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Eleven evangelical college and universities have announced record enrollment this fall\u2014which is a record for breaking records, as far as anyone in Christian higher education remembers.<\/p>\n
Asbury University<\/a> saw enrollment jump 20 percent, while East Texas Baptist University<\/a>\u2019s student population climbed above 1,800, the highest in the school\u2019s 111-year history. Abilene Christian University<\/a> has more than 1,000 incoming freshmen, and Cedarville University<\/a> is celebrating an increase of 374 students for a total incoming class of 1,017. Grace College<\/a>, marking its 75th anniversary in Winona Lake, Indiana, grew by 465 new undergraduates, and Taylor University<\/a>, also in Indiana, added 606 students to its rolls.<\/p>\n Concordia University, St. Paul<\/a>, beat its previous record by 218 students. Lipscolm University<\/a> welcomed more than 700 first-time freshmen. Dordt University<\/a>\u2019s enrollment climbed to 1,911 students and Samford University<\/a>\u2019s incoming class is 11 percent larger than last year\u2019s, continuing a decade and a half of growth. Ouachita Baptist University<\/a> had a 14 percent increase in undergraduates and now has a total of 1,581 undergraduates on its campus in Arkansas.<\/p>\n Overall enrollment numbers at schools affiliated with the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities are not yet available. But several other evangelical<\/a> schools<\/a> have also reported strong numbers, including Wheaton College<\/a>, which surpassed its enrollment goal by about 50 students after a few difficult years.<\/p>\n College presidents and vice presidents who spoke to CT say prospective students are drawn to the community at small Christian schools. The incoming class suffered through the social isolation imposed on them through the pandemic in high school and now are looking for deep connections in college. They place a high value on the very thing that evangelical institutions have always offered\u2014discipleship, relationships, and a place to grow.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to be an 18-year-old student right now,\u201d said Jennifer McChord, Asbury\u2019s vice president of enrollment and marketing. \u201cWhen they see a place where they can have these meaningful, authentic connections where they are seen and known, it stands out. Because that\u2019s what they\u2019re craving.\u201d<\/p>\n Schools like Asbury have also been working very hard to get the message out about the value of Christian higher education. After the institution, named for an early American evangelist, learned that many local high schoolers didn\u2019t know what Asbury was, the marketing department decided to invest in an intensive digital advertising campaign. For the last two years, social media ads have targeted 16- and 17-year-olds in the area who express an interest in growing in their Christian faith and one or more of the academic and extra-curricular programs that Asbury offers.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of ads. A lot of videos. A lot of value content,\u201d McChord said. \u201cWe use the digital platforms to drive a student to engage with a counselor and drive them to visit, where they can see.\u201d<\/p>\n Asbury also developed a number of partnerships with Christian high schools in the region, offering scholarships and developing a stronger pipeline from evangelical secondary education to evangelical post-secondary education.<\/p>\n According to Mark Pohl, Grace College\u2019s vice president of enrollment management, less than a third of graduates from Christian high schools go on to Christian colleges. Increasing that percentage could mean a lot to a school like Grace.<\/p>\n Pohl and Grace College president Drew Flamm visited about a dozen Christian high schools in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan the year before Grace broke its enrollment record.<\/p>\n \u201cWe encourage students to talk to their families about the continued discipleship process and the value of Christ-centered education as they make their faith their own,\u201d Flamm told CT. \u201cWe\u2019re a discipleship institution. Part of the application process has students indicate a relationship with Jesus. And we also emphasize you can get a good job with a Grace education.\u201d<\/p>\n Christian schools have also been working on improving the pipeline out of college\u2014where students go when they graduate. Bethany College, a West Virginia school affiliated with the mainline Disciples of Christ, has signed agreements with other institutions to guarantee qualifying graduates a seat in medical school, law school, pharmacy school, and veterinary school.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to tell mom, dad, and student you can get there from here. That second phase of post-secondary education is already worked out if you come here,\u201d said Bethany\u2019s interim president Jamie Caridi.<\/p>\n Bethany, like other Christian colleges and universities that spoke to CT, does not often compete against peer institutions for prospective students. Most of the young people considering Bethany are also looking at public universities, Caridi said.<\/p>\n Small Christian schools have to find ways to credibly promise a career path that seems equivalent to what someone could get at a state school. And then they add a promise about the potential for close relationships and spiritual growth. The West Virginia school, which went through a severe financial crisis in the 2010s, now offers degrees<\/a> in cybersecurity, digital marketing, and health care administration, as well as pre-physical therapy, pre-occupational therapy, and criminal justice.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel like America today needs Christian education more than ever before in history,\u201d Caridi told CT. \u201cBut if we\u2019re honest, at some point the marketplace lost sight of the value of Christian education. The marketplace has shifted, so we need to offer academic programs that are relevant to the marketplace but are a good mission fit for us too.\u201d<\/p>\n Many Christian schools have made similar shifts in emphasis in the last few years. That \u201cprogram innovation\u201d seems like it\u2019s paying off for some of them in 2023.<\/p>\n Nearly 10 percent of Ouachita Baptist\u2019s record undergraduate enrollment, for example, is made up of nursing students\u2014a program that didn\u2019t exist a few years ago. The Baptist founders may not have envisioned that in 1886, but the administration sees the pre-professional degree plan as a natural fit for the Christian school.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I talk to these students, they talk about a calling to nursing,\u201d president Ben Sells said. \u201cAnd that comes in part out of their Christian faith and seeing the need to meet the nurse shortage in our state and, more often than not, some need in their family. We\u2019re extending our mission to serve students who want to be really proficient in nursing and who are sincere about their Christian faith.\u201d<\/p>\n Individual institutions may also be benefitting from larger trends that have little to do with changes to the curriculum or outreach efforts. Early data collected from 841 colleges and universities showed a surge<\/a> of applications in 2023.<\/p>\n A number of large public schools have also reported record enrollments this fall, including University of Ohio, University of Kentucky, University of Tennessee, University of Arkansas, University of Alabama, and Michigan State University. That growth can\u2019t really be explained by an emphasis on small communities and the importance of faith formation. It appears<\/a> that some prospective students delayed college, waiting for the pandemic to end.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are basing how you\u2019re thinking or feeling on the life decisions of 17-year-olds,\u201d Wheaton president Philip Ryken said, \u201cthere\u2019s going to be a complexity and inscrutability to that, no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n Top Christian college administrators are acutely aware that one or two good years may not signal a reliable upward trend. The president at Bethany said, \u201cno one is spiking the ball,\u201d while the president at Grace said recruiters would need to continue to remember the fundamentals of a good defensive strategy.<\/p>\n