Recently, my English professor brought to the attention of the class an article written about Benedict College's Success Equals Effort policy. As a class, we discussed the policy and what advantages or disadvantages it may have. I took it upon myself to delve deeper into the policy, and after much consideration, I find myself asking is Benedict College's SEE policy really for the benefit of the students or the college's pocketbook?
             The Benedict Institute first opened its doors in 1870, in Columbia, South Carolina, and was established to educate recently emancipated African-Americans. In 1894, the South Carolina Legislature chartered the Institute as a liberal arts college, and the name was changed to Benedict College. According to the college's website, http://www.benedict.edu, in 2002, enrollment was 3,005. This is credited to strategic planning process geared to increase enrollment. Compared to other small colleges in South Carolina, such as Winthrop University, Francis Marion University, and Coastal Carolina University1, enrollment is still below average. The fact that Benedict College is a historically African-American college, that doesn't actively recruit other ethnic groups, is taken into consideration, but one could see why the small college would want more students. And in their strategic planning they have issued a policy for 2003-2004. The Success Equals Effort policy is a 60-40 formula for calculating freshman grades. Effort counts as 60 percent of the grade, and effort is considered to be attending class. Actual academics only counts as 40 percent of the grade.
             As a college freshman, I believe that this completely degrades the value of the degrees offered at Benedict College. Dr. Swinton, president of Benedict College, argues that the policy helps struggling freshman a chance to succeed since South Carolina's elementary and secondary education so poorly prepares them for co...