Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches 2010 - Cokesbury

Trends in Seminary Enrollment
Data Provided by The Association of Theological
Schools (ATS) in the United States and Canada
Table 1: ATS total student enrollment figures include the number of individuals enrolled in
degree programs as well as persons enrolled in non-degree programs of study. From Fall 2007 to
Fall 2008, the total head count enrollment reported by ATS member schools decreased by 1,778
students, a decrease of 2.2%. This is the third straight year of declines in the 2% range. In the
same period, the full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment decreased by 2,201 students or 4.4%.
Table 1. Number of Member Schools from 1998 to 2008
Number Total
Canada United States By Membership
Year of Schools Enrollment Head Count FTE Head Count FTE Accredited Non-Accredited
1998 237 68,875 5,847 3,683 63,028 40,994 64,412 4,463
1999 237 70,432 6,010 3,224 64,422 41,528 65,674 4,758
2000 243 72,728 5,868 3,251 66,860 44,627 69,850 2,878
2001 243 73,925 6,254 3,342 67,671 45,094 70,942 2,983
2002 244 76,530 6,643 3,512 69,887 44,557 73,615 2,895
2003 243 78,709 6,925 3,653 71,784 46,559 75,660 3,017
2004 251 80,773 7,036 3,597 73,737 48,093 77,513 2,627
2005 251 81,302 6,950 3,523 74,352 48,398 79,083 2,050
2006 253 81,063 6,395 3,205 74,668 47,377 79,618 1,445
2007 253 79,639 5,922 2,991 73,717 46,902 78,050 1,589
2008 252 77,861 5,827 3,081 72,034 44,611 76,333 1,528
Table 2: ATS analyzes enrollment both by the total number of individual students (Head
Count) and the equivalent of full-time students (FTE). Full-time equivalency indicates the
number of students who would be enrolled if all students were attending on a full-time basis.
Decreasing full-time equivalent enrollment as a percentage of head count enrollment over the
past ten years indicates an increasing number of part-time students.
Table 2. Head Count and FTE for all Member Schools 1998 to 2008
STATISTICAL SECTION
Year Head Count % Change FTE % Change FTE % of Head Count
1998 68,875 5.38 44,678 3.31 64.9%
1999 70,432 2.17 44,845 0.68 63.7%
2000 72,728 3.26 47,876 6.76 65.8%
2001 73,925 1.65 48,435 1.17 65.5%
2002 76,550 3.50 48,130 -0.76 62.8%
2003 78,709 2.82 50,206 4.3 63.8%
2004 80,773 2.62 51,690 2.9 64.1%
2005 81,302 0.65 51,922 0.4 63.9%
2006 81,063 -0.29 50,582 -2.6 62.4%
2007 79,639 -1.76 49,893 -1.36 62.6%
2008 77,861 -2.23 47,692 -4.41 61.3%
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