beautiful and diverse. Guilford is still going to be Guilford because that is the mission of the place.”

Director of the Friends Center/Campus Ministry Coordinator, Max Carter, said that due to the large growth in student population, Guilfordians must work harder to reinforce the school’s values.

“What has changed at Guilford is that we are large enough now where we need to be very intentional about integrating people into the larger campus ethos,” said Carter.

While juniors Megan Snider and Rico have both noticed more students of color since they entered Guilford three years ago, they felt the progress did not solely come from the administration.

“As a part of H.U.G. (Hispanos Unidos de Guilford) and the international club on campus, I don’t think that there is enough effort from the school to try to bring Latino and international communities to Guilford,” said Rico.

Snider agreed with Rico and said “I feel like there is more interest in diversity. Sometimes we cannot rely on the administration to make change. It is time for the students and administration to work together and to engage in a dialogue with each other.