Decisions regarding coeducation at two pairs of same-sex institutions

Abstract

This dissertation looks at the long-term effects of decisions made in the 1970s concerning coeducation at two sets of Catholic institutions of higher education located in Minnesota. The two urban institutions, the University of St. Catherine and the University of St. Thomas, and the two rural institutions, the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University, are examined from a standpoint of enrollment, tuition charges, and how the institutions were perceived by U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges". There are numerous subdivisions of each of these major areas to help shed light on the long-term direction and success of each institution. To also help illuminate these effects, two private, non-Catholic institutions, Hamline University and Gustavus Adolphus College are used as comparisons. At the beginning of this research, there was the belief that the University of St Catherine had been adversely affected by the University of St. Thomas' decision to admit women, and that this fact was the most significant change to occur. After tabulating the result, it is clear that all four Catholic institutions and the two comparison institutions are all successful and moving forward in the twenty-first century.