Longwood University

 

Longwood University

  Longwood University
201 High St
Farmville, VA 23909		 General information
 (434) 395-2000

Type of institution: Public, 4-year or above
Federal Aid: Institution has a Program Participation Agreement with the US Department of Education for eligible students to receive Pell Grants and other federal aid.
Degrees offered: Bachelor degrees, Master's degrees
Carnegie classification: Not Applicable
Number of students: 4,479 (2006)
2007-2008 Undergraduate application fee:$ 40

About this School
Longwood University is a four-year public, liberal-arts university located in Farmville, Virginia. It was founded in 1839, and became a university on July 1, 2002. It currently has an undergraduate enrollment of about 4,350 students.
 
History
Longwood University, a pioneer first in private and later in public education, is one of the oldest universities the United States and was the fifth oldest college for women. It was founded on March 5, 1839 as the Farmville Female Seminary Association. In the succeeding years the increasing prosperity of the Seminary led the stockholders to expand the seminary into a college, and the Farmville Female College was incorporated in 1860. On April 7, 1884, the state of Virginia acquired the property of the Farmville Female College, and in October of the same year the Normal School opened with 110 students enrolled. This was the first state institution of higher learning for women in Virginia. With the passage of the years, the Normal School expanded its curriculum and progressed through a succession of names. It became the State Normal School for Women in 1914, the State Teachers College at Farmville in 1924, and Longwood College in 1949. In 1954, graduate programs were authorized. Longwood became fully coeducational in June 1976. Governor Mark Warner officially signed legislation changing Longwood's designation to university on April 24, 2002, the one-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed Ruffner Hall (see below). The main University building, Ruffner Hall was built in 1839 as the "College Building" and evolved through several stages of construction and expansion from 1839 to 1907. For decades the sprawling Ruffner, whose image appears on the university's logo and seal, was the main administration building, with administrative offices on the first floor and student housing on the upper two floors. After students vacated the building by the early 1970s, dorm rooms were converted to office and classroom space. The former library, Lancaster Hall, was renovated and reopened in 1996 as the main administration building. Ruffner was then used primarily for classrooms and faculty offices before being closed in 1999 for renovation. Ruffner Hall burned down on April 24, 2001, in the middle of its renovation period and was subsequently rebuilt. A popular myth on the University campus holds that around the time the college changes its name, catastrophe occurs such as the Ruffner fire, deemed "The Great Fire of 2001." For example:
  • 1884: The college changes its name to the State Female Normal School in Farmville. This was part of the agreement when the Commonwealth of Virginia bought the school from its original owners, because the owners were bankrupt following the Civil War.
  • 1923: Right before the school changed its name to the State Teachers College the next year, a fire destroyed the dining hall, sitting behind Ruffner Hall.
  • 1949: Just after the school changed its name to Longwood College, a fire destroyed White House Hall, a building next to East Ruffner (currently where part of Main Tabb is today), and a mirror image to Grainger Hall, which housed an auditorium. The decision was made by then-President Dabney Lancaster to wait for the new auditorium (now Jarman Hall) to open two years later, then expand Tabb to connect directly to Ruffner.
 
Academic year prices for full-time, first-time undergraduate students
Tuition and Fees2007-20082006-20072005-2006
In-State$ 8,058$ 7,589$ 7,020
Out of State$ 16,378$ 15,259$ 13,754
Books and Supplies$ 808$ 800$ 800
On-Campus
Room and board$ 6,276$ 6,343$ 5,586
Other Expenses$ 3,900$ 2,330$ 2,330
Off Campus
Room and board------------
Other Expenses------------
Off Campus w/ family
Other Expenses------------

Financial aid 2005-2006

Financial aid to full-time, first-time undergraduate students

Type of AidPercentage of students receiving aidAverage amount of aid they received
Federal Grants (scholarship/fellowship) 15% $ 2,832
State/Local grants (scholarship/fellowship) 36% $ 2,755
Institutional grants (scholarship/fellowship) 17% $ 4,091
Loans to students 48% $ 3,639
 
End of file for Longwood University.