As a group, incoming students are saddled with over $85,000,000 in educational debt BEFORE they enroll. Since 2001, the percentage of incoming students that enter seminary with more than $25,000 in educational debt has increased by 143%. The majority of incoming students will find seminary to be nothing like (or at least very different from)…
81% of all incoming seminary students do not expect to have a parish ministry position. Less than half of all incoming students plan to be ordained. School websites account for more incoming students than all traditional advertising combined. Below is the second of three infographcis based on the 2011-2012 ATS ESQ. During the most recently…
Two-thirds of all incoming MDiv students at ATS seminaries commute to class – regardless of their size, all seminaries seem to be regional schools. 78% of all incoming part-time MDiv students work more than 20 hours per week. 81% of ALL incoming MDiv students work while attending school. During the 2011-2012 academic year (the most…
I attended the ATS CFOS conference last week and came away encouraged by many of the conversations. Like the DIAP Conference for which I serve as a Steering Committee Member, the CFOS Conference has value in both the presentations and the conversations. People are asking good questions and wanting to create models of theological education…
The world is changing and the rate of change is only going to increase. I believe there are 5 “steps” which we need to take in order to be properly equipped to engage all those in our constituency base. The steps are based on a few shifts we are seeing in the world around us….
In part one of this topic, I challenged us to think more broadly about innovation within theological education. I think we are missing some big opportunities for significant levels of innovation. Innovation can be about much more than “product” or program innovation. As I mentioned in part one, I strongly believe that theological education is…
In part one of this topic, I challenged us to think more broadly about innovation within theological education. I think we are missing some big opportunities for significant levels of innovation. Innovation can be about much more than “product” or program innovation. As I mentioned in part one, I strongly believe that theological education is…
This is part one of a three part series. In this post I will discuss “Integrated Innovation.” In part two we will look how what it might take to begin such a process in your organization. Finally, part three will talk about where to start. When we talk about innovation in theological education, the conversation…
For about a year, I have been talking with different people about the need for an organization which not only serves institutions where they are, but also helps them to see where they could be. In addition, I think there is a need for someone to help the industry see where it could be, to…
By 2017, the Millennial generation will have the most buying power. The Millennial generation’s economic value goes beyond current giving levels and can be higher than other generations. Fundraising is profoundly multichannel and the Millennial generation is not loyal to any one giving channel. Direct mail did not register as a way in which members…