The Cost of Education

It is almost cliche to say that education is expensive. Setting the cost of education at the college level is difficult. There are many factors which must be kept in mind. Factors such as industry standards, financial stability of the constituents, marketability, hardships for consumers, and cost of operations all go into the decision-making process. And still, education is expensive.

The administration of ILT has made it a priority that money should never be the only reason a student will not study here. We are committed to this and do not want finances to be the hurdle to anyone who has a desire to study with us. Our tuition cost and our business model are built on this commitment.

This graph shows the different cost/program for pastoral preparation at all the schools serving the churches of the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), North American Lutheran Church (NALC), and the Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations (CALC).

Note: The schools listed here are: Beyond the River Academy (BRA), Cross-Cultural Ministry Center (CMC), Faith Evangelical Seminary (FES), Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS), ILT's Master of Divinity Degree (MDIV) and Pastoral Ministry Certificate (PMC), Saint Paul Lutheran Seminary (SPLS), Sioux Falls Seminary (SFS), North American Lutheran Seminary (NALS), and The Master's Institute Seminary (MI).

Clearly, there is no single standard for the costs of an education and ILT is not the least expensive. Tuition for us last year was 19% of the revenue we received, meaning that 81% of the revenue needed to operate ILT came from other sources, primarily donors. Donors reduced ILT's cost of education to students by 70% and $60,000 was dedicated to student financial aid. This was used to help reduce tuition costs.

Some may say this is not a good business plan. They would be right. It is not. Schools cannot operate at 19% revenue from tuition. As a start-up, however, we are still implementing the beginning stages of our business plan. Regardless, we are committed to this plan because of the dedication of our donors and the great need of our churches.

Comments

  1. Eric SwenssonNovember 10, 2017 at 3:00 PM

    I appreciate the analysis and would imagine others would as well if they had a chance to read it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dennis BielfeldtNovember 11, 2017 at 12:07 PM

    Education costs money. People with advanced degrees working 60 hours a week or more with families cannot work for nothing. Why would people training pastors be expected to work for far less than their students assuming pulpits in congregations?

    ReplyDelete

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