High Point University

College review by Lisa Bleich

Build it and they will come. That is what High Point President, Dr. Nido Quebin’s philosophy is to higher education. He has built a college campus over the past three years that looks like a country club/conference center. He has spared no expense in his expansive vision of creating a luxurious college campus. Enrollment in the first year class has quadrupled from 300 to close to 1,200 for this year’s freshman class. He has a paternalistic view of education and believes that students will rise to the expectations that are presented to them. Academically, he is trying to improve the academics by introducing a core curriculum, but the jury is still out. We saw students as we toured (half of the back row in a finance class was on Facebook during the lecture).

High Point offers classes on etiquette, how to eat in a restaurant, how to conduct yourself in a business meeting.  They have a mock airplane for students to practice conversation on a plane, a fancy steak house to get students used to eating out and having business meetings.  Classical music is piped in the quad along with snacks to help elevate students.  All of these touches are part of Dr. Quebin’s plan to create students with aspirations for a successful life.  

The students we met were: straight-laced, pre-professional, clean cut, rule followers, and aspirational