Augustana made a $15,000,000 capital improvement to construct a new 240 bed residence hall at 38th Street and 11th Avenue. The new hall has two wings with a junior bed design of 130 rooms and a traditional dorm wing with 110 rooms. This project partially replaced beds at an existing residence hall that was renovated with a net increase of 130 beds. The College implemented a strategic planning process to make improvements and expand the College enrollment from 2,300 to 2,500.
Augustana College, founded in 1860 by Swedish settlers, is a selective, independent college of the liberal arts and sciences, related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The 115-acre wooded campus is located in Rock Island, Illinois as part of the Illinois – Iowa Quad Cities metropolitan area, that has a population 350,000, on Interstate 80. The University’s student-to-faculty ratio is 13-to-one. Student activities include music ensembles, theatre, debate, publications, broadcasting, student government, local Greek system, a variety of professional, religious, departmental, political, social, and service organizations.
The School’s athletics programs compete in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) which is at the NCAA Division III level and includes eleven men’s varsity teams and ten women’s varsity teams. The school’s tuition cost for 2005-2006 was $22,971, on-campus room and board is $6,405, and fees are $486. Single hour rate is $960. Ninety-five percent of the student body receives financial assistance. Augustana ranks among the top 10 percent of all colleges and universities based on the number of graduates who go on to earn doctoral degrees. The School is also ranked in the top ten of all colleges and universities in the number of times they have qualified for the National Debate Tournament.
Augustana’s varsity athletics teams have won more conference championships than any other school in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin, the league Augustana joined as a charter member in 1946. The Vikings have won 164 total CCIW championships – 129 by the college’s 11 men’s teams and 35 by Augustana’s 10 women’s teams. Combining athletic prowess and academic excellence, Augustana currently ranks fifth among all colleges and universities in terms of its number of student- athletes who have earned recognition as Academic All-Americans. In 2005, QCREDA issued a $15,000,000 bond that created 20 new jobs.