Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) will host meetings next week with students about transfer opportunities.
BSC announced on Tuesday they’ll close on May 31 after legislation to give the financially distressed college a $30 million loan failed to garner enough support in the Alabama House.
“Some have vented their frustration and anger over the College’s closing, and all have expressed profound grief over losing a place that has meant so much to them and to the world. Those of us in leadership roles – and everyone on the Board of Trustees – have those same emotions. But for now, we are setting those feelings aside so that we can concentrate on the work before us: Making sure our students, faculty, and staff have the smoothest possible transition to a new road none of us wanted to take, and taking care of the business of a wind-down,” BSC president Daniel Coleman said in an email to BSC alumni and students on Wednesday.
He continued, “Finally, I want to thank you for your loyalty to this College, for the efforts so many of you made to persuade elected officials that BSC was worth saving, for your words of encouragement to those of us in the trenches, and for keeping the faith over these long months of struggle. We believed until the end that we could make this work, and were as stunned as you were by the outcome.”
A transfer fair will be hosted at BSC for students to meet with representatives of other colleges and universities on April 5. BSC will hold meetings on Monday with faculty and staff.
A University of Alabama System spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday, “As a fellow institution of higher education, the University of Alabama System is grateful for Birmingham-Southern College’s distinguished contributions over the past 168 years and is saddened by the college’s recently announced closure.”
“The University of Alabama System is fully committed to supporting Birmingham-Southern students in this time of transition and ensuring they have the opportunity to remain in-state and receive an excellent educational experience. As such, the UA System will offer an expedited transfer process to all eligible students currently enrolled at Birmingham-Southern College. The expedited transfer process will be available at all UA System campuses – The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham and The University of Alabama in Huntsville,” the spokesman added. “Any Birmingham-Southern student interested in transferring to a UA System institution will receive waived application fees and expedited review and credit transfer processing, if eligible. Each UA System institution will work with accepted students on an individual basis to create a competitive financial aid package to the greatest extent possible based on available funding and student eligibility. UA System campuses will maximize Birmingham-Southern students’ transfer credits to help work toward timely degree completion. Academic advisors and discipline-specific program personnel will work closely with affected students to apply their credits to the appropriate degree program and facilitate the transfer process based on each eligible student’s unique needs.”
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