Another One Bites the Dust: Converse College to Transition to Co-Educational Undergraduate Education

Converse College, a liberal arts educational institution for women in Spartanburg, South Carolina, has announced that men will be admitted to its undergraduate residential programs for the first time in 2021.

Currently, the college enrolls about 900 women in undergraduate programs and nearly 500 students in its coeducational graduate programs. The college also announced that it will become Converse University.

The president and board of trustees cited ongoing changes in student preferences, a nationwide decrease of interest in enrollment at women’s colleges, and proactive preparation for a decline in high school graduates beginning in 2025 as prompts for a re-envisioned Converse.

“Converse made history when we first opened our doors. We made history, when in the face of skyrocketing higher-education costs, we reset our tuition, reducing it by 43 percent. And, today, we make history again as we announce that Converse is opening its doors to all academically-qualified students who strive to be exceptional,” stated Converse President Krista L. Newkirk. “Fewer than two percent of female, college-bound high school students will even consider a single-gender college. We see the addition of a co-educational undergraduate residential component as a strategy not to just recruit men, but to reach more women who otherwise would not consider Converse.”