Central College
Work 812 University Street
Pella, IA 50219
Work(641) 628-7600
Admissions E-mail: admissions@central.edu
Web site: http://www.central.edu
- 122Rank
- 46Score
Tier 1
College Category:
Liberal Arts Colleges
Liberal Arts Colleges
Overview : Central College
| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Institutional Control: | Private |
| Year founded: | 1853 |
| Religious affiliation: | Reformed Church in America |
| Academic calendar: | semester |
| Total number of undergraduates: | 1,558 |
| Setting: | rural |
| Endowment: | $82,231,236 |
| Fall Admissions | |
| Application deadline: | rolling |
| Application fee: | $25 |
| Fall 2008 Acceptance rate: | 77.3% |
| Selectivity: | more selective |
| Expenses | |
| Costs: | 2009-2010 Tuition and Fees: $25,010 |
| Mission | |
| School mission: | Located in Pella, Iowa. Central College, is a residential liberal arts college dedicated to helping students discover and develop their greatest potential. Guided by its Christian tradition, the College community engages in vigorous, free, open inquiry in pursuit of academic excellence. Central is committed to global sustainability, service and community-based learning, and study abroad. In recent years, Central has made a commitment to create an environmentally-friendly community with a strong emphasis on sustainability and community-based service learning. The college has two, soon-to-be three, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-rating buildings by the U.S. Green Building Council. Central's Vermeer Science Center was recognized as the first building in Iowa to obtain a LEED rating, receiving silver. Howard McKee Hall was the first residential building in the state to receive a gold LEED rating. Central is committed to LEED guidelines for all new campus construction and to an environmentally friendly campus. Central's new 57,460 square foot education and psychology building is vying for the state's first platinum rating, the highest LEED rating. Sustainability efforts extend across campus from dining services (organic foods) to student-led recycling efforts. Central is also committed to service and community-based learning. This program fosters partnerships between the college and community agencies to provide opportunities for students to reinforce classroom skills and knowledge while they engage in work that benefits the common good. For the third consecutive year the college's PLACES (Program for Learning Awareness of Cultures in Experiential Settings) program has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for distinguished general community service in recognition of extraordinary volunteer efforts by the school and its students to serve area neighborhoods and communities. The PLACES program has also been recognized by The Templeton Guide, Campus Outreach Opportunity League/Idealist.org, Student Horizons, and Iowa Commission on Latino Affairs. Central recently established the Center for Global Sustainability Education which grows out of a new partnership with Central's nationally-recognized program in community-based learning. The center will also house SUSTAIN, the Central College campus sustainability working group, providing resources and support for students and volunteers working on sustainability projects and community-based service-learning. The Prairie Project, the main ongoing initiative of the new center, will provide professional training and curriculum development support for area teachers and community partners, demonstrating how sustainability education and community-based learning work together. Central's new global sustainability graduation requirement captures the interconnectedness of environmental, economic and social systems. By its nature, sustainability education is interdisciplinary and uses a variety of techniques that promote active, participatory learning, along with the development of practical problem-solving skills. It helps students acquire and apply heightened knowledge, awareness and understanding of how their personal and collective actions affect the sustainability of local and global systems. Committed to international education, nearly half of Central's students study abroad at one of eight international sites in London, England; Bangor, Wales; Paris, France; Vienna, Austria; Leiden, the Netherlands; Hangzhou, China; Granada, Spain; and Merida, Mexico. |
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