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Masks in place, students spread out under the trees near the library to tie-dye T-shirts during Week of Welcome.
ENROLLMENT RISES DESPITE PANDEMIC Bethel’s incoming student numbers stayed up and total enrollment increased, a heartening trend following the unexpected end to the 2019-20 school year. After the 20th day of classes, when semester numbers become official, there are 151 first-time freshmen (compared to last year’s 155), the second-largest class in the past 32 years, along with 30 transfer students. Total enrollment was 469, compared to 456 in fall 2019, an increase of 2.8%. “After the turbulent last six months, this incoming class reaffirms the value of a Bethel education,” said Eric Preheim ’16, interim director for admissions. 16 AROUND THE GREEN | BETHELKS.EDU
The Class of 2024 includes eight highschool valedictorians, with 9 percent of freshmen coming from the top 10 percent of their graduating class and 29 percent from the top quarter. Other characteristics of Bethel’s fall 2020 student body: first-time freshmen come from 14 states (California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming) in addition to Kansas, with 10 new international students, from Argentina, Chile, Czech Republic, Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom. First-time freshmen represent 45 different
Kansas high schools, while 25 first-time freshmen are legacy students, meaning a parent, grandparent or sibling has previously attended Bethel. “We’re excited to watch them grow as Threshers,” Preheim said. “As a college, these consecutive and historic first-year numbers mean a strong foundation for enrollment is building.”
