Expect about 350 attendees from about 135 higher education institutions at the annual ABHE conference.
If you want to meet fishermen, hang out in front of a bait shop. If you want to meet dinosaurs, go to Jurassic World. But, where can you go to meet college presidents, deans, and other colleagues serving God through higher education? The annual ABHE conference is held in Orlando.
The ABHE website estimates that “there are more than 1000 Bible schools and colleges throughout Canada and the United States. Approximately 200 of these institutions have a relationship with the Association for Biblical Higher Education, either through accreditation or [a non-accredited] affiliation.”
Founded in 1957, the ABHE is a well-established association with an expanding set of resources for their schools.
| 1. Upcoming Conference Dates | 2021 – Feb. 17–19 – Rosen Plaza Hotel, Orlando, FL |
| 2. Website | www.ABHE.org |
| 3. Phone | 407-207-0808 |
| 4. Number of Schools Associated with the Organization | 194 Schools: 143 accredited and candidate member schools plus 51 affiliates |
| 5. Number of Schools at a Recent Conference | 135 at the 2016 conference
120 at the 2020 conference |
| 6. Number of School Administrators Attending Recent Conferences | 399 at 2015 meeting 322 at 2016 meeting About 350 expected at 2018 meeting 640 in 2020 (including administrators, trustees, vendors, staff, guests) |
| 7. Primary Type of Attendees | Variety of academic administrators; especially presidents and deans |
| 8. Most Common Type of Exhibitors | Consultants, CPAs, fundraisers, book publishers, as well as providers of technology, food services, insurance, furniture, and equipment. |
| 9. Popular Workshop Topics | Keynote speakers and workshops are important for training your team. With about 30 workshops at each conference, you’ll find a wide array of options to train the various staff members needed to run an effective college. For example, some popular workshop topics have included technology integration, social media, fundraising, and assessment. The recent ADF workshop on higher education and SOGI issues was quite well attended.
At the 2018 conference, we expect great interest in Dr. Larry McKinney’s workshop on what the fastest growing Bible colleges are doing to facilitate growth. |
| 10. Conference Coordinator | David Medders [email protected] |
