By: Frances Inabnet
Over the past ten years, Samford University has grown notably in class size each new fall semester. With the university implementing many changes on its campus, the small Christian private school is becoming more appealing to transfer students.
Samford recently earned three top 10 rankings in the Wall Street Journal and was added to the College Pulse 2025 list of Best Colleges in the U.S. Samford was ranked second in a national ranking for character development and ranked eighth for career preparation. As a result of Samford’s prime educational opportunities, high caliber athletics and genuine community, the school has become an attraction to many across the U.S.
Due to Birmingham Southern College (BSC) closing in spring of 2024, about 154 transfer students from BSC enrolled in Samford for the fall semester of 2024.
Langston Strawbridge, former student athlete at BSC and current Samford senior, now serves as the president of the BSC student advisory council. He described his seamless transition to Samford.
“Samford has been very welcoming, faculty and staff… honored our tuition,” said Strawbridge. “They honored our credits, and the school also embodies many of the values that were prevalent at BSC. What I loved about BSC was their hospitality, the personal relationships we had, and I knew that Samford would honor those values.”
Samford Horizons, the University’s strategic plan, is a particular point of interest for the transfer students.
“We look forward to the new cafeteria, the new student center and the football games. Samford’s culture and the way it is embedded in Homewood, definitely speaks out,” Strawbridge said.
Samford has also formed partnerships with community colleges such as Gadsden State Community College and Jefferson State. The partnership ensures those students are guaranteed admission to Samford upon meeting the university’s requirements to receive their bachelor’s degree. The assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dana Basinger explained the plan.
“While Samford has always accepted credits from community colleges, there is a new plan under President Beck Taylor to formalize the articulation agreements, allowing community college students to have assurance that their classes are going to count if they transfer to Samford,” said Basinger.
Senior Associate Provost Dr. Marci Johns said that Samford also has goals to “create new, expanded and revised academic programs that enhance existing offerings and attract new student populations.”
Because of these goals, Samford administrators have been considering changing all classes from four to three-hour credit courses to make a uniform transition when transferring courses over. Many institutions function on three-hour credit courses and altering Samford’s courses to that model would benefit transfer students’ schedules and ensure that they are able to graduate on time.
As a result of Samford’s implementation of the Samford Horizons campus masterplan, their new program to partner with community colleges and their consideration of a new credit hour model, Samford continues to become a highly appealing institution to transfer students.
