Colleges of the '80s: Wh y does LB C stand strong?

lose their present indentity through mergers and drastic cutbacks in the range of courses offered

Where other colleges are predicting outright bankruptcies,LBC continues to build and expand to keep up with the steady stream of college applicants

A chief reason for the gloomy outlook for private colleges is that they must compete with public colleges which get regular subsidies from state governments to keep tuition low

The average yearly private-college tuition as of 1978 was $2,970 (notincluding room and board), compared with public-college tuition of $600. Therefore, the pressure for private colleges to continue to raise tuition feesis great, since only halfofprivate college education is paid by tuition Private colleges arehaving torely on gifts, endowments, and government grants tomake up thedifference

"Middle-class students who would have gone to private colleges may end up in public institutions or community colleges," said John A Crowl, executive editor and publisher of the "Chronicle of Higher Education."

In 1978, projections compiled by Oakland Financial Group of Char- lottesville,Va., indicated that bythe time a child who was 1 year oldin 1978 reached college age,the totalcost —including tuition,room and board, travel and incidentals—of earning a bachelor's degree will be (in current dollars) $47,333 at a state university and $82,830 ata private college.

At Harvard, tuition charges roseto $7,500 in1979 Others inthe nation's most expensive five: Bennington, $7,540; Yale, $7,500; Massachusetts

Long lines atthecollege's registration are obvioussigns ofLBC'sincreasedgrowth. Here, students pass through final check-out at spring registration.

Institute of Technology, $7,440;and Sarah Lawrence, $7,440 At Harvard, tuition, room and board totaled at $9,170 for1980's academic year Add tothatthecostofbooks andtransportation,and thetotal cost fortheHarvard student was$10,000.

Along with the competition of publiccolleges, inflation isanother major reason for the struggles private colleges face When the family pocketbook ishit,many students will start (continued on page 84)

Students learn todeal with minor inconveniences, knowing that they will eventually bring majoradvantages. Here, a concrete walkway is put in to make passage between classroom buildings easier.

The flurry of activity around the classroom buildings isindicative ofthe college's massive growth Begun in 1971with 154students, LBC now boasts 3,000 students.

As thecollege shows growth inphysical areas like buildings, one must remember thegrowth of academics. During 1980,LBC became accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Here, Laurie Bartram studies hard foran upcoming exam.