Innovation is something everyone seems to be discussing right now. When it comes to innovation in theological education, I believe the advancement/development office is uniquely positioned to play an important role. This presentation was part of a workshop that invited senior development officers to think about why innovation is important, why they should be part…
Over the past two weeks, we have been looking at practical ideas that may help us address the issue of student debt. It is a multi-faceted concern, and we believe institutions must attack it from three angles: cost reduction, revenue generation, and curriculum development. Last week, we looked at cost reduction. Today, we will dive…
We have spent the past nine weeks looking at the topic of operational models and student educational debt at seminaries within the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). We’ve spent some time looking at why we care and what we know. Today, we begin providing several practical ideas that may help us move forward. Student debt…
Today, we are going to look at some inferences that we might be able to make as a result of our research into operational models and student educational debt at seminaries within the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). Sioux Falls Seminary, Northern Seminary, and Indiana Wesleyan University worked together on a project with the goal…
Today, we continue a series on operational models and student educational debt at seminaries within the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). Over the last few weeks, we looked at why we care about this topic. Today, we are going to share a little more about what we know to be true regarding operational models and…
Over the past three weeks, we have gently waded into a conversation about operational models and educational debt in seminaries within the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). We began with a broad overview of our research project that looked at operational models and educational debt in ATS seminaries. Next we talked about the three-sided challenge…
Educational debt is a growing issue among seminarians. Let’s spend some time looking at what may need to change…(Read more…)
Since 2003, total enrollment in seminaries across the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) has declined by about 7% and giving has decreased by about 2%. During that same period of time, the amount seminaries are spending to deliver theological education has risen by about 30%. If you are a visual person, you can see all…
As we create new programs, new financial models, or innovative support systems for theological education, we may find that the traditional ways of measuring the financial impact of our programs are not as helpful as they once were. That is exactly what we have found at Northern Seminary. Today I want to look briefly at…
According to data from ATS, there are five different revenue models for independent schools within ATS (70% of ATS seminaries are independent). I find the information provides great context for conversations among leaders of a given institution. Following a description of the data, I will share a few points of interest. Let’s look at the…