Christian colleges show healthy growth
Enrolments at Christian colleges and universities this fall paint a healthy pictureBy Debra Fieguth - ChristianWeek staff
Most schools surveyed show slight increases; some are maintaining last year’s numbers or down just slightly. Only a few surveyed have experienced significant drops this fall over the same time last year.
A roomy new campus in Moncton has attracted about 50 new fulltime students to Atlantic Baptist University. Last year there were just over 300 students, says registrar Seth Crowell, and the year before, when the school was still in its old facility, only 220.
Growth is also evident at The King’s University College in Edmonton, where 483 fulltime students (518 altogether) are enrolled, up by five from last year.
Canada’s biggest private Christian university, Trinity Western in Langley, B.C., also continues to experience growth. The final numbers haven’t been calculated yet because of a problem with a new computerized registration system, but "residences are packed full," says admissions spokesperson Cam Lee. Trinity admitted about 50 more first-year students than last year, an increase of 7%. "The numbers are very healthy," Lee says.
Bible colleges vary in their enrolment figures this year. For example, Eastern Pentecostal Bible College in Peterborough, Ontario, maintains a stable enrolment, with significant growth in distance education (a fourfold increase to 110 registrations, says registrar Nil Lavallee). Western Pentecostal in Clayburn, B.C., is also up, while Central Pentecostal in Saskatoon is down.
For more on this story CLICK HERE
