Southern Virginia College provides another LDS university experience
BYU Daily Universe 26Jan99
By Michelle Coxey: NewsNet Staff Writer

Catering to LDS students in the East that want to attend college in an LDS atmosphere, Southern Virginia College is reaching some students. The school was established in 1996 when a group of LDS businessmen purchased a women's college that had fallen on hard times. SVC is neither owned nor operated by the LDS Church.

Enrollment at SVC has risen to 300 students, but this is still very small, giving the students the advantage of a very small college: small classes with more personal interaction between students and professors.

Like BYU and the other colleges in the Church Educational System, SVC has an honor code and requires an ecclesiastical endorsement from a bishop. And since 99% of the student body is LDS, everyone shares LDS standards.

Still, much work remains to be done for SVC to reach its potential. SVC is accredited by the state of Virginia, and is now in the process of applying for regional accreditation.

Representatives of SVC were on campus at BYU on Thursday, January 21st, inviting students to consider transferring. "We would love to have as many students as possible experience the Southern hospitality at Southern Virginia College," said Curtis Fawson, SVC's Executive Vice President.