SDA Colleges/Universities Report on 2022 Consolidated Enrollment
22 November 2022 |
A recent report on the status of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities shows several interesting enrollment data points regarding Adventist higher education within the last year. According to AEA 2022ConsolidatedEnrollment:
General Undergraduates: “The consolidated 2022 fall enrollment for Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities (AACU) institutions totals 21,021 students, a decrease of 151 students, or 0.7% less than the previous year.
New Freshman: “In the overall undergraduate enrollment numbers, new freshmen saw a positive year-to-year increase of 6.1%, going from 2,360 in 2021 to 2,504 in 2022.”
Graduate Students: “The graduate students also saw an increase of 2.9%, moving from 6,014 to 6,190.”
Transfer Students: “Between fall 2020 and fall 2022, transfer student numbers grew by 11.5% (1,344 in 2020 and 1,498 in 2022).”
Weymouth Spence, president of AACU and Washington Adventist University stated, “We are encouraged by the overall increases in graduate enrollment and this year’s growth in new freshmen numbers following the last two years of enrollment decreases in the face of COVID-19. We are excited and hopeful about the future of Adventist higher education in North America, and the Adventist Association of College & Universities and the Adventist Enrollment Association are seeking collaborative strategies to grow overall enrollments and build stability for our member institutions.”
Meanwhile, the 2022 NAD Year-End Meeting confronted a different angle – the lack of teachers in Adventist educational institutions. In an article entitled “A Crisis in Education,” NADNews reported that “leaders were tasked with addressing the issues surrounding the current national teacher shortage, and discussing ideas for recruiting and retaining qualified teachers in Adventist schools.
‘When looking across the Pacific Union Conference, 20 percent of our teachers are over 60 years old. That’s 200 teaching positions,’ shared Berit von Pohle, vice president of education for the Pacific Union Conference. ‘Each year, within our union, we graduate no more than 10 education majors. These numbers just don’t add up.’”
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