Why So Many College Students Abandon Their Faith
“I’m sending my kids to secular university. After all, they’ve grown up in a Christian home, they’ve been in church all of their life, and they’ve gone to a Christian school. They are better prepared than most church people, so why waste their time in Bible College?”...
Avoiding the Spiral: 7 Proven Alternatives to Hyper-Discounting
A recent article in Business Insider graphically shows how higher education has remained relatively affordable over the past few years, in marked contrast to what many in the media have led us to believe.[1.How much people pay for college hasn't changed as much as...
How to Get Your Thesis or Dissertation Published
Anybody who has written a thesis or dissertation as part of completing their degree has a strong interest in having that thesis or dissertation published. Doing so provides an essential credential and helps establish authority in the field of study while also...
A Free College Newsletter Template That Recruits Students, Donations, and Spiritual Rewards
(Excerpted from, Finding Funds for a Small Christian College, by David Agron, Ph.D) A college newsletter can be an exceptional tool for recruiting donors and students—really. But how do you entice a potential donor or student to actually read your newsletter and...
Three Simple Methods to Overcome Student Distractions: Especially for Non-Traditional Students
The competition to maintain the attention of our students is as fierce as auto insurance commercials and NCAA basketball. Every instructor confronts a daily battle to keep the student actively engaged and focused on coursework. Student distractions are legion. The...
How to Sabotage the Launch of Federal Student Financial Aid
It was not an uncommon mistake. When Yellowstone Christian College (YCC) achieved candidacy with their accrediting agency, they chose a highly recommended third party servicer to help with the complexity of launching Federal Student Financial Aid. They expected the...
Understanding State Approval and Accreditation: Who Officially Decides Your School Is “Good”?
Who decides if your school is a good school (and what does the government have to do with it)? This question requires a basic understanding of state approval and accreditation. In many countries, the government — perhaps their ministry of education — provides credible...
Rotten Eggs Over Easy: An Inquiry into Why Successful Leaders Fail
All good things come to an end, including great leaders. However, it often happens that the leader not only physically ceases to exist, but he often ethically ceases to be good. Lucifer forsook God, Julius Caesar forsook democracy, and Anakin forsook the light side of...
Faculty Development on a Budget: Six Ways to Foster Faculty Development When Inter-Disciplinary Demands Are High and Budgets Are Low
Does your faculty feel like they need Ed.Ds in addition to their Ph.Ds in order to teach effectively? Do they have the IT department’s phone number on speed dial? Does thinking about the “flipped classroom” make them want to flip out? Expectations of faculty—from you...
How to Integrate Intercollegiate Athletics into the Intentionally Christ-centered Institution
Today’s ever changing trends in recruitment, retention, and branding often lead administrators to discuss how to develop programs that can accelerate institutional growth. Many of these discussions eventually arrive at out-of-the-classroom opportunities for...
Best Practices in Reference Services for Distance Education in Higher Education
You probably remember a time when a distant education student was a rare occurrence and academic reference services happened in the library while looking across the reference desk at the student before you. This is no longer the case. Many – if not most — higher...
How Far Can Your School Reach? St. Paul’s Plan for Influencing Your Region
Theological Schools Impact Communities (Excerpted from commencement address at Yellowstone Christian College) Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they...
A Model for Integration of Faith and Scholarship
Integration of Faith and Scholarship is not "a Given," Even in Christian Colleges We know we need God to somehow be involved in what we do in our schools. Can Christian schools depend on standard secular methods to achieve spiritual goals? A slavish imitation of a...
20 Realistic, Economical, Simple Initiatives to Improve Student Retention
For the hundreds of small, private colleges and universities that enroll large numbers of “at-risk” students, proactive retention activities are necessary to keep the school solvent. However, while maintaining retention is much discussed, it is rarely addressed in any...
The Issue on Which I Agree with Al-Qaeda and ISIS
Results of Funding Terrorist Training Before the Islamic State dreamed of taking over the world, Osama Bin Laden planned it, prayed for it, promoted it, and finally—he impacted. A key part of his plan focused on funding—funding for training. By promoting violence as a...
A Critical Reflection on Educational Processes
An 'A' Does Not Equal Effective Higher Education Assumptions regarding classroom success permeate the education system and families of individual students. For many an ‘A’ is the ultimate prize, a ‘B’ is disappointing, and a ‘C’ may signal inadequacy. Society as a...
Chief Financial Officer or Bookkeeper? Which Are You?
Many business officers holding the title of CFO are really bookkeepers. This is dangerous for the institution and for the employee. An institution hiring a CFO should receive high-level financial management. An unqualified CFO puts him/her self in a precarious...
Five Reasons Why Joining a Professional Library Association Will Increase Your Staff Productivity and Library Efficiency While Saving Money
In the current economic climate when administrators are under pressure to reduce expenses and still increase productivity, they may be tempted to limit professional memberships to one staff member per organization, or they might cut the budget for joining any...