What Columbia College, Columbia, SC does

Columbia College is a private nonprofit liberal arts institution located on a 52-acre campus in Columbia, South Carolina, founded in 1855 as one of the oldest women's colleges in the region. The college serves traditional undergraduates, transfer students, online learners, graduate students, and international students through a hybrid on-campus and fully online delivery model. Its core academic portfolio spans 50+ majors, minors, and concentrations across arts, sciences, business, education, and professional studies, supported by the Canvas Learning Management System and a proprietary Koala Connection student portal with Microsoft 365 single sign-on. Specialized offerings include Pre-Professional Tracks, an Honors Program, the SC CREATE teacher pipeline, the Call Me MISTER initiative, and Teaching Fellows. Graduate degrees (M.A., M.B.A., M.Ed.) and professional certificates are delivered fully online, with national reach enabled by SARA reciprocity.

The college generates revenue primarily through tuition and fees (on-campus and online), supplemented by housing and dining, donations via the Loyalty Fund and R. Wright Spears planned-giving society, and event venue rentals (Cottingham Theater, Spears Concert Hall). Distribution is direct-to-consumer via a personal admissions counselor model with no application fees and rolling admissions, multi-channel marketing across social, alumni referral, community events, and campus visits, and self-serve online application. Auxiliary services include the Edens Library Learning Commons, Resilience Institute for trauma-informed education, NCAA Division III athletics and esports, the Women's Business Center of South Carolina (headquartered on campus), the Goodall Gallery, mental health counseling, and campus police.

Operationally, Columbia College is a 501(c)(3) governed by a Board of Trustees with no parent company or subsidiaries. It is regionally accredited by SACSCOC, FERPA- and SARA-compliant, and employs 251-500 staff. Strategic positioning emphasizes small class sizes, a "Koala Community" culture, alumni engagement through a 15,000-member association (organized 1882), and leadership in trauma-informed practices — including a 2023 designation of the Alston Wilkes Society as the first Trauma-Informed Practices Agency in South Carolina. The institution reports a 97% graduate placement rate (employment or graduate school within six months) and has earned US News & World Report recognition for online programming.

Name

Columbia College, Columbia, SC

Legal name

Columbia College

Website

https://columbiasc.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1855

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Private nonprofit liberal arts college founded 1855 in Columbia, SC, offering 50+ undergraduate majors plus online and graduate degrees to traditional, transfer, working-adult, and international students via Canvas LMS and the Koala Connection portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

General Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAH), Secular/Nonsectarian Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAG)

Keywords

• Liberal arts education
• Undergraduate degrees
• Online graduate programs
• Higher education
• Trauma-informed education

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Primary revenue from undergraduate and graduate tuition, with separate pricing for on-campus and online programs. Additional fees for specific programs and services.
2. Donations and Contributions: The Loyalty Fund accepts donations supporting programs, student scholarships, travel opportunities, experiential learning, and athletics. Employer matching programs and planned giving through the R. Wright Spears Society.
3. Event Space Rentals: Campus facilities including Cottingham Theater (350 capacity), Spears Concert Hall (225 capacity), and full campus rentals for conferences and retreats generate venue rental revenue.
4. Housing and Dining: On-campus residence halls and dining services provide auxiliary revenue for student living services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Columbia College is a private nonprofit liberal arts college offering on-campus undergraduate degrees (50+ majors, minors, and concentrations) along with online undergraduate and graduate degree programs, professional certificates, and specialized academic tracks such as Honors, Pre-Professional, Call Me MISTER, and SC CREATE. Instruction is delivered on a 52-acre campus in Columbia, SC and online via Canvas LMS, supported by student services including academic tutoring, career services, counseling, athletics, and the Resilience Institute focused on trauma-informed education.

Product overview

Columbia College is a private liberal arts college in Columbia, South Carolina, offering a comprehensive higher education portfolio. The institution provides undergraduate degrees (50+ majors), online undergraduate and graduate degree programs, professional certificates, and specialized academic tracks including Pre-Professional, Honors, SC CREATE, Call Me MISTER, and Teaching Fellows. Supporting infrastructure includes Edens Library Learning Commons with tutoring and career services, the Resilience Institute for trauma-informed education, and student life programs spanning athletics, housing, and 40+ organizations. The college also operates community-facing services including a Women's Business Center, Goodall Gallery for art exhibitions, campus event space rentals, bookstore, counseling services, and campus safety. Alumni engagement is supported through a 15,000+ member Alumni Association. Programs are delivered via Canvas LMS with Koala Connection as the student portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Columbia College Alumni Association: The official alumni organization of Columbia College, organized in 1882 with approximately 15,000 members.
• Women's Business Center of South Carolina (WBC)
• Goodall Gallery

Products and services

• Undergraduate Degrees

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% of graduates are employed or in grad school within six months
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alston Wilkes SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023In June 2023, Columbia College designated the Alston Wilkes Society as a Trauma-Informed Practices (TIP) Agency, the first of its kind in South Carolina. The college trained the organization and continues to serve them as they serve countless individuals in the community.
• Cooperative HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Cooperative Health brings quality healthcare to the campus and neighborhood through Columbia Community Family Practice, providing primary and preventive services and behavioral health counseling for adult and pediatric patients.
• Workshop Theatre of South CarolinaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to promote the arts, giving students opportunities to participate in campus productions while enriching the community and city of Columbia.
• Sisters of Charity Foundation of South CarolinacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation partnership focused on enhancing opportunities for neighbors and community, aligned with Columbia College's mission of social justice and service.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Furman University: Larger and more selective private university in Greenville, SC. Operates broadly in the same South Carolina private higher-education market and competes for the same high-achieving residential students, but with substantially more resources and selectivity.

Direct peers

• Newberry College: Small private liberal arts college in Newberry, SC affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Comparable scale, NCAA Division II athletics, residential model, and regional recruitment footprint in the same state.
• Coker University: Private university in Hartsville, SC offering undergraduate and graduate programs with similar scale and a comparable mix of on-campus and online degree options targeting working adults.
• Wofford College: Highly selective private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, SC with similar size and traditional undergraduate focus. Competes for the same South Carolina residential student pool and provides a benchmark for selectivity and outcomes.
• Presbyterian College: Small private liberal arts college in Clinton, SC affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. Comparable residential size, NCAA Division II athletics, and pre-professional/graduate program mix.
• Sweet Briar College: Private women's liberal arts college in Virginia. Shares the small, residential, women-centered liberal arts identity and demonstrates the financial and demographic pressures facing women's colleges — a strategic benchmark for Columbia College's positioning.
• Converse University: Private university in Spartanburg, SC, historically a women's college that now admits men, similar in size and mission. Closest direct peer given shared women's-college heritage, South Carolina footprint, liberal arts focus, and comparable graduate and online offerings.
• Agnes Scott College: Private women's liberal arts college in Decatur, GA. Highly comparable women's-college heritage, similar small residential scale, and strong record of graduate outcomes — provides a benchmark for women's-college positioning and SUMMIT-style leadership curriculum.
• Erskine College: Small private liberal arts college in Due West, SC affiliated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Competes directly for residential liberal arts students in the SC regional market.

Regional players

• Lander University: Public comprehensive university in Greenwood, SC. Competes for the same South Carolina residential student pool, particularly in transfer and undergraduate completion segments, but with lower tuition and a different funding model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/columbiacolg
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/colacollkoalas
• Facebookfacebook.com/229072874198
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/columbia-college-sc
• Instagraminstagram.com/columbiacollegesc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Columbia College, Columbia, SC