Fast Facts

A national leader in the arts and sciences, New College specializes in student-centered learning through collaborative curriculum development and independent research.  We have earned many accolades and distinctions, among them a place in Loren Pope’s book, Colleges That Change Lives, and a ranking among the top five public liberal arts colleges in America by U.S. News & World Report for four consecutive years (2006 – 2009), including No. 1 in 2007. (Read more bragging rights here).

Based on 2008- 2009 Academic Year.

• Degree awarded:  Bachelor of Arts
• Enrollment:  785 students (fall 2008)
• Student-faculty ratio: 10:1
• Average class size: 18
• Number of courses offered: 321 (two semesters)
• Number of U.S. states and D.C. represented: 39
• Number of foreign countries represented: 18 (includes Puerto Rico)
•  In-state/out of state ratio:  82/18
• Independent study projects completed: 1,010 (includes 47 independent reading projects, 551 tutorials, 412 independent study projects during January inter-term)
• Average high school GPA of incoming freshmen: 3.91
• Average SAT scores of incoming first-time freshmen: 1321; verbal - 678,  math-632
• Number of full-time faculty: 73
• Percent of full-time faculty with doctorate or terminal degree in field: 99%
• Tuition costs: Florida resident $4,127; non-resident $23,766
• Room & Board:  $7,464
• Percentage of financial need met of students who were awarded any need-based aid: 95% for all students
• Accreditation:  Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Bachelor of Arts Degree
• Institutional budget: $32.1 million (Education & General budget $21.5 million, which includes revenues from the State of Florida, plus tuition and fees)

Throughout the history of New College, four principles have defined the College's educational philosophy:

1. Each student is responsible in the last analysis for his or her own education.
2. The best education demands a joint search for learning by exciting teachers and able students.
3. Students’ progress should be based on demonstrated competence and real mastery rather than on the accumulation of credits and grades.
4. Students should have from the outset opportunities to explore areas of deep interest to them.

New College’s unique academic program allows students the freedom to pursue their own special areas of academic interest. In addition to formalized classes, students meet individually with faculty mentors to develop seminars, tutorials, independent research and off-campus study experiences to further each student’s academic goals.

All classes are taught by faculty. New College emphasizes collaborative learning and faculty-guided student research. In addition to highly interactive classes and seminars, students work one-on-one with faculty or as part of small tutorial teams to design specialized research or study in their areas of academic interest.

Because New College believes that learning should be a highly personalized and individual experience, students receive detailed narrative evaluations rather than grades from their professors at the end of every course. Students also work one-on-one with faculty to research and write a senior thesis, the culmination of their academic program.

New College of Florida’s emphasis on student-centered learning produces some impressive results. Here are just a few honors and awards the College has received lately:

• New College ranked No. 5 among all public liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 edition of “America’s Best Colleges”
• New College was named the No. 2 best value public college by The Princeton Review and USA Today in their 2009 list of 100 “Best Value” Colleges.  
• New College was named one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education in the 2009 edition of The Princeton Review Guide, “The Best 368 Colleges.”
• New College was ranked No. 3 in the nation among all public colleges and universities in this first annual listing by Forbes.com.
• New College ranked No. 8 on Kiplinger’s “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” for 2009

Our 110-acre campus is located in northern Sarasota County, near the Sarasota International Airport.  Our main Palmer campus lies along the Gulf of Mexico on the former estate of circus magnate Charles Ringling in Sarasota, Florida. Across the Tamiami Trail (US 41) and linked by overhead pedestrian bridge is the East Campus, hub of student and residential life.  The Caples campus, home to the Caples Fine Arts Complex and Environmental studies, is located on Bay Shore Road just south of the Ringling Museum.

New College is located just one hour south of Tampa, and 10 minutes by bus or bicycle from downtown Sarasota, which Money magazine named one of the country’s “best places to live.” Cultural and recreational resources abound, including the Ringling Museum of Art, located next door to campus, and the white sand beaches of Siesta Key, named by the Travel Channel as one of the country’s premier beach destinations.