Are faith-based faculties in hassle? It relies upon.
Ricardo Azziz has held quite a few government positions in greater training and led the merger that resulted in Georgia Regents College, now Augusta College. He’s principal at Strategic Partnerships in Larger Schooling Consulting Group.
He writes the common Merger Watch opinion sequence on company restructuring in greater training.
Cabrini College is a Roman Catholic establishment in Radnor, Pennsylvania, that can shut subsequent 12 months after its spring time period, with Villanova College buying its campus. An instance of too little, too late, Cabrini leaders had sought to accomplice or merge with one other establishment when it was already closely indebted. It had additionally misplaced round half of its scholar physique in fall 2021 in comparison with a decade prior.
A lot hand-wringing has ensued concerning the plight of faith-based greater training, though the truth is way much less grim. Actually, faith-based greater training appears to be doing higher than the sector usually.
The variety of institutional closures in greater training has elevated over the previous decade. Between fall 2010 and fall 2020, enrollment in degree-granting, Title IV-eligible faculties fell by over 2 million college students, representing a 9.7% lower. Enrollment declined 8.4% at public establishments and 49.4% at for-profit establishments. In the meantime, it elevated by 270,000 college students, or 13.6%, amongst personal nonprofit establishments.
Religiously affiliated establishments have seen comparatively small enrollment losses
Enrollment by establishment sort from 2010-2020
As compared, religiously affiliated faculties skilled a modest lower in complete enrollment, of 1.4%. Throughout this decade the variety of religiously affiliated establishments declined solely barely, falling 3.3% in comparison with 14.4% for the whole greater training sector.
Variety of religiously affiliated establishments have declined at a decrease charge
Change in variety of establishments from 2010-2020
However earlier than the faith-based sector celebrates their resilience in these making an attempt instances, we must always acknowledge that the stress and ache are erratically distributed amongst these faculties and denominations.
Let’s think about denominations with a minimum of 20,000 college students enrolled in affiliated faculties in 2010. Of these, establishments affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Southern Baptist, Church buildings of Christ, Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and Church of the Nazarene denominations, in addition to religiously affiliated establishments that outlined themselves as “undenominational” or “interdenominational,” gained college students through the decade.
The beneficial properties have been highest for establishments affiliated with the Latter-day Saints, in addition to undenominational and interdenominational faculties.
We must always observe that the expansion in enrollment will not be solely noticed in establishments affiliated with the Christian religion. Faculties and universities affiliated with the Jewish religion additionally gained enrollment throughout this decade, rising 25% from a complete of 12,755 college students in 2010 to fifteen,976 in 2020.
Alternatively, different denominations skilled enrollment losses. By complete variety of college students enrolled of their affiliated establishments, the Roman Catholic, United Methodist, and Baptist denominations noticed the biggest declines. Understanding the explanations for the variations in enrollment tendencies might be useful in creating methods to handle the continued recruitment challenges, for this sector and past.
Enrollment adjustments fluctuate broadly amongst denominations
Enrollment by religiously affiliated faculty sort
Why have enrollment tendencies performed out so otherwise for religiously affiliated establishments over the previous decade?
A 2023 survey by the Public Faith Analysis Institute suggests Individuals have gotten more and more extra more likely to be religiously unaffiliated. Whereas we might wish to ascribe the enrollment challenges of those faculties to this decline in non secular participation, that may be an oversimplification. Their enrollment losses have been comparatively small.
Nevertheless, the survey findings might clarify the numerous progress in enrollment skilled by undenominational or interdenominational non secular faculties. However whereas we might wish to ascribe the development to disaffiliate with organized faith as the results of its rising polarization alongside racial and political traces, political polarization may very well be driving enrollment to conservative Christian faculties.
Enrollment additionally grew from 2010 to 2020 by a powerful 60% at establishments affiliated with the Latter-day Saints. The numerous enhance will be ascribed, a minimum of partially, to the faith expressly valuing greater training. Nevertheless, different religions additionally worth training.
A extra seemingly reason behind their success is the truth that enrollment for this denomination is primarily pushed by two very giant (over 30,000 college students) establishments, a sector that, as a complete, has been rising. Moreover, these faculties, Brigham Younger College and Brigham Younger College-Idaho, are carefully aligned, presumably decreasing inter-institutional cannibalism.
As compared, within the fall of 2020, there have been 223 Roman Catholic, 87 United Methodist and 60 Baptist affiliated faculties and universities, a lot of which have very small scholar our bodies.
We might wish to chalk up the lower in enrollment at Roman Catholic-affiliated faculties to the turmoil ensuing from the allegations of sexual abuse. Nevertheless, extra seemingly causes are the value of tuition and the declining variety of Catholic elementary and secondary faculties, necessary feeders to affiliated faculties and universities.
One other necessary issue is probably going the smaller dimension of many of those establishments. Most bigger Catholic universities, together with Georgetown College, the College of Notre Dame and Boston Faculty, have skilled rising enrollments in tandem with nationwide tendencies.
Enrollment losses at establishments affiliated with the United Methodist and Baptist establishments will be partly attributed to the declining church membership for each denominations, and the schisms occurring inside every.
Nevertheless, once more these are oversimplifications, since for a lot of faith-based establishments the lower in denomination-affiliated enrollees is really being offset by a rise within the variety of nonaffiliated college students. Doubtless extra necessary, once more, is the smaller dimension of many religiously affiliated faculties.
In conclusion, we must always acknowledge that not all faith-based or religiously affiliated establishments are underneath the identical enrollment, and therefore monetary, pressures.
The actual drivers for the enrollment challenges of particular person establishments of upper training, together with these which can be faith-based, needs to be rigorously examined and understood, and the methods and techniques to handle these challenges individualized.
Lastly, institutional leaders ought to look nicely forward of their strategic and situation planning, totally understanding that many tactical choices — comparable to discovering a strategic or merger accomplice — will change into more and more troublesome because the establishment’s monetary and enrollment deficits change into extra extreme.
