Despite concerns that the pandemic might widen college-going gaps for first-generation
students and students of color, the incoming first-year class at Bellarmine University
this fall exceeds the Fall 2019 numbers in both categories.
Not only that—the Class of 2025 is the most diverse in Bellarmine history. Of the
600 first-year students who began classes on Thursday, 26 percent are students of
color, compared to 18 percent in Fall 2019 and 22 percent in Fall 2020.
Thirty-six percent of the students are first generation, meaning they will be the
first in their families to earn a college degree. That compares to 35 percent in Fall
2019 and 33 percent in Fall 2020.
The Class of 2025 comes to Bellarmine from coast to coast—and beyond—with 25 states
and nine countries represented. Thirty percent of the first-year students come from
outside Kentucky.
The numbers represent progress under Bellarmine’s strategic plan, “Tradition and Transformation,”
which calls for expanding the university’s recruiting footprint and increasing the
diversity of students, faculty and staff. One of the plan’s main goals, Bellarmine
Athletics’ rise to NCAA Division I in 2020, helped to increase national awareness
of the university.
“Our unwavering commitment to expanding and diversifying our enrollment and geographic
reach as well as increasing access and affordability for students from all walks of
life is unequivocal,” said Dr. Mike Marshall, Bellarmine’s vice president for Enrollment,
Marketing and Communication. “Key initiatives such as test-optional and Public Price
Promise are consistent with our student-centered approach and resonate with potential
Knights and their families.”
Beginning with the Class of 2025, Bellarmine University now allows prospective undergraduate
students to complete their application without submitting their standardized test
scores if they feel their performance on the ACT or SAT doesn’t accurately reflect
their academic talent. Regardless of test-optional status, admission counselors continue
to consider a variety of factors in evaluating candidates, including high school grades,
counselor recommendations, curriculum, student employment, leadership experiences,
and activities and involvement.
Fifty-nine percent of the incoming class qualified for the Public Price Promise, and
39 percent of those, or 236 students, are enrolled in the program, according to Lauren
Keeling, assistant vice president of Enrollment Management and interim dean of Undergraduate
Admission.
The program matches the current direct cost of a qualifying student’s flagship university—often
their state’s largest, oldest institution, providing a private liberal arts learning
experience for the same price as a state school. Eligible students are enrolling as
a traditional first-year student; have an unweighted high school GPA of 3.6; and must
live on campus all four years.
The number of first-year students living on campus has also rebounded to pre-COVID
numbers: 67 percent are staying in the residence halls.
“Alumni, friends and the city of Louisville have every reason to be proud of Bellarmine’s
trajectory and impact,” Marshall said. “We look forward to continuing to demonstrate
the value of a Bellarmine education to the community at large.”