Summary
Lee University is a private, faith-based liberal arts college in Cleveland, Tennessee, United States. Historically, the school was affiliated with the Church of God, a Christian denomination. Lee was the denomination's Bible Training School from 1918 until 1947, when the name was changed to Lee College.[citation needed] Lee became a university in 1997.[citation needed] The university comprises five colleges: the College of Arts & Sciences, the Helen DeVos College of Education, the School of Music, the School of Religion, and the Center for Adult & Professional Studies. Lee University is named for F.J. Lee, the institution's second president.
Lee was ranked by US News and World Report as 46th among Southern regional universities in 2012.[citation needed] Lee University now maintains the fifth largest undergraduate enrollment among the 103 faith-based colleges who are member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.[citation needed].
History
Lee University has seen its strongest growth since the 1980s, during which time enrollment has quadrupled and full university status attained. Lee's student body consists of 4,954 (grown from 960 in 1986)[7] students (as of Fall 2012). This makes Lee the 5th largest undergraduate enrollment among the 103 Christian colleges who are member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Students currently represent all 50 states and more than 49 countries. On average, Lee also accepts more than 200 transfer students each fall. Since 1986, Lee has also added twenty-two major buildings necessary to serve the students.[citation needed]
Academics
Lee University has a wide range of academic disciplines and extracurricular activities. Many activities such as chapel attendance (offered 2 times per week, students are required to attend 70% of services a month), service requirements (10 hours per semester-80 total hours to graduate), and the study abroad program (Typically taken during a summer break), are required of all graduates before they can receive their respective degree. Exceptions to these are made only under rare circumstances and only under the approval of an academic dean or the school president. All non-local entering freshmen are also required to live on-campus with exceptions made to married/divorced/widowed students, students with children, students 21 years and older, part-time students, and students living locally with immediate relatives.[8]
Entering freshmen of Lee University choose their courses of study, developed under the guidance of a faculty adviser. New freshmen and transfer students with under 16 credit hours are required to take a Gateway-Seminar course (a one-semester special topics seminar that stresses methods of inquiry, critical analysis, writing skills) and helps to transition the student to college life. The Gateway course is taught by a professor who is paired with an upper class student. To graduate, all students are generally expected to complete at least 42 credit hours in a major field and a total of 130 credit hours of academic work. Included in the total is a minor in Bible that consists of 18 credit hours and is required of all students, regardless of their program of study.
Lee has forty-nine different majors offered for study. Although Lee is notable for its religious education; pre-medicine, business, elementary education, and music are also considered among its strongest specialties. Lee's intensive teaching, active learning, residence in a community of cultural and global diversity, and the institution's commitment to Christian philosophy in both social and academic life come together to form a distinctive experience of liberal education.[7]
In 2009, Voices of Lee, the a cappella ensemble directed by Danny Murray, competed on the television show The Sing-Off. They finished in third place.
The Festival Choir is comprised of singers from each of the choral ensembles. In January 2013, the choir performed at the presidential inauguration.
Lee is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate and masters degrees. Lee has been selected for many years as a “Top Tier” institution in the US News and World Report college rankings. “America’s 100 Best College Buys” chose Lee as one of their top choices every year since 2006. Since the year 2000, Lee University has been listed as one of 141 of the Princeton Review ranking of “best colleges” in the Southeast.[9] The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has recommended Lee University as one of 50 "All-American Colleges". Lee University ranks second in the country among the top master's institutions in the percentage of undergraduates receiving credit for studying abroad, according to Open Doors 2010, an annual report published by the New York-based Institute of International Education (IIE), Lee has also been among the top 20 baccalaureate institutions nationally for the number of international students (248 in fall 2006). The music program achieved national recognition by becoming a full member of the National Association of Schools of Music in 1998.[citation needed]
Admission
Lee University is considered a selective liberal arts university. Historically, it has offered admission to 64% of its applicants, and approximately 80% of accepted students typically enroll in the fall. The average ACT scores achieved by its students is 23 and the average high school GPA is 3.41.
Lee's admissions selectivity rank according to The Princeton Review is 82 out of 99. This ranking is determined by several institutionally-reported factors, including: the class rank, average standardized test scores, and average high school GPA of entering freshmen; the percentage of students who hail from out-of-state; and the percentage of applicants accepted. The primary factor in evaluating applicants is the quality of the education they have received, as shown by their transcript. Early decision opportunities are offered to students in the fall; most students apply in January of their final year in high school. Admissions letters are usually received by April 1 of each year. All students begin classes in August. In some cases students are admitted before they graduate from high school; these students have typically taken all of the academic classes offered at their school.
Tuition
According to Lee University's website, the cost of tuition for a full-time student is $6,360 per semester. In addition to this cost, students have the option to pay for on-campus housing, meals and are required to pay some assorted fees such as technology fees, books, etc. According to the Student Financial Services page on the institution's website, The estimated cost of attending Lee is $9,785 per semester for an on-campus student. This cost includes room, board, tuition and the assorted fees noted above.[10]
Athletics
The school's sports teams are named the Flames. With membership in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division I-AA, and primarily competing in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC), the Flames offer 15 team sports for their men and women student athletes. The available men's sports are: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, JV Basketball, Rugby, Soccer, Tennis, and Track. Athletic programs offered for women are: Basketball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Fastpitch softball, Golf, Soccer, Tennis, Track, and Volleyball. Lee's Lady Flames soccer team won the NAIA National Championship in 2008[11] 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Student organizations
Lee features more than 60 student organizations which include:
Backyard Ministries, Baptist Collegiate Ministries, Big Pal/Little Pal, Chattanooga Church, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, God's Own, Invisible Children, Invasion, Liturgical Charismatic Fellowship, Mission Alive, Outreaching Hands, Outstretched Arms, Pioneers for Christ
Asian Council, Bahamian Connection, Chinese Student Fellowship, Diversity Council, Leetinos (Hispanic Cultural Awareness Club, International Student Fellowship, Umoja, WASA Clubs:
Acting on Aids, Amnesty International, College Democrats, College Republicans, Family Life, International Justice Mission, Invisible Children, Women's Rugby, Fiber Arts Club/ "Knit Wits," Student Leadership Council, Students for Life, Life423, Crossover, Lee Buddies, Big Pal Little Pal, SAAMS, Upsilon Xi, Delta Zeta Tau, Alpha Gamma Chi, Sigma Nu Sigma, Pi Kappa Pi, Epsilon Lambda Phi, Theta Delta Kappa, Omega Alpha Phi, Zeta Chi Lambda, Phi Mu Alpha, Alpha Delta Tau.
Academic Council, Anthropology Club, Art Club (C.I.V.A.), AACC (American Assoc. of Christian Counselors), Deutscher Klub (German Club), Financial Management Association International, Kairos Scholars, Math Club, Model UN, Music Educators' National Conference, Philosophy Club, Phi Beta Lambda (Business Club), Public Relations Student Society of America, Society for Law and Justice, Sociology Club, Students National Assoc. of Teachers of Singing, Tri-Beta (Biology HS)
Alpha Chi, Alpha Kappa Delta, Alpha Phi Delta, Alpha Psi Omega, Aria De Capo, Delta Mu Delta, Iota Tau Zeta, Kappa Delta Pi, Kappa Lambda Iota, Lambda Pi Eta, Phi Alpha Theta, Phi Delta Psi, Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Alpha Sigma, Pi Delta Gamma, Phi Delta Phi, Pi Kappa Lambda, Pi Sigma Alpha, Psi Chi, Sigma Alpha Iota, Sigma Delta Pi, Sigma Tau Delta
About the campus
Lee University is located in the town of Cleveland, Tennessee, which lies between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Knoxville, Tennessee. Cleveland is located near the Ocoee River, the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics whitewater events, the Smoky Mountains, and the popular Gatlinburg area.
The 120-acre (0.49 km2) campus consists of various old and newly constructed academic buildings. The residential part is also spread throughout the campus with multiple dormitories and housing. Many building projects have been undertaken in recent years on the campus including; a new Humanities center, a new Religion building (2008), and a new state of the art Science building (2009). The campus also features several small park areas and articulate landscaping. The sidewalks went through a minor renovation several years ago to make them more handicap accessible as well.
Note: Dates of construction given when known
Social activities
Lee University, like many faith-based colleges and universities, encourages a Christian philosophy of student behavior based on Biblical teachings. All students are asked to sign a "Community Covenant" which lists several restrictions on behaviors and social interaction according to the school's institutional and religious policy. Most notable are a substance policy barring alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs, and it's stance on homosexuality, which is banned in all forms. Men and Women's dormitories are kept separate and premarital sexual intercourse is prohibited regardless of sexual preference. Immodesty and "occult practices" are also forbidden.[12]
Like many colleges and universities in the United States, Lee University students have the opportunity to participate in Greek organizations for the purpose of serving the community, bettering the campus and building social and professional relationships. Many of the Greek organizations on Lee University's campus are neither national nor recognized as fraternities or sororities and are instead colloquially referred to as "Greek clubs."[13] Currently the only nationally-affiliated social fraternity at Lee University is Phi Mu Alpha which chartered as the Pi Xi Chapter on November 13, 2004. Sigma Alpha Iota is a national, professional fraternity for females studying music and was chartered as the Lambda Eta Chapter on December 11, 2004.