Virginia Intermont College

Virginia Intermont College is a small private Baptist liberal arts college in Bristol, Virginia. It was founded in 1884 by a Baptist minister who wanted to establish educational opportunties for women. The school has been coeducational since 1972.

On June 21, 2007, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed Virginia Intermont College on Probation for six months following review of the institution’s special report on finances. The College was placed on Probation because the Commission determined that it failed to demonstrate compliance with Core Requirement 2.2 (Governing Board), Core Requirement 2.11.1 (Financial Resources), Comprehensive Standard 3.10.1 (Financial Stability), Comprehensive Standard 3.10.3 (Financial Aid Audits), Comprehensive Standard 3.10.4 (Control of Finances), and Federal Requirement 4.7 (Title IV Program Responsibilities). The commission will review the college again in December 2007.

History

Reverend J.R. Harrison, a Baptist minister, envisioned bringing higher education opportunities to women in southwest Virginia and saw it come to fruition when the Southwest Virginia Institute in Glade Spring, Virginia opened on September 17, 1884. Instructing both boarding and day students, the school steadily grew until it outgrew its facilities in less than ten years.

The college began moving to a new site in Bristol, Virginia in 1891, completing its relocation with the beginning of classes on September 14, 1893. Shortly after the move, the name was changed to Virginia Institute. A reorganization of the curriculum in 1910 brought the college in line with the junior college movement and the college became the first two-year institution to be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school's name changed to its present name, Virginia Intermont College, in 1908. "Intermont", meaning "among the mountains", is evocative of the college's location in the mountains.

The 1960s saw construction of five buildings on campus to accommodate the school's growth. In May of 1968, the college's Board of Trustees approved a plan for the development of a four-year institution. 1972 ushered in two major changes at Intermont, the awarding of the school's first baccalaureate degrees and the admission of men.

Virginia Intermont College is a small private Baptist liberal arts college in Bristol, Virginia. It was founded in 1884 by a Baptist minister who wanted to establish educational opportunties for women. The school has been coeducational since 1972.

On June 21, 2007, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed Virginia Intermont College on Probation for six months following review of the institution’s special report on finances. The College was placed on Probation because the Commission determined that it failed to demonstrate compliance with Core Requirement 2.2 (Governing Board), Core Requirement 2.11.1 (Financial Resources), Comprehensive Standard 3.10.1 (Financial Stability), Comprehensive Standard 3.10.3 (Financial Aid Audits), Comprehensive Standard 3.10.4 (Control of Finances), and Federal Requirement 4.7 (Title IV Program Responsibilities). The commission will review the college again in December 2007.