CENTRAL COLLEGE
Pella, Iowa
The College
At Central College in Pella, Iowa, students are not just getting an education, they are taking off on one of life's greatest journeys. Students learn to be critical thinkers, to communicate effectively, and to see the interconnected nature of knowledge, wisdom, and experience. Central College offers opportunities for students to realize their potential and discover who they were always meant to be.
Established in 1853, Central enrolls 1,623 students. More than 75 percent of these students are from Iowa, but the opportunities at Central often take them far from the campus. Students can study in Paris at the Sorbonne, have a semester's internship in Britain's Parliament, and gain professional experience working with children at an orphanage in the Yucatan. Nearly half of Central's graduates have studied in one of its international programs in Austria, China, England, France, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, and Wales. Central also offers metropolitan study programs in Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Participation in the arts is open to all students and includes symphonic ensembles; jazz, classical, and pop music; painting classes; the only glass-blowing program of its kind in the Midwest; and the light, sound, costume, and set design of the theater.
Central's men and women have achieved great athletic success. The Central Dutch teams have won ten NCAA Division III national championships, placed in the top ten in the nation sixty-one times, and earned 131 Iowa Conference championships. The Dutch field teams in baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling.
Location
Central's home in Pella, Iowa, is a community with a legacy from Europe, founded by Dutch immigrants in 1847. Many of Pella's 10,000 residents are of Dutch ancestry, and the downtown square is surrounded by shops fashioned after the architecture of Holland. Red-brick shops line a Dutch-style canal, and in the spring, the city's three-day celebration of its heritage attracts more than 100,000 visitors. Pella is home to several international companies, including Pella Corporation and Vermeer Manufacturing. The 13,000-acre Lake Red Rock and Bos Landen Golf Resort are both just 5 minutes from the campus. Des Moines, the state capital, is only 40 minutes away.
Majors and Degrees
Central awards the Bachelor of Arts degree, and students can work directly with their adviser to create their own major. Majors are available in accounting, art, biology, business management, chemistry, communication studies, computer science, cultural anthropology, economics, elementary education, English, environmental studies, exercise science, French, general studies, German, history, individualized interdisciplinary studies, information systems, international management, international studies, linguistics, mathematics, mathematics/computer science, music, music education, natural science, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion, social science, sociology, Spanish, and theater.
Central offers a 3-4 cooperative program in architecture with Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a 3-2 cooperative program in engineering with Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and Washington University.
Academic Program
The academic program at Central College is designed to help students launch careers, develop their identities, define their values, and discover their special talents. Central is dedicated to the liberal arts tradition and engages students in the broad spectrum of areas that they will encounter in today's world. At the heart of Central's liberal arts philosophy is the conviction that the fully educated person must be able to read and listen critically, write clearly, and speak in an articulate manner. Communication is essential in today's job market, and Central students acquire strong communication skills. Central offers honors courses to its top students, beginning in the freshman year.
Off-Campus Arrangements
Central students can travel the world, see the sights, learn another culture, and understand what it means to have a global perspective. The international campuses in Mexico and Europe offer opportunities to study another culture; not all programs require foreign language proficiency. English-language programs are offered in Hangzhou, China; London and Colchester, England; Eldoret, Kenya; Leiden, the Netherlands; Carmarthen, Wales; and Mérida, Mexico. Students of Spanish, German, and French can perfect their language skills through programs in Granada, Spain; Vienna, Austria; and Paris, France.
The Chicago Metropolitan Center and the Washington Center provide students with another experience away from the Pella campus. The course work emphasizes the urban experience, and a wide range of internships is available. Central's off-campus programs offer full college credit.
Academic Facilities
New construction and significant renovations are changing Central's campus. Students benefit from state-of-the-art classrooms and athletic facilities. Each campus building is connected by high-speed fiber-optic cable. The College's distinctive library is spacious enough to seat nearly one third of the student body at the same time, and it has won numerous architectural awards for innovative use of space and materials. It is a popular study haven, with more than 210,000 volumes, computer stations, a multimedia collection, and an extensive online computerized catalog.
The Vermeer Science Center is designed so that students from across scientific disciplines can share knowledge and collaborate–an example of Central's approach to community learning. The science center underwent a $20-million renovation that was completed in 2003.
The Carlson-Kuyper Field Station is Central College's 62-acre nature preserve and outdoor laboratory. Located about 12 miles from the campus, it is adjacent to extensive wildlife areas managed by the Corps of Engineers around Lake Red Rock, Iowa's largest lake.
The Kruidenier Center for Communication and Theatre, home of two theaters, a scene shop, a costume shop, a makeup room, a seminar room, a classroom, and offices, hosts at least three major theater productions each year, as well as numerous smaller shows.
The Cox-Snow Music Center houses the newly renovated recital hall, rehearsal spaces, classrooms, and keyboard and computer labs. In the Lubbers Center for the Visual Arts, the Mills Gallery provides excellent exhibition space for student, faculty, and visiting art shows adjacent to studio space for ceramics, glass blowing, painting, and graphic arts.
Completed in 1999, the Weller Center for Business and International Studies is filled with the latest in technology, including multimedia classrooms, a large classroom equipped with a computer at each student's desk, seminar rooms, and a 24-hour computer lab.
Other classroom buildings include Jordan Hall and Central Hall. There are also classrooms in the P. H. Kuyper Gymnasium, the H. S. Kuyper Fieldhouse, the Media Center, and the Maytag Student Center.
The campuswide computer network connects all classrooms, labs, offices, and student residence hall rooms to shared file servers and the Internet. Many students bring their own computers to the campus, but there are also twenty-two computer labs distributed around the campus where students can use standard applications or special discipline-specific software. Both PCs and Macs are available. Each student is provided with an e-mail account and a personal home folder on a network file server and Web server. The Computer Help Center provides technical support to students and faculty and staff members. The same fiber-optic backbone that services the computer network also provides cable TV service to each residence hall room and many other locations around the campus.
Costs
For 2002–03, costs were $17,609 for tuition, $3013 for room, $3132 for board (twenty-meal plan), and $144 for activity fees, for a total of $23,898.
Financial Aid
Types of financial assistance include scholarships, grants, loans, and campus employment. More than 98 percent of the student body receive financial assistance, totaling more than $27 million in 2001–02. The average freshman financial aid package in 2002–03 was $15,275. To apply for assistance, students must first apply for admission and complete the financial aid section of the application form. In addition, students are strongly encouraged to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) after January 1. (Iowa residents must file before June 1.) Students must name Central (code 001850) in order for the College to receive the needs analysis report. To receive the results more quickly, students should file electronically through Central College or on FAFSA's Web site at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Students who apply for aid after March 1 are funded on a funds-available basis.
Each year, Central reserves a significant number of Presidential Scholar Awards, worth up to full tuition, for the most promising freshmen. Eligible students must have a 3.75 cumulative GPA or higher (on a 4.0 scale) and an ACT composite score of at least 28, or ranked first in their graduating class.
Faculty
More than 81 percent of the faculty members hold doctorates or terminal degrees in their fields. There are 93 full-time and 49 part-time faculty members, and the student-faculty ratio is 14:1. The average class size is 20. Faculty members serve as academic advisers and make time to take a personal interest in their students.
Student Government
The Student Senate works with a budget of more than $145,000, and assigned senators have voting membership on nearly all College committees. Students also have nonvoting representation on the Board of Trustees. The Campus Activities Board is made up of students who plan and implement social events throughout the year.
Admission Requirements
The admission committee reviews all applications for admission and seeks students who demonstrate the desired skills and potential to compete successfully at the college level. A student should graduate from an accredited high school or the equivalent, rank in the upper half of the high school graduating class, have at least a 2.5 cumulative grade point average, and achieve test scores on either the ACT or SAT I that are high enough to predict probable success at Central. While specific courses are not required for admission, Central recommends 4 years of English, including literature; 2 or more years of mathematics, including algebra and geometry; 2 or more years of social studies, including American and European history; 2 or more years of lab science; and 2 or more years of foreign languages.
Application and Information
Offers of admission begin on October 1. Applications completed after October 1 are reviewed on a rolling basis. To apply, students submit a completed application with a nonrefundable $25 application fee and have an official transcript of all high school and college credits and a report of ACT or SAT I scores sent to the Office of Admission. The application fee is waived for students who apply before January 20, for those who apply after a personal campus visit, for those who are children of an alumnus, or for those who apply online.
Application forms may be obtained by contacting the Office of Admission or applying online at:
