The Tift College of Education was founded as a female collegiate institute in 1849 and has since grown to become a part of Mercer University located at multiple campuses. At Mercer’s Macon campus, enrollment has fluctuated since moving into the building of Stetson School of Business and Economics in 1997. With this fluctuation, the question of if there is enough space in the building to hold all of the Education students arises.

When the School of Education moved into the School of Business, it replaced the Stetson Library. When you walk into the building to this day, the school is located on the bottom floor and has a hallway dedicated to classrooms and offices. However, the Atlanta campus has an entire building dedicated to the School of Education, so does that mean the Macon campus should have one as well?

Well, the answer to that depends on the funding it receives and what the enrollment numbers look like. A majority of the funding comes from alumni and other donations. Looking at Mercer’s Aspire Capital Campaign, Tift College has earned $3 million from it. However, the bigger schools such as the Godsey Science Center received $40 million. Their alumni total is much higher, but this comparison shows which schools receive more funding and resources. 

Another factor in this is enrollment. Dr. James Netherton, the Executive Vice President for the Administration of Finance at Mercer, says, “When I came here, 16 years ago, Tift College was a lot bigger than it is now. And it had declined and declined and gotten smaller and smaller, and now it’s on the rise again.” Since enrollment has been fluctuating on the Macon campus, it is affecting the college and its programs, so it can be difficult to tell if the location alone is enough for the students.

Netherton also talks about the School of Education’s location. He quotes, “If they want their own building, we could increase their tuition by 50 or 60%. And then we would have the money to build them their own building, right?” He speaks on how each school does not necessarily need its own building, but he does want to make sure that each school has the resources it needs for all students. 

There are some Tift students who wanted to comment on the issue of the size and funding of the building.

“When walking through both levels of the building, you can tell that more money gets put into the business part of the building,” a sophomore Education student states. “We are also lacking in scholarship opportunities, with very little being offered specifically for Education majors from Mercer.”

However, when asked about the size of the school, she believes that the school is big enough for all the Tift students. 

Another Education student comments on the size of the school as well.

“I would say it is definitely big enough for the amount of students, but that’s simply because the number of students is so small,” a junior Education student says. “I love the school, but I think it’s the most underrated among schools and professions at Mercer.”

Overall, there are some people that believe Tift College of Education deserves its own building, but there are some who do not. As long as the student enrollment stays the same, it does not look like much is changing for the school of Education location-wise.

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