Seminaries Struggling

Here is an article about the struggle that many Episcopal Seminaries are facing. A number of trends have meant dropping enrollment for traditional, 3-year seminary programs. Hard times have already caused Seabury-Western to suspend it's M.Div. program, and others are trying to adapt. One interesting factor is the rising cost of higher education in general and the consequent debt load most of us must carry post-graduation:

For the class of 2006: While a third of Episcopal seminarians enrolled in three-year residential M.Div. programs had no debt whatsoever, of the two-thirds with debt, the amount averaged $39,085 halfway through a student’s seminary career, Reverend Mitman said. That cumulative figure includes consumer and automobile debt as well as all education debts, including those accumulated in the undergraduate years.

For those graduating this May, the average figure rose to $48,978. Estimating that those seminarians will accumulate another $14,000 in debt before finishing, that leaves them with $63,000 or so in average debt upon entering a profession where $45,500 is the average beginning compensation. (source)

Many other professions that require advanced degrees (Medicine, Law, etc.) have adapted to this problem by trading meritorious service (in deprived geographic areas, for example) for debt relief. Or the salary scales reflect the cost of pursuing the training in the first place. Alas, us priests ain't so lucky!

-t