Enrollment up sharply at evangelical colleges
CBN News, August 24, 1999
Enrollment figures have skyrocketed at evangelical colleges and universities in the past decade. The number of students has increased 24 percent since 1990 at these schools, while other private schools grew only 5 percent and public schools 4 percent.
The double-digit growth is very unusual and has made those in the higher education field take notice. But the rising figures are not surprising to those at these schools.
“I think that students today are very, very hungry for some sure foundations to build on, and one of those foundations would be a value structure,” says Dr. Judson Carlberg, president of Gordon College, outside of Boston. Here, enrollment rose so rapidly, the school didn’t even have enough dorm space for incoming students. They had to live in hotels for a semester until new ones could be built.
Education with an ‘anchor’
Gordon is part of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities, a group of 94 schools committed to a liberal arts education that integrates faith with learning. Julie Peterson is with the council and says Christian schools offer things other schools don’t.
“Christian colleges and universities are off in this little dynamic core subgroup where the rest of the academic world is saying faith has no bearing on the life of the mind, and you have this small group saying yes it does,” she says. “It’s actually at the center and core of what life is all about.”
“I think when you contrast what goes in a broader higher education scheme, where all truth is kind of relative and it’s truth for you but maybe not truth for me, that is not attractive to a vast range of students,” Carlberg says. “In a world that is very chaotic and unsure, they want to have something to anchor to.”
It is this philosophy that has many students flocking to Christian schools.
“I just want the Christian atmosphere and the fellowship with other Christians and the spiritual challenge everyday of being around them,” says Clark.
Other students say going to a Christian college is far from being isolated from the world.
“A lot of people say, ‘Well, go to a secular college because you need to experience the world and you need to get outside the Christian bubble, or whatever,’ ” says Will Jenkins, a senior at Asbury College in Willmore, Kentucky. “I feel like the world is right there anywhere you want to look for it.”
In fact, many students at Christian schools live beyond their campuses, seeking out opportunities to serve in the community and in missions overseas.
Standards of conduct
Christian schools also tend to have standards of conduct. While they vary from school to school, dress codes for classes and curfews are the biggest ones. It’s something these students don’t mind.
“There are rules everywhere you go,” says Ann Walker, another senior at Asbury. “There’s always going to be someone in authority over you, and if you can’t do it at work, you get fired.”
“I’m very thankful for the standards that are set,” Clark says. “Even though I might not like them at certain times, I’m happy that they are there.”
“You have faculty and you have staff that care about the students and know the students by name and know where they are at night and know what’s going on in their lives,” Jenkins says.
While this type of community atmosphere continues to draw students, Peterson says the academic quality of the schools has also improved. More professors have doctorates, and the grade point averages of incoming students are higher than the national average. But Peterson says it’s more than just that.
“We want our students to be successful persons at life, successful in their faith and in their family and their occupations, whatever they do.”