Last week (July 2013) I had the opportunity to have lunch with James Behrer who is an admissions counselor as well as the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Dean College in Massachusetts. Dean is a small residential college in Franklin, MA that is less than 45 minutes from both Boston and Providence.
Dean has long been known as a college that offered a two-year associate degree. In the fall of 2000, the college began offering four-year baccalaureate programs. Many students who attend Dean are athletes who would benefit from a competitive athletic environment at the junior college level with the intention of transferring to a Division 1 university to compete for the remaining two years of the student’s eligibility. This program is a very special niche for the athlete who simply needs more time to hone his/her skills in order to be able to compete at the top of their sport. Of students who choose to transfer after receiving their associate degree from Dean, 98% are accepted to one of the colleges of their choice.
Dean College also offers several specific programs for students with learning differences. In Dean’s informational brochure it states, “The Arch Learning Community is designed to support those students with diagnosed learning disabilities through individual and group tutoring, smaller sized college-level courses, specialized academic advising, and a weekly Arch seminar.” In addition to the Arch program, Dean also offers the Pathway Learning Community which is a semester long program that assist students in making the transition from high school to college.
Although Dean is a small college in New England, there are quite a few instances where I think Dean could be a terrific fit for some of my Atlanta clients.