wfn.org | ELCA College Enrollment Rise is Steady

[ELCANEWS@ELCASCO.ELCA.ORG]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 20, 1997

ELCA COLLEGE ENROLLMENT RISE IS STEADY
97-10-027-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Full-time student enrollment at the 28
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America colleges and universities
rose from 44,036 to 44,310 between 1995 and 1996, a gain of 274
students, "making enrollment the highest it has ever been,"
reported James Unglaube, ELCA director for colleges and
universities.  The board for the Division for Higher Education
and Schools (DHES) learned more about ELCA college and university
trends when it meet here Mar. 13-16.
     During the period from 1979-80 to 1996-97, the number of 18-
year-olds in the U.S. population dropped 25.1 percent, reported
Unglaube.  "As this period of decline began one could have
expected a similar dramatic drop in ELCA college enrollment," he
said.
     "In the fall of 1979 the ELCA institutions enrolled 42,935
full-time students.  In the fall of 1996, the number stood at
44,310, a modest gain (0.6 percent) from 1995, and an all-time
high figure. This enrollment figure has been very stable over the
years," he said.
     "The 1996 enrollment represents 103.2 percent of that in
1979.  The 18-year-old population in 1996, on the other hand, was
81.3 percent of that in 1979," said Unglaube.  "ELCA institutions
have fared remarkably well as a group during this period," he
said.
     "Our society is a learning society that does not stop at 20-
year-olds.  Society is emphasizing learning as a life-long task
and not something one does in their 20s," said the Rev. H.
Frederick Reisz Jr., board member, Columbia, S.C.  "Our colleges
and universities are finding new ways to speak to other
generations," said Reisz.
     "Our enrollment is up because it has been clear that the
quality and affordability of our colleges attracts students,"
said the Rev. W. Robert Sorensen, executive director for DHES.
"Our students receive a good education at our higher education
institutions," said Sorensen.
     The economy greatly affects ELCA colleges and universities,
said Unglaube.  "One of the ways by which our colleges and
universities take that into account is in their pricing patterns.
Tuition, fees, room and board rise almost annually in an attempt
to keep pace with the economy," he said.
     In 1996-97 the average cost for a year at one of our
colleges and university was $17,900, said Unglaube.  "College
costs rise every year just like everything else around them
rises.  The colleges and universities have to turn on lights,
provide books for the library, put test tubes in the laboratory
and pay their employees."
     "Financial aid for students is a critical factor in making
it possible for students to attend institutions in the private
sector of American higher education.  ELCA colleges and
universities in 1995-96 made available a total of $463.3 million
in student financial aid," he said.
     Financial aid took the form of grants, loans, and work-study
programs, from government, college and private sources.  About 80
percent of the students attending these institutions received aid
and the average annual award totaled $13,130.  This average award
represented 76.7 percent of the average annual total cost of
$17,107 for a student at the ELCA college or university.
     Voluntary support of the colleges and universities, from a
number of sources, represents an important element of the
operation of the institutions, said Unglaube.  Annual support has
grown steadily from $41.4 million in fiscal year 1979 to $129.9
million in fiscal year 1996.
     "Our colleges and universities desire a closer relationship
with the church.  The gifts of our colleges and universities can
be used in the church, and the realities of the Lutheran church
make a lively presence in the college campus," said Reisz.
     "This church is in partnership with 28 colleges and
universities, vital places of teaching and learning, places where
people committed to this partnership are involved in nurturing
students toward lives as responsible global citizens, places
where students are helped in understanding vocation as a
calling," said Unglaube.

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html